Showing posts with label Connected Car. Show all posts

Boston CarPlay & Android Auto Dead Zones: GPS Dropout Hotspots

If your Apple CarPlay or Android Auto connection keeps crashing in the same parts of Boston, you're not alone. Drivers across the city report frustrating signal failures and GPS dropouts — especially in areas near the Charles River, Harvard's athletic fields, and Fenway.

Where CarPlay and Android Auto Fail in Boston

Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) play a vital role in improving wireless coverage and capacity in large venues, urban environments, and remote areas. As mobile data demand surges with the proliferation of 5G, understanding DAS's potential and challenges becomes increasingly critical.

This article explores the key challenges of implementing DAS and the opportunities it presents for network operators, businesses, and consumers.

What is DAS?

A Distributed Antenna System (DAS) is a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a central source. These antennas are strategically distributed to enhance cellular coverage and capacity where traditional networks may struggle, such as:

Stadiums
Airports
Skyscrapers
Tunnels
College campuses

By extending coverage, DAS ensures seamless communication in areas prone to weak signals or high congestion.

Challenges of Implementing DAS

While DAS offers significant benefits, several challenges can complicate deployment:

1. High Installation Costs

Expense: Deploying DAS involves substantial investment in equipment, labor, and engineering.
Cost Distribution: Organizations often struggle to justify costs unless they serve high-traffic areas.

2. Complex Integration

Infrastructure Coordination: Integrating DAS with existing cellular networks requires careful planning to avoid interference.
Technology Compatibility: Ensuring DAS works with multiple carriers and technologies, such as 4G LTE and 5G, can be technically demanding.

3. Regulatory Compliance

Permitting: Acquiring permits and adhering to local regulations can delay deployments.
Safety Standards: DAS systems must meet rigorous safety standards, especially in public venues.

4. Scalability Issues

Capacity Needs: As data demand grows, DAS installations must scale to support more users and higher speeds.
Future-Proofing: Upgrading existing DAS for 5G and beyond adds complexity.

Opportunities with DAS

Despite the challenges, DAS presents numerous opportunities for improving connectivity and user experiences:

1. Enhanced Connectivity in High-Demand Areas

Seamless Communication: DAS ensures uninterrupted service in crowded venues like stadiums or concert halls.
Capacity Management: Offloads traffic from traditional towers to prevent network congestion.

2. Support for 5G Deployment

Critical for 5G: DAS provides the infrastructure needed for dense, high-speed 5G networks.
Private Networks: Organizations can use DAS to create dedicated 5G networks for secure, high-speed communication.

3. Improved Emergency Response

Reliable Coverage: DAS enhances communication for emergency services in critical areas like tunnels and airports.
Public Safety: Supports first responder networks, ensuring rapid and reliable communication during crises.

4. Revenue Opportunities for Operators

Carrier Collaboration: DAS systems often support multiple carriers, creating revenue-sharing opportunities.
Business Expansion: DAS enables mobile operators to enter challenging markets, like remote regions or dense urban centers.

Conclusion

Distributed Antenna Systems are essential for meeting the growing demand for reliable mobile connectivity in challenging environments. While the initial investment and complexity of implementation pose hurdles, the opportunities for enhancing coverage, supporting 5G, and improving user experiences make DAS a worthwhile endeavor.

As technology advances and the demand for seamless connectivity intensifies, DAS will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of wireless communication.

How AirTags Enhance Vehicle Recovery: Innovative Tracking for Stolen Vehicles

Toronto man uses AirTags to track stolen SUV to Dubai

In the realm of vehicle security, Apple's AirTags have emerged as a game-changing technology for tracking and recovering stolen vehicles. This article explores the unique capabilities of AirTags in combating vehicle theft, providing valuable insights into how this innovative tracking device is revolutionizing vehicle security.

Understanding AirTags and Vehicle Tracking

Google has launched an exciting Wi-Fi application that will not provide any useful features. The move, however, is part of a larger strategy by Google, which is working on bringing a variety of new wireless capabilities to phones that do not require an active internet connection. The new Wi-Fi features could be used in the same way that Bluetooth does, with the added benefit of being able to communicate over much longer distances.

The new Google app, dubbed WifiNanScan, is available for download from the Google Play store and is aimed at developers who want to work on Wi-Fi Aware apps.

The Wi-Fi Aware protocol (also known as Neighborhood Aware Networking (NAN)) is used by the WifiNanScan app to measure the distance between two smartphones. It's intended for use by developers, manufacturers, universities, and others as a research, demonstration, and testing tool. With this app, you can measure distances with an accuracy of about 1 meter between phones that are up to 15 meters apart. This tool can be used by developers, OEMs, and researchers to validate distance/range measurements, allowing for the development of peer-to-peer ranging and data transfer, find my phone, and context-aware applications using the WiFi Aware/NAN API. (WifiRttScan is another option.)

According to 9to5Google, Wi-Fi Aware is also known as Neighbor Awareness Networking (NAN). Wi-Fi Aware apps, which allow smartphones and other gadgets to discover and communicate wirelessly, would be able to run on devices running Android 8.0 or higher. The devices would be directly connected to each other, without the need for a Wi-Fi network or any other type of internet or GPS connection.

Wi-Fi Aware devices would be able to "share large quantities of data" and send short messages. According to Google, the technology allows for “higher throughput rates over longer distances than Bluetooth connections.”

Wi-Fi Aware has a variety of use cases, according to the Wi-Fi Alliance, ranging from simple things like communicating with people nearby to play games to more complex things like finding friends at a concert without using GPS. More advanced enterprise uses would be supported by the functionality, such as securely connecting to a printer without logging onto the network or making restaurant reservations by walking nearby, even when the restaurant is closed. Other situations include automating and timestamping school check-ins and roll-calls, as well as streamlining airport security processes by using a digital ID that can be sent wirelessly to authorities. Wi-Fi Aware can even help advance autonomous vehicle technology. It could “enable autonomous and remote-controlled vehicles to instantly become aware of other devices and automatically exchange information like GPS coordinates, altitude, direction, and owner ID,” according to the researchers.

Until then, Google will need to enlist the assistance of developers, which apps like WifiNanScan can do. The app has a lot less features than the previous examples. Wi-Fi is used by the app to accurately measure the distance between two phones. Google explains, "With this app, you can get a distance measurement with an accuracy of about 1 meter with phones up to 15 meters apart." “Using the WiFi Aware/NAN API, developers, OEMs, and researchers can validate distance/range measurements, enabling the development of peer-to-peer ranging and data transfer, find my phone, and context-aware applications.”

WifiRttScan, a similar app for indoor positioning, was released a few years ago. Instead of using GPS to locate users, the app uses Wi-Fi Round Trip Time.

In the future, Google may combine these Wi-Fi experiments to develop new functionalities for phones and other smart devices based on Wi-Fi Aware wireless connectivity standards.

For developers, manufacturers, universities, and others, the WifiRttScan app is a research, demonstration, and testing tool. With this app, you can get a range accuracy of 1-2 meters to nearby WiFi-RTT (802.11mc) capable access points. This is particularly helpful when there is no GPS signal. This tool can be used by developers, OEMs, and researchers to validate range measurements, allowing for the development of positioning, navigation, and context-aware applications using the WiFi-RTT API.

One important future application of this could also be connected cars!!!

Does Your Car Have WIFI?

Does your car have wifi and do you use it?@ #WiFi #twitterpoll

— DeadZones.com (@DeadZones) December 6, 2016

Having Wifi in your car is pretty cool especially when you have kids who want to surf the web and use devices that don't have data plans. Most new cars these days have the ability to plug in a SIM card directly into the dashboard. This allows you to connect your navigation system and entire car.

What is Driving the FCC Auction of TV Spectrum?

Every city will soon see a transfer of airwave spectrum from broadcast TV to wireless Internet providers, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said today at the CES consumer electronics confab — 84 days before a long-awaited auction takes place. Broadcasters have until Tuesday, January 12th to say whether they’ll offer some of their local air rights for the auction. As an incentive, the FCC has offered to share some of the proceeds from the sale.

The FCC is trying to create a market that will allow small players to buy wireless spectrum in all markets across the USA. The process gives small TV stations a chance to cash out just as their business faces challenges from online video, wireless services and shifting audience behavior. The auction demonstrates the shift in technology taking place across the media landscape—and resources being adapted to meet new needs. Momentum is tilting from over-the-air television to the Internet. As people use their smartphones to stay connected and watch video on the go, more bandwidth is needed to provide that connectivity.

The process will start off similar to a Dutch auction, in which values are set at a high level and then diminish until the FCC gets the licenses it needs at the lowest possible price. Once it determines the amount it will pay for each station, the agency will then turn around and sell the licenses to carriers like AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile US Inc. in a traditional auction with rising bids. Sprint Corp. has decided to skip the auction. Any difference in the amount paid out to the broadcasters and the resale will go in the U.S. treasury. If the bids from the buyers are too low, the whole process will restart.
Read this article in the WSJ

Bidders on the reserve spectrum AT&T and Verizon can’t bid on, or at least not bid on initially, won’t be able to resell to those carriers for six years. Then there is an interim build-out requirement of 40% of facilities within those six years. But broadcasters could miss that deadline, said the source, with at least potentially no penalty except to have to shorten the 12-year 75% buildout requirement to 10 years. But with the ability to resell the spectrum to AT&T and Verizon after 6 years, they can effectively hold it then sell it without having to build out—though the buyer would have to build out on that abbreviated timetable. In addition, they could immediately re-sell reserve spectrum to other carriers than the low-band dominant ones, or sell unreserved spectrum to anyone, including AT&T and Verizon, immediately. Article from BroadCastingCable.com

What Cellular Service Does Your Connected Car Use?

Based on Our Research These Are the Announced Connected Car & Carrier Deals We Found!

AT&T

Telsa Motors

Ford

Volvo

Nissan

Verizon

Hyundai

Volkswagen

Honda

BMW

T-Mobile

Audi

Sprint

Chrysler

Verizon 4G LTE Wireless Signal Booster

Verizon & AT&T 4G LTE Signal Booster

Now there’s a mobile signal booster for those using Verizon Wireless LTE devices. The Sleek 4G-V from Wilson Electronics was announced this week. You can boost AT&T's 700 MHz LTE (bands 12 & 17) signal as well as all carriers 3G & 2G cellular signals on 800 MHz & 1900 MHz. The boost provides more than 20 times the power of your cell phone alone. This booster will help you stay connected by providing a strong reliable signal in weak-signal areas indoors and outdoors in a car (1 or 2 bars), reducing lost dropped calls and speeding data rates. It's designed for the car but will work anywhere.

The Sleek 4G-V works with all devices on all conventional 2G and 3G networks, except Nextel. FCC type accepted. Below is a diagram of how to set up the antenna for a typical car.

Verizon 4G LTE Signal Booster

Which Cell Phone Signal Booster is Best for Verizon Home?

Don't Give Up Your Unlimited Mobile Data Plan

Consumers and service providers alike, are thrilled about the future, most notably in the exciting implications of a ‘connected world’. Consequently, reasoning between the two groups will most certainly vary. Mobile users, listen to my words - DO NOT GIVE UP YOUR UNLIMITED DATA PLAN. Sure T-Mobile and others still offer it, but the cellular savvy knows that other companies like Verizon and AT&T are essential ‘where it’s at. For starters, carefully scrutinize all ‘new offers’, weighing your decision before taking an attractive subsidy on a free phone, rendering your hard-earned unlimited data plan moot by being forced into a tiered/family plan. There are a number of paths to go here, and in this case, I’d recommend the one less traveled for the purposes of saving money and long-term entrapment.

By all means, continue to enjoy HD video, rich media, and robust offerings – with discretion and planning of course. Naturally, all of these great things consume exorbitant amounts of data, and it's especially difficult to keep track of such usage since these numbers are not as cut and dry as minutes. Though companies like AT&T and Verizon offer online data calculators to give ballpark figures for data use, it is hardly an exact science. Alas, you may quickly find yourself speeding towards or exceeding your cap, racking up an exorbitant bill in the process (Note: AT&T and Verizon charge $10 per GB in overages) All things considered, it’s simply impossible to keep track of usage progressively, with apps running in the background and data spikes incurred from streaming high definition video or audio – so what’s the problem if I’m holding onto my unlimited data plan, you ask?

Well, big providers have mulled this over for a long time, and are truly never losing on the infinite media playground. In fact, both AT&T and Verizon were found to have throttled the top 5 percent of data users. Once you’ve been marked as a heavy data user, your access will be slowed during congested network times to free up bandwidth. What does this mean? It means you should definitely use Wi-Fi hotspots wherever possible to bypass the provider network. In the event you need to upgrade in the future, make sure your phone supports 4G LTE (with more becoming available as the technology matures). The reasoning for this? In short, unlimited users will not have to deal with that limit as both Verizon and AT&T have noted handling of less than half their mobile data traffic on the 4G LTE network last year – this equates to less network strain, higher efficiency in data streaming, and zero governance over the enjoyment of a right you’ve earned - unlimited data.

Still, the number of unlimited data customers is beginning to dwindle – while usage is predicted to grow 13-fold over the next half-decade, according to Cisco. In the report, the networking giant predicted that mobile data traffic will expand to about 46 times the total amount of mobile IP traffic since 2010, with more than 10 billion connected devices by 2017. In the meantime, service providers will continue to throw out lines with attractive offers attached to lure consumers into abandoning their boundless access which will cost them and not you in due time [better yet, cost them less while costing you the same].

For now, companies are trapped into continuing to offer unlimited data to existing customers by abiding to the original terms of the contract or face legal backlash. The catch-22 is that this long-time, loyal subscribers won’t be able to fully enjoy new rollouts with an outdated phone that struggles to run them. I offer this advice: for the avid user of advanced features (who still has an unlimited data plan), it simply makes sense to hold on tight to that infinite data allowance by purchasing new devices on eBay (or comparable online marketplace) for a one-time fee and selling old ones to mitigate the total cost. For the rest of us, high expectations are going to naturally come with likewise prices. Without vigilance, the term pays now or pay later comes to mind in more than a literal sense. Whatever your circumstances, I wish you the best.

This article was written by Michael Roden, a VoIP Enthusiast & writer at GetVoIP.com, a VoIP Provider directory and service comparison guide.

Highest rated VOIP service.

Does MagicJack Work?

Our Review of the Walt Mossberg Review of Magic Jack (DCZ)

By Walt Mossberg When I see a high-tech product (DCZ: with good PR people who get it to you first) that's advertised mainly via frequent hard-sell TV ads as if it were a diet pill, I tend to assume it can't be very good (DCZ: your late to the game if 4M people have purchased?), especially if its price is absurdly low. So, I haven't paid much attention to a product called magicJack, a small $40 adapter for your computer that claims to let you make unlimited domestic phone calls over the Internet with your home telephone free for a whole year—and for just $20 a year thereafter. (DCZ: because it wasn't originally sold through mainstream retail and was hated by the big carriers?)

But after receiving reader requests to review magicJack (DCZ: Why?), I decided to do so. To my surprise, it worked pretty much as advertised. It has a few drawbacks, and extra fees for added services, such as vanity phone numbers. But I found magicJack easy to set up and easy to use, and it yielded decent, if not pristine, call quality. I even tested customer support—a source of complaints online—and found it friendly, fast, and responsive.

Magic Jack is a new device and service that allows you to make cheap phone calls through your computer. Overall, the product works as advertised, Walt Mossberg found. MagicJack looks like an oversized USB flash drive. On one end is a standard USB connector for the PC; on the other is a standard phone jack to plug in a phone. It's compatible with PCs running Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7, as well as with all Intel-based Macs. It works with both corded and cordless phones, and comes with software for dialing, though you can also dial directly from a connected phone.

The low annual fee covers calls to and from any phone on any telephone network—landline or cellphone—not just phones connected to computers or to other magicJack. The only restriction is that the numbers called must be in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands. You can also buy low-cost prepaid international minutes, or take your magicJack abroad to make free calls home. You can move it among different computers and locations.

MagicJack can also be used without a phone handset, via a computer headset or the computer's built-in microphone and speakers. There's nothing new about Internet (DCZ: VoIP) phone calls. Companies like Vonage and Skype have been doing it for years. But magicJack is different. It emphasizes calling to and from phones on regular wired and wireless phone networks, and its prices for calls to and from such non-Internet-connected phones are much lower. (DCZ: MagicJack is 2X larger than Vonage with 2M customers and would be curious to see what the service quality performance record is compared to Skype)

For instance, the lowest plan advertised on Vonage's Web site for calling regular phones in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico is $17.99 a month, or about $216 a year, versus magicJack's $20. And Vonage gives you only 500 minutes a month, while magicJack sets no limit. Skype charges per minute or monthly fees for calls to regular phones and an added fee to receive incoming calls. (DCZ: What about Google Voice?)

The maker of magicJack says its low prices are possible because the product is produced by a privately held Florida company called YMAX, which is also a phone carrier (DCZ: also known as a CLEC). The company also runs ads inside its software. You can buy the device at a wide variety of stores, even drugstores and convenience stores. (DCZ: Do you think they might actually make more money off of location-based advertising eventually?)

I tested magicJack on both a PC and a Mac. The software resides inside the magicJack itself and installs each time you connect it. In my tests, I made and received calls on both computers, using a single landline phone and using a cordless-phone system in my house after plugging its base station into the magicJack. In the latter case, I could make and receive calls from cordless phones all over my house. I exchanged calls with both landline phones and cellphones from the magicJack. The call quality was good, except for a few times when the connection got scratchy for a second or two. Most of the people I called said they couldn't tell I wasn't on a regular call. The system offers voice mail, call forwarding, and conference calls, and you can save contacts. A couple of times I didn't get an immediate dial tone and had to hang up and try again.

The biggest downside of the magicJack compared with regular phone service is that you have to be running an Internet-connected computer, with a magicJack installed anytime you want to make or receive calls. (DCZ: It also works with WiFi?) Also, as with all Internet phone systems, you have to register your address with 911 emergency systems. With magicJack, you get a new phone number. The company says it is working on allowing you to port your existing landline number. You can keep your landline number for use on some phones or when you're not using magicJack.

I found magicJack worked better on Windows than on the Mac. (DCZ: Not a shocker) At one point, magicJack customer support had to send me software to patch the Mac version. But the company claims it is fixing that with a new Mac version coming soon.

YMAX also says it plans to roll out this year a Skype-like service that won't require any magicJack hardware, just a PC or an iPhone. It also plans a new version of magicJack to turn cellphones into wireless magicJack handsets. (DCZ: This is going to be called the Femto Jack)

I don't know if those diet pills in the TV ads work. (DCZ: Direct response marketing works) But magicJack does.

Cowboy Stadium Cell Phone & WiFi Coverage?

Carriers are starting to get more aggressive about improving WiFi, 4G and 5G coverage inside NFL stadiums and we want to know how they are doing.

If you are like the typical smartphone and cell phone user you are getting ripped off paying too much for your cell phone service plan. Why, because the pricing plans are rigged and no matter what you change or remove from your plan you will always be paying $50-$100 per month. Or worse yet you are overpaying for data and received bill shock. Even worse the carriers try to make it as difficult as possible for you to understand how much data you are using and want you to go over your data limits. Consumers who go over their data plans are not warned and often get shocked when they see their cell phone bill.

I am proposing that every application built on Android, iPhone and Windows be more transparent about whether you want it to access the carrier network or Wifi. Also, it should track the amount of data it uses on the 3G, 4G, or LTE network. Mobile apps fear data caps and carriers need to mandate this going forward for each application. Lawyers will be all over this with class-action lawsuits in the future if developers don't take it upon themselves to provide consumers with solutions that help them understand the amount of data they are using. The most ethical developers will actually measure your usage and then tell you when are reaching a threshold.

If you are the typical consumer you are likely using 50% of your voice minutes, more text messaging and more data. It's kind of crazy that 70% of your monthly bill is comprised of talk minutes yet you probably use data on the phone 90% of the time. Another thing that is crazy is that you are likely uploading and downloading most of your data on your home Wifi network. You are already paying for this data access and your cell phone company does not provide you with any transparency of how much data you are using on the 4G network.

With all of the problems the carriers are having getting their data networks in order. They should be helping their customers use their 3G and 4G networks less and encourage customers to offload data via WiFi. I think the future of 3G and 4G or LTE networks will be as a last resort and Wifi will be the standard now that hotspots are growing 5X faster than cell phone towers. AT&T was the first carrier to do this by removing all you can eat plans.

WeFi is a WiFi hotspot location service that works on a netbook, laptop, Symbian and Android platforms. The company helps members find nearby hotspots, complete with maps of their locations. There are also Symbian and Android mobile apps to work with WeFi on the go. The company collects anonymous data from devices that connect to a hotspot via the service, along with general information like how many devices are connected to a particular hotspot. With a population base of over 5 million users and a database of 60 million hotspots globally, the statistics show big changes in Wi-Fi usage. 50% of all Android devices analyzed consumed more than 500 MB of data per month each through Wi-Fi hotspots, and 20 percent of those Android owners flew through more than 2 GB of data over the month. That surprised me to see all of the free Wifi web usage and carriers need to change quickly as AT&T Wifi only has 20,000 free locations and this needs to change quickly for them to keep up.

Emergency Vehicles Need Cell Signal Boosters

Response times and emergency communication shouldn't not be compromised at the expense of poor cell coverage. Up until now, officers in Arizona have been living in an unconnected computer world taking handwritten notes during investigations and then driving to the nearest substation, often 80 or 100 miles away, to log into the computer systems. While in-vehicle computers and cellular modems are standard equipment for many law enforcement agencies across the U.S., making the department’s Mobile Data Computing Project work in Yavapai County, Arizona was a challenge due to weak cell signals provided by the carriers. The County covers 8,100 square miles, an area larger than several U.S. states, lying between suburban Phoenix and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The topography includes the Sonoran desert and mountains rising nearly 8,000 feet. As the department researched the feasibility of implementing the upgrade, a field testing confirmed that the cellular signal in many areas of the county was too weak to allow in-vehicle modems to reliably connect with the department’s computer system. Now their officers have the data connectivity resources in their vehicles.

The Yavapai Arizona Sheriff’s Office took it upon themselves to upgrade their data communications capabilities for more than 120 police cars installing cell phone booster systems made by Wilson Electronics. They didn't beg the carrier to upgrade their networks like so many agencies do. To solve the problem the department installed Wilson boosters and antennas to detect and amplify faint cellular signals. The payoff has been clear and immediate enabling police officers to use on-board computers and cellular modems to access the department’s computer network and search for needed information or file reports directly from their patrol vehicles, even in remote areas of the county.

The officers recently went on a search and rescue operation in an area where the searching units had no cellular coverage according to their handheld devices, but with the air-cards in their vehicles, responding deputies had service through the Wilson booster and were able to instant message and stay in contact with the communications center. The department also experienced another unexpected benefit shortening response times.

Wilson Electronics, Inc., a leader in the wireless communications industry for more than 40 years, designs and manufactures a wide variety of cell phone signal boosters, antennas, and related components that significantly improve cellular communication in mobile, indoor, and machine-to-machine (M2M) applications. All Wilson products are engineered, assembled, and tested in the company's U.S.-based headquarters. Wilson boosters fully comply with FCC regulations for cellular devices and are FCC type accepted and Industry Canada certificated. Wilson Electronics has developed and patented a variety of technologies for protecting cell sites by preventing network interference. For more information, visit weboost.com

Why Apple or Google Should Buy Pandora

Consumers Don't Want to Own Music Anymore

How much longer can iTunes maintain its leadership position as the middleman for content owners to consumers? I think the device manufacturing giant needs to think very quickly about buying a service like Pandora. What is holding them back from spending their $50 billion dollars in cash? Do they think they can recreate a similar experience themselves? Is Apple afraid of cannibalizing their business of music and programming downloads? My sense it is likely because AT&T, Verizon, Sprint & T-Mobile don't have their networks in order to handle the additional data streaming on 4G, LTE, Wimax. However, this could be a strategic move if the new iPods and Shuffles become Wifi enabled.

Google on the other hand doesn't have a music play and Pandora will start being used more frequently in the car. Google could quickly bring a lot of location based advertising inventory onto the market with Pandora's 50M+ users. Apple and Google have both shown their interest in predictive analytics which is Pandora specialty in music. Pandora uses this predictive playlist to recommend other songs you might like to keep you connected. The predictive playlists are an incredible user experience and are starting to carry ads that are relevant to the music. The Pandora experience on my Samsung TV and new G2 phone. It won't be surprising to see that Google TV also has a streaming music option very soon. The question is whether they build it or partner with someone like Pandora?

How to Jailbreak the iPhone For T-Mobile

iPhone can be unlocked, which means you can use the phone on any GSM network

It looks like femtocells may soon be used to serve sparsely-populated rural areas that are conventionally thought of as uneconomic to install a cell phone tower. Femtocells can now serve as "instant economical infrastructure" to help emergency services or rural residents who are just fed up getting the run around from their local carrier or cell phone tower companies. Getting the attention of carriers to install new cell phone towers has been the frustration of many wireless customers who live in remote areas. Femtocells can now provide an economic alternative to to ugly and expensive cell phone towers that often require multiple carriers piggybacking upon a new development site.

Roke Manor Research a Siemen's company has developed the world's first 3G Wide Area Coverage Femtocell capability. Using picoChip's technology as the development platform, Roke's reference design has a 40km range which delivers more than 40,000 times the area covered by most other femtocells. It is also the first to support full mobility at speeds of up to 120 kilometres per hour, allowing mobile users to travel while connected to the 3G base stations. The femtocell will support up to 12 simultaneous users, with Release 5 HSPA and a software upgrade to Release 6.

Femtocell basestations offer a low cost and low power solution for implementing a WCDMA network. However, they are only suitable for short range communications of around 200m and as such are ideal for home networks. Roke, however, can now offer all the benefits of a femtocall (small size, weight and power consumption) with an enhanced range of up to 40km.

Roke has demonstrated a reference design on a picoChip PC202 platform. The Physical Layer code has been modified to extended the coverage area by 40,000 times whilst maintaining full mobility. In essence, the Roke modifications permit a macrocell performance in terms of range and mobility within a fetmo hardware platform. The modified solution has been tested on-air at ranges up to 25km and vehicle speeds up to 120km/hr.

Benefits of Roke's modified femtocell base-station include:

Small Form Factor
Low Power Consumption
Range up to 40km
Support of 16us Delay Span
Mobility up to 120km/hr
Up to 12 users
IP Connection to Network
Circuit Switched Voice Support

How to Drop Early Termination Fees

Dropped Calls = Dropped Early Termination Fees

AT&T plans to raise the fee it charges customers trying to get out of their wireless phone contracts early. This bold move comes after expectations that the carrier will lose exclusivity on the iPhone over the next year. The early termination fees to $325 from $175 on contracts signed for smartphones, as well as cellular-connected netbooks. But for contracts on feature or messaging phones, AT&T will drop the fee by $25 to $150. The changes, which don't apply to current customers, take effect for new and renewing customers.

Verizon similarly increased its early termination feeds to $350 back in November, right as the very popular Motorola Droid launched. Verizon’s early termination fees increase probably contributed to the FCC’s decision to launch an investigation into high carrier termination fees in the mobile industry. AT&T’s move today seems to indicate that that’s no longer a concern. I want to know who paid off who at the FCC?

I have always recommended to our readers that they need to constantly document poor coverage and they should do this on our maps at Deadcellzones.com/att.html. The best way to do this is log your dropped calls, data congestion areas and dead zones by adding pins to our map. Once you have enough pins in the map you should print out a copy the map with complaints and use this evidence that your service was not adequately provided. You should also look on AT&T and Verizon's coverage maps and see where their maps are incorrect. This is the easiest way to get out of a contract because there are service levels that must be maintained in order for the carrier to charge you each month for service.

Here is an old graph below which needs to be updated with the changes to reflect AT&T and Verizon hiking their fees.

Related Stories:
How to Get Out of a Cellular Service Contract

Sleek Car Cell Phone Signal Booster Review

Published by Dan Cohen from GearDiary.com

Every now and then you come across a product that promises to do things exceptionally well for a lower price than you would otherwise expect and… it actually exceeds your expectations. That’s the case with the Sleek cell phone booster for Wilson Electronics.

We had a chance to meet with representatives from the company when we were in Las Vegas for CES and, thanks to them, I’ve been using a review unit of the Sleek for the past week or so. The unit is small, surprisingly inexpensive and it works phenomenally well. I live in a part of New Jersey where the cell reception can drop off to nothing at a moment’s notice. It is beyond frustrating to be in the midst of a call and constantly worry that you’re about to be disconnected. Since I started using the Sleek I haven’t had any of these issues. In addition, I have found the unit to be the best window mounted car cradle I have ever used with my iPhone. It holds the phone securely, doesn’t require you to “click” the phone into place, and it can be used with the iPhone of whether the phone is in a case or not. Moreover, it is great when I am using my iPhone as a GPS.

Yes, I’m raving about this product… but only because it is that good. Let’s take a look…

From Wilson Electronics–

The Wilson plug-and-play Sleek™ helps users reduce dropped calls, increase data rates in weak signal areas and originate calls from those dreaded “dead spots”. The Sleek™ and its external vehicular antenna increases any phone’s output power to the cell site while improving its ability to hear signals it normally cannot, keeping the user more reliably connected. Designed for simple set up, the Sleek™ can be easily moved from vehicle to vehicle.
Built into the Sleek™ cradle is a Wilson tried and tested bi-directional signal amplifier and battery charging port. The cradle is ideal for hands free operation in conjunction with a user’s headset or Bluetooth device.
Features:
• Reduces dropped calls, extends signal range, and increases data rates
• Built in amplifier boosts signals to and from cell site
• Up to 20 TIMES more output power to cell site when in a vehicle
• Receives weak signals the phone alone may not
• Built-in port for battery charging
• Extends battery life – Amplifier enables phone to work at reduced power
• Simplifies hands free operation
• Installs in minutes – no special tools required
• Package includes everything needed — plug-and-play
• Attractive, compact design
• Adjustable arms to fit most any phone

My thoughts –

The Sleek’s amplifying electronics are right in the cradle itself. That keeps the unit small and makes setup as simple as finding the right spot in your car for the cradle, figuring out how you want to attach the base, and then running the antenna from the cradle to the roof or hood of the car. The kit comes with everything that you need in order to make this happen.

The cradle –

On the bottom of a cradle there are two connection points. The first allows you to screw in the antenna. The second is a mini USB port for powering the device. The unit ships with both a car adapter and a wall adapter. Because the unit is so small and comes with both power sources it can easily be moved from the car to a home office if need be. On the side of the cradle is a second mini USB port. This is used to charge select devices if you have the appropriate additional accessory connectors. Using an extra cable that I had lying around I was able to set it up so that the Sleek now charges my iPhone when it’s in the cradle as well.

The system for holding the phone in the cradle is rather unusual and is probably the best solution that I have yet encountered. (Best understood in the above video.)

There are two “arms” that come out from either side of the cradle at an angle and create a space in front of the cradle where the iPhone can slip in. Because of the angle, however, the opening at the front is smaller and therefore holds the iPhone, once in position, in place. Each arm is to attach to the cradle in one of three positions thus providing a number of different options from a size perspective. If you’re using a small feature phone using the brackets into the first slot on either side of the cradle and create the smallest “compartment”. If you’re using a large phone you should remove the brackets to the frontmost slot on either side and create a large ‘compartment”. For the iPhone I position the brackets in the middle slot on both sides and it works perfectly. In fact, it’s exactly the right size for me to use my iPhone either in the case were not in a case without having to move the brackets again.

Running the antenna outside of the car was a bit more challenging. this isn’t intended to be a permanent solution that is built into the car so having the antenna professionally run to the outside doesn’t make a lot of sense. In addition, the first attempt to position the antenna at the back of the car didn’t work because the court was a little bit too short for my needs. In the end I ran the court through the hinge on the driver side and positioned the small antenna right next to the hood of the car. It’s unobtrusive and quite secure in its home now.

Once the cradle was attached to the windshield and the anttenna was run outside the installation process was done. Really it’s that simple.

I then plugged the Sleek into the cigarette lighter, dropped my iPhone into the cradle, and saw my cell reception improved dramatically. In places where I would have one bar I now have four or five bars. in places where I had four bars I now consistently have a full five. Best of all, why don’t have any scientific data to prove this, it certainly seems as if my iPhone is getting far better battery life thanks to the strong signal it’s receiving.

I have the cradle set up so that I can charge my phone if need be but I really haven’t found myself needing to.

What really amazes me about this device is not just that it works so incredibly well but that it comes in at an MSRP of just $130. To my mind, the increase in cell reception, the superb iPhone cradle it offers and the apparent better battery life make this a technology bargain. It is so good, in fact, been thinking about buying one to using my home study. (As bad as the drops are when I’m driving the cell reception when I’m home is even worse.)

The Sleek cell phone signal booster is an MSRP of $130 and is available from a wide variety of authorized Wilson product dealers.

What I like –

It works beautifully and boosts signals significantly, installation is easy, it comes with both a windshield mount and adhesive mount so you have a wide range of choices, the cradle itself comes in more than a bit handy even when you aren’t using the signal booster as a signal booster

What needs improvement –

I would love to see the products ship with a wide range of adapters for charging everything from a Motorola Droid to an Apple iPhone, the entire court was too short to make it all the way to the back of my Subaru Outback’s roof (although ultimately a forced me to find a far better location for the antenna)

For more information visit Wilson’s site.