Google Under Multistate Privacy Microscope: How We Got Here

Google's Wi-Fi data snooping brouhaha just got worse. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on Monday announced his office is leading a multistate investigation into Google's Wi-Fi data snooping gaffe. More than thirty U.S. states have already indicated interest in Blumenthal's investigation.
Google in May announced that during an internal audit into its Street View data collection policies the search giant had been "mistakenly collecting samples " of user browsing data sent over unencrypted Wi-Fi networks such as e-mail, user passwords and browsing history. The piece of programming code used to grab user data was from an "experimental WiFi project," and Google says the code was inadvertently added to Google's Street View data collection software. Google's internal audit was prompted by a request of Germany's privacy authorities.
Aims of the multistate investigation
The multistate investigation wants to find out the following:
-Was [the personal user] data collected by Google ever extracted and if so, when and why;
- How did purportedly unauthorized code -- which captured data broadcast over unencrypted WiFi networks -- become part of a Street View computer program;
- Who inserted what Google calls unauthorized code into the program and why;
- Have there been other instances of engineers writing unauthorized code into Google products to capture consumer data, and if so provide all instances and full details;
-Why did Google save data it says was accidently collected.
Blumenthal previously asked Google to provide information about its internal policies and procedures for processing and handling data collected by the Street View program; what steps Google has taken to stop unauthorized data snooping in the future; how and when Google learned it was capturing user data; why Google recorded the signal strength and quality of Wi-Fi networks; copies of any audits or reviews of Street View conducted by Google or a third-party.
A timeline of Google's Wi-Fi data snooping gaffe
The announcement of a multistate investigation is just the latest problem to come out of the controversy over Google's Wi-Fi data snooping scandal. Here's a quick breakdown of what's already happened.
April 27, 2010: Google submits a report to privacy protection authorities in several countries detailing its Street View Wi-Fi data collection policies. Google's report says that it collects publicly broadcast Wi-Fi access point information so it can approximate a user's location based on surrounding cell towers and Wi-Fi access points. This technology is used in products such as Google Maps' My Location feature. Google states in the report that it "never collects the content of any communications" sent over Wi-Fi networks. You can read Google's report here (PDF).
May 5, 2010: The Data Protection Authority in Hamburg, Germany asks to audit Google's Wi-Fi collection data. This request prompts Google to "re-examine everything " it had been collecting during its Street View project.
May 14, 2010: Google announces in a blog post that during its internal review the search giant discovered it had been "mistakenly collecting samples of payload data from open (i.e. non-password-protected) WiFi networks ." In other words, Google's Street View cars collected fragments of communication data such as Web browsing history and user passwords.
May 14, 2010: Ireland's Data Protection Authority asks Google to destroy all snooped data collected in Ireland.
May 17, 2010: Google posts on its blog a letter from a third-party security company confirming the data collected in Ireland has been destroyed. You can read the letter here (PDF).
May 17, 2010: Adovcacy group Consumer Watchdog asks the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to look into Google's Wi-Fi data snooping.
May 18, 2010: The U.K. announces it will not investigate Google over the Wi-Fi privacy gaffe.
May 19, 2010: Google co-founder Sergey Brin admits in an interview with Search Engine Land that Google "screwed up ."
May 20, 2010: U.S. Congressmen Joe Barton (R-TX) and Edward Markey (D-MA) ask the FTC to determine whether Google's privacy breach broke the law .
May 26, 2010: A Massachusetts-based Internet service provider sues Google over Wi-Fi data snooping .
May 26, 2010: Google refuses to hand over snooped Wi-Fi information collected in Germany to German privacy authorities in Hamburg fearing it would break Germany's telecommunications law.
June 4, 2010: Google changes course and hands over snooped data to German officials . More lawsuits over Google's Wi-Fi data scandal surface.
June 5, 2010: Missouri's Attorney General sends a letter to Google asking for more information about the data breach.

June 7, 2010: Australia announces it will investigate Google's Wi-Fi data collection .
June 9, 2010: Google releases a report by third-party security consulting firm Stroz Friedberg that reviews Google's Street View software that collected Wi-Fi data, how it worked, and what data it gathered. You can read the report here (PDF).
June 10, 2010: Google asks that the eight lawsuits over the data breach , as well as any future suits, are consolidated into one case to be heard in a court near Google HQ in Mountain View, California.
June 11, 2010: Google responds to requests by U.S. lawmakers for more information about its Wi-Fi data snooping.
June 12, 2010: An investigation by the French National Commission on Computing and Liberty (CNIL) discovers that Google recorded "e-mail access passwords [and] extracts of the content of e-mail messages ."
June 21, 2010: Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announces a multistate investigation into Google's Wi-Fi data snooping.
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by pcworld

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A 'Public Option' for Broadband?

When it comes to broadband, I’m a socialist. Why? Because broadband service in the United States is currently provided by a cableco/telco duopoly, and, as such, is slower and more expensive than in most of the developed world, studies show. Because I don't believe the FCC can fix that lack of competition within the current regulatory framework, despite the ambitious goals set forth in its National Broadband Plan. Because a reasonably-priced alternative to cable or telco broadband might be just the thing to bring competition to the industry and spur U.S. broadband cost and quality to world-class levels. Because our connectedness increasingly dictates our our economic standing in the world: Broadband is as important to us as the interstate highway system--a public works project--was to Eisenhower-era America.
Deregulation Has Failed
One subprime mortgage collapse and one environmental mega-disaster should have taught the SEC and the EPA that companies motivated exclusively by the desire to maximize profits can’t be relied on to act in the interests of consumers. Congress and the FCC should learn this lesson, too. They have a big role to play in broadband.
During the last 10 years the U.S. government has taken a deregulatory, hands-off approach to the telecommunications companies that provide broadband. Large broadband carriers have been allowed to (re)consolidate into huge conglomerates, but they’ve failed to keep their promises to expand into each others' territories, increasing increase competition. They have also been allowed to stop sharing their broadband infrastructure with smaller regional carriers that would use it to provide competitive broadband and voice services.
The result of this hands-off approach is not pretty.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says the United States ranks 15th (as of December. 2009) among industrialized nations in broadband penetration. Broadband providers argue—to some extent correctly--that comparing the United States to countries with very different sizes and populations has limited utility.
Still, the idea that only 27 out of every 100 people in the U.S. have broadband is disconcerting. And the reason people choose not to buy broadband is price: The FCC report accompanying the National Broadband Plan says that the main reason Americans don’t buy broadband service is that they can’t afford it.
Graphic: New America FoundationThe New America Foundation recently looked at how much U.S. consumers pay for 1 megabit per second (1000 kilobytes) of speed relative to consumers in other parts of the world. It found that U.S. consumers who buy low-speed plans (1 mbps to 10 mbps) pay an average price of $35 per mbps per month. In the other nine countries studied, consumers pay an average of $20 per mbps per month for low-speed service.
Graphic: New America Foundation
For high-speed plans (50 mbps to 200 mbps) like Verizon’s 100 mbps for $150 per month plan, U.S. consumers pay an average $2.90 per mbps per month. In most of the other industrialized countries studied, broadband was available for less than half what US consumers pay--$1.13 per megabit per month, on average.
Lack of Competition
Why are broadband prices high? Because there simply isn’t enough competition in most broadband markets. The FCC report says that 96 percent of Americans have two or fewer options for broadband providers where they live. And 78 percent of Americans live in areas where just two companies--typically a phone company and a cable company--offer broadband service. The report also indicates that in areas where competition among broadband providers is weak or nonexistent, Internet access tends to be more expensive.
Economists will tell you that in the age of “too big to fail” the regulatory gestalt is to create markets where smaller, more nimble players compete for smaller slices of the business. While tougher FCC oversight is the likely result of the National Broadband Plan and the eventual re-tooling of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, will this be enough to create true competition in broadband markets? I doubt it. Maybe a bold stroke is needed to create the fundamental change that's needed.
A Broadband ‘Public Option’?
One such bold stroke would be a “public option” for broadband. The “public option” proposals in the healthcare bills were designed to create a new, low-cost player in the health insurance market. This, the thinking went, would apply competitive pressure to the large insurers, which dominate the market, and would eventually increase the quality and lower the costs of healthcare.
The same approach might create those positive effects in the consumer broadband market. The government would provide a reasonably priced basic broadband service that’s available to all consumers. The broadband service would be administered nationally by an FCC-led program, and the service itself would be allowed by law to run over existing broadband infrastructure owned by cable and/or telecom companies. Such a program could also be run at the state or municipal level, so the people running the plan would be closer to the broadband network and to the customers it serves. In a slightly less "socialist" approach, broadband service could be administered by the large ISPs themselves, according to a strict set of service guidelines that the FCC would create and enforce.
The broadband service itself would be basic. Since the FCC has set a goal for broadband service to be universally available at 4 mbps downstream and 1 mbps upstream by 2020, so why not set the bar there for the minimum speed requirement of the public plan? If people or small businesses wanted faster or fuller-featured broadband service, they could easily pay extra for higher tiers of service from the private ISP of their choice. But the public option would always be there as a safety net.
This, of course, would be a massive undertaking on the scale of, say, Medicare. But given the growing importance of broadband access for all, shouldn't it be considered?
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by pcworld

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1Mbps Broadband Becomes a Legal Right... in Finland

Every resident in Finland has a legal right to 1Mbps broadband access from today.
Under a new law passed by the country's government telecommunicatons companies will be obliged to provide Finns with an internet connection with a minimum speed of 1Mbps.
"We considered the role of the internet in Finns' everyday life. Internet services are no longer just for entertainment," Finland's communication minister Suvi Linden told the BBC.
"Finland has worked hard to develop an information society and a couple of years ago we realised not everyone had access."
The Finnish government said it will offer broadband access of 100Mbps to every resident by 2015. It is thought around 96 percent of population already has web access of 1Mbps or above.
The UK is trailing in Finland's wake, as is it thought just 73 percent of the population can get online. The previous Labour government revealed plans to offer every Brits 2Mbps internet connection. While the current coalition government has pledged to honour this promise, it won't be a legal obligation.
However, some concerns have been raised over how the ruling will affect the plan to temporarily cut-off illegal downloaders from the web in a bid to combat net piracy. the Finnish ruling has come in for some criticism as making internet connection a legal right, means
"We will have a policy where operators will send letters to illegal file-sharers but we are not planning on cutting off access," said Linden.

Broadband speed test

Internet & broadband news

See also: Utility ducts to be used in super-fast broadband roll out?

More PC news and reviews at PC Advisor. Story copyright © 2010, PC Advisor. All rights reserved.

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How to Solve the IPhone 4 Antenna Problem

iPhone owners armed with pitchforks and torches are ready to storm the Apple castle over the problems some have experienced, and many have repeated, with making calls, keeping calls alive and holding a data connection.
Reports of call and data signal strength problems in the new iPhone 4 surfaced within hours of the smartphone's launch last week . By the next day, Apple was acknowledging that holding the iPhone 4 can diminish the signal, but offered only generic advice to "avoid gripping it in the lower left corner" or "use one of the many available cases."
As they're wont to do, iPhone users have come up with other, more creative ways to work around the problem.
We've selected some of the best advice we've seen so far. Ready? Flex your fingers. It's time to grip the problem, and your iPhone 4.
Take Steve Jobs' advice. Hold it just like this. On the day Apple launched the iPhone 4, Engadget posted a customer message and Steve Jobs' reply, where Apple's CEO told the complainer to "Just avoid holding it that way."
(As with all mail reportedly originating from Jobs, take its veracity with the usual dose of salt.)
Antenna engineer Spencer Webb has dubbed his preferred grip the "Vulcan iPhone pinch," an allusion to the "Vulcan nerve pinch" used by Mr. Spock in the original Star Trek TV series from the 1960s. Also called the "Death Grip," the hold minimizes contact with the steel band that encircles the edge of the iPhone 4, which contains the antennas.
According to Webb, the president of antenna design and consulting firm AntennaSys, and the holder of 11 antenna-related patents, the Vulcan pinch consists of holding the iPhone 4 using the middle finger and thumb on either side, with the index finger in a supporting role against the top back.
It doesn't require the dexterity of Nimoy's "Live long and prosper" split-fingered hand gesture, but it's close.
Get a case. Apple says to wrap a case around the iPhone 4 ( It just so happens to have entered the case market with its $30 "bumpers").
According to Apple, a case prevents skin-to-iPhone contact at the lower-left -- the score or gap in the steel band -- which can change the cellular antenna's ability to receive and transmit signals at its designed frequencies.
In fact, antenna guru Webb believes that it's entirely possible that Apple took a case for granted when it designed the iPhone 4. It appears that assumption, if it was made, was a mistake.
There are scores of cases and skins available for the iPhone 4, so we're not going to spotlight any one maker. OK, we lied: Grove's bamboo cases are made in Oregon , our home state, so we're inserting a shameless plug here.
Our advice: Go with a case maker you've gone to before for previous iPhone model protectors.
And don't pay $100 to someone on eBay for a piece of plastic and rubber that Apple sells for $30.
Don't cover the gap with tape, or nail polish. Scores of anecdotes on the Internet claim that users have solved their reception problems by taping over the slots in the steel band, or even painting clear nail polish across it.
"Hokum," says Webb of AntennaSys.
Translation: Don't bother with such bunkum.
Make your own bumper. Oliver Nelson of theiphoneguru.com explained how to make an Apple bumper-like wrap-around using a rubber wristband, like the kind popularized by Lance Armstrong's LiveStrong cancer foundation.
Depending on your skill with an X-Acto knife, the results may look ugly -- Nelson called his "an abomination" -- but it should do as good of a job as a $30 bumper.
Move. The fact that some, but not all, iPhone 4 users are reporting reception issues has lead experts to think that location is a factor, that the reduction in reception tips a phone from usable to unusable when it's at the fringe of coverage.
So move around, head down the block, hold it next to the window. Every cell phone owner has to do this at times. You're no different just because you have an iPhone
Don't bother calling AppleCare. If the Boy Genius Report got the goods when it published what it said was the script Apple support reps have been handed, it's not going to do much good to ring up AppleCare.
(See related: Apple Emphatically Denies iPhone 4 E-mail Exchange Claim )
According to the talking points, AppleCare reps won't have any suggestions other than the ones the company has already issued: Hold the iPhone 4 so your hand doesn't cover the scored slot in the steel band, or buy a cover, case or bumper.
The most interesting points in the script are instructions not to provide any warranty service and not to appease angry customers with a promise of a free $30 Apple bumper.
In other words, the rep will tell you that there's nothing wrong with the iPhone 4. And you'll be out the time it took to make the call.
Switch to Skype. If you can't get a signal, but you're in range of Wi-Fi -- not as unusual as you might think when, say, you're in a cell-dead high-rise -- fire up a VoIP app like Skype.
You can download Skype free of charge from the iTunes App Store, either directly from the iPhone 4, or first to a Mac or PC, then later sync with the phone.
Don't wait for a software fix. Although there's been chatter on the Apple support forums that an upgrade to iOS 4 will solve or at least reduce the problem, if the antenna experts like Webb are right, it's not fixable via software
If all else fails, take it back. When nothing works, and you're unsatisfied with the iPhone 4's reception, remember that you have 30 days to return it. The calendar starts flipping on the day you purchase the iPhone, or in the case of online orders, the day it's shipped.
Apple charges a 10% restocking fee -- $19.90 for the stock 16GB model, $29.90 for the 32GB -- when you return the iPhone.
Check out Apple's Sales and Refund Policies (U.S.) for more information.
Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed . His e-mail address is gkeizer@ix.netcom.com .
Read more about macintosh in Computerworld's Macintosh Topic Center.

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Remains of the Day: Flurry Backs Down, Dolphins Step up

Legos are good for more than just toys, and dolphins are poised to take over society as we know it. Oh, and I'm sure it's all relevant to technology somehow. It's the remainders for June 2, 2010.
Flurry modifies data collection after being called out by Steve Jobs (AppleInsider)
During his interview at D8 on Tuesday, Steve Jobs took a direct shot at analytics firm Flurry--which creates software that developers work into their programs to collect statistics about users--for not disclosing what it was doing to users and for outing Apple's prototype devices. Now, Flurry has hurriedly scurried, saying it will no longer collect device data. Is that all it took? Jobs hulking out? JOBS ANGRY! JOBS SMASH!
Awesome Lego printer uses felt-tipped pens, tiny workers (Wired)
Remember when your mom used to bug you to stop playing with Legos and get out of the house? Well, that's probably because you were too busy making spaceships and robots and not busy enough making an actual working printer. Just one question: what does the dude on the horse do?
Apple's iPad helps researchers speak with the animals (9 to 5 Mac)
The iPad is apparently so easy to use that dolphins can use it to pick symbols for communicating with humans. Research scientist Jack Kassewitz says, "As this database of dolphin symbols grows, we'll need fast technology to help us respond appropriately and quickly to the dolphins." Great. We've invented a device that lets marine mammals boss us around. Way to go, humans.
Google adds background images (Google)
Grown bored of the plain white background of Google's homepage? Spruce it up with a picture of your choice, from your own stores or from a myriad of other choices Google offers you. No doubt this is all part of a sinister plot for Google to collect information on where you took your last vacation.

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Sprint 4G: The Home Broadband Alternative?

In addition to being a pretty cool phone with all the latest bells and whistles, the HTC Evo 4G has one very unique attribute: It's the first U.S. handset designed for 4G (fourth generation) mobile broadband networks.
Sprint says its 4G WiMax network, a partnership between the wireless carrier and its broadband partner Clearwire, is up to 10 times faster than today's 3G speeds. That translates into download speeds of up to 6 megabits per second (Mbps), although performance will vary by location.
PC World's Mark Sullivan, who tested the Sprint/Clearwire network in Las Vegas in March, saw download rates ranging from a blistering 11 Mbps to 13 Mbps at the high end, to a not-too-shabby 2 Mbps at the low end. At those speeds, WiMax is a viable alternative to today's home broadband offerings, including DSL, cable, and fiber (e.g., FiOS).
Sprint sees a potential market there too. "We see Sprint 4G as a tremendous opportunity for customers who are interested in choosing a wireless solution over Cable/DSL/fiber," company spokesman Mark Elliott told me recently. The company's 4G service is currently available in 32 U.S. markets, and Sprint hopes to reach 120 million people by end of 2010.
Evo For The Home?
Some early adopters of the HTC Evo 4G may be tempted to ditch their home broadband service and use the handset as a wireless alternative. However, there are added expenses and other caveats with that approach.
Evo owners have to shell out $30 per month for mobile hotspot service--and that's in addition to $80 per month for Evo phone service. Sprint told me: "EVO 4G, in addition to being a 3G/4G phone, is also a WiFi hotspot which will enable up to 8 Wi-Fi devices to connect to the Sprint 4G or 3G network at one time so it does not need an Overdrive in order to be used as a hotspot."
On the plus side, Sprint's $30 hotspot fee is competitive with today's DSL/cable broadband prices. Where I live, AT&T sells poky 1.5 Mbps DSL (without landline phone service) for $35 per month.
Potential Problems
If you live alone, the Evo would probably work just fine for home broadband, provided the 4G signal was strong. But if you live with roommates or a family, things might get ugly. A mobile phone, after all, is designed to be mobile. Whenever you'd leave the house with your Evo, Internet access would go away too. (WiMax fans have another option: Clearwire's home broadband service. The $40 per month plan offers download speeds of up to 6 Mbps.)
Sprint may be the first wireless carrier to offer 4G service in the U.S., but AT&T and Verizon Wireless will follow in 2011 with a competing technology known as Long-Term Evolution (LTE). Earlier this week, Verizon Wireless posted a YouTube video showing its LTE network running at 8.55 Mbps downstream, and 2.8 Mbps upstream. The good news is that home broadband uses will soon have affordable, wireless alternatives to DSL and cable.
Contact Jeff Bertolucci via Twitter (@jbertolucci ) or at jbertolucci.blogspot.com .

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Google's Wi-Fi Spying: What Were They Thinking?

"Don't be evil" has gone all 1984 on us. Or so it seems after Google revealed Friday that its Street View cars, in addition to snapping photos of the world's roadways, have also been collecting sensitive personal information from unencrypted wireless networks.
It was no secret that Google's cars had already been collecting publicly broadcast SSID information (Wi-Fi network names) and MAC addresses (unique numbers for devices like Wi-Fi routers). But this techie data, which is used for location-based services such as Google Maps, didn't include any "payload data," or personal information sent over the network.
Or so "Big Brother" Google claimed on April 27. But yesterday the search behemoth 'fessed up to a security gaffe of Orwellian proportions. Due to a piece of code written in 2006 by an engineer for an experimental Wi-Fi project, Google had in fact been collecting those private bits after all:
"But it's now clear that we have been mistakenly collecting samples of payload data from open (i.e. non-password-protected) WiFi networks, even though we never used that data in any Google products," wrote Alan Eustace, Google senior VP, engineering & research.
Wow. That's freaky and strange. And not in a good way, either.
Google was smart to open up about the spying incident. An attempted cover-up would have proven disastrous, particularly when numerous consumer and government agencies worldwide have criticized the search company's seemingly insatiable appetite for personal information, a quest that critics say infringes on individual privacy rights.
There's little doubt the Wi-Fi spying incident won't fade away quietly. In fact, the Electronic Frontiers Association (EFA) and Australia Privacy Foundation (APF) have joined forces to question potential security mishaps by Google's Street View, according to a report by Computerworld Australia.
The latest Street View controversy is sweet fodder for conspiracy theorists. As someone said to me responding to the news: "Imagine, Google driving around in vans, taking pictures of EVERYTHING, and gobbling up Wi-Fi signals like some new-age techno CIA." Sweet conspiracy fodder, indeed.
If nothing else, Google's security gaffe should serve as a wake-up call to clueless folk who've yet to encrypt their home Wi-Fi networks. Do you get it now? Anybody may be snooping on you.

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Wi-Fi's Fast-Changing Future

Almost any mobile device you buy today either has a Wi-Fi radio chip in it, or can be fitted with one. But the still annoying and baffling part of Wi-Fi is that while it lets you move around, you still have to move around from one place to another, each having a Wi-Fi hotspot or network.

What WiMAX 2 promises

The feverish vision of Wi-Fi networks blanketing entire cities has pretty much shriveled, (though some observers think federal stimulus dollars may re-energize it) even as mobile carriers now race to deploy Wi-MAX or, as even Clearwire now is hinting, WiMAX-like Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks as the foundation for pervasive wireless connectivity.

Yet LTE will remain a relatively expensive service. Wi-Fi is becoming a comparatively low-cost, high-bandwidth wireless technology that's being embedded in a growing number of devices as well as a growing number of locations, including vehicles and carrier hotspots, like proliferating lilypads of connectivity.

Many of the most immediate changes ahead for Wi-Fi are those that will strengthen wireless connectivity as an increasingly pervasive "utility."

This week, for example, the WiGig Alliance is announcing the next moves in bringing the Wi-Fi to a new frequency band: 60 GHz. The new band will make it possible to deliver up to 7Gbps over relatively short distances, say the size of a living room or den.

That's a huge increase compared with what is now becoming the Wi-Fi standard for access points and a growing number of client adapters: 802.11n. The 802.11n radios use two or three simultaneous data streams, and can merge two 20MHz channels together. The results are data rates that can start at over 100Mbps and reach 300Mbps, though useable throughput is much less. By comparison 802.11g and 802.11a have a maximum data rate of 54Mbps and throughput in the 20M to 24Mbps range in ideal conditions.

The WGA's plan is to support a rapid industry deployment of its specification into products that will support existing Wi-Fi standards, notably 802.11n, while adding the 60GHz frequency to support very high data transfers over short distances. Applications include wireless I/O, uncompressed video streaming, high-speed data networking and the like.

This week, WGA makes its 1.0 specification available to a much larger group of vendors. Vendors that agree to the royalty-free licensing terms can take the spec and begin developing products based on it. The WGA is also partnering with the Wi-Fi Alliance to create an interoperability testing and certification program, modeled on the one the WFA has developed in the past for proving compatibility among Wi-Fi equipment.

Later this month, WGA will submit to the IEEE standards group a unified proposal to use the WGA specification as the foundation for a new 802.11 standard supporting multi-gigabyte data rates in 60GHz. Last year, the IEEE created two new 802.11 groups, 11ad for the 60GHz band, the other, 11ac, in the bands below 6GHz.

The WGA plans to fully support the IEEE's 60GHz work, but if that work bogs down, WGA plans to push ahead, according to Mark Grodzinsky, marketing work group chair for the WiGig Alliance. "We'll participate actively in the IEEE process," he says. "But we're not going to wait for another seven-year-long [standards] process [a reference to the 11n approval cycle]."

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4G Killer Apps: A Top Five

Imagine sitting on the grass in a shady park, watching flawless high-definition television on your connected tablet. Imagine pausing the program and switching over to a video call from your mother.

Wireless carriers will be trying to capture your imagination and your dollars with rosy scenarios like this one, tempting you with cool new applications--or better old ones--that fully exploit the 10X speed increases promised by fourth-generation (4G) wireless networks.

Already, carriers like Sprint are extolling what they believe will be 4G’s killer apps, but at this point it’s a guessing game--and consumers will ultimately decide the winners. That said, it isn't too early to make educated guesses about where those killer apps might surface--and here are ours.

1. Live Mobile Video

The Qik live video app running on the forthcoming HTC EVO 4G phone from Sprint.Today, most mobile phones come with advanced cameras that can even shoot video, so it's no surprise that the next step in this area is to link video apps to mobile networks. In the earliest stages, advances may be as simple as using an Apple iPhone or a Google Android-based device to upload a cute clip of your kid to YouTube. But already, specialized application providers like Qik are offering services that support live streaming video from your mobile device to the Internet, theoretically transforming anyone carrying a smartphone into an instant on-the-spot news reporter.

Though such services may not appeal to everyone, professional broadcast teams are sure to move to 4G services when they become available. Theoretically, at least, the WiMax and Long Term Evolution (LTE) 4G networks now being built will be able to handle broadcast-quality data loads over much cheaper, faster, and more mobile connections than satellite trucks. One developer, Nomad Innovations, offers a WiMax-based modem that attaches to the back of a professional video camera, obviating the need for satellite connectivity in the field.

Forward-facing cameras in products like Samsung's Mondi mobile Internet device (MID) and the forthcoming HTC EVO 4G (both of which both run on the Clearwire/Sprint WiMax network) herald a boom in personal, on-the-go videoconferencing over services like Skype or Oovoo. Thanks to Verizon's recent deal to support Skype on its mobile devices, more people are likely to use the video capabilities of the popular Voice-over-IP program when Verizon launches its 4G network later this year.

2. Mobile/Portable Gaming

We expect gamers to develop a strong craving for the speed and mobility of 4G service. In the long term, online gamers may be the biggest users of portable 4G Wi-Fi routers like Sprint's Overdrive and Clearwire's Clear Spot, which receive swift 4G signals and then transmit them to gaming devices via a small Wi-Fi network. Since most gaming platforms have Wi-Fi connectivity built in, you can easily use the portable modem to share a 4G connection with five to eight different devices (depending on which modem you buy).

Using a portable "pocket spot" router to support ad hoc gaming parties over services such as Microsoft's Xbox Live is an obvious way to take advantage of 4G networks. Likewise, the improved latency of 4G networks seems tailor-made for online gaming, where faster network response times can mean the difference between (virtual) life and death. The Sprint HTC EVO 4G WiMax phone is supposed to include a built-in Wi-Fi router that can support up to eight additional devices, enabling it to act as a portable broadband hub for gatherings of gamers.

3. Cloud-Based Apps

Expanded 4G network use will make cloud computing--working with data and apps that are stored online--even more appealing than it is today, especially for enterprise professionals who need access to transaction-heavy applications that reside mainly on the Internet, such as Salesforce.com's CRM platform and various real-time collaboration platforms. If the broadband pipe from the cloud to the mobile device gets ten times fatter, cloud services will become considerably more reliable, functional, and secure for mobile users.

Though you may not think of them as such, Hulu and Netflix are cloud-based video services.And though they may not call it "cloud computing," consumers of all types are likely to make heavy use of faster mobile connections to stream full-length television shows and movies from sites like Hulu.com and Netflix.com.

Some college campuses are already exploring ways to combine 4G networks with portable computers or tablets like Apple's iPad to replace physical textbooks.

Magazine and newspaper publishers hope that 4G connections and new product designs (like the iPad) will allow them to charge for premium content, enriched with elements such as video and photos, that will require a faster broadband connection than the 3G link used to upload digital books to e-book readers like Amazon's Kindle.

4. Navigation With Augmented Reality

The Junaio augmented-reality application for mobile devices. Image: JunaioNavigation applications, which are typically married to expandable/zoomable maps such as Google Maps, are among the most popular downloads for 3G devices like the iPhone. With the promise of greater bandwidth on 4G networks, navigation application providers are already exploring the idea of "augmented reality," in which a device will be able to present real-time visual data using a phone's live camera and its positioning or GPS information.

End-user benefits range from modest--for example, the ability to point your phone down the street to see where the closest Starbucks is--to extremely powerful. As an example of the latter, imagine 4G-enabled helmets that can project a building infrastructure diagram onto a firefighter's visor to help them make their way through a smoke-filled building. Augmented-reality navigation applications will probably grow more popular and more widespread as in-car systems such as Ford's Sync and General Motors' OnStar permit integration between such apps and improved displays, antennas, GPS systems, and power plants inside vehicles.

5. Emergency Response and Telemedicine

Even before the FCC breaks ground on its proposed separate 4G network for first responders, you can expect local police departments, fire departments, and medical institutions to invest heavily in 4G-based systems aimed at providing better, faster, and less expensive medical and emergency care.

Networking giant Cisco and service provider AT&T are already developing special gear and services for health-care operations, taking advantage of 4G networks' ability to transfer large files (like X-rays) quickly, and to provide interactive video for remote physician monitoring and direction. The expected proliferation (and subsequent cost reduction) for 4G deployments should also make it easier for rural communities to set up remote health centers, where doctors could "visit" patients via teleconference-like facilities. Ongoing government grants and stimulus funds should help pay for such civic-minded applications of 4G technology.

Paul Kapustka is editor and founder of Sidecut Reports, an independent research firm that specializes in wireless technologies.

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Wireless Gigabit Spec Published, Gains Cisco Support

The group developing a super-fast wireless data technology that can transmit data up to 10 times as fast as today's fastest Wi-Fi published its initial specification on Monday and named Cisco as the latest backer of the technology.

The Wireless Gigabit Alliance has been developing the technology, dubbed "WiGig," for a year. It will use unlicensed spectrum around 60GHz and should be able to attain transmission speeds of around 6Gbps when in use.

The technology is designed to replace cables for jobs such as delivering high-definition video streams to monitors and sending data between a laptop PC and its docking station. It's not intended to compete with Wi-Fi, which operates at lower speeds in different frequency bands.

On Monday the group published a specification for the technology, which includes support for tri-band devices that maintain compatibility with current Wi-Fi devices that operate in the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequency ranges.

It also began offering equipment makers the chance to sign-up as "adopters" of the technology. Doing so would enable them access to the specification so they could begin developing WiGig products. The first compatible products are due sometime in 2011.

The WiGig Alliance already includes some big names in the wireless and networking industries such as Intel, Broadcom and Atheros Communications. The addition of Cisco will give the technology a boost as the industry searches for a common standard for the 60GHz frequency space.

Currently the biggest competitor in the 60GHz is Wireless HD, a technology developed by big-name consumer electronics companies for pushing digital high-definition video between TVs and other home electronics.

"With this announcement today, and with our new partnership with the Wi-Fi Alliance, we are one step closer to fulfilling our vision of a unified 60 GHz ecosystem," said Ali Sadri, president and chairman of the WiGig Alliance, in a statement. "We welcome all companies to join with us as we continue to drive the industry forward."

The chunk of spectrum available for the technologies is wide at around 7GHz in the U.S. But a standard is viewed as important because competing systems battling for the same frequencies could cause interference that would bring down the speed of networks.

By PcWorld

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WiGig Group Steps Closer to Making 7 Gbps Wireless a Reality

The wireless technology WiGig passed an important milestone Monday with the official released of the technology's specifications, giving member companies a green light to building products based on the protocol. WiGig, developed by the Wireless Gigabit Alliance, is a short-range wireless technology ten times faster than today's 802.11 speeds, capable of downloading a full-length HD movie in about 45 seconds (compared to 45 minutes over Wi-Fi). Products based on the new standard aren't expected to hit store shelves until 2010.

Will WiGig change how we use technology? Its backers promise it will cut down on the number of unwieldy wires associated with home theaters and could put another nail in the coffin of physical media. WiGig will pave the way for the "introduction of the next generation of high-performance wireless products -- PCs, mobile handsets, TVs and displays, Blu-ray disc players, digital cameras, and many more," said Dr. Ali Sadri, president and chairman of the Wireless Gigabit Alliance.

Here's a quick breakdown of what WiGig could mean to you.

What is WiGig?

WiGig is a technology hopes to create a "wireless ecosystem of interoperable, high performance devices that work together seamlessly," according to its backers. The goal is to embed the technology in a host of household components including consumer electronics, handheld devices, and PCs.

WiGig says the standard will enable "instantaneous" file transfers, wireless display and docking, and the streaming high definition audio and video on a variety of devices.

The new standard uses the 60GHz radio band, which allows for much faster data transfer rates than current Wi-Fi technologies that use the 2.4 and 5GHz bands.

Does WiGig compete with Wi-Fi?

No, it doesn't. It complements today's 802.11 Wi-Fi technology. In fact, part of Monday's announcement includes a partnership between the Wireless Gigabit Alliance and the Wi-Fi Alliance, the group in charge of the 802.11 Wi-Fi standard.

The two groups will share their respective technology specifications, and work together on expanding Wi-Fi technologies. Specifically, the two groups will develop a "next-generation Wi-Fi Alliance certification program supporting Wi-Fi operation in the 60GHz frequency band," and focus on "the development of products supporting 60GHz technology to expand existing Wi-Fi capabilities," according to a WiGig Alliance press release

W ill WiGig make surfing the Internet faster?

WiGig focuses on faster data transfer speeds between devices. WiGig is not a standard for the actual Internet service that comes into your home. So even if you have a superfast WiGig router, your new connection speeds would only be noticeable when transferring data between WiGig-enabled devices on your home network, and not between your computer and the Internet.

How fast is WiGig?

The WiGig specification will allow for wireless multigigabit data transfer at speeds of up to 7 Gigabits-per-second or more, which is ten times faster than current Wi-Fi speeds.

To give you an idea of how fast that is, one hour of high-definition video can take up to 45 minutes to transfer over current Wi-Fi, but a WiGig connection can cut down the transfer time for that same one-hour HD video to less than a minute, according to WiGig representatives.

Who is supporting multi-gigabit wireless?

Right now, major technology firms like Atheros, Broadcom, Cisco, Dell, Intel, Microsoft, Nokia, and many others are part of the WiGig alliance.

When will multigigabit devices hit store shelves?

Devices that support the new 60GHz multigigabit wireless standard are expected to become available by 2011 or 2012. There's no word on cost or how widely available the technology will be.

Great, so my laptop with 802.11n is going to be obsolete?

No. One of the goals of the new agreement between the Wi-Fi Alliance and the WiGig Alliance is to make sure that a majority of the coming multigigabit devices will be backward compatible with 802.11n devices.

How far will a WiGig signal reach?

When 60GHz devices first launch, you can expect them to have a relatively small range--about the length of the average living room. By comparison, Wi-Fi can travel over 100 yards or more.

Are there competing 60GHz standards?

One competitor to the WiGig Alliance is the WirelessHD specification supported by the WirelessHD Consortium, which includes WiGig supporters like Broadcom and Intel, as well as companies like Panasonic, Samsung, and Sony. Like WiGigm, WirelessHD is also capable of transferring audio and video signals, as well as data transfer between computers. The WirelessHD Consortium claims its multigigabit standard can transfer data at speeds of up to 10Gbps at a maximum distance of 32 feet, compared to WiGig's maximum speed of 7Gbps.

What's not clear, however, is whether WirelessHD and WiGig will end up in a format war to decide which standard will win out as the multigigabit wireless standard, or whether the two can coexist. Xavier Ortiz, an analyst for technology market research firm ABI Research, recently told ComputerWorld that WiGig and WirelessHD may avoid a format war if WiGig became the standard for data transfer between computers, while WirelessHD focused on wireless connectivity between televisions, disc players and other home theater equipment.

Whether proponents for WirelessHD and WiGig share Ortiz's sentiments for coexistence remains to be seen.

Connect with Ian on Twitter (@ianpaul).

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Blogger Tests Limits of iPad's Unlimited Plan

A lot of cell phone carriers and Internet providers offer "unlimited" data plans--but a lot of these plans have a cap on the amount of data that users can actually move. In 2008, Comcast notoriously advertised an unlimited plan but imposed a 250GB monthly cap for its residential customers.

So when the 3G-enabled iPad came out with its two different AT&T data plans--a $15/month 250MB plan and a $30/month unlimited plan--blogger Zach Epstein wondered if the unlimited plan really was, well, unlimited.

Know Your Cell's Epstein decided to put the iPad 3G's data plan through a "torture-test." Using an app called Download Lite, Epstein downloaded test files and managed to move an astonishing 31GB of data in two days over AT&T's 3G network. (To put that into perspective, the average iPhone user uses less than one gigabyte of data in a four months).

Torture Test: KnowYourCell.com tests the boundaries AT&T Unlimited Plan.

According to Epstein, the actual data usage is likely to be higher than what is shown on the iPad's usage screen, because the iPad has trouble tracking data usage accurately (that's something to take note of if you have a 250MB plan--you're likely getting a little more than your money's worth). Epstein observed at least one instance in which the "data received" calculator dropped as he used the iPad--it went from 28.3GB to 26.1GB.

Epstein notes in his article that most "unlimited" data plans for smartphones have a 5GB soft cap. The iPhone data plan, on the other hand, has no cap on the amount of data that can be downloaded over AT&T's 3G network. That said, iPhone users can only download files as big as 20MB with the 3G network--anything bigger and users will need to connect to Wi-Fi.

The iPad, which is on the same plan as the iPhone, has the same 3G download cap of 20MB--so kudos to Epstein for moving all that data. Epstein says that, while he doesn't plan on keeping with his current pace of 30GB every two days, he does plan on moving at least 100GB of data over the next month. If AT&T doesn't cut him off for messing up their network after 100GB, it's probably safe to say that the data plan really is unlimited.

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Technology Runs the Boston Marathon

When the runners picked up their numbers a few days before the race, they were also issued a small, white piece of plastic that weighed only a few grams. The tracking chip, made by Mylaps, tied into the runners' sneakers and used RFID technology to track them.

"When the runners go over a mat ... we collect the data time," said John Burgholzer, IT director for the Boston Marathon. "It takes a date stamp and it will wirelessly transmit it to use in the data center here for scoring results."

Along the 26.2-mile race there were 11 mats that collected data from the runners' tracking chips. Unlike previous races, the chips this year were disposable. When runners crossed the finish line amid the high-rises of Copley Square they continued on, received their medals and met up with family and friends. In years past, they needed to stop shortly after the finish and allow volunteers to collect their chips, creating a bottleneck on Boylston Street.

The primary benefit of the chips, which cost the Boston Athletic Association a little more than a dollar each, is that they ensured the runners were timed accurately.

"The tracking device on my shoe will make it possible for the race officials to know exactly when I cross the starting line and when I cross the finish line," said Paul Roberts a few days before the race. "The time from when the race actually starts to when you cross the starting line could be quite considerable."

Aside from the tracking technology, the BAA employed text message alerts so that family and friends of runners could track their progress.

Anyone could sign up on the BAA's Web site to follow any runner. That's a departure from years past when runners could only sign up a limited number of friends or family to receive the alerts.

Because of the change, Burgholzer anticipated many more alerts this year. "Last year was somewhere around 200,000 texts delivered on race day. We're probably going to double that this year."

Roberts, with the lanky build of a distance runner, has competed in two marathons before Boston. During a pre-race interview, he said that he planned to encourage friends and family to sign up and follow him during the race.

The BAA sent text message alerts at four points during the race: 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), 21 kilometers (13.1 miles), 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) and at the finish line of 42.2 kilometers (26.2 miles.)

Sending 400,000 text messages during the race proved to be a challenge for the BAA on race day. Some people who signed up to receive text message alerts never received them, even though the race Web site confirmed that the runners had crossed the checkpoints. In other cases, texts were significantly delayed, some coming two hours after the check points were crossed. Race officials were not available to comment on whether that was a widespread problem.

Spectators could also track runners on www.baa.org, a site Burgholzer anticipated would get 1.2 million hits on race day, have 120,000 concurrent connections and handle 7,000 database requests per second. He anticipated bandwidth usage around 750m bits per second.

While the IT team had a small workroom a few hundred yards from the finish line in the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel, a full data center was 30 minutes north of the city in Marlboro, Massachusetts.

"We have a back-end server. It's a C7000 Blade enclosure and there are about 12 servers in the enclosure," said Kevin Meany with Versatile Communications, one of the companies working with the BAA to provide IT support.

The data center had two database servers, storage arrays, two F5 load balancers, redundant configuration and HP ProCurve network switches, he said.

While all of the attention from Burgholzer and Meany was focused on the marathon Monday, they're already looking toward next year.

In the 5-kilometer race Sunday, the BAA piloted tracking technology that forgoes the shoelace chip in favor of RFID in the runners' bibs. The bibs are the sturdy pieces of paper that display the runners' numbers and are typically pinned on their shirts or shorts. Burgholzer said he thought that marathons in California and Germany had used the bib tracking technology with success.

"If it goes well [during the 5k], we will use it for our half-marathon in the fall and ... our whole goal would be in 2011 to use that for the marathon."

Theo PcWorld

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Rock Band Network Arrives on PlayStation

When the Rock Band Network debuted on the Xbox 360 in early March, it launched with over 100 songs -- a number that has grown to 240 as of today (according to music game blog Plastic Axe). At that point in time, Harmonix promised that "a selection of standout tracks" would eventually make their way to the PS3.

That selection was quantified yesterday, as Harmonix announced that five songs from the Xbox 360's Rock Band Network library are now available on the PlayStation 3, with a promise of five additional tracks each week. The first five tracks are Drunken Lullabies by Flogging Molly, Code Monkey by Jonathan Coulton, Australia by The Shins, Even Rats by The Slip, and For the Love of God by Steve Vai.

To put the weekly number in comparison, 16 new songs have come to the Xbox 360 via Rock Band Network over the past week. Harmonix representative John Drake discussed the reason for the comparatively paltry selection on PSN in a post on the Rock Band forums, explaining that the PlayStation Network only allows for five songs to be submitted per week and uploaded to the service at the same time, whereas the Xbox 360's XNA service allows for new tracks to be uploaded at any time, without a track cap.

For now, Harmonix is determining the weekly track selection by taking into account Xbox 360 track sales as well as user demand. Another Harmonix representative mentioned in the same forum thread that the developer is hoping to work with Sony increase the PSN Rock Band Network output, and that the Wii's version of Rock Band Network is still in the works, stating that Nintendo's downloadable content service "has it's own entirely different set of technical challenges."

Theo PcWorld

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4G Wireless: 20 Questions Asked & Answered

As the proud owner of a 3G smartphone, you might have considered yourself a member of the leading edge of wireless services users. Then you started hearing ads and reading stories about something called "4G," and perhaps began wondering...what is it, where is it, can I get it, and do I want it? Here's a quick list that explains what 4G is, what it can do, why it's the future of wireless communications, and where (and when) you might be able to get it.

1. What does "4G" mean, anyway?

4G is a marketing term that service providers are using to describe the "fourth generation" of wireless services. Such services may use different underlying technologies, depending on the provider, but they typically offer between four and ten times the performance of "3G" networks.

2. What are the technologies behind 4G services?

The two main technologies are WiMax and Long Term Evolution (LTE). WiMax is a standard developed by the IEEE, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; Development of the LTE standard is led by the 3GPP, an industry body for providers that use GSM, the current leading technology for cellular communications. Both WiMax and LTE use advanced antenna technology to improve reception and performance. However, the technologies rely on different types of wireless spectrum.

3. How fast is 4G compared to 3G?

WiMax providers today are offering contracts that advertise download speeds of between 2 megabits per second and 6 mbps, with peak speeds of 10 mbps and more. Verizon, which will launch LTE networks in the United States later this year, is expecting to offer services with download speeds in the 5 mbps to 12 mbps range. Most 3G data systems today deliver speeds of between 400 kilobits per second (that is, 0.4 mbps) and 1.5 mbps.

4. Why should I want 4G?

4G's faster download speeds and better overall data performance will significantly improve the performance of demanding applications such as streaming video, videoconferencing, and networked gaming. You may also be able to replace your home DSL or cable modem service with a 4G service that you can use both at home and on the road.

5. Are 4G services available now?

Yes, in some places. In the United States, the partnership of Clearwire and Sprint currently offers WiMax-based services in 28 cities--among them, Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), and Seattle. Clearwire and Sprint plan to add Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco to this list in 2010.

On the LTE side, Verizon is the most aggressive of the U.S. providers, with plans to launch commercial services in 25 to 30 as-yet unnamed markets before the end of 2010; AT&T plans to follow with LTE in 2011. Internationally, WiMax services are already in use in many countries, including Japan, Korea, and Russia; and one commercial LTE network is running in Sweden.

6. What providers other than Verizon and AT&T plan to offer LTE in the United States?

In March, MetroPCS announced plans to launch LTE services in Las Vegas before the end of this year, using a dual-mode 3G/LTE phone made by Samsung. T-Mobile is expected to launch LTE services sometime in the future, but it has not specified a timeframe for deployment.

7. What are the cost advantages of 4G versus 3G?

Right now, the Clearwire/Sprint plans typically provide true "unlimited" data usage, whereas virtually all 3G cellular plans impose extra charges for downloading more than 5 gigabytes of data per month. Plans from Clearwire and its reseller partners (which include Comcast and Time-Warner Cable) are typically $10 to $20 per month cheaper than the standard $60 per month 3G cellular data plan, too. Verizon has not announced LTE pricing.

8. Can I get 4G on the 3G phone or USB modem that I have now?

No. The 4G networks are designed to run at different frequencies than the ones current cellular services use, so you'll need new radio chips tuned to the 4G frequencies.

9. Does 4G support voice calls?

Not in any current implementation, other than Voice over IP applications like Skype or Vonage. Most early 4G phones will be "hybrid" devices that include a 3G chip to handle voice calls.

10. Are any 4G phones available now?

As of April 2010, the only 4G phone announced for U.S. markets is Sprint's HTC EVO 4G, which was unveiled in March and is expected to be available by this summer. (Earlier, HTC shipped a WiMax phone for a network in Russia.) Verizon has said that it expects LTE phones to ship by mid-2011.

Theo PcWorld

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Stress Test: Will Apple's iPad 3G Crash AT&T?

Apple's iPad Wi-Fi + 3G is finally here. And now the trouble begins.

I believe that both the 3G-equipped iPad's sales and data usage will exceed expectations, meaning more people will be using more data than AT&T has planned for.

(See Related: iPad Wi-Fi + 3G: A Hands-On Look at Apple's Mobile Tablet)

Worse, other network-taxing developments may conspire with iPad data gluttony to overwhelm AT&T's mobile broadband capability, resulting in slowdowns and possibly even crashes. (Full disclosure: My wife works for AT&T.)

AT&T is now spending to enhance its mobile broadband network, but its precise network bandwidth capabilities are not publically known. We also don't know exactly how iPad sales will go, or what usage models will evolve. But what we do know isn't reassuring.

The trouble with iPad

For an extra $130 over the iPad version that connects via Wi-Fi only, iPad Wi-Fi + 3G also connects from anywhere the AT&T cell phone data network is available.

That higher hardware price gives you only the technical ability to connect. Actually connecting will cost you a monthly fee. For about $15 per month, you can download up to 250MB during that month. For $30 per month, you can enjoy unlimited data. No contract is required, and you can start or stop the data plan whenever you like, with ctivation or deactivation done directly from the iPad.

If you choose the 250MB plan and bump up against the limit, your iPad Wi-Fi + 3G will ask if you want to buy another 250MB-chunk of data, or upgrade to the unlimited plan. Limited-plan users will be constantly invited to upgrade, and many will probably do so.

It's reasonable to expect that advanced users will need more data than newbies, based on what we know about how people use laptops and cell phones. But just because it's reasonable doesn't mean it's true.

The iPad is different. Because iPad is the ultimate media consumption device, less technical people will tend to use more data.

So while we geeks will surf the Web, do e-mail and play multi-player games, less technical users will watch TV and movies, look at pictures on Facebook and do other bandwidth-intensive tasks. And there will be a lot of non-technical users with iPad Wi-Fi + 3G.

I'm not sure anybody -- not Apple, not AT&T -- understands or appreciates this yet. A lot of older people, students and the general public will replace much of their media consumption (or all of it) with iPad usage. College students will replace their home or dorm Wi-Fi network and opt for full-time iPad mobile broadband as their main doorway to the Internet, TV and movies.

Why AT&T may not be ready

As most iPhone users can tell you, AT&T's data network has gotten better in the past year, but it's still struggling. Text messages are often delayed. Web surfing can be slow.

And dare I mention the "T word?"

AT&T Mobility chief Ralph de la Vega said in November 2008 that tethering, the use of a cell phone's mobile broadband connection to provide Internet access to another device, would come to the iPhone "soon." Apple also promotes tethering as a major iPhone feature. So why hasn't AT&T rolled it out?

AT&T told Engadget this week exactly why: The network isn't ready for the increased traffic that would result.

Wait, AT&T can't handle tethering but can deal with the iPad Wi-Fi + 3G?

The number of tethering users would almost certainly be far lower than the coming number of iPad 3G data users. And the data per user will probably be much, much higher on the iPad.

Tethering would be costly to users -- probably at least $30 per month in addition to the cost of mobile broadband -- which would be a disincentive for mass adoption. The best-case scenario for tethering is double the cost of unlimited iPad data.

Tethering usually isn't especially bandwidth intensive. Users plug in laptops at the airport to download e-mail before flights, or surf the Web a bit.

On the other hand, iPad users will be watching streaming TV shows from apps like the ABC Player, or movies via Netflix. (Note that early reports suggest that the ABC player requires a Wi-Fi connection, and that Netflix movies are lower quality over the 3G connection -- evidence of tension between the experience Apple wants to provide and the one AT&T can deliver.) A tsunami of apps will drive ever-increasing demands for bandwidth.

I'm predicting that the iPad Wi-Fi + 3G will be given to a huge number of older parents on Mother's and Father's Day. I've tested this demographic on iPad use -- they go straight to TV, movies and video -- the most bandwidth-intensive activities.

When the holidays hit -- forget about it. The iPad Wi-Fi + 3G will be given to people of all ages, including children and teens, who will take advantage of unlimited data plans.

So what do we know about tethering? First, AT&T can't currently handle iPhone tethering traffic. Second, tethering is going to be implemented at some unknown point in the future, a future where iPad Wi-Fi + 3G unlimited plans are already taxing the network.

AT&T has committed to providing data for all the iPad Wi-Fi + 3G devices and all the customers who choose its future tethering option. That's a lot of data -- and possibly more than AT&T can deliver.

Theo pcworld

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