Vonage - The Broadband Phone Company
The Vonage (Linksys) router and phone adapter arrived (it's a combined unit) with an "Internet" Ethernet connection, 3 LAN Ethernet connections and 2 phone sockets. The configuration is quite simple, but you have to be carefull, initially you can only configure the unit from the LAN ports which are set to a 192.168 private address.
Since there was already a DSL router there was no need to configure the Linksys router section (it's a shame they don't bridge between LAN and Internet - there seems no way to do it), which wastes the 3 LAN ports. Once the Internet side had a valid IP address it "just worked".
Plugging in a standard BT phone with CLI display worked too and you could instantly make phone calls (the units are sent out pre-configured to work with your Vonage account). The phone even showed a voicemail indicator when there waiting voicemail at Vonage. Very cute. Unfortunately it wouldn't go away, even when the voicemail was deleted.
After a bit more fiddling and allowing incoming traffic to the unit (through the firewall), the voicemail indicator worked properly too.
Vonage have done an excellent job making the system easy to use and functional.
It's relatively cheap at £9.99 per month for the residential service which includes unlimited UK local and national calls (you do have to pay for non-geographic/mobile and international calls). Calls to other Vonage customers are always free.
Sound quality at the user end seems to be pretty well near toll-grade quality, however other users (on PSTN or Vonage) complained of some echo. That could be because the upstream bandwith of UK ADSL is only 256Kb/s which could be the bottleneck of the call, while downstream is 2Mb/s. Of course most ADSL customers in the UK will be on 512Kb/s downstream and 256Kb/s upstream.
VoIP is starting to make a dent in the regular UK telephony market and the dent is soon going to be a gaping hole. Anyone relying on voice minutes for a business, isn't going to last long. When BT's 21CN comes on-line that will change things forever as the PSTN disappears and everyting is VoIP, but change is already occuring and if BT's promised QoS on DSL does happen, VoIP will rapidly take-over all UK telephony.
Some LLU entrants are already offering VoIP as part of their services (even though the end-user may not be aware of it), it makes sense to do so as it only costs about 40% to build packet networks rather than legacy TDM networks.
The migration to VoIP does introduce interesting challenges, like how to make money? More and more services are being bundled in, and the cost to transport packets from A to B or A to C is pretty well identical, so calls will no longer be charged by destination or even duration. Only time will tell.
2005/05/16
D-Link G604T ADSL router
I've been having problems with the router, which turned out to be my fault. The configuration for the firewall and rules is non-intuative.
I had enabled the firewall (which stops things like smurf attacks, SYN flooding etc), but there are some check-boxes to let services in like ftp or telnet. That should have given the game away, in that ALL incoming traffic is blocked unless you specifically let things through (which is a good default). It's not stated anywhere though. Then there's another page called "filters" and this is where you set-up the services you want let through.
Anyway once I'd decided the services to let through, everything worked fine and downloads worked at full-speed.
It seems previously I'd mucked with the rules sufficiently that the router was getting confused and downloads were initially starting very fast, but then crawling to a few K/s.
I still like the D-link router, and hopefully some new firmware will support things like QoS (so I can prioritise my VoIP traffic) and better filter/firewall rules.
I had enabled the firewall (which stops things like smurf attacks, SYN flooding etc), but there are some check-boxes to let services in like ftp or telnet. That should have given the game away, in that ALL incoming traffic is blocked unless you specifically let things through (which is a good default). It's not stated anywhere though. Then there's another page called "filters" and this is where you set-up the services you want let through.
Anyway once I'd decided the services to let through, everything worked fine and downloads worked at full-speed.
It seems previously I'd mucked with the rules sufficiently that the router was getting confused and downloads were initially starting very fast, but then crawling to a few K/s.
I still like the D-link router, and hopefully some new firmware will support things like QoS (so I can prioritise my VoIP traffic) and better filter/firewall rules.
Ofcom Website | Powerline Telecoms
Ofcom Website | Powerline Telecoms
Powerline Telecoms, or broadband over powerlines has had relatively poor success in the UK and in Europe in general. It has found a home in places like the Australian outback. Looking at Ofcom's reports you can see why.
In short it looks like using powerlines for backhaul is bad, though there aren't any formal UK (or even EU) specifications the FCC have published emission standards as have the Germans, and the backhaul trials way exceed both of them.
However using broadband over powerlines into homes faired much better, with good results and very low emissions. So as long as the power company can get a decent connection into the electricity substation, it looks like they can safely get broadband into the home.
It wont work in built-up areas (like London) as multiple substations serve premises, so they'd interfere with each other, but then urban areas have probably got DSL or cable. Where it does work is in rural areas where one substation serves lots of premises (well multiple) and they are unlikely to have existing broadband services.
Powerline Telecoms, or broadband over powerlines has had relatively poor success in the UK and in Europe in general. It has found a home in places like the Australian outback. Looking at Ofcom's reports you can see why.
In short it looks like using powerlines for backhaul is bad, though there aren't any formal UK (or even EU) specifications the FCC have published emission standards as have the Germans, and the backhaul trials way exceed both of them.
However using broadband over powerlines into homes faired much better, with good results and very low emissions. So as long as the power company can get a decent connection into the electricity substation, it looks like they can safely get broadband into the home.
It wont work in built-up areas (like London) as multiple substations serve premises, so they'd interfere with each other, but then urban areas have probably got DSL or cable. Where it does work is in rural areas where one substation serves lots of premises (well multiple) and they are unlikely to have existing broadband services.
2005/05/12
Marconi - the death bell rings
BT announced the vendors who were going to supply kit for their 21CN network (well that should be 21C network, but hey), Marconi wasn't one of them and it has hit them hard, it's unlikely they'll survive in their current state.
A certain Italian must be turning in his grave at the state of his company and how it's fallen from its former glory (walk down the Strand and admire the Marconi building).
Access - Fujitsu and Huawei.
Metro - Alcatel, Cisco and Siemens.
Core - Cisco and Lucent.
Softswitching - Ericsson.
Optical Transmission - Ciena and Huawei.
It's quite suprising that Marconi didn't get the Softswitch business as BT already use Marconi System X digital exchanges and the Marconi softswitch is functionaly (to the user) quite similar, BT will have a big learning curve for an Ericsson platform.
What some people may be suprised about is the selection of Huawei who are a new Chinese entrant making some very good and cost effective kit, they are snapping after Cisco's business and winning it (some people are pronouncing their name as "Who Are We"). In Europe their systems are starting to appear in all sorts of networks (mainly large carriers and ISPs), but their showroom in China is meant to be the size of a football field and they have product to hit ALL ends of the telecoms and Internet sectors including mobile, customer kit, wireless etc. Chinese programmers are still very cheap, India is going to be out of business soon, and they produce good code.
Maybe Huawei will buy Marconi and save them?
A certain Italian must be turning in his grave at the state of his company and how it's fallen from its former glory (walk down the Strand and admire the Marconi building).
Access - Fujitsu and Huawei.
Metro - Alcatel, Cisco and Siemens.
Core - Cisco and Lucent.
Softswitching - Ericsson.
Optical Transmission - Ciena and Huawei.
It's quite suprising that Marconi didn't get the Softswitch business as BT already use Marconi System X digital exchanges and the Marconi softswitch is functionaly (to the user) quite similar, BT will have a big learning curve for an Ericsson platform.
What some people may be suprised about is the selection of Huawei who are a new Chinese entrant making some very good and cost effective kit, they are snapping after Cisco's business and winning it (some people are pronouncing their name as "Who Are We"). In Europe their systems are starting to appear in all sorts of networks (mainly large carriers and ISPs), but their showroom in China is meant to be the size of a football field and they have product to hit ALL ends of the telecoms and Internet sectors including mobile, customer kit, wireless etc. Chinese programmers are still very cheap, India is going to be out of business soon, and they produce good code.
Maybe Huawei will buy Marconi and save them?
iPods everywhere
For my sins, this week has involved daily tube travel (the subway for non-brits) which generally isn't a joyous activity.
Hoping to avoid as much of the journey as possible I drowned out the world with new in-earphones and turned on the iPod (to read on a newspaper stall that iPods are making people deaf).
It seems lots of other people have exactly the same idea. However what's interesting is that of all the people with things stuck in their ears, I'd estimate at least 2/3rds of them are using iPods. That's a lot of people. Some of course may be cheating and be using iPods earphones with something else (most people do have their iPods hidden in bags or jackets - though there's quite a few shuffles visible).
Apple really have made an impact in the portable music world, it will be interesting to see if someone manages to knock them from their pedestal.
Hoping to avoid as much of the journey as possible I drowned out the world with new in-earphones and turned on the iPod (to read on a newspaper stall that iPods are making people deaf).
It seems lots of other people have exactly the same idea. However what's interesting is that of all the people with things stuck in their ears, I'd estimate at least 2/3rds of them are using iPods. That's a lot of people. Some of course may be cheating and be using iPods earphones with something else (most people do have their iPods hidden in bags or jackets - though there's quite a few shuffles visible).
Apple really have made an impact in the portable music world, it will be interesting to see if someone manages to knock them from their pedestal.
2005/05/06
Advanced IP Pipeline | FCC May Require VoIP 911 By September
Advanced IP Pipeline | FCC May Require VoIP 911 By September
If the FCC regulate E911 requirements it's likely Ofcom will too. People tend to forget that since the abolition of telco licenses in the UK, ANYONE who offers a communications service has obligations under the Communications Act, though Ofcom have relaxed lifeline (and 999) services for VoB services.
Telcos maintained regulatory departments for a reason (to ensure they complied with regulation) and though the regulatory environment has been made less complicated, it's still there and just because someone is offering a Voice service over IP, they're still offering a voice service.
If the FCC regulate E911 requirements it's likely Ofcom will too. People tend to forget that since the abolition of telco licenses in the UK, ANYONE who offers a communications service has obligations under the Communications Act, though Ofcom have relaxed lifeline (and 999) services for VoB services.
Telcos maintained regulatory departments for a reason (to ensure they complied with regulation) and though the regulatory environment has been made less complicated, it's still there and just because someone is offering a Voice service over IP, they're still offering a voice service.
Zigbee
Zigbee is a new standard that's going to make a huge difference in the world of industrial communications and even in home automation.
Zigbee comes out of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) in the US, the same people who specify WiFi and even Bluetooth (it comes out of the 802.15 group which is the same as Bluetooth).
Though Zigbee only offers low data rates (up to 250Kb/s, compared to 1Mb/s for say Bluetooth or 11Mb/s for 802.11b) it is extremely flexible, supports a variety of network configurations and is self configuring. There can be 65,000 devices in one Zigbee network.
Zigbee devices are meant to be low power, they turn themselves off when not in use, it's the life of the battery which is likely to determine the life of the device. Of course having devices turn-off randomly means the network has to reconfigure itself quite regurlarly but that's where it's very efficient and it takes about 30mS (Bluetooth takes up to 3 seconds).
There's 3 types of node in a Zigbee network, ZC (controller), ZR (router) and end-node. There's only ever one ZC which controls the complete network in a heirarchical tree, lots of ZR's and each ZR is connected to end-nodes. The ZR's are allocated address space by the ZC, and then further sub-allocate their address space to the end-nodes. Networks can take vairous configurations including complicated mesh designs.
Since the networks are self-healing and very quick to recognise new nodes etc, it would seem to be a perfect solution to WiFi mesh networks, just implement the Zigbee stack on top of the WiFi radio hardware, and citywide networks supporting 65,000 nodes suddenly become easy to do - now someone just needs to do it.
Zigbee comes out of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) in the US, the same people who specify WiFi and even Bluetooth (it comes out of the 802.15 group which is the same as Bluetooth).
Though Zigbee only offers low data rates (up to 250Kb/s, compared to 1Mb/s for say Bluetooth or 11Mb/s for 802.11b) it is extremely flexible, supports a variety of network configurations and is self configuring. There can be 65,000 devices in one Zigbee network.
Zigbee devices are meant to be low power, they turn themselves off when not in use, it's the life of the battery which is likely to determine the life of the device. Of course having devices turn-off randomly means the network has to reconfigure itself quite regurlarly but that's where it's very efficient and it takes about 30mS (Bluetooth takes up to 3 seconds).
There's 3 types of node in a Zigbee network, ZC (controller), ZR (router) and end-node. There's only ever one ZC which controls the complete network in a heirarchical tree, lots of ZR's and each ZR is connected to end-nodes. The ZR's are allocated address space by the ZC, and then further sub-allocate their address space to the end-nodes. Networks can take vairous configurations including complicated mesh designs.
Since the networks are self-healing and very quick to recognise new nodes etc, it would seem to be a perfect solution to WiFi mesh networks, just implement the Zigbee stack on top of the WiFi radio hardware, and citywide networks supporting 65,000 nodes suddenly become easy to do - now someone just needs to do it.
WiMAX again
Intel has announced its first WiMAX chip last week (PRO/Wireless 5116 broadband interface for modems). Of course it isn't WiMAX as the standard hasn't yet been ratified but that's likely to happen by Q3 this year.
Initially they see it being used in outdoor fixed link applications, but followed by indoor self-install type applications.
It's good to see Intel follow their own hype (but then they have to), and WiMAX is going to work well in environments where the regulatory environment suits it, it's just a shame it's unlikely to be in the UK.
Initially they see it being used in outdoor fixed link applications, but followed by indoor self-install type applications.
It's good to see Intel follow their own hype (but then they have to), and WiMAX is going to work well in environments where the regulatory environment suits it, it's just a shame it's unlikely to be in the UK.
Capanina
Capanina
This is an EU funded initiative to trial HAP (High Altitute Platform) systems. If it works it offers a sensible way of getting broadband to rural areas (and trains) where traditional broadband isn't available.
The HAPs themselves will use a combination of radio and free space optics to communicate between HAPs, while end users will have to have a trackable satellite-like dish. Trains and moving objects will use electronically steerable antennae.
In theory it should work, at 20Km they're above commercial air traffic and there's lots of sunlight making solar panels effective.
Also 120Mb/s to an end-user might make moving to the country a real improvement to city life.
This is an EU funded initiative to trial HAP (High Altitute Platform) systems. If it works it offers a sensible way of getting broadband to rural areas (and trains) where traditional broadband isn't available.
The HAPs themselves will use a combination of radio and free space optics to communicate between HAPs, while end users will have to have a trackable satellite-like dish. Trains and moving objects will use electronically steerable antennae.
In theory it should work, at 20Km they're above commercial air traffic and there's lots of sunlight making solar panels effective.
Also 120Mb/s to an end-user might make moving to the country a real improvement to city life.
2005/04/27
News @ Cisco: Cisco Systems to Acquire Sipura Technology
News @ Cisco: Cisco Systems to Acquire Sipura Technology
2nd time around for the Sipura founders. It seems that originally the Cisco ATA-186 was made by a small company and they were bought out by Cisco. The founders then left and set-up Sipura (and couldn't do various things for a few years - so they bided their time and designed).
Now Cisco has acquired Sipura (via it's Linksys division) for $68M in cash and shares, so how long before the founders leave again and do the whole start-up thing and then sell to Cisco again ... seems a good business model.
Sipura make some good VoIP kit, let's hope that Cisco/Linksys continue to offer decent product set as Sipura join the fold.
2nd time around for the Sipura founders. It seems that originally the Cisco ATA-186 was made by a small company and they were bought out by Cisco. The founders then left and set-up Sipura (and couldn't do various things for a few years - so they bided their time and designed).
Now Cisco has acquired Sipura (via it's Linksys division) for $68M in cash and shares, so how long before the founders leave again and do the whole start-up thing and then sell to Cisco again ... seems a good business model.
Sipura make some good VoIP kit, let's hope that Cisco/Linksys continue to offer decent product set as Sipura join the fold.
D-Link United Kingdom
D-Link United Kingdom
Well I installed the DSL-G604T as my ADSL router, it was pretty painless as I had all the right values to plug in from my exisiting set-up (a Cisco 1700). The D-Link appears faster, though I have no empirical evidence to support it. It's also got a 4 port Ethernet switch and Wireless AP built-in which saves on floor space (or desktop space).
Everything seems to work well, apart from filtering rules, it may be that D-Link have got the inbound and outbound filters thr wrong way around, but they're looking at that.
Another oddity, it seems the 902 (with a Cardbus PC-Card WLAN adapter) and the 904 (USB WLAN adapter) bundles are considerably cheaper (around £60 in the UK) than buying the DSL-G604T by itself ...
If you're relatively competent at using a web based interface and understand the very basics of DSL/routing/IP it's an easy system to configure and works pretty well.
Things it does lack are QoS, firewall rules/filters are confusing, no syslog/SNMP support etc. but at least some of these are expected in the next firmware version - which isn't quite ready for prime time I believe (but should be coming out soon). All in all a worthwhile bit of kit, especially in the bundle.
Well I installed the DSL-G604T as my ADSL router, it was pretty painless as I had all the right values to plug in from my exisiting set-up (a Cisco 1700). The D-Link appears faster, though I have no empirical evidence to support it. It's also got a 4 port Ethernet switch and Wireless AP built-in which saves on floor space (or desktop space).
Everything seems to work well, apart from filtering rules, it may be that D-Link have got the inbound and outbound filters thr wrong way around, but they're looking at that.
Another oddity, it seems the 902 (with a Cardbus PC-Card WLAN adapter) and the 904 (USB WLAN adapter) bundles are considerably cheaper (around £60 in the UK) than buying the DSL-G604T by itself ...
If you're relatively competent at using a web based interface and understand the very basics of DSL/routing/IP it's an easy system to configure and works pretty well.
Things it does lack are QoS, firewall rules/filters are confusing, no syslog/SNMP support etc. but at least some of these are expected in the next firmware version - which isn't quite ready for prime time I believe (but should be coming out soon). All in all a worthwhile bit of kit, especially in the bundle.
2005/04/25
One.Tel hoovers up RedNet for �5m | The Register
One.Tel hoovers up RedNet for �5m | The Register
Centrica are on an acquisition spree, it's likely there will be more to follow.
Centrica were looking at getting out of the voice business, but it looks like they've decided trying to sell it wouldn't work in the current climate, so put money into One.tel instead.
Rumours are they have between £200m - £300m to spend on building up the business.
They will need to diversify as voice revenues will continue to decline as the UK moves to flat rate UK dial-plans with pressure from CPS (carrier pre select) and VoIP suppliers. It's likely BT will also consider flat-rate telephony once they introduce their 21CN network, as moving a packet between exchanges doesn't really alter costs depending on their distance (it's probably too hard to bill too, and they'll just include UK voice with the line rental).
Unfortunately the telco business is not a good business to be in now (or won't be shortly) so telcos who just rely on voice minutes aren't going to be in business for too long and need to diversify and offer other services that can generate revenue.
Centrica are on an acquisition spree, it's likely there will be more to follow.
Centrica were looking at getting out of the voice business, but it looks like they've decided trying to sell it wouldn't work in the current climate, so put money into One.tel instead.
Rumours are they have between £200m - £300m to spend on building up the business.
They will need to diversify as voice revenues will continue to decline as the UK moves to flat rate UK dial-plans with pressure from CPS (carrier pre select) and VoIP suppliers. It's likely BT will also consider flat-rate telephony once they introduce their 21CN network, as moving a packet between exchanges doesn't really alter costs depending on their distance (it's probably too hard to bill too, and they'll just include UK voice with the line rental).
Unfortunately the telco business is not a good business to be in now (or won't be shortly) so telcos who just rely on voice minutes aren't going to be in business for too long and need to diversify and offer other services that can generate revenue.
2005/04/21
Science Museum and WiMAX
There was an article in IEE Review about the Science Museum's WiMAX trial near Swindon. It came out with some interesting revelations.
Firstly the area is isolated, there's little telecomms infrastructure there including lack of GSM coverage.
Secondly they were going to lay their own fibre, but that would have cost near enough £1m.
Thirdly (and here's the crux) Intel are based in Swindon and offered to run the trial.
The site is several hundred acres in size (it's an old airfield) and has 11 hangars. They're using WiMAX from Intel to the airfield and between hangars and WiFi in the hangars themselves.
Now the problems with WiMAX has always been frequency allocation/regulatory not the technology which is great. They've got around this by going to PCCW (who own the UK 3.4GHz license) and asking to "borrow" it in this area. Since there's so little in the vicinity it's very unlikely PCCW would roll-out in that area anyway. So PCCW said yes and then Intel went to Ofcom and applied for a test license to run a WiMAX trial on 3.4GHz.
It does seem to work, even though the power levels in use in the trial are lower than PCCW are allowed to use.
However it does show that rolling out WiMAX in the UK isn't going to be easy, Intel could have chosen 5.8GHz Band C, but they chose not to. Other areas aren't going to be so lucky as PCCW will want to offer service there.
Firstly the area is isolated, there's little telecomms infrastructure there including lack of GSM coverage.
Secondly they were going to lay their own fibre, but that would have cost near enough £1m.
Thirdly (and here's the crux) Intel are based in Swindon and offered to run the trial.
The site is several hundred acres in size (it's an old airfield) and has 11 hangars. They're using WiMAX from Intel to the airfield and between hangars and WiFi in the hangars themselves.
Now the problems with WiMAX has always been frequency allocation/regulatory not the technology which is great. They've got around this by going to PCCW (who own the UK 3.4GHz license) and asking to "borrow" it in this area. Since there's so little in the vicinity it's very unlikely PCCW would roll-out in that area anyway. So PCCW said yes and then Intel went to Ofcom and applied for a test license to run a WiMAX trial on 3.4GHz.
It does seem to work, even though the power levels in use in the trial are lower than PCCW are allowed to use.
However it does show that rolling out WiMAX in the UK isn't going to be easy, Intel could have chosen 5.8GHz Band C, but they chose not to. Other areas aren't going to be so lucky as PCCW will want to offer service there.
The WIreless LAN Event
The show seemed smaller than last year, and there was definately less of the hype (well apart from a lot of WiMAX buzz, but that's to be expected - Intel had a large stand).
It's definately a business show geared up for the b2b market. The traditional players were there offering WiFi kit, as well as Wireless operators etc.
Netgear were pushing their new MIMO 802.11g router (with annoying blue LEDs showing which antenna was in use), but the technology does look clever (6 antennas which are switched between) allowing full 54Mb/s over the air connectivity.
D-Link also had MIMO kit, but not actually for sale yet.
Intel were there of course pushing WiMAX, which may more may not be the next big thing - in the UK at least.
Mapesbury Communications had a small stand, they provide the hotpsot network for T-Mobile at Texaco service stations and elsewhere, but they've also got some interesting VoIP/Wireless solutions and can build out Wireless networks using some new technology.
CSR were showing VoIP over WiFi radio systems (they make chipsets).
T-Mobile had a big stand and were showing their T-Zones and also some nice PDA's (MDAIII).
Will next year's show dwindle or will it just become a WiMAX show?
2005/04/20
'Standards wars' threatening Ultrawideband - ZDNet UK News
'Standards wars' threatening Ultrawideband - ZDNet UK News
Ultrawideband (UWB) is a really interesting technology, WiMAX is actually a UWB system but only uses a small subset of frequencies.
UWB works by sending signals over a large section of spectrum so it could work from <1GHz all the way up to 100's of GHz. It's clever because it uses a lot of error correction and splits the data up over lots of parts of the spectrum. So a "bit" of data may actually be sent over 100's of frequencies simultaneously. A receiver "listens" to the whole set of frequencies and puts the data back together again. If any particular frequencies aren't received (they may be absorbed by walls, or reflected etc) then the receiver can still reconsitute the data as it's spread across a large number of frequencies. This does mean data rates are reduced, but the system is highly resilient.
In the US the Federal Communications Agency (FCC, similar to the UK's Ofcom) has allowed the US of UWB for short range communications, but at very low power. This allows UWB to be used as a replacement for wires and give very high data rates (100's of Mb/s). As the power is so low, anything that isn't a UWB system will just assume the signal is background noise and ignore it. If other systems are using some of the same frequencies and drowning them out, again it doesn't matter as the UWB system will have spread the data over many frequencies, some of which wont be being used by anything else.
Ofcom originally inferred they were in favour of UWB and would allow its use in the UK, but they still haven't announced a decision, which is angering some UK players who would like to see it adopted here and produce UWB systems.
UWB can also be used in high power applications, but these would likely used licensed bands.
A very interesting application can be for cable TV, a US manufacturer has produced a UWB specifically for this and can send data down a co-ax cable at over 400Mb/s, which would support many channels of TV and Internet and voice. It would also not degrade so much as current CATV systems do with the more people in a street getting service.
UWB is a pretty exciting technology, it just needs Ofcom to clear the way.
Ultrawideband (UWB) is a really interesting technology, WiMAX is actually a UWB system but only uses a small subset of frequencies.
UWB works by sending signals over a large section of spectrum so it could work from <1GHz all the way up to 100's of GHz. It's clever because it uses a lot of error correction and splits the data up over lots of parts of the spectrum. So a "bit" of data may actually be sent over 100's of frequencies simultaneously. A receiver "listens" to the whole set of frequencies and puts the data back together again. If any particular frequencies aren't received (they may be absorbed by walls, or reflected etc) then the receiver can still reconsitute the data as it's spread across a large number of frequencies. This does mean data rates are reduced, but the system is highly resilient.
In the US the Federal Communications Agency (FCC, similar to the UK's Ofcom) has allowed the US of UWB for short range communications, but at very low power. This allows UWB to be used as a replacement for wires and give very high data rates (100's of Mb/s). As the power is so low, anything that isn't a UWB system will just assume the signal is background noise and ignore it. If other systems are using some of the same frequencies and drowning them out, again it doesn't matter as the UWB system will have spread the data over many frequencies, some of which wont be being used by anything else.
Ofcom originally inferred they were in favour of UWB and would allow its use in the UK, but they still haven't announced a decision, which is angering some UK players who would like to see it adopted here and produce UWB systems.
UWB can also be used in high power applications, but these would likely used licensed bands.
A very interesting application can be for cable TV, a US manufacturer has produced a UWB specifically for this and can send data down a co-ax cable at over 400Mb/s, which would support many channels of TV and Internet and voice. It would also not degrade so much as current CATV systems do with the more people in a street getting service.
UWB is a pretty exciting technology, it just needs Ofcom to clear the way.
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Music | Court releases file-share details
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Music | Court releases file-share details
Well it had to happen, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has applied to get court orders against several ISPs to hand over the details of their customers.
The BPI will then take the users to court and try to seek compensation and legal costs from those distributing music.
ISPs hard not to hand over customer details to anyone, but they do have to comply with court orders (and generally with law enforcement agencies - with caveats), but once a court order is in place the data is there.
This could spell the start of more actions if this is successful, but will it curtail file sharing. It may have some effect.
However watch this space for news of interesting movements that may allow at least limited file sharing with record company approval.
Well it had to happen, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has applied to get court orders against several ISPs to hand over the details of their customers.
The BPI will then take the users to court and try to seek compensation and legal costs from those distributing music.
ISPs hard not to hand over customer details to anyone, but they do have to comply with court orders (and generally with law enforcement agencies - with caveats), but once a court order is in place the data is there.
This could spell the start of more actions if this is successful, but will it curtail file sharing. It may have some effect.
However watch this space for news of interesting movements that may allow at least limited file sharing with record company approval.
BBC NEWS | Technology | Wimax to plug rural broadband gap
BBC NEWS | Technology | Wimax to plug rural broadband gap
Here we see another Intel hyped article on WiMAX. As stated in an earlier article as yet the is no WiMAX (only preWiMAX) and who knows if it will actually be allowed in the UK as it has to meet ETSI/Ofcom interface requirements (which are unlikely to reach the stated 50Km).
BT might successfully launch a service, as they are likely to buy the 3.5GHz lincese off Pipex Communications, which means they'll be able to use the lightly licensed spectrum of 5.8GHz Band C and the licensed 3.5GHz band.
Here we see another Intel hyped article on WiMAX. As stated in an earlier article as yet the is no WiMAX (only preWiMAX) and who knows if it will actually be allowed in the UK as it has to meet ETSI/Ofcom interface requirements (which are unlikely to reach the stated 50Km).
BT might successfully launch a service, as they are likely to buy the 3.5GHz lincese off Pipex Communications, which means they'll be able to use the lightly licensed spectrum of 5.8GHz Band C and the licensed 3.5GHz band.
2005/04/19
New services as Skype hits 100 million users - vnunet.com
New services as Skype hits 100 million users - vnunet.com
Another gripe at Skype. It seems if you subscribe to SkypeIn they give you free Voicemail, but if you don't you have to pay for it. Of course if you sign-up to voicemail first, then you don't get a discount on the SkypeIn service.
It's a shame Skype haven't made these things clearer, especially as they are still in beta and thus potentially annoying the very customers (i.e. early adopters) that would otherwise spread the word of how good the services can be.
Another gripe at Skype. It seems if you subscribe to SkypeIn they give you free Voicemail, but if you don't you have to pay for it. Of course if you sign-up to voicemail first, then you don't get a discount on the SkypeIn service.
It's a shame Skype haven't made these things clearer, especially as they are still in beta and thus potentially annoying the very customers (i.e. early adopters) that would otherwise spread the word of how good the services can be.
2005/04/18
About SkypeOut
About SkypeOut
Skype are on to a money spinner here, if you buy SkypeOut - but do NOT use it (from their web page - which probably most people don't actually read "Your SkypeOut credits will remain active for 180 days after your last SkypeOut call") they just cancel your credit.
I bought SkypeOut so if I was not at somewhere where I had a phone or easy access to one, I could use Skype and make calls that way. Unfortunately not as they just wiped the credit from my SkypeOut account. I'd have to make a call every 180 days if I want to keep it active. OK that's not so difficult, but not what I'd want to use it for.
There's also no warning that it's about to expire, it just disappears from your options.
Not really a good customer experience, and I hope they'll change their policy.
Skype are on to a money spinner here, if you buy SkypeOut - but do NOT use it (from their web page - which probably most people don't actually read "Your SkypeOut credits will remain active for 180 days after your last SkypeOut call") they just cancel your credit.
I bought SkypeOut so if I was not at somewhere where I had a phone or easy access to one, I could use Skype and make calls that way. Unfortunately not as they just wiped the credit from my SkypeOut account. I'd have to make a call every 180 days if I want to keep it active. OK that's not so difficult, but not what I'd want to use it for.
There's also no warning that it's about to expire, it just disappears from your options.
Not really a good customer experience, and I hope they'll change their policy.
Scotsman.com Business - Technology - American private equity company eyes Thus as target for merger
Scotsman.com Business - Technology - American private equity company eyes Thus as target for merger
"Columbia Ventures already owns 7.1% of the Glasgow company but chief executive Ken Peterson has revealed that he wants to combine Thus’s UK telecoms network with his undersea transatlantic cable to supply telecoms services on both sides of the Atlantic."
Well it makes sense. THUS has a share value of under £200m (at the closing price of 14.25p on Friday - so even less today as the share price dropped to under 14p). With network assets of more that £0.5bn and a turnover of £360m it looks a good buy.
Of course it's only a good buy for someone with cash, they'd have to make an offer to buy out the existing shareholders (mainly institutions) and they'd need a UK network.
THUS has little money for new investment (and new products) so they need external cash. They could go to the banks for a loan, but then they'd be at the mercy of the banks who are vary wary of investing in telecoms companies.
A foreign operator needing a UK network (or a UK operator wanting the Demon brand) would make a good partner, there are some clever people at THUS and the network being one of the most modern in the UK can support the tranch of IP centric services that convergence is demanding.
"Columbia Ventures already owns 7.1% of the Glasgow company but chief executive Ken Peterson has revealed that he wants to combine Thus’s UK telecoms network with his undersea transatlantic cable to supply telecoms services on both sides of the Atlantic."
Well it makes sense. THUS has a share value of under £200m (at the closing price of 14.25p on Friday - so even less today as the share price dropped to under 14p). With network assets of more that £0.5bn and a turnover of £360m it looks a good buy.
Of course it's only a good buy for someone with cash, they'd have to make an offer to buy out the existing shareholders (mainly institutions) and they'd need a UK network.
THUS has little money for new investment (and new products) so they need external cash. They could go to the banks for a loan, but then they'd be at the mercy of the banks who are vary wary of investing in telecoms companies.
A foreign operator needing a UK network (or a UK operator wanting the Demon brand) would make a good partner, there are some clever people at THUS and the network being one of the most modern in the UK can support the tranch of IP centric services that convergence is demanding.
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