Broadband Wi-Fi war looms

[silver_corolla]

Oh I see, glad I cleared that part.

silver_corolla::: Sir, clarify ko lang, as long as there is smart signal connected ang WeRoam? There are times that GSM signals don't carry GPRS/Edge connections, just like what I experienced from Globe. Malakas ang signal ng celfone pwedeng text or call but I can't browse via GPRS.

Balak ko kasi gawing mobile office itong laptop, via WeRoam. Wala kasing ISP na malapit dun sa province namin, NDD pa sa landline kung gagawin ko. But one thing for sure telecom's network signals are good and full bar always.

Hi Ungas,

The PLDT WeRoam Mobile service is available wherever there is SMART mobile phone signal. GPRS signal is present in approximately 99.57% of SMART coverage areas while EDGE signal is initially available in key business districts across the Philippines.

Br,
silver_corolla

[NightRock]

Wow sana may FreePaid WiFI na din for home user.. ang hirap tumambay sa mga coffe shop. at mag internet walang privacy hehehe..

[Ungas]

Hi Ungas,

The PLDT WeRoam Mobile service is available wherever there is SMART mobile phone signal. GPRS signal is present in approximately 99.57% of SMART coverage areas while EDGE signal is initially available in key business districts across the Philippines.

Br,
silver_corolla

Got a word from WeRoam, pag GPRS connection approx. 50-70kbps lang daw ang speed. Sa EDGE connections daw yung 120-150kbps. So that would mean I will have modem speed only if I roam outside Metro Manila area.

Any chances of EDGE service will develop outside MM coverage?

[explorer]

someday (sobrang tagal pa yon ha ) when i'm retired from the corporate world and having the best time in photography as my hobby in a remote area, i'll have no problem uploading my photos over the internet at probably 10mbps. wow! my very remote town in antique has already the cellsites of globe and smart working for more than 8 months now.

so let that wi-fi war begin

[Tacoma_34]

mabagal pa rin wi-fi sa pinas pero okay na rin.

[empy]

this is good news for the philippine consumer, however it plays out.

i'm unclear as to whether the same security issues that plague 'normal' wi-fi (i.e. wireless router hooked up to a land-based broadband connection) exist in this application?

[Ungas]

I'm sure there will be security issues popping out every now & then. Normal wifi offered via hotspots are encrypted. While free roaming wifi's might rely on software firewalls.

I don't get the catch with PLDT's WeRoam offer, if an applicant avails their service, there's free unlimited usage of Airborne's access hotspots. Eh free roaming na nga yung WeRoam why would anyone avail the additional P500- monthly fee on top of WeRoam's P2,000- bill?

[pissword]

yung sa meridian ba hindi yun wi-fi? hehe kasi kelangan mo ng line of sight eh so wifi yun diba?

[pissword]

sir ungas kasi pang laptop lang ang we roam while ang Airborne is wifi yun pwede PDA, PDA phones etc..

[notEworthy27]

I'm sure there will be security issues popping out every now & then. Normal wifi offered via hotspots are encrypted. While free roaming wifi's might rely on software firewalls.

I don't get the catch with PLDT's WeRoam offer, if an applicant avails their service, there's free unlimited usage of Airborne's access hotspots. Eh free roaming na nga yung WeRoam why would anyone avail the additional P500- monthly fee on top of WeRoam's P2,000- bill?

hindi ba yung sa hotspots mas mabilis sa WeRoam speeds? its quite redundant kung parehas lang ang speed.

[Ungas]

sir ungas kasi pang laptop lang ang we roam while ang Airborne is wifi yun pwede PDA, PDA phones etc..

Why would one need to use PDAs to browse/use internet when they have laptops with WeRoam service? Di naman kaya over na ang kalalabasan nun na masyadong techie?

hindi ba yung sa hotspots mas mabilis sa WeRoam speeds? its quite redundant kung parehas lang ang speed.

Based from my other post regarding speed; most of the hotspots offered are within business districts, commercial areas and high tech people populated. Which has the same coverage area for EDGE connections. EDGE and hotspots have the same speed at around 120-150 according to WeRoam representative. Kung remote areas lang with Smart signal, GPRS is 99.57% available according to silver_corolla.

[pissword]

hehe ewan ko sir ungas baka marketing gimik lang yun.. some people may PDA na may LAPTOP pa na dala dala

[notEworthy27]

gimik lang nga. baka makaloko pa. hehe

[silver_corolla]

I'm sure there will be security issues popping out every now & then. Normal wifi offered via hotspots are encrypted. While free roaming wifi's might rely on software firewalls.

I don't get the catch with PLDT's WeRoam offer, if an applicant avails their service, there's free unlimited usage of Airborne's access hotspots. Eh free roaming na nga yung WeRoam why would anyone avail the additional P500- monthly fee on top of WeRoam's P2,000- bill?

Hi Ungas,

The difference between PLDT WeRoam Mobile and Wi-Fi Hotspots is there access speed. What they are trying to say to you is if you want faster access speed.... add ka lang P500.00 and you will have it over Wi-Fi.

Br,
silver_corolla

[silver_corolla]

yung sa meridian ba hindi yun wi-fi? hehe kasi kelangan mo ng line of sight eh so wifi yun diba?

yup.

[silver_corolla]

sir ungas kasi pang laptop lang ang we roam while ang Airborne is wifi yun pwede PDA, PDA phones etc..

hmmm..... not really..

[silver_corolla]

hindi ba yung sa hotspots mas mabilis sa WeRoam speeds? its quite redundant kung parehas lang ang speed.

correct.

[silver_corolla]

Why would one need to use PDAs to browse/use internet when they have laptops with WeRoam service? Di naman kaya over na ang kalalabasan nun na masyadong techie?....

As of now the WeRoam service is for laptop and desktop only. WeRoam Mobile is for the laptop, and the WeRoam Direct is for the Desktop. But PLDT is working this service to be available in PDA or Mobile also.

[Ungas]

Hi Ungas,

The difference between PLDT WeRoam Mobile and Wi-Fi Hotspots is there access speed. What they are trying to say to you is if you want faster access speed.... add ka lang P500.00 and you will have it over Wi-Fi.

Br,
silver_corolla

But hotspots access will be limited to few establishments who offer these services not like weroam; access the internet as long as there's smart signal. How would hotspot speed differ from weroam connected via EDGE?

Matanong ko na rin kung san alam nyong wifi hotspots declared ang kanilang download speed? Puro high speed lang kasi nakikita kong nakasulat.

[silver_corolla]

Avaya, Nokia eye enterprise market for Wi-fi/GSM phones
(INQ7.net) TELECOM equipment manufacturer Avaya and top phone maker Nokia have announced a partnership that will develop “dual-mode phones” that can work on both mobile phone and wireless local area networks -- more popularly known as wireless fidelity (wi-fi).

Avaya, Nokia eye enterprise market for Wi-fi/GSM phones
June 24, 2005
Updated 02:31am (Mla time)
Erwin Lemuel Oliva eoliva*inq7.net
INQ7.net


TELECOM equipment manufacturer Avaya and top phone maker Nokia have announced a partnership that will develop “dual-mode phones” that can work on both mobile phone and wireless local area networks -- more popularly known as wireless fidelity (wi-fi).

Expecting an emerging enterprise market for converged services that would ride on wi-fi and mobile phone networks, Avaya and Nokia have begun trials on a dual-mode phone in St. George Bank, Australia this year), James Haensly, Avaya Asia Pacific chief technology officer and vice president for solutions sales, official told reporters in Makati City on Thursday. They expect to launch it commercially by end of 2005, he said.

“While this is initially viewed as a disruptive innovation by mobile phone operators, it actually extends their reach into enterprises,” he said, adding that dual-mode phones would boost operators’ business.

Both companies are now working on the dual-mode phone using the Nokia 60 series models, but will extend their collaboration on other Nokia phone models soon, according to Haensly.

The ability to switch from using a mobile phone network to a wireless fidelity network is an innovation that has been talked about in the recent years.

Motorola, for instance, introduced its own wi-fi/GSM phone last year in the US, according to this blog found at http://rodrigo.typepad.com/english/2...ar.html.Vonage also recently introduced a handset that can work on a wi-fi network.

Haensly however stressed dual-mode phones are generally not pushed on consumers by operators despite their strong interest. The biggest attraction of the wi-fi/GSM phone is the voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) feature that comes with this innovation.

Since this phone can now work on a wi-fi network, a client like Skype could transform this phone into an IP device. VoIP calls can then be made through this phone and since they’re cheaper than regular mobile phone calls, this innovation poses a threat to the bread and butter of mobile phone operators.

Haensly pointed out however that the overlooked and expected killer application in dual-mode phones turns these little handsets into extensions of a desktop. In a business environment, this feature leads to more business applications.

“This will allow employees to become more productive,” he said, noting that most enterprise customers do much of their work outside their offices.

Number portability is another possible attraction to dual-mode phones. It allows a person to use a single phone number (usually an IP number) no matter where he or she is. This will allow mobile workers to receive calls on their dual-mode handsets while roaming.

Nokia and Avaya’s dual-mode phones will support the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), an emerging protocol being adopted to allow mobile phone handsets to do VoIP and other emerging Internet applications like instant messaging.

There are now inter-operability and hardware issues affecting the wider adoption of dual-mode phones. Haensly believes though that SIP will be the "transformational" ingredient in the next-generation mobile phone services.

"SIP will open new opportunities for everyone, at the same driving down the cost of handsets and services. I don't see any alternative in the horizon that will challenge SIP," he added.

The popular Skype is using a modified version of SIP.