Google to build wireless network in San Francisco (FT)

Google, the internet search group, and Earthlink, the internet service provider, on Wednesday drew closer to covering the city of San Francisco with a wireless broadband network, after a city panel selected the companies as the preferred providers for the project.

Schmidt's Google To Give San Francisco Free Wi-Fi (Forbes)

London - Peace, love and Wi-Fi: It must have baffled members of San Francisco's legendary Beat Generation when after decades of gentrification, their city not only became a bastion of billionaires but featured pockets of wealth like Atherton, top of the Forbes list of the most expensive zip codes in the U.S. Surely now that its home to the tech revolution and affluent, hard-nosed eggheads, Frisco doesn't need a warm blanket of free wireless Internet. Or does it? Perhaps we shouldn't underestimate the power of that free-wheeling sentiment, and the will of a city mayor.

Google aims to track users with wi-fi (FT)

Google aims to be able to track its users to within 100-200 feet of their location through new wireless networks in order to serve them with relevant advertising from local businesses.

The leading internet search company, which depends on advertising for 99 per cent of its revenues, was selected on Wednesday by San Francisco as its preferred bidder to provide a basic free wi-fi internet service covering the entire city.

It had partnered in its bid with the internet service provider Earthlink, which intends to charge a fee for a faster internet connection.

Google and Earthlink will now enter final contract negotiations with the city. There were five other bidders including a non-profit group backed by Cisco Systems and IBM.

The company hopes to defray the costs of offering a free service through contextual advertising. Analysts have speculated that the San Francisco bid could be a prelude to Google seeking to extend its reach into localities nationwide.

It is already planning a free wi-fi network by the summer covering the city of Mountain View, where its headquarters is based, and the San Francisco service may be up and running by the end of the year.

Google says users linking up with wi-fi transmitters placed around cities can be located to within a couple of blocks. This would open up a new level of advertising opportunities for the company, allowing it to serve tightly focused ads on its web pages from small businesses in the immediate area.

Cool Vendors in Mobile and Wireless, 2006 (Gartner)

Cool vendors		Dblur Technology
		GeoVector
		Mobile 365
		Mobile ESPN
		Motricity
		Skyhook Wireless
		Sling Media
		TeleCommunication Systems mobeo
		xG Technology

Mobile VoIP could radically change cellphone use (InfoWorld)

At last week's 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, several big names in the communications sector, including Microsoft (Profile, Products, Articles), Nokia (Profile, Products, Articles), and Skype Technologies (Profile, Products, Articles), announced mobile phone-based VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) products and services that could radically change how cellular customers use their handsets in the future.

Internet telephony set to go mobile (FT)

Internet telephony over mobile phones took centre stage at the 3GSM World Congress mobile phone conference in Barcelona last week, with two announcements signalling that the mobile phone industry is waking up to the potentially disruptive technology coming its way.

Mobile Matters: Extend SAP Applications to Your Handheld Mobile Device in 10 Minutes or Less (SAP Insider)

For many business people, being reachable by phone — no matter when or where — has become a basic business necessity. Now with the emergence of mobile devices like Pocket PCs and BlackBerrys, it’s about more than being able to take a call. It’s even gone beyond having access to emails and calendars. Full mobile enablement means having permanent, wireless access to business data and online services; it’s about integrating mobile devices into business processes. Only when business data, functions, and processes are available in real time through the browser of a mobile device can a company achieve complete, integrated use of mobile technology.

3GSM: Skype, Hutchison 3G partner on VOIP (InfoWorld)

If you're hooked on making Internet calls from your PC, you could really like this: Skype Technologies (Profile, Products, Articles) SA and the Hutchison 3 Group (Hutchison 3G) announced Tuesday a partnership to provide what could become the world's first commercial VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) service for mobile phones.

Mobile television may be the answer (FT)

If every promise made at a 3GSM World Congress in the past decade had been fulfilled, then delegates at the show’s new venue in Barcelona would be able to wander down the Ramblas and locate several tapas bars using a mixture of GPS and location-based services.

Lenovo plans to offer 3G wireless laptops by Q2 (InfoWorld)

Lenovo Group has joined the race to release laptops with built-in wireless broadband technology. The computer maker, which completed its acquisition of IBM's (Profile, Products, Articles) PC business last year, on Tuesday announced plans to integrate technology to access Vodafone (Profile, Products, Articles) Group's wireless broadband network into upcoming models of ThinkPad notebooks, including the T60 and the X60, according to a press statement.

Draft 802.11n Could Cause Confusion Among Wi-Fi Users (Gartner)

Several Wi-Fi chip vendors are basing their marketing on the Enhanced Wireless Consortium's (EWC's) proposed 802.11n standard. But the standard is far from final, and most enterprises should avoid adopting early releases.

Cisco to enter consumer electronics market (FT)

Cisco, the biggest maker of internet networking equipment, plans to enter the mainstream consumer electronics market, challenging companies such as Sony and Samsung in the production of radios, stereos, phones and home theatre equipment.

Lessons from the upwardly mobile (FT)

Barriers to entry. Those three words are among the most daunting that a growing telecommunications company must deal with. Incumbent national telecoms companies run by deep, experienced management teams dominate around the globe. Their armour appears thick and intimidating to most upstarts. They have established customer relationships, tried and true products, powerful brands, and significant scale advantages.

NTL Bids for Virgin Mobile to Offer Quadruple-Play Services (Gartner)

The U.K.'s leading cable operator aims to offer four converged services: Internet, TV, and fixed-line and mobile telephony. If the bid succeeds, NTL will need a positive content strategy and good integration skills.

Danish Fixed/Mobile Trial Will Deliver Only Short-Term Gains (Gartner)

TeliaSonera is the latest network operator to test converged voice services. But, like other carriers, it shouldn't regard initial offerings as anything more than a way to attract customers in the short term.

Orange, Cingular Sales Alliance Excludes Better Roaming Fees (Gartner)

Orange and Cingular Wireless will coordinate transatlantic mobile services for multinationals. The deal allows bigger discounts on U.S. customers' Cingular bills, but does nothing to cut international roaming charges.

Microsoft aims to come back fighting (FT)

Symbian has the upper hand at the moment, but that may soon change.

Critical Path: Mobile e-mail product struggles (FT)

Michael Serbinis, chief technical officer at Critical Path, explains that the company wants to be “the BlackBerry of the consumer world”.

Wireless industry ready to deliver multimedia future (FT)

It is now five years since wireless operators worked themselves into a bidding frenzy that resulted in them paying billions of dollars, pounds and euros for third-generation radio spectrum licences they hoped would allow them to launch a multimedia revolution on the humble mobile phone.