Posted by Editor in connectivity, events, policy
There’s a lot going on this week in the world of mobile.
#Canada 3.0 Conference is on right now and tomorrow, and already is featuring a big emphasis on mobile, and did we hear someone said Canada needs an ICT strategy? WirelessNorth.ca will be at 3.0 tomorrow taking about augmented reality, teh future, and how mobile will reshape business and the public/private sectors. But you don’t have to wait for that, already the twitter stream for #can30 is fantastic, you might tune-in and add a few new followers here.
#Tonight is mobile monday in Toronto at MaRS, there are a couple seats left…. West coasties might want to catch the next momovan event later on the 22nd.
#Tonight is SaveOurNet.ca sponsored Internet town hall meeting at the Gladstone in Toronto. WN will be there too. this is of course just one part of…
#NetChangeWeek so get out there, and add your voice, your energy and your brains towards making Canada the connected, innovative innovative we could be.
Did we leave anything out?
Posted by Editor in connectivity
It’s hard to get a free lunch on Air Canada anymore, but starting in 2009 you’ll be able to get wifi. The wifi connectivity is helped out by the (key) benefit seat-back USB and AC power outlets. Lack of power was certainly one of the downfalls of past in-flight services like Boeing’s short-lived satelite service.
The Gogo service turns a commercial airplane into a WiFi hotspot with true in-flight internet access. Passengers with WiFi enabled devices, such as laptops, Smartphones and PDAs can surf the web, check any e-mail, Instant Message, access a corporate VPN, and more.
Air Canada will roll out the Gogo system on select flights, initially installing the system on its Airbus A319 aircraft that fly into the United States initial deployment is expected to begin by spring 2009.
The Gogo system on Air Canada’s trans-border routes will be available first in the U.S. and powered by Aircell’s already existing infrastructure. Air Canada and Aircell expect that the Gogo service will eventually provide passengers coverage from key Air Canada cities such as Montreal and Toronto to every Air Canada market in the continental United States
Based on their existing service, Expect AirCell pricing to come in around $10 for typical flight, which to us sounds pretty reasonable. Smart move by aircanada, the service adds a little extra per seat revenue to help pay those gas bills while offering a convenience/productivity bonus vs the competition. Will Westjet and Porter be next?
Posted by Editor in connectivity, spectrum
After physical wires, the other major way to move information is through the airwaves, a natural resource with enormous potential. But that potential is untapped because of a false scarcity created by bad government policy.
Our current approach is a command and control system dating from the 1920s. The federal government dictates exactly what licensees of the airwaves may do with their part of the spectrum. These Soviet-style rules create waste that is worthy of Brezhnev.
Many “owners” of spectrum either hardly use the stuff or use it in highly inefficient ways. At any given moment, more than 90 percent of the nation’s airwaves are empty.
The solution is to relax the overregulation of the airwaves and allow use of the wasted spaces. Anyone, so long as he or she complies with a few basic rules to avoid interference, could try to build a better Wi-Fi and become a broadband billionaire. These wireless entrepreneurs could one day liberate us from wires, cables and rising prices.
Such technologies would not work perfectly right away, but over time clever entrepreneurs would find a way, if we gave them the chance. The Federal Communications Commission promised this kind of reform nearly a decade ago, but it continues to drag its heels.
In an information economy, the supply and price of bandwidth matters, in the way that oil prices matter: not just for gas stations, but for the whole economy.
And that’s why there is a pressing need to explore all alternative supplies of bandwidth before it is too late.
Not a new one, but still the most wonderfully dangerous idea in telecom. Set the airwaves free.
Link
Posted by Editor in announcements, connectivity, spectrum, wireless
Myself/WirelessNorth.ca be running a workshop at LIFT this year on “Open and the Future of Wireless”. And you are invited! With spectrum auctions upcoming in Canada (and elsewhere) opportunities are emerging to reboot the way we think about mobile connectivity and computing. So we’ll be gathering a brace of smart people at LIFT to envision/design/prognosticate the future of wireless.
As more applications move to the web, software and media are moving to a model of cloud computing. At the same time, better devices and faster, more affordable wireless networks, are making it possible to stay connected almost anywhere.
Together these trends should ultimately, and fundamentally change the tools we use to live, work, play, govern and more. However, how will this future play out?
In particular, what role might “open” models play into our expected -or- ideal vision of the future?
If you registered for Lift head on over to this page to register for the workshop. Looks like we’ll have a good crowd there already. Should be fun!
Photo: leaping over a “Lift+” installation in the networking/art area outside Lift07
UPDATE: Michael Arrington has some good coverage of business and FCC leaders at Davos on much the same topic. Looking forward to continuing this conversation in Switzerland in just several days.
Posted by Editor in connectivity
In a move that could both help students out – as well as drive a few teachers crazy – the Calgary board of education is installing free wifi in 200 schools.
The wireless access allows pupils to use laptops in their classrooms as opposed to sharing computer labs, which can be a disruptive process as different grades vie for the same resources, said Cathy Faber, CBE’s director of innovative learning services.
It also allows teachers to create interactive assignments where students are encouraged to research and explore topics using secure websites or internal school board sites.
And of course the classroom-scale IM and gaming possibilities are almost as limitless. Your child wants a wifi equipped mobile.
