[MLB-WIRELESS] Re: [Syd-Wireless] wifi-cellular gateway

Fri Sep 5 14:07:09 EST 2003

wow, where did this message get stuck, it was sent a few days ago and has only
just popped up here on the mailing list.

Dean

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>Bridging Cellular and Wireless
>Local area wireless and cellular networks will eventually appear to merge.

>There's a nice business opportunity in making that possible.
>By Rafe Needleman
><http://lw9fd.law9.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?mailto=1&msg=MSG106182624

>9.13&start=105438&len=35140&src=&type=x&to=rafen%40rafeneedleman%2ecom&cc=&b

>cc=&subject=&body=&curmbox=F000000001&a=dd1791b5f75e981cc37d05435d363a16> ,

>August 25, 2003
>
>Dear Readers: I am taking the month of September off for my honeymoon. I'll

>be back in October, but my column will be put out by a different publisher,

>so Thursday's column will be my last for Business 2.0. If you're an e-mail

>subscriber to What's Next, you'll automatically receive the new column when

>it starts. If you're not, but you'd like to be added to the mailing list,
>please drop me a line: rafen at rafeneedleman.com. Thanks!
>
>In April I hosted an event where four Wi-Fi
><http://64.4.8.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=214be1976a4c8eef8e36545ec08fa

>f90&lat=1061872716&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2ebusiness2%2ecom%2fwebguide

>%2f0%2c%2c14915%2c00%2ehtml>  companies pitched their business models to an

>audience of venture capitalists
><http://64.4.8.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=096601af6c374b9bf82ee2458596b

>53e&lat=1061872716&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2ebusiness2%2ecom%2fwebguide

>%2f0%2c%2c193%2c00%2ehtml> . In August I handled a similar event for
>cellular-application companies. Afterward I wondered, Did we really need two

>different events?
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>FAST FACTS
>BridgePort Networks
>www.bridgeport-networks.com
><http://64.4.8.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=265ed14d557f67198f2e656f5609d

>b8a&lat=1061872716&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2ebridgeport%2dnetworks%2eco

>m>
>CEO
>Tom Carter
>HQ
>Seattle
>FOUNDED
>February 2003
>EMPLOYEES
>10
>FUNDING
>Privately funded to date, currently raising $10 million venture round
>PROFITABLE?
>Projected for 2005
>MARKET
>Cellular/Wi-Fi integration
>
>
>On the face of it, the answer is obvious: The cellular network is radically

>different from the Wi-Fi network (if you can even call it that). Cellular
>communication is routed by a few companies; Wi-Fi is a free-for-all.
>Cellular data bandwidth
><http://64.4.8.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=f1520c026445af3dc7b6c7b4c3708

>437&lat=1061872716&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2ebusiness2%2ecom%2fwebguide

>%2f0%2c%2c4716%2c00%2ehtml>  is limited; Wi-Fi speed is generally very good.

>Cellular's range is miles; Wi-Fi's is feet. And most important, companies
>know how to bill for cellular. Wi-Fi billing is all over the map, from free

>to absurdly expensive.
>
>For wireless innovators, picking the underlying network is probably the most

>critical decision. If we are to believe the latest projections, there will

>soon be more cellular phone
><http://64.4.8.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=dda3cea6e30fc1140fcebb86cbe57

>8f1&lat=1061872716&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2ebusiness2%2ecom%2fwebguide

>%2f0%2c%2c3748%2c00%2ehtml>  on Earth than atoms in the universe, which will

>certainly appeal to companies in the business of wireless apps. However, the

>cellular value chain is largely controlled by stodgy cellular companies, and

>it restricts businesses from reaching customers or making good money from
>them; Wi-Fi has none of those limitations.
>
>A few companies have tried to bridge the gap between Wi-Fi and cellular --

>not with applications, but with infrastructure. Back in April I wrote about

>two of them, ipUnplugged and Padcom. Both make it possible for a data
>connection to stay alive as it hops from cellular to a local area network
><http://64.4.8.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=e559dae58a2d57497abd0baa8a384

>dbb&lat=1061872716&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2ebusiness2%2ecom%2fwebguide

>%2f0%2c%2c4420%2c00%2ehtml>  link. But data isn't the most important
>battleground for the Wi-Fi/cellular connection. Voice is.
>
>That's where an interesting startup, BridgePort Networks, comes in. This
>company makes a gateway device that can transfer a cellular voice call to a

>Wi-Fi connection (or vice versa). You can't currently buy a phone that
>contains both a cellular and a Wi-Fi radio, but Motorola
><http://64.4.8.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=81c7a359982ae15f49861d603630a

>786&lat=1061872716&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2ebusiness2%2ecom%2fwebguide

>%2f0%2c1660%2c6775%2c00%2ehtml>  ( MOT
><http://64.4.8.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=607179cca5baf5330939b85edecb5

>c3f&lat=1061872716&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fqs%2emoney%2ecnn%2ecom%2fapps%2f

>stockquote%3fsymbols%3dMOT> ), LG Electronics, and other companies are
>working on such devices, and Texas Instruments ( TXN
><http://64.4.8.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=1d101c7342175316dd9dd1153f7ad

>670&lat=1061872716&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fqs%2emoney%2ecnn%2ecom%2fapps%2f

>stockquote%3fsymbols%3dTXN> ) has a PDA
><http://64.4.8.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=75fb0fe7bafaaf7cfefc5aa088550

>81c&lat=1061872716&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2ebusiness2%2ecom%2fwebguide

>%2f0%2c1660%2c16565%2cFF%2ehtml>  concept code-named WANDA, for wireless
>any-network digital assistant.
>
>Given the differences between cellular and Wi-Fi, BridgePort's gateway has

>to quickly accomplish a lot to manage the handoff from one network to
>another. However, it's worth noting that when the cellular companies started

>to roll out digital cellular on top of their analog networks, they built
>some of this technology into their networks and dual-mode phones. The phones

>could then make a second connection in the background so a call could
>seamlessly hop from digital to analog midconversation. The cellular/Wi-Fi
>phones will do a similar thing.
>
>Once the handoff-technology issue is solved, though, the real challenge
>emerges: billing and access control. The cellular carriers charge a lot for

>a cellular call, because they own the airwaves and transmission equipment
>and they subsidize phones that, without roaming agreements, can't work on
>other networks. Not so with Wi-Fi: A Wi-Fi product can connect to any Wi-Fi

>network. But the cellcos are surely looking at Wi-Fi as a great way to
>offload traffic from their overloaded cellular equipment. So BridgePort and

>the cellular companies will have to figure out a way to do handoffs based
>not just on which available network has a better signal at the moment, but

>also on the potentially complex economics surrounding equipment and network

>ownership and the cost of using particular Wi-Fi connections.
>
>Since Wi-Fi also reaches deep into office buildings, where cellular often
>has problems, BridgePort's technology could be very attractive to enterprise

>customers and thus to cellular carriers that serve them. I expect to see the

>service and dual-mode phones first offered to businesses, not individuals.

>
>And if dual-mode devices (phones, PDAs, and laptops
><http://64.4.8.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=8f1eb9d79d3ae0b1329b84a980f7a

>9b2&lat=1061872716&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2ebusiness2%2ecom%2fwebguide

>%2f0%2c%2c43297%2c00%2ehtml> ) do eventually get traction, BridgePort will

>end up as a primo acquisition
><http://64.4.8.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=617a7c3654f3c978068880f396091

>8b8&lat=1061872716&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2ebusiness2%2ecom%2fwebguide

>%2f0%2c%2c189%2c00%2ehtml>  candidate. Some cellular hardware companies,
>like Motorola, are working on dual-mode equipment for the core of the
>network, but others are sitting on the sidelines, waiting to see if this
>trend has legs. Obviously, BridgePort is betting that it does. If the
>company is right, it'll be snapped up by some cellular or networking company

>that wasn't gutsy enough to make the bet when BridgePort was.
>- Rafe Needleman <mailto:rafen at rafeneedleman.com>
>
>What's Next: http://www.business2.com/whatsnext
><http://64.4.8.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=629de3e03cd70586dc47438d20b5f

>a19&lat=1061872716&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2ebusiness2%2ecom%2fwhatsnex

>t>
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