-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Nathan and All, Our tech infrastructure and our sophistication as users of tech trails most of the developed (and developing) world. Hard to believe that SingTel's investment in WLAN won't yield increased human capital and a more producte economy. WLAN is a public good and cannot properly be addressed by the private sector. In any case, the quality of telecom in New York, wired and wireless, is a scandal. A lucky few franchises squeeze every penny from residential and business customers and reinvest nothing. They purchase bandwidth at inflated prices and resell it at inflated prices. It's almost a vision of everything that can go wrong with with free market capitalism.
A modern services economy can only succeed in an environment of efficient and efficiently priced telecom. Telecom in NYC is disproportionately expensive and primitive. One possibility is that telecom franchises are cynically bleeding the city dry. Alternatively, the city will die and its death will have nothing to do with 9/11, a decline in financial services activity or the current recession. NYCwireless is a noble project, but any fool can see that a time will soon arrive when WiFi should be offered throughout the city as a reasonably priced utility. I suspect the network would be cheaper to maintain than any of the existing telecom networks in the city. Of course, there's no such thing as a reasonably priced utility in NYC. I don't know whether success as an entrepreneur qualifies Mayor Bloomberg to make important decisions about public policy in the city. I certainly know that his company has always fought tooth and nail against the Internet. The question of WiFi as an important element of city infrastructure, the entire fiasco of telecom in NYC, far outweighs any other current issue that faces the Bloomberg administration. Regards, R. Schainbaum Nathan Freitas wrote: | This is the coolest part: "If unsure, SingTel Mobile customers can easily locate the nearest wireless surf zone by simply keying in *624 on their phones." | | | Anthony Townsend wrote: | |> so much for NYC being the WLAN capital of the world |> |> -------- |> |> |> |>> SingTel To Have 150 Wireless Hotspots By Year End |>> |>> By Seng Li Peng |>> |>> Not to be outdone by its rival, StarHub, which has recently launched a |>> Wireless Broadband Hub covering an area of 180,000 square meters (a size |>> equivalent to 28 international soccer fields) at the Suntec City building |>> (StarHub Launches Singapore's Largest Wireless 'Hotzone'), Singapore |>> Telecommunications (SingTel) has launched its own version of wireless |>> hotspots which have almost the entire Singapore covered. |>> |>> This means that more than 300,000 SingNet users and more than a million |>> SingTel Mobile's postpaid customers are now able to access the Internet |>> wirelessly at speeds of up to 512 kilo bits per second (Kbps) in more than |>> 100 outdoor surf zones in Singapore. |>> |>> Each of these zones will be marked with a SingTel 'Wireless Surf Zone' |>> |> |> sign |> |> |>> and can be found in the central business district as well as suburd areas, |>> Starbucks cafes, Burger King outlets, Shangri-La Hotel, country clubs and |>> various community clubs among others. If unsure, SingTel Mobile customers |>> can easily locate the nearest wireless surf zone by simply keying in *624 |>> |> |> on |> |> |>> their phones. |>> There is no monthly subscription fee to the service. SingNet dial-up and |>> broadband customers and SingTel Mobile postpaid customers need only to pay |>> for what they use and are charged US$0.11 per minute. They can access the |>> service by using their existing SingNet user IDs or SingTel Mobile General |>> Packet Radio Service (GPRS) ID (i.e. mobile phone number) and passwords |>> respectively. But they would need a wireless enabled notebook computer, or |>> |> |> a |> |> |>> handheld device, that complies with Institute of Electrical and |>> |> |> Electronics |> |> |>> Engineers (IEEE) 802.11b standard. |>> |>> According to the company's vice president (Consumer Products), Hui Weng |>> Cheong, SingTel plans to have at least 150 wireless surf zones by the end |>> |> |> of |> |> |>> the year. "We will also offer wireless local area network (WLAN) |>> infrastructure to other operators and Internet Service Providers on a |>> wholesale basis," Hui added. |>> |>> Getting More Broadband Users Onboard |>> |>> The offerings do not stop with the wireless zones that cost the group more |>> than US$560,000 in investments. SingNet Broadband (which has more than 50 |>> percent of the domestic broadband market share with more than 92,000 |>> broadband ADSL lines) has also launched 'Home Wireless Surf' which enables |>> households a wireless broadband Internet connectivity anywhere within the |>> home. |>> As part of its plan to promote the use of pervasive and broadband |>> |> |> services, |> |> |>> the service comes with no additional subscription fee and usage charges |>> |> |> are |> |> |>> based on the customer's existing SingNet Broadband price plan. All they |>> |> |> need |> |> |>> is an Ethernet modem, an access point and a WLAN card which cost about |>> US$280. |>> |>> In addition, users can opt for the new Multi-Surf - a service that allows |>> |> |> up |> |> |>> to three users (one main plus two Multi-Surf accounts) in the home for |>> concurrent Internet access using the same ADSL connection without |>> compromising broadband speeds. Each additional account costs about US$20 |>> |> |> per |> |> |>> month. |>> |>> Wireless Services In The Pipeline |>> |>> SingTel has also lined up a host of new value-added wireless Internet |>> services for its customers in the months ahead in a bid to up its mobile |>> |> |> and |> |> |>> data services profits (which currently forms 48 percent of the groups |>> revenue). These include: |>> |>> * Prepaid wireless surf service where customers can purchase a selected |>> amount of Internet surf time and are given a temporary Internet account |>> |> |> and |> |> |>> password for use at any wireless surf zone. |>> * Wireless surf for inbound roamers where roamers can request for a |>> temporary wireless surf account. |>> * Wireless broadband roaming arrangements with GRIC and iPASS for both |>> inbound roamers and SingTel customers traveling overseas. |>> * Park & Surf service which enables motorists and their passengers to |>> download information from car parks. |>> * Wireless printing service that enables users to send documents to |>> |> |> selected |> |> |>> shops for printing. They can collect the printed documents later and have |>> the bill charged to their SingNet or SingTel Mobile account. |>> |>> |>> |> |> |> -- |> NYCwireless - http://www.nycwireless.net/ |> Un/Subscribe: http://lists.nycwireless.net/mailman/listinfo/nycwireless/ |> Archives: http://lists.nycwireless.net/pipermail/nycwireless/ |> |> | | | | -- | NYCwireless - http://www.nycwireless.net/ | Un/Subscribe: http://lists.nycwireless.net/mailman/listinfo/nycwireless/ | Archives: http://lists.nycwireless.net/pipermail/nycwireless/ | -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.0 (MingW32) iD8DBQE9lU3WOnk5FWbSIpgRAsZWAJ4xHMf4nkSkVDzteIJGs0vXNbI8EgCfY3DP fsd14KVkSIwhcl6kQ1WXI8o= =+AQu -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- NYCwireless - http://www.nycwireless.net/ Un/Subscribe: http://lists.nycwireless.net/mailman/listinfo/nycwireless/ Archives: http://lists.nycwireless.net/pipermail/nycwireless/
