Wi-Fi Planet offers An Open Source Wi-Fi Roundup . Author Sean Michael Kerner states that:

Open Source is usually touted as a disruptive technology that is a boon to innovation and something that lowers costs and barriers to entry.

And the open source movement is having the same impact on Wi-Fi.

Here are a number of the project he describes:

• Linux LiveCD Router project. -- allows you to simply boot from the CD on an old PC with a Wi-FI card for a working Linux terminal, complete with a Wi-Fi Router.
  
• Sesame Wi-Fi
  
• Less Networks Hotspots Server (popularized by the Austin Wireless City Project in Texas).
  
• Public IP's ZoneCD is a simple Hotspot on a CD solution.

Comcast Exchanges Mickey Mouse for VoIP

Comcast has given up on its plans to purchase Disney and has joined rivals Time Warner Cable, Cablevision Systems Corp., and Cox Communications Corp. in announcing that by 2006 it will offer VoIP telephony services to 40 million people in Comcast supported markets. "...Comcast is far larger than its competitors and analysts say it offers the biggest long term threat to telecom carriers," writes Michael Learmonth of Reuters.

But Ben Chamy at CNET News.com reports that another set of analysts "said it may be too late to do Comcast much good." Chamy points to Frost & Sullivan analyst Jon Arnold -- "2006 is really far away, so you can read that as a cynically cautious piece of news. The game will be over by then" because of VoIP offerings from the traditional telecommunications companies.

Credibility and reliability as a telephone network operator could hurt Comcast as well. "Nevertheless, it's still unclear whether consumers will be willing to move from their reliable telephone companies to a cheaper, but less dependable, VoIP service from cable operators writes Antone Gonsalves for TechWeb News. He points out that a VoIP phone will not work during a power outage and issues must still be resolved in providing 911 emergency services.

But Om Malik thinks "...this is good use of Comcast’s natural abilities which is running a cable network and maximizing the returns on the coaxial." He points out how quickly Comcast became a player in the consumer Internet broadband access market and predicts similar success with VoIP.

Om raises a warning, however, about whether Comcast will be a good corporate citizen or will engage in "dirty tricks." Agreeing with this point, Brian Kane blogs, "Just wait until they tell you that you have to subscribe to some package of useless telephone services just to have dialtone. Just wait."

Whether or not Comcast is successful, and whether or not they will work cooperatively within this emerging industry, "Still it’s a good day for our industry when 40 million people become 40 million prospects." observes Greg Galitzine.

Wi-Fi -- Just like Bathrooms and Napkins

In the continuing saga of the Cometa Networks shutdown, eWeek reports that Cometa customers are scrambling to find alternatives. In the article, Peter Hoedemaker, vice president of retail at Tully's Coffee,is quoted as saying

"Everybody is still trying to figure out the economics of [Wi-Fi]."

Note to Peter -- the economics are in selling coffee.

Perhaps he should go check out this post at Wi-Fi Networking News, outlining Wayport's new pricing plan. Wayport is converting from the common Wi-Fi model of sharing variable revenue and cost with their location partners to a flat fixed fee, allowing the partner to decide how much (if anything) to charge.

In a clear swipe at T-Mobile’s arrangement with Starbucks, Borders, and Kinko’s, in which, according to many sources, the cell company bears the cost of the network and operations and shares revenue with its venues, Wayport’s CEO Dave Vucina said, that a retail partnership “shouldn’t be about how much they can get for free from the provider but should be more about their core business and driving enormous traffic for their core business.”

So Peter -- think about it this way -- you provide a bathroom in Tulley's and that costs you something every month, even though not all of your patrons use it. You provide napkins, even though not everyone takes one. Why not build Wi-Fi into the base cost of operating a Tully's outlet and offer patrons free access just as you do with bathrooms and napkins?

NY vs. VoIP

The NY State Ruling

Frontier, a telephone company in upstate NY, protested the entry of Vonage into the Rochester marketplace. As the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle wrote:

The state Public Service Commission on Wednesday said Vonage Holdings Corp. can offer a form of local telephone service in New York state. Vonage employs voice-over-Internet protocol, or VOIP service, to connect calls using a Web connection, bypassing parts of the local telephone network.

Frontier, a division of Citizens Communications Co., had protested Vonage entering the Rochester market. The PSC said Vonage can proceed in its request for state approval to sell services.

While the local media reported the ruling as a success for Vonage in that they may now "proceed" to receive state approval to sell telephony services, most others reported this as a blow to the nascent VoIP industry.TMCnet.com put it somewhat differently:

The New York State Public Service Commission has determined that the Vonage Holdings Corporation (Vonage), which offers competitive telephone services to New Yorkers through Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, is a telephone corporation as defined by New York State Law and, therefore, must obtain a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN).

The Wall Street Journal's Mark Wigfield writes that "about half of all states have launched regulatory or legal proceedings of their own." Mark does a good job of reviewing the first two of the important issues...

Why does Government Care

There are four issues at stake when the government considers regulation of telephony --

• Public safety -- regulation insures access and funding for 911 services
  
• Criminal investigation -- the FBI and other law enforcement organization want to ensure that they can tap into phone calls
  
• Taxes -- governments hate to give up access to reliable funding sources
  
• Lobbies -- incumbants resist new technologies that threaten their current business models and use government to slow down competition

On the first three issues, we can expect government to move somewhat cautiously with respect to new industries. But lobbying can make governments move more quickly. And the existing telcos seem to have a lot to fear. UPI's Gene Koprowski begins his article on the topic, "Local phone companies may soon be relics of a bygone era, as quaint as an RCA Victrola phonograph or a Kodak "Brownie" camera."

What the Tech Press Said

The technology press didn't have much to say beyond being outraged and quoting various industry figures. C Net's News.com offerd excerpts from Jeff Pulver's web site who wrote that this ruling "...is a very troubling development." News.Com's Ben Chamy led his story with the outrage expressed by Vonage, "We're disappointed, we're concerned and we're incensed," a Vonage representative said Thursday."

What the Bloggers Said

• Andy Abramson is succinct, "It looks like some states want to write legislation that will slow down the deployment and acceptance of VoIP."
  
• Paul Victor Novarese seems vexed that no one is listening to him -- "Uh, Vonage is a phone company. They sell phone service. You get a phone number. The fact that your call goes "over the intarweb" at some point is irrelevant. If you connect to the PSTN, you're a phone company. I've already been through this several times."
  
• William Hungerford rambles... "So much for VOIP being the low cost way of the future. New York has declared Vonage as a phone company and is subject to regulation. Other states sure to follow, destroying the price margin between VOIP and traditional phone service. I'm so glad I'm an ex New Yorker because of stupid regulations and stupid Hillary Cinton (I didn't mean to type that out loud)

Cometa Networks Shutdown

What Happened

SAN FRANCISCO - Cometa Networks Inc., a company that equips coffee shops and bookstores for wireless Internet offerings, is shutting down, casting doubt on a business niche many had considered a sure bet. (Associated Press)

What the Tech Press Said

"Industry Unsurprised by Cometa Shutdown" read the headline at CRM Buyer (and other Primedia sites) Dan O'Shea reports in this article that

"I think a lot of people in the industry knew they were out to try to raise more funding," said Dave Hagan, president and chief operating officer of Wi-Fi aggregator Boingo Wireless.

Cometa had raised between $5 million and $7 million so far, several sources told Telephony, but this wasn't enough money to pursue the multimarket hotspot build-out it had hoped to fulfill.

Carol Ellison and Sean Gallagher at eWeek wrote:

The loss of the McDonald's contract may have played a major factor in that decision by Cometa's stakeholders. Apax Partners, one of the two venture capital firms funding Cometa, declined comment on the move, referring all inquiries to Cometa's vice president of marketing, Kent Hellebust.

The announcement took many customers by surprise, as Cometa had announced expansions in its network as recently as last week—inking agreements with Nordstrom and other retailers in Seattle on May 10. And just last month, the company took over Toshiba America Information Systems' SurfHere network of 350 hot spots. Other existing hot spot providers in Cometa's network included Barnes & Noble bookstores and the Tully's Coffee chain in the Seattle area.

Folks in Seattle didn't seem too worried however, with an article in the Seattle Times by Nancy Gohring reading:

Seattle Wi-Fi users may find slightly fewer hotspots because Cometa is closing its doors, but the shutdown shouldn't hurt the overall growth of the hotspot market.
Several industry experts said other providers will largely fill the gap, but at least one local Cometa outlet may drop its Wi-Fi service.

Interesting Side Story

Dan Gillmor pointed out what a lot of the mainstream media and tech media failed to -- that Glenn Fleishman's Wi-Fi Networking News actually got the scoop on this story. Glen has some interesting thoughts on having gotten the scoop on his blog, GlennLog which raises some interesting issues about how journalists should behave in this fast moving electronic world we are in -- when a story "breaks" through a posting on a blog, do you give the blog credit? What if the blog is a "niche news service" -- i.e. more than an individual's own ramblings?

Commentary from the peanut gallery

Dana Blankenhorn writes of Cometa Networks going "belly up" that it is "...to me, is very good news indeed." His argument is that Wi-Fi access should be a free service that you get as part of the price of a cup of coffee.
David Isenberg writes, " AT&T, has extended its amazing, unprecedented, unbroken two-decade long string of "every business initiative we touch turns to sh*t." WiFi Networking News reports that Cometa Networks, the paid WiFi hotspot venture of AT&T, Intel and IBM, is shutting down tomorrow."
Om Malik tells us that "his take" is that "Cometa's failure is proof that the wholesale model is not going to work."

Yahoo! Maps now include Wi-Fi Hotspots...

Thanks to MobileWhack for this tip -- Yahoo! Maps has added a button that allows you to view hotspots... here is the map for the neighborhood near my house:


Berkeley Hot Spots