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Even cellco's don't like 3G
Vodaphone boss blasts 3G at 3G conference
I have noticed the tech press over the last month or so has been full of hired guns proclaiming some form of crib death for WiMAX and that 3G is the wave of the future (just like they said in 1997). Those pundits were all set back on their heels with a scorching keynote from Vodaphone CEO Sarin (see http://prweb.com/releases/2007/2/prweb505748.htm ) at the 3GSM conference in Barcelone, Spain this past week. Memo to pro 3G analysts: its service provider execs that determine the life or death of a new technology. If the CEO of one of the world's largest cellco's sez "3G is toast and we won't buy any more, we're going with WiMAX" that should tell you a lot about the state of the technology and the market.
The referenced article states the obvious: 3G is stuck on circuit switches made in the 1980s. Memo to 3G fanatics - you're going to have real problems offering mobile TV and other services not envisioned in 1997. You also won't go near T1 substitute, HDTV and a wide range of other bandwidth intensive, packet switched applications that WiMAX CAN offer.
The article does mention Vodafone's dabbling in WiMAX. It will take only a very few more major cellco's to announce a preference for WiMAX and we will reach a tipping point in the industry where 3G dies a timely death (yup, its been around almost a decade regardless of whether any one it deployed it or not) and the industry adopts WiMAX.
Frank Ohrtman
WMX Systems
Too much on the network rather than Wimax future use
Few Editors faced with getting the paper to bed care about the immediacy of technological change until they have to manage its implementation.
The rapid rise of WiMAX is not just about communication its adoption will revolutionise the way we harvest news.
In brief, it’s like WiFi, but WiMAX works up to thirty miles away from a transceiver and ten times faster than 3G.
The equipment to be used by photojournalists on location will be capable of sending live feed without massive Newspaper capitol expenditure.
What will this news gathering equipment be like, and how will WiMAX influence its design?
The new, news camera body containing the picture and sound recording memory and the Pier-to-Pier COM link, will be clipped onto the photojournalist’s belt. The lens will be just that, a lens, with a handle containing the capture, exposure and a zoom button. The lens with a built in WiMAX chip transmits the captured images on the fly, either still or video, to the body worn camera architecture.
The size of these new lens will be a third that of present cameras; the capture chip will be square to allow the imaging space for composing the pictures later. Each photojournalist will only require three very compact fast lenses. The extreme wide zoom 10-28mm, the News zoom 20-150mm and the Sport zoom lens 100 to 400mm lenses. This entire lens range will be all weather sealed units!
The viewfinder is connected to the lens imaging CCD via WiMAX and provides a lens to viewfinder real time feed from the capture CCD; the viewfinder picture will be displayed within a pair of eyeglasses. This head up display in the eyeglasses also reviews exposure, the real time and captured images, also any messages being sent from the Editor. (By example the next job with a GPS address, GPS is built into the camera with maps) The images are transmitted as they are captured to the Picture Desk.
These WiMAX lens, will allow the total freedom to point it from any angle of view at the subject, the camera is no longer required to be in front of the photographers face; rather its operation can be defined as an arms length capture device.
The flash strobe is clipped to the top of the lens, which always illuminate from above the capture angle. (No more shadows) This is because the chip is square, no need to angle the camera onto its side.
The Photojournalist will be in constant pier to pier communication with their Editors via WiMAX. The View finder glasses will also incorporate a look what’s behind you 180 degree display from a miniature lens mounted in a sports hat, these hats can also displays the Newspaper Name, as it becomes essential to differentiate our staff journalist from that of paparazzi.
All this technology requires power; this requirement by 2007 will no longer be a problem as companies like Samsung launch their miniature fuel cells and or advanced polymer batteries.
Cumulatively, WiMAX will introduce ‘connect anywhere devices’. Allowing the Internet to become an in the field knowledge resource. Giving both the public and the news teams instant access to upload and download information on the fly.
This activity will change dramatically the way computers work and especially their designed, as data is no longer required to be stored locally in the devices, rather it will be accessed through the Internet via new super highway servers using WiMAX communication.
This will give birth to the virtual computer, where these new devices replacing laptop computers are worn on the wrist containing a minimalist designed. Indeed, just a flat screen while all the mechanism and toys accessed and used by the flat screen are within a WiMAX device the size of small mobile phone kept in the pocket or a handbag. The Super computer highway using WiMAX will also give the user instant access to memory recall notes using voice-VOX or text requests. Text messaging and reports will be written using eyeball movement within the eyeglasses
WiMAX will also allow village hall concerts to be broadcast live through the newspaper website; tickets for such concerts ‘Reader live Concerts’ being sold through the Newspaper.
As WiMAX is free to air broadband, the new, ‘PolyMedia adaptive broadcast tool kits’, will allow anorak reporting to bring hobby interest groups together into community web based magazines.
All types of community fellowship activities will come together using WiMAX broadcasting in world wide like minded interests group, such as Brass Bands, Opera, Village Choral Societies, Bell ringers, and organisations like the Scouts and Guides etc. These new Anorak Magazines need to live within the domain of the regional Newspaper. Act now, don’t miss out on this one, its future will be seen to bring about the biggest change in broadcasting and indeed the end of terrestrial television and radio domination as we know it. It is estimated there is more revenue spent on hobbies than food. Go live! Go WiMAX.
PolyMedia. Web based Broadcast Radio, Television, Newspapers, Anorak Concourse & Super High-way Internet accessed Lore