Wireless Broadband: Conflict and Convergence - A New Book Available Today
November 6, 2008
November 6, 2008 – Seattle, WA - As the thirst for bandwidth continues to explode, the traditional service deployment landscape will be reshaped around the globe by new entrants, market forces, and regulatory challenges. In this environment, one thing is clear: ubiquitous wireless broadband internet will reach into every corner of global society.
Today, wireless and telecommunications industry leaders Vern Fotheringham and Chetan Sharma, announced the release of their new book, Wireless Broadband: Conflict and Convergence (November 2008, Wiley-IEEE Press, ISBN: 978-0-470-22762-6, US$85.00, 254 pages), explores the role of wireless technologies in delivering broadband services to users, as well as the regulatory and competitive inhibitors these networks face.
“Our inspiration for this project grew from a general frustration with a growing gap between supportable and factual information in the general telecommunications industry, and the wireless industry in particular,” said Vern Fotheringham, co-author of Wireless Broadband: Conflict and Convergence, and Managing Director, IP Broadband, Ltd. “This book attempts to counter the industry noise with technological, regulatory, and market realities facing the global growth and adoption of wireless broadband,” he said.
Using a reader-friendly approach that minimizes industry jargon wherever possible, Wireless Broadband: Conflict and Convergence clearly explains the business, regulatory, and technology issues of the future market for wireless services, covering:
• Broadband and the information society
• Drivers of broadband consumption
• Global wireless market analysis
• Broadband IP core networks
• Convergence finally arrives
• Contention and conflict: regulatory, political, financial, and standards
“This is as comprehensive a book on Wireless Broadband as I have seen,” said Steve Elfman, President of Sprint/Nextel. ‘The authors of this book address the most important issues facing the players in the wireless ecosystem in great detail and provide a very thoughtful analysis,” he said.
The book was co-authored by two industry veterans and thought leaders, Vern Fotheringham and Chetan Sharma. Mr. Fotheringham, Managing Director of IP Broadband, Ltd., has been a catalyst for innovation and change in the competitive telecommunications field through direct entrepreneurial activities, as an advisor or influencer on many successful projects, a public policy and regulatory advocate for new telecommunications service rules and standards, and as an inventor and creator of new and innovative services.
Chetan Sharma, President, Chetan Sharma Consulting, is one of the leading strategists in the mobile industry. He has served as an advisor to senior executive management of several Fortune 100 companies in the wireless space. He is the author of five books on the subject of wireless technology and mobile advertising.
More information about the book can be found at www.wirelessbroadbandbook.com. In addition, the book can be purchased online through Amazon.com (www.amazon.com), Barnes & Noble (www.bn.com), and John Wiley (www.wiley.com).
About IP Broadband, Ltd.
IP Broadband Ltd. is developing converged IP services targeted on the Asian and North American markets for next generation access and application services.
About Chetan Sharma Consulting
Chetan Sharma Consulting is a consulting and advisory firm helping companies in the mobile and voice communications sector with expertise in developing innovation-driven product, marketing, and IP strategy. Clients include companies like NTT DoCoMo, KTF, Sprint Nextel, Reuters, Disney, Qualcomm, Infospace, Reliance, BEA, HP, Merrill Lynch, Cincinnati Bell, Bain, SAP, Vulcan, American Express, and many others.
For more information, press only, contact:
Leigh Fatzinger
Principal
OMV, Ltd.
press@omvltd.com
1 206 793 9400
www.omvltd.com
Strata8 Named One of NetworkWorld’s 9 Wireless Companies to Watch
August 14, 2008
Congratulations to OMV client Strata8 Networks, who were named as one of Network World’s 9 Wireless Companies to Watch in the publication’s August 14 issue.
From the article…
Why is it worth watching? In effect, it’s like a personal cellular service for the enterprise, which means potentially big savings on per-minute costs. Strata8 estimates that many companies can cut their cellular bills by half. The PBX integration links what is often two separate worlds. And you don’t need to deploy and manage VoIP Wi-Fi/cellular convergence products from vendors like Agito, DiVitas, Siemens.
The entire article can be read here.
Strata8’s Vice President of Marketing, Andrew Wilson, has been pivotal in positioning the company in their market for enterprise-grade cellular services - and the media and Strata8’s potential customer base have been quick to take notice. Congratulations Strata8 on this well-deserved recognition.
Mobile WiMax Makes Big Debut. In Jackson Hole?
July 1, 2008
We’ve been waiting for a commercial deployment of the WiMax Forum’s 802.16e mobile broadband standard since 2005. Yea, it’s been that long. Now it appears that the standard finally has a foothold in the United States. More specifically, in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
There are a few different standards for wireless broadband in the United States. Clearwire, based in Bellevue, Washington, has been deploying in several US markets under the 802.16d standard for fixed wireless broadband. If memory serves, Speakeasy, based in Seattle but now a part of BestBuy, also toyed around with the “d” standard. Think of the 802.16, or WiMax, standard, as WiFi with much greater range. People used to refer to it as WiFi on steroids, but personally, I despise that cliche. WiFi, in almost all cases, is faster at transmitting data, but has a much shorter range than WiMax. WiMax travels farther and is more adept to being offered by broadband service providers for various reasons.
Fixed WiMax works well and has had deployments all over the world for a number of years. Mobile WiMax, the “e” standard, has been slow to take off. Some predicted it would never leave the runway. This is partially due to the wireless service providers following another path to mobile wireless broadband, called 3G. Rather than building entirely new transmission networks based on WiMax, service providers could upgrade their own networks to 3G and obtain just about the same performance.
And the citizens of Jackson Hole, Wyoming are the first to take advantage of it. Ashburn, VA based Digital Bridge Communications announced yesterday they’re providing mobile broadband service of up to 3Mbps in that tiny ski village. I’ve always been curious about how service providers choose test markets for their cutting edge services. It’s not really a “if you build it, they will come” kind of a market for edge of the envelope. To me, it more of a “if we can be successful here, we can be successful anywhere” kind of market.
For the sake of the future of mobile WiMax, I hope this deployment is a successful one. The standard needs a win, no matter what size the market.
Strata8 Enterprise Cellular - Part 2
June 9, 2008
On Message Ventures produced a lunch seminar for client Strata8 Networks in Seattle last week, titled “Controlling Enterprise Wireless Expenditures”. The below video is Dr. Gerry Purdy, VP of Research, Mobile and Wireless, of Frost & Sullivan explaining to a group of executives the current state of the wireless communications industry.
Strata8 Enterprise Cellular - Part 1
June 9, 2008
On Message Ventures produced a lunch seminar for client Strata8 Networks in Seattle last week, titled "Controlling Enterprise Wireless Expenditures". The below video is Andrew Wilson, EVP of Strata8, explaining to a group of executives the most effective methods of controlling and reducing enterprise cellular expenses.