The U.S. Census Bureau plans to conduct its first paperless door-to-door census in 2010, and A. Edward Pike, the bureau's gadget guy, has a potential order for handheld or mobile computers big enough to make any salesman salivate.

Pike, assistant division chief for systems, geography and content programs in the bureau's Decennial Management Division, wants to buy a half-million mobile computing devices to support the door-to-door canvass of 40 million households in 2010. He's evaluating potential mobile computing technologies and hopes to pack whatever device the Census Bureau purchases with hardware and software that will allow the 500,000-strong field workforce to function more efficiently and cheaply.
5:37:30 PM    comment   

Effort under way to equip cars with Internet access using 802.11a technology

Automakers, toll-road authorities and public safety officials are starting to lay the groundwork for deployment of technology that could make every car and truck manufactured in North America the hub of a built-in, high-speed wireless LAN system.

The in-vehicle wireless technology is based on a licensed Digital Short Range Communication (DSRC) system designed to support automatic toll payment and safety applications, which could even enable emergency vehicles to change traffic lights. And since DSRC operates in the 5-GHz band, which is also used by unlicensed 802.11a wireless LANs (WLAN), DSRC backers envision wide-scale production of dual-band chips.
5:34:09 PM    comment   

Backers of the DSRC standard say gas stations will eventually install DSRC-based dual-band radios with wireless LANs to pump information to customers as they pump gas. But Exxon Mobil Corp. said it plans to keep its focus on extending the reach and utility of its own, simpler Speedpass technology.

Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil uses the Speedpass token - usually carried on a key ring - to allow customers to fill their tanks with a wave of the token at a gas-pump sensor. The Speedpass stores customer details on a small chip.

When waved over the sensor, a short-range wireless link operating at 134 KHz starts an automatic activation and authorization process, and the total purchase is then charged to a preapproved credit card. Speedpass can also be used for purchases in Exxon and Mobil gas station convenience stores.
5:31:46 PM    comment   

Public access wireless LAN service shared the center ring here at the annual Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) trade show with third generation mobile data, and one major carrier promised to deliver combined Wi-Fi/cellular services by early next year.

Voicestream Wireless Corp. plans to offer a PC Card by early next year that will provide users access to both 40K bit/sec. mobile service over its nationwide General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network as well as speeds of up to 11M bit/sec. over the 802.11b public access Wi-Fi network it acquired from bankrupt Mobilestar Network Corp. (Wi-Fi is another name for 802.11b and was coined by the industry trade group the Wireless Ethernet Compatability Alliance, or WECA).
5:23:42 PM    comment   

Wi-Fi friend, says Voicestream head: the Boston Globe reports on the CTIA conference's embrace of Wi-Fi as a seamless partner to 3G. One 3G company's head says, Wi-Fi service will forever be spotty; 3G will be the spackle of coverage. [via Alan Reiter]

4:52:03 PM    comment   

802.11 Planet breaks the news that VoiceStream has ended its hereUare partnership: hereUare is refreshingly frank in this article about the end of their business relationship with VoiceStream, which had originated back in the MobileStar days. The break-off means that hereUare has half the reach (about 600 versus previously 1,200 hot spots). The flip side, though, is that hereUare is strongly positioned going forward as one of the lead back-office handling aggregators for alternative real-estate. In English, hereUare has a package they can offer smaller chains and single businesses that allows integration into a larger network, billing, customer support, and so forth. The larger real-estate holders, like hotels and convention centers, will most likely require infrastructure builders as partners.

4:51:51 PM    comment   

Several folks tried to sell me as news Joltage's plan for announcing their software rollout. I'm confused about this. The rollout may be news, but without a footprint and with two competitors (SOHO Wireless and Sputnik), I'm not sure if this isn't marketing by press release. Eleven days ago, I wrote about all three companies.

4:51:37 PM    comment