Tully's signs with Cometa for Wi-Fi: Cometa will build hot spots in Tully's Coffee stores in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California. You wouldn't ask for something as crass as the number of locations covered by the deal; the number, 98, is hidden in the store backgrounder at the bottom. Cometa plans to install most locations within three months. Pricing and other details will be released in two weeks. I could write all kinds of self-evident statements here, including, "How do you install 20,000 locations in two years when you're committed to installing a total of under 200 (McDonald's and Tully's) in nearly the first year of operation?" But I won't. (I'll leave that to you all in the comments section.) Tully's is a reasonably well-known brand up here in the Northwest, but it's not the cachet that I'd be expecting Cometa to be launching their network with. First, McDonald's, a global brand with massive foot traffic and billions upon billions of dollars in revenue; next...Tully's? It's just not the same level of brand, even if Tully's were the most revered Northwest coffee company. (It ain't. Torrefazione and Caffe Vita, a roaster/store and roaster come much closer.) For Cometa to meet its brand challenge, and let me get all markety here, they need to score a 1,000-plus locations in a chain with international scope, and they need to do it soon: maybe by Feb. 2004, or they'll have lost the battle to sign premium brands... http://wifinetnews.com/archives/002134.html
5:54:17 PM    comment []

The IEEE is promoting specifications designated 802.15.4 as a standard targeted at wireless sensor and actuator networks. The standard provides for low-data-rate connectivity among relatively simple devices which consume low amounts of power and typically connect at distances of 30 feet or less. Applications range from sensors and switches for industrial and residential use to smart tags and badges, interactive toys, and inventory tracking, the group said. The MAC and Physical Layer (PHY) specifications for these low rate wireless personal area networks (LR-WPANs) should mean low-cost devices operating at relatively low power and low speed, with data rates typically in the 10 Kbps to 250 Kbps range. This allows devices to form short-range, ad hoc networks within which they can interact directly. Wireless links under 802.15.4 may operate in three unlicensed frequency bands accommodating data rates of 20 Kbps in the 858 MHz band, 40 Kbps in the 902-928 MHz band, and 250 Kbps in the 2.4 GHz band. When communication lines exceed 30 feet, the standard allows for the creation of self-configuring, multihop network topologies. The specification ensures secure coexistence with other wireless devices, such as those that comply with Wi-Fi, 802.15.1, or Bluetooth. Among the applications that will benefit from the new standard are motion sensors, which control lights or alarms, wall switches that can be moved at will, meter reader devices that work from outside a house, game controllers for interactive toys, tire pressure monitors in cars, passive infrared sensors for building automation systems, and asset and inventory tracking devices for use in retail stock rooms and warehouses.

http://www.commsdesign.com/story/OEG20030903S0011
2:50:48 PM    comment []