Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Wireless At The Convention:Lots Of Cell Coverage, But No Wi-Fi

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 02:34:28 -0400

Wireless At The Convention:
Lots Of Cell Coverage, But No Wi-Fi

By Mike Masnick
Fri July 09, 2004

It's political convention season in the US, and as the Democratic
Presidential Convention approaches, all the important details are being
finalized -- including what kinds of wireless connections will be
available.

Over in Boston, they're getting ready for this year's Democratic
National Convention. It's a big media event, and everyone wants to make
sure that all of the details are set. Obviously, wireless technologies
are a big part of those details, but the difference between cellular
coverage and Wi-Fi coverage gives you some idea how these things are
valued.

Cellular coverage is a big deal. After all, Nextel is paying to sponsor
the convention (though, to make sure they play both sides, they're also
sponsoring the Republican National Convention). However, the other
cellular operators obviously don't want any bad publicity either.

Verizon Wireless, hoping to live up to their "can you hear me now?"
reputation, is rolling out the big guns and upgrading the cells around
the convention location, installing a new cell on the top of the
building itself, and (just for good measure) bringing out mobile "cells
on wheels" to add more coverage, in case everyone tries to make calls at
once.  Clearly, they're hoping that the Fleet Center is completely
coated in cellular coverage.

Wi-Fi, however, is a different story. Both conventions have pointed out
that there will be no Wi-Fi access on the floor of the convention, for
fear that it would interfere with the ever-important-to-politicians TV
technology. While many questioned just how Wi-Fi might interfere with
TV, Glenn Fleishman went and asked Tim Pozar, about the potential for
conflict.  It turns out, indeed, that many television stations use
licensed 2.4GHz for Electronic News Gathering (ENG), giving them
priority over unlicensed 2.4GHz Wi-Fi. The news organizations don't want
to risk any kind of interference and have made it clear that they want
the 2.4GHz band all clear for themselves. As Glenn notes, it's unclear
how that will stop anyone from either setting up ad hoc Wi-Fi networks
or from dumping a Wi-Fi router at the end of a leased line (which
Verizon is offering for a fee).  For the time being, however, the
pecking order of wireless technologies with politicians is clear:
cellular is good, TV is good, Wi-Fi can wait.

http://www.thefeature.com/article?articleid=100865&ref=1822421

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