Motorola Moves into Mesh Networking

In a move aimed at boosting its broadband networking, mobile giant Motorola has announced it’s purchasing US-based equipment supplier MeshNetworks.

Acquiring the wireless mesh networking company “brings sales, support and brand recognition that a startup could never match in a million years,” says Rick Rotondo, vice president of marketing for the Maitland, Fla-based company. (We suspect he was exaggerating for effect – commonly called hyperbole).

The purchase by Motorola further legitimises the whole mesh networking concept. Only last month, North American rival Nortel announced its mesh networking product line, aimed at providing easier WiFi coverage without the need for multiple access points. In the UK, LocustWorld has been selling its Mesh AP boxes to hotels, hospitality venues and rural community broadband service providers with a great deal of success.vMesh networking provides an innovative method to build complex data networks very easily. Using the intelligence of each component, meshing helps them to join into a self-organising structure. This approach differs from the traditional “top-down” design of data networks, and provides many benefits, including flexibility, speed and ease of management, making it simply to deploy widespread networks with low overheads. It’s particularly suited to wireless networks, where the connections can’t be predicted in the same way as a wired network, catering for mobile nodes, instant growth and unpredictable variations in reception and coverage.

Mesh networking builds up a wide spread multi-hop network, making connections between neighbouring nodes on demand. Once connected the nodes can explore the network and establish their routes through it, finding the resources that they need automatically.

“The acquisition also represents another step in Motorola’s commitment to deliver seamless mobility to all of our customers,” said Greg Brown, president of Motorola’s CGISS. The purchase will benefit “all of our businesses ranging from mission critical and enterprise markets to automotive and home entertainment applications,” said Brown.
SP Comment: Mesh networks are far from a new idea. Groups such as London-based Informal.org have been enthusiastic about the possibilities of a wireless mesh for a long time. For over three years they have seen the possibilities of a wireless mesh supplimenting the wired networks offering free, ubiquitous access and when combined with VoIP, replacing traditional phone services. When viewed in these terms, it is incredible how long big business takes to catchup with grass roots ideas.

Motorola
MeshNetworks
Informal.org

SBC sign $400m Microsoft IPTV/TVIP Deal

SBC, the largest supplier of DSL connections in the USA, has announced a deal to spend $400m (~€307m, ~£215m) with Microsoft over the next ten years to purchase their Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) software. SBC has been testing Microsoft’s IPTV platform since June 2004 and they now intend to start field trials in mid-2005 and plan commercial availability in late 2005.

The Microsoft product, whose official name is a bit of a mouthful – Microsoft TV IPTV Edition, provides comprehensive security including subscriber and end-to-end digital rights management (DRM), enabling the content to be taken on to the portable devices that support Microsoft’s DRM.

In the first quarter of 2005, construction is due to begin on the SBC “Project Lightspeed”, the company’s initiative to deploy fibre closer to customer locations, providing significant amounts of bandwidth. It is expected to reach 18 million households by the end of 2007.

Microsoft have, of course, had enough opportunity to get TVIP software right. It has been estimated that Microsoft has spent up to $20Bn pursuing their ambitions of being the supplier of choice for TV software for the next-generation of Set Top Boxes (STB’s). We briefly used Microsoft’s TVIP service at IBC this year and found it pretty impressive.

This is the second major TV announcement for Microsoft this month following the Comcast deal.

As the world moves to IP-delivered content, and the source of that content becomes significantly less important, the power that sits with the broadcaster today becomes transferred to the owner/supplier of the box that is used to access the content – the gatekeeper. It is likely that there will normally only be one gatekeeper per household. The race is now on for companies to establish themselves in that role.

SBC
Microsoft IPTV

AtomFilms And CustomFlix: DVD compilation service

When I first used CDuctive in 1998, I was hugely excited. Using a Web browser, you could preview and select music tracks from different artists, pick the order of the tracks, pay for it and have it posted to you. The disks would arrive a short while later with a professionally printed cover, listing the selected tracks. I was so impressed with the idea, I thought the service was worth investing in.

These days the idea doesn’t seem that revolutionary. Indeed it appears a little old-fashioned, having been outdated by music downloads.

Today, AtomFilms and CustomFlix are announcing that they’ve got together to offer the video equivalent – DVD compilations of short films. Using CustomFlix’s Build-Your-Own DVD™ service (isn’t it amazing what you can trade mark these days), purchasers are able to choose up to 10 pieces, initially from a selection of 125 of AtomFilms’ shorts. There are a couple of limits – there cannot be more than a total of 90 minutes of footage onto one DVD and each video clip can be up to a maximum of 30 minutes long. In the same way that CDuctive worked, the disc’s content and packaging reflects the selected films. The disc then arrives in the post.

It’s a good idea, a DVD duplication service combined with a content company, opening the market to those who don’t have sufficient bandwidth to view films online. Posting DVD’s is a very efficient method of bandwidth delivery. 4.7Gb of data transfer costs a lot more than the price of an envelope and a stamp.

They label it a “major step forward in the distribution of on-demand”, which is stretching the concept of on-demand a little – with that logic anything you buy or rent is now on-demand.

After a quick look, it is encouraging to see that it looks like the service is deliverable outside the US. An advantage, I assume, of the contracts signed by AtomFilms for the original material being delivered via the Internet – by definition they are likely to have global distribution rights.

What is not clear is why there are only 125 films initially offered. Is it that Atom doesn’t have rights to physically distribute the other material or perhaps the material isn’t held, or even available in DVD quality?

It’s hardly worth mentioning because it’s too obvious, but clearly when broad-broadband is universal, online distribution will significantly reduce the demand for services like this. We’re not there yet, and clearly many parts of the world are far from close to that, so this service does have the ability to last a while.

There are advantages of buying it on DVD, over the future online delivery methods. The purchaser will own the DVDs content, free to play it on the device of their choosing and it will be DVD resolution, not a version compressed for download. If you go looking for CDuctive, I’m sad to see that it looks like it faded away – but that was six years ago.

CustomFlix
Atomfilms

European Music Rights: Hearing Today – Latest

It’s been clear that retailing Digital Music in Europe has been a lot more complex to organise than in the US. Witness the slower rollout of European music services – EU challenges EU-wide music royalty structure).

The collecting societies will be fighting their corner today at the hearing in Brussels. All involved hope this should go towards clarify the situation.

Failure to fix clear, fair rules for online music licensing has “been the main obstacle in Europe” blocking faster development of online music services, said Lucy Cronin, executive director of the European Digital Media Association. Quoted from the IHT as they covered the build up

Latest News 13:00 update

The run of the events so far. First thing this morning the commission presented its objection and the collecting societies presented their disagreements. This was followed by Q&A session lead by the Commission when one of the issues re-examined was cross board monitoring.

When we asked for an instant reaction to the situation, Lucy Cronin told Digital-Lifestyles “By lunchtime it doesn’t appear that the Commission are being swayed by the collecting societies arguments.”

This afternoon the Interested Parties will have an opportunity to present.

Following this hearing, the wheels of the Commission continue to turn. A report will be circulated for internal consultation. It is expected that it will be a couple of months until the EU ruling will be publicly announced.

European Digital Media Association

First 8Mb Broadband for UK Homes from UK Online

UK Online are today launching the UK’s first 8Mb consumer DSL service. Called Broadband 8000, it will cost £39.99 per month and is subject to a £50 setup charge.

The previous fastest consumer service in the UK was 4Mb but the vast majority of ADSL connections run at 512k, making Broadband 8000 sixteen times faster. Upload speeds remain at 400k matching higher speed services.

UK Online, who were established in 1994, aim to offer the service to 230 exchanges spread around the UK during 2005. This will covers 18% of the UK population, or 4.4m homes.

As of today, the 8Mb service is available from four exchanges; Walton-on-Thames, Surrey; Kingswood, East of Bristol; St Albans, Hertfordshire and Dinsdale in the Midlands.

Alternatives to BT’s broadband service are possible due to “Local Loop Unbundling” (LLU), where other companies place their equipment in telephone exchanges. Working with their unbundling partner EasyNet, they are planning to convert 10 exchanges a week, with the other exchanges being chosen on a demand basis. Chris Stenning told us “we encourage people to pre-register at the site”. A smart and logical move on their part and one that BT used in the earlier days of broadband when choosing the exchanges it would convert.

UK Online have wisely recognised that the broadband requirements have risen for many multi-occupancy households. As DSL users realise how much better the broadband experience is, their demand for usage increases. When a household has a number of members using the broadband connection at the same time, the currently standard 512k connection isn’t up to it.

We’re big supporters of any service that increases bandwidth to consumers. The more bandwidth available, the more willing people will be to take their video entertainment from online sources.

The real bandwidth hog is video, but as with all of these things, multi-room TVIP services will demand higher bandwidth than 8Mb per household.

Justin Fielder, CTO of UK Online told us that 8Mb is the fastest service that can offered in the UK with current regulation. Faster services, such as ADSL 2+, would require approval from UK regulator, OFCOM. ADSL 2+ uses higher frequencies, so it needs to be ensured that these would not cause interference within the network. This process is currently being undertaken by OFCOM and when complete, promises speeds of up to 18-24Mb. Fielder tell us that upgrading their customers to that, would only require a software update at the exchange and a new modem which would be shipped to the customer.

UK Online Broadband 8000

Music Downloads from Street Kiosk

Inspired Broadcast Networks (IBN) has announced an electronic music vending Kiosk that will sit at locations around the UK/London. Members of the public will be able to insert a cash payment and once paid for, the electronic music will initially be downloaded using either a USB port, or by inserting an SD memory card into the machine. IBN feel (rightly) that wireless distribution will become dominant and are supporting Bluetooth and WiFi distribution of the content.

The first cash download will take place on Wednesday at IBN’s office in Soho, London. Tracks will be £1. Following this, the kiosks will be rolled out around the UK starting with three mainline London train stations, Charing Cross, London Bridge and Waterloo. We think the choice of these sites is ideal – commuters, bored of their current music selection will be able to charge their portable music players ready for the journey. IBN hope to get to 20,000 sites in the next two years.

All of the music will be supplied by Entertainment UK, the largest supplier of physical music formats in the UK. It’s currently unclear if this partnership will see the kiosk located in the shops that Entertainment UK supplies physical goods to.

The music will initially only be available in protected Windows Media format (WMA). IBN are also working on a system called ‘Linguist’ that they hope will translate between differing makes of DRM, while maintaining the contents protection. They are also ‘in discussions’ with Apple, which is strange. Inspired Broadcast Networks (IBN) is a subsidiary of Leisure Link Group (LLG), is the largest operator of coin-operated entertainment terminals in the UK. The Cloud, a WiFi access company is its sister company.

Back in March IBN signed a deal with Ericsson to provider 5,000 WiFi access points in locations around the UK.

Inspired Broadcast Networks

Utilities Switch On Broadband Over Powerlines

Broadband over Powerline (BPL) is an emerging technology that may shake up the competitive world of broadband Internet and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. It offers high-speed access to your home through the most unlikely path, a common electrical outlet, allowing you to plug your computer into any electrical outlet in your home and instantly have access to high-speed Internet.

Combining the technological principles of radio, wireless networking and modems, the technology can be used to send data over power lines and into homes at speeds equivalent to DSL and cable. In Singapore, Pacific Internet is one of two ISPs trialling the technology in conjunction with Singapore Power. The Singapore trial is currently sustaining connection speeds of 2.2Mbit/s – faster than Telstra ADSL. Elsewhere in the world, power lines are running at 4.5Mbit/s, and ultimately the technology supports speeds of up to 10Mbit/s. It also allows utilities to tap existing infrastructure cheaply, fill market gaps in underserved regions and benefit from plummeting equipment costs.

For instance, the city of Manassas in Virginia has signed a deal with local utility Communication Technologies to extend broadband services across the city’s powerlines to 15,000 residential and commercial locations for less than $30 (£16) a month. Revenue is then shared between the city and the utility, as long as they adhere to powerline radiation-emission restrictions and follow consistent and repeatable measurement guidelines set out by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

It’s not all been going smoothly for the new technology though. The two test plants near Rochester, NY, both pulled the plug on their setups when the cost analysis came in. There was a major interference issue on BPL also, but the final argument was decided due to the money.

New UK VOD Gets All Clear from EU

European regulators have approved a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company, Columbia Pictures (a division of Japanese electronics giant Sony), and the UK’s ON Demand Group to provide a video-on-demand service in Britain and Ireland. The new venture will be called MovieCo and will give UK cable network operators an alternative to procure video content other than BSkyB, which is currently the dominant player on this market.

The MovieCo joint venture will offer films to customers of Britain and Ireland’s two biggest cable companies, Telewest and NTL. According to the EU statement, it ‘will provide an open platform to which movie content providers will have access on a non-discriminatory basis, therefore enabling them to make films available by way of video-on-demand directly to customers.’ The deal is also likely to help improve Hollywood’s leverage with BSkyB, as the satellite TV company renegotiates with individual studios over the rights to films for its stable of movie channels. Sky offers its movie channels to cable customers as well as its own satellite subscribers.

The new service will allow viewers to pick from a wide selection of movies to watch whenever they want. The technology is expected to be a key weapon for cable and telecommunications providers in their battle against satellite firms. Companies including BT Group and France Telecom’s Wanadoo also have video-on-demand platforms in the works. Video Networks’ HomeChoice already offers video-on-demand to areas of London.

More importantly, MovieCo will add legitimacy to the concept of on-demand movie downloads to PCs. The business has been in a state of flux because of piracy on popular peer-to-peer networks (P2P) and concerns over the quality of digital movies. To boot, the sector is also under constant scrutiny of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which is making good on its threat to sue file-swappers. The trade association has been busy in the US issuing subpoenas to ISPs demanding the identities of subscribers using P2P applications to upload and download copyrighted works.

The Walt Disney Company
Columbia Pictures (Sony)
ON Demand Group

Apple Avoids French Courts Opening FairPlay DRM

VirginMega, a joint venture between Virgin France and local media company Lagardère, has failed in its legal attempt to get Apple to license it DRM technology.

VirginMega claims that Apple’s refusal to license its FairPlay technology – the Digital Rights Management (DRM) system that allows songs from the iTunes store to be played only on iPods – is hampering the expansion of its digital music download market. The retailers complaint was ruled to be short on convincing evidence, according to the French Competition Council.

The problem, as VirginMega sees it, is that as its own online music service uses Microsoft’s audio files format (WMA) and is protected by Microsoft’s DRM technology, it isn’t supported by Apple’s iPod digital audio player. Since Apple won’t build WMA compatibility into the iPod, and as the iPod is the number one digital audio player worldwide, VirginMega is obviously miffed. Virgin wants Apple to licence FairPlay so it can incorporate the technology into the tracks it sells, thus making them iPod-compatible. The lack of compatibility between rival music services and players will certainly put VirginMega at a ‘disadvantage’, so it’ll have to look elsewhere to improve its sales to WMA-compatible devices.

Clearly Apple isn’t keen to share. Some feel that Apple may have shot itself in the foot here, as wider content support for FairPlay could help to drive the sale of iPods. By establishing AAC and the FairPlay DRM as a standards, more iPods would be sold and other standards, like WMA, would possibly be left by the wayside. Conversely if other music sites started using FairPlay, Apple would lose the relationship with the music purchaser.

Skype & Siemens Bring Wireless VoIP

Siemens Gigaset M34 USB Adaptor SkypeSiemens have announced the availability of a range of handsets that work with VoIP (Voice over IP) software, Skype. Simply by plugging the USB adapter into a computer running an updated version of Skype, home and business users will be able to make calls using a cordless handset. Calls to other Skype users will be free and calls to International landlines can be made at very low cost using SkypeOut.

For those of you who like model numbers – the Siemens Gigaset M34 USB PC adapter works with the recently launched Gigaset C340/345 and Gigaset CX340/345isdn, Gigaset S440/445 and Gigaset SX440/445isdn, Gigaset S645 and Gigaset SL440.

The handset range is, in itself, pretty impressive featuring some with built-in cameras capable of sending MMS and others able to do Instant Messanging (IM). Remember, these are not cellular phones, but are for home or office use.

When we spoke to Siemens they told us that you can walk into a shop in Germany and buy many of these handsets today. There are ongoing discussions with UK retailers and it’s likely that the M34 USB adaptor will be bundled with handsets – guide price £100 for the Gigaset C340/M34 bundle, with availability probably post-xmas.

The real strength of this deal is that normal, average home users will be able to use VoIP, using a hand-set that is familiar to them. They won’t have to go to their computer to make a Skype call and dig deep into software.

The deal was first announced in March at CeBIT 2004 and was originally slated for release in September. Reasons for the delay are currently unclear.

We imagine that Skype must be pretty pleased with this deal. Not only do they enable people to use their service on a phone but it gives Skype a mainstream legitimacy that was previously lacking.

What is slightly unexpected about this is that Siemens, a provider of POTS (Plain Old Telephone System), is voluntarily moving to VoIP. It is another clear sign of the acceptance from ‘old school’ telephony companies that VoIP is the way forward. Marketing-wise it’s a great way for them to shake off this old image and appear ‘down with the new tech kids’.

We’ve been experimenting at the Digital Lifestyles studio with using a Bluetooth Jabra BT250v headset and a Belkin Bluetooth Adaptor to make Skype calls. On the whole it works, but the setup is definitely not consumer friendly as yet.

Siemens Mobile – Gigaset M34 USB
Skype