Friday, December 1, 2000

Wireless Internet hits Oahu

Pacific Business News (Honolulu) - by Terrence N.K. Sing PBN Staff Reporter

Two local firms are offering access to cyberspace through the airwaves.

The companies are the first in Hawaii to market to businesses and residential consumers who want wireless Internet access.

Internet Concept Solutions and HighSpeed.Com both offer technology that allows users to connect to the Internet via radio frequencies, but are taking widely differing approaches.

The main difference is that Internet Concept Solutions' HI.NET WoW service claims to allow users to roam anywhere within its service area, while HighSpeed.Com requires computers to remain connected to an axis point located within the office, but guarantees customers a secure Internet connection.

Wireless on the Web

Internet Concept Solutions is the first local Internet service provider to actively market wireless Internet service on Oahu to business and residential customers.

The company offers customers high-speed wireless Internet connections through HI.NET WoW, as an alternative to traditional dial-up services and a lower-cost option to other high-speed technologies, like digital subscriber lines. WoW stands for "With-out-Wires."

Company President and CEO Peter Yamaguchi says wireless is the wave of the future and believes it will one day replace dial-up Internet access altogether.

The most obvious benefit of the technology is the elimination of a modem and telephone line used in traditional dial-up access. But Yamaguchi says wireless technology also offers superior performance.

It's much easier to troubleshoot wireless technology, he says, because there are fewer problem points.

Using digital frequencies, the company offers customers high-speed wireless Internet access at speeds up to 100 times faster than dial-up modems, says Yamaguchi.

`It's a free-for-all'

The wireless service the company takes advantage of is the same unlicensed air space used by wireless home telephones and other appliances. Therein, industry observers say, lies the problem. Because the FCC does not regulate unlicensed airwaves, anyone can use them.

"It's a free-for-all," says Pacific DirectConnect Chief Operating Officer Mike Browning, whose company also offers wireless service. "It's a great idea. It's just how are you going to control it and how are you going to guarantee a level of reliability to the paying customer?"

Pacific DirectConnect provides wireless service in select environments. The company focuses on small local area networks in offices or residential homes that are easily controlled. An example would be linking three home computers to one high-speed connection, such as a digital subscriber line.

Browning says unlike a controlled office setting, there is nothing to stop someone from interfering with your signal in an area or islandwide network if you are using an unlicensed frequency.

"Because the FCC doesn't require you to register, there's the possibility that another provider could be operating using the same frequency, which could cause interference for customers," he says.

Brian Chee, associate director of the University of Hawaii's Advanced Network Computing Laboratory, agrees.

"The concept is if one frequency band is busy, the system will automatically shift to an empty band," says Chee. "The problem arises when there's no empty bands. And that's like a busy signal."

However, Yamaguchi remains confident. He says the company tested the technology for a year.

"There's enough bandwidth for competitors to operate on the same channels," says Yamaguchi. "We are assuming that there are going to be other people in the market, but we are not worried about it."

Yamaguchi says Internet Concept Solutions is the first Hawaii company to actively market wireless technology. However, he says, the company cannot guarantee customers trouble-free service all the time. On the other hand, neither can other providers.

Prices for the wireless service will run from $25.95 to $79.95, depending on customers' needs. For those companies and individuals more comfortable with wires, HI.NET still offers a digital subscriber line connection.

HighSpeed.Com will launch its wireless service during next week's ITEC conference at the Hawaii Convention Center. However, unlike HI.NET, the company's wireless service will operate on an FCC-licensed frequency the company owns exclusively.

"This is totally different from what other wireless providers are offering," says HighSpeed Vice President Jerry Stabile. "This is a licensed bandwidth that we own." Meaning the company guarantees customers consistent reliability.

"We are a highly secure network," says Stabile, "and the reason we are secure is no one else can use our frequency. You can't even buy the equipment unless you own the license. If someone were to hack in, that becomes a federal offense."

In addition, Stabile says, unlike unlicensed frequencies, HighSpeed's system can support an unlimited number of users. The company is targeting small and medium-sized businesses and will charge $750 a month for a T1 connection.

"That puts them [small/medium businesses] on an equal footing with larger companies that can afford the higher price of traditional wired access," says Stabile.

To date, HighSpeed has spent several million dollars toward the construction of two hub sites and the purchase of its licensed frequency. One of its hub sites is downtown at 1132 Bishop St., the other is at Iolani Court Plaza at the corner of Date Street and Kapiolani Boulevard. Initially, the company will be able to offer service from Waikiki to the airport.

"With those two hub sites we can essentially transmit and receive information within a 12-mile radius," says Stabile. HighSpeed plans to expand its hub sites as it finds other tall buildings to host antennas.

Surf the Web at the beach

Yamaguchi says what differentiates HI.NET's service from other providers is a statewide roaming network.

Yamaguchi says customers using laptops will be able to access the Internet anywhere within HI.NET's first access area, which includes Manoa, Ala Moana, Kapahulu, McCully, Moiliili, St. Louis Heights, Waikiki and portions of Kaimuki and Makiki. They plan on covering more of Oahu within a year.

UH's Chee says wireless Internet service that makes use of unlicensed frequencies has already been employed in some mainland communities.

"It's especially popular in rural areas where it's more expensive to set up wired lines," Chee says.

Running interference

However, the technology does not work as well in large metropolitan areas where there are many potential sources of interference on the same frequency range, such as cordless phones, wireless surveillance cameras and baby cams, and wireless burglar alarms, says Chee.

Though HI.NET's service offers desktop units the advantage of not having to be at fixed locations, laptop users would probably benefit the most because it eliminates the need for a cell phone to get online.

Connectivity is provided through a card that's inserted into a computer's connection port. The card contains a tiny radio receiver that picks up signals broadcast from strategically located antennas, says Yamaguchi.

Those antennas are placed atop buildings for greatest reception, Yamaguchi says.

HI.NET is targeting both residential customers and businesses for its wireless service.

Yamaguchi says wireless technology offers substantial cost savings over other high-speed connections.

"In all the wired examples you are dealing with a phone company and also an ISP," he says. "We bypass the local telephone company, so that's one less place where there can be a breakdown in equipment or connection."

Browning remains unconvinced.

"This technology has its place within the Internet," says Browning. "And where I see that is in solutions for in-home networking, in-office networking and building-to-building type scenarios. I don't think this particular technology was intended for a full-blown wireless deployment for Internet access to the backbone. Maybe someday it will, but not in the unlicensed area."

Wireless Internet access that makes use of unlicensed radio frequencies will not offer customers anywhere near the reliability that dial-up service does, says Chee. At least not customers who are located in urban areas.

"It's the same thing with cell phones," he says. "Cell phones are not as reliable as a land line. Your cell phone reception in an office building is never as good as when you are at home or outdoors."

Chee says this is because there is very little metal in most homes, such as is found in office file cabinets and building structures.

"Metal and water are the two things that block radio waves very effectively," Chee says. Chee says that HI.NET's use of antennas atop buildings is a way to circumvent the metal found in office buildings.

Chee believes the wireless market does have tremendous potential in certain niches.

"[HI.NET] should be going for delivery trucks and salesmen on the road all the time," says Chee, "or the student who wants to study at the beach."

One advantage HI.NET can offer customers is in the area of price.

"You are also paying dramatically less to HI.NET than you are to HighSpeed.Com," says Chee. "So if you are willing to deal with a little less reliability then HI.NET might be the better deal."

However, e-commerce businesses that depend on reliability may want to opt for HighSpeed's claim of 99.5 percent reliability.

"There's definitely market space for HI.NET," says Chee. "And there's definitely market space for HighSpeed. Consumers just have to do a little bit of research and make sure they know what they are getting into. You get what you pay for; it's not a magic bullet. That's the bottom line on this wireless thing."