RCA has demonstrated a prototype that converts WiFi radio signals into DC power that charges wireless devices.

The WiFi Hotspot Power Harvester, also known as Airnergy, is expected to sell for between $40 and $50 this summer. That devices is about 2 inches by 3 inches but RCA said it is developing a smaller version that would replace a battery inside a handheld device and sell for about $60. That smaller version could ship in 2011.

During a demonstration at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month, RCA's device was able to charge a BlackBerry Bold with about 30 percent power in 90 minutes using WiFi access points located nearby, according to an RCA spokesman. How long it takes to charge a device depends on how close the user is to a WiFi hotspot.

For more:
- see this Computerworld article

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­UMA and femtocell vendor Kineto Wireless has developed what it calls the Smart Wi-Fi Offload platform yhat turns existing WiFi access points into seamless extensions of a mobile operator network, enabling smartphone users to receive all mobile services over WiFi, including voice, SMS, data, IMS and web-based services.

WiFi has been heavily touted--and heavily used by AT&T Mobility--as a way to offload mobile data network traffic to improve network bottlenecks. Operators are also facing a situation where mobile data traffic is outstripping revenue.

But Kineto says there are also some unsavory side effects associated with allowing subscribers with WiFi smartphones to move onto Internet-based WiFi networks. Namely, web services like Skype can be used, bypassing an operator's own revenue-generating services. In addition, smartphones using cellular and WiFi radios simultaneously face significant battery drain, which is a disincentive for using WiFi.

As such, Kineto's WiFi Offload platform is designed to deliver all mobile services via WiFi rather than the macro network. As a result, the cellular radio can be turned off whenever a smartphone is connected to WiFi and smartphones remain on the macro network.  

For more:
- see this release

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In-flight service provider Aircell plans to launch an in-flight video downloading service later this year, giving airline passengers the ability to download a movie or television show for a fee to their laptops during flights via the Gogo WiFi connection.

Eric Lemond, director of product management with Aircell, told Computerworld that the service will become available on Windows laptops this year and that the downloaded content will be available for viewing for up to 24 hours, regardless of whether the passenger is still flying since the service is will be similar to buying content from the iTunes store. Video content could range from $2 to $4, Lemond said.

Aircell has now deployed the in-flight Gogo WiFi service on 700 planes with eight airlines. Aircell hasn't released the number of total unique users it has nor any revenues or other information such as paid vs. free users, but it has indicated that 2 million sessions have been logged on the service. An article that appeared late last year in Portfolio.com said less than 10 percent of all people who take flights that offer WiFi service actually use it, citing cost and the logistics of using a laptop on a plane. Prices of the Gogo service range from $5 to $13 per fight, depending on the airline and the length of time in the air.

A video download service may hit a sweet spot given the fact that passengers would have a range of content to choose from at prices they are accustomed to paying on the ground.

For more:
- see this Computerworld article

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After more than two years and $20 million, the Minneapolis WiFi network has been declared complete. US Internet, which is operating the network, counts some 16,500 subscribers with hopes of reaching 30,000 in three years.

The network initially suffered from technical and political delays, including line-of-sight problems, a shortage of city light poles suitable for WiFi equipment and jurisdictional problems between the city and the Minneapolis Park Board.

Lynn Willenbring, the city's chief information officer, told the Star Tribune that the network meets the city's requirement that US Internet cover 95 percent of the city's 59.5 square miles. The Minneapolis network has been heralded as a muni-WiFi network model that works because the city government is an anchor tenant, paying US Internet $1.25 million per year for 10 years for use of the network. The city is also adding police and fire departments to the network.

For more:
- see this Star Tribune article

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The Wall Street Journal reports that chicken wire used inside old plaster walls of older homes in the Bay Area is causing problems for WiFi usage. The chicken wire evidently creates a particularly powerful metal shield as the wires are the perfect size to catch frequencies generated by a 2.4 GHz WiFi network. Article

Mobile broadband news ruled the industry in 2009.

The first thing that comes to mind is the data deluge that some operators are experiencing--most notably AT&T Mobility's congestion woes--as consumers buy more smartphones and data access plans. The issue will continue to drive headlines in 2010.

Web-friendly smartphones turned many mobile customers into prodigious consumers of wireless data services, and WiFi made more inroads into handsets and devices. Analysts have called WiFi access a must-have for devices going forward. Sprint is mandating that all devices include WiFi, while Verizon Wireless is slowly embracing WiFi, selling more WiFi-enabled devices but falling short of offering free WiFi to smartphone users. It recently began offering free broadband to modem and card users.

WiMAX finally made a stronger debut in major markets such as Philadelphia, Dallas, Atlanta and Las Vegas thanks to Clearwire, and the company's wholesale partners--Sprint, Time Warner and Comcast--are beginning to make a more serious push with WiMAX offerings.

The broadband stimulus application process kicked off, with some 2,200 applicants representing $28 billion in projects vying for just $4 billion in this first round. Only last week did some $182 million in projects trickle out from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS), the two agencies in charge of doling out money.

Verizon Wireless put a stake in the ground when it comes to LTE, handing out radio access contracts to Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson in February and is gearing up for its series of launches in 2010.

All of these events should make for an interesting 2010. FierceBroadbandWireless will be taking a break during the holiday season. We'll be back on Jan. 4 with our predictions for 2010. Enjoy the season.--Lynnette

Mobile advertising agency AdMob says in its November 2009 AdMob Mobile Metrics Report that one of the major trends of this year has been the increasing usage of WiFi, which is no real surprise. The agency reported that 24 percent of requests in the US came over a WiFi network in November, compared with 8 percent in November 2008. Interestingly, a new class of devices such as the iPod touch, Sony PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DSI gain traction in terms of WiFi traffic in 2009. Article

The city of Philadelphia said it plans to buy the original muni-WiFi network constructed by EarthLink for $2 million and turn the whole city into a WiFi hotspot.

The city is exercising an option in an agreement to buy the network from Network acquisition Co, which took over the network from EarthLink in June 2008. Philadelphia intends to purchase the network in a series of steps to enhance public safety and improve government efficiency as well as providing public access is certain areas.

The city said it will spend about $17 million over its 2011 through 2015 fiscal years to build out both the core fiber network it already owns and the wireless mesh network. But that $17-million price tag will enable it to save $9 million in operating expenses over the same five-year period, the city claims. And if it constructed the network on its own, the cost would be more than $30 million, the city said.

Philadelphia expects to be able to start using the network in a pilot mode as early as spring. EarthLink once had aspirations to blanket cities with WiFi access but abandoned the plan in 2008 as the company's financial position worsened.

For more:
- read this Philadelphia Business Journal article

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Verizon Wireless has finally jumped on the bandwagon, offering free WiFi to subscribers, but only those customers that have signed up for Mobile Broadband and Global Access mobile data plans and are using broadband via USB modems, PC cards and netbooks. The plan isn't covering Verizon's WiFi-enabled smartphones such as the Motorola Droid.

Verizon Wireless is reselling hotspot access through its partnership with Boingo Wireless. The company has slowly warmed up to WiFi as many smartphones now include the technology. In July, Verizon's wireline division announced it would provide access to Boingo hotspots to customers of its wired FiOS and high-speed Internet services. Today's announcement brings its mobile broadband customers into the fold.

AT&T already offers WiFi access free to its mobile data customers--including smartphone users--through the firm's acquisition of Wayport. The carrier in October reported tremendous growth in WiFi usage, particularly from smartphone users. In third quarter, AT&T said its customers made 25.4 million WiFi connections in the quarter, a big increase over the 20 million WiFi connections made in all of 2008 and the 25.6 million connections made in the first half of 2009.

For more:
- see this release

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The House of Representatives will begin installing a WiFi network in January, creating a number of wireless hotspots in cafeterias. The goal is to have the 802.11n network cover the four House buildings and the U.S. Capitol building, which includes hearing rooms and member offices. The only WiFi hotspots today in the House are various member-operated networks that are not monitored. Most wireless Internet users on Capitol Hill rely on 3G signals that are often unreliable. The House has been leery about WiFi networks over security concerns. Plus the 505,000 square foot, multi-building campus, complete with marble walls make a WiFi network a challenge. Article