In the computer networking world, AP stands for Access Point, or in this case, a wireless access point. AP Isolation effectively creates a “virtual” network among wireless clients, in which each device is an individual entity that cannot communicate with other wireless devices on the same Wi-Fi access point. This configuration can be useful for public Wi-Fi hotspots to separate potentially malicious network traffic from other.
The tomato router has this option. Other APs do not.
Innovatio deliberately avoided targeting the actual manufacturers of Wi-Fi equipment, preferring to sue end-users. But in October, Cisco, Netgear, and Motorola teamed up to file an 81-page lawsuit [PDF] seeking to shut down Innovatio’s patent-trolling project once and for all. Not only were the patents invalid, but the suit alleged Innovatio’s whole campaign was a violation of the RICO anti-racketeering law. That law is more commonly used against crime families than patent holders.
via Wi-Fi patent troll hit with racketeering suit emerges unscathed | Ars Technica.
We’ve written about White Spaces on numerous occasions. The FCC gave its thumbs up in 2008. We wrote about test networks in 2010, and by December 2011 the FCC had approved the first White Spaces broadband device.
via No, free Wi-Fi isn’t coming to every US city | Ars Technica.
LOL. I read the free Wifi story in the Chicago Tribune and even on slashdot.
The Wi-Fi traffic jam was predictable, just as it’s predictable that there will be a mobile spectrum crunch, he said. 195 MHz of new spectrum will be opened up, all in the 5 GHz band, which has less interference but shorter ranges than the 2.4 GHz band. Opening up more spectrum has the potential to alleviate Internet-use congestion, particularly at crowded places like public Wi-Fi access points.
via FCC’s Genachowski: Gov’t will open up radio spectrum to improve Wi-Fi | Ars Technica.
Instabridge’s free Android app lets you automatically share Wi-Fi networks with your Facebook friends. Available in a handful of European countries, the app works by taking advantage of the Facebook Connect authentication tool, which lets users to log on to websites with Facebook credentials.
To share a Wi-Fi network through Instabridge for the first time, you must type in your network’s password, which is encrypted and stored on Instabridge’s servers.
The reason Apple does this is because you may be using an app other than the web browser. For example, the only thing you might be doing is syncing your e-mail. In such situations, you would never see the portal page, and your app will mysteriously fail to connect to the Internet.
Therefore, before your app has a chance to access the network, Apple does this for you. It sends out a request to the above URL. If the request gets redirected, then Apple knows there is a portal. It then launches a dialog box, containing Safari, to give you a chance to login.
via Errata Security: Apple’s secret “wispr” request.
At my local Starbucks, all web surfing is free. But, Windows presents a captive logon page where you must accept the Terms of Service, but the iPhone doesn’t. I assume the portal detects this URL, and automatically opens up the access-point without doing a redirection. I need to test witha Linux distro in order to figure out what’s going on.
FreedomPop is now also entering the home market, with a free home broadband product called FreedomPop Hub Burst that uses Clearwire WiMax, the company is announcing today. FreedomPop is now accepting orders and expects to ship its home modem next month. The service is faster than DSL but slower than cable. Stokols says the service will disrupt incumbents like Time Warner Cable, AT&T, Verizon and Comcast. Users get free service of 1 gigabyte per month but they can “earn” unlimited free access by adding friends to their network or participating in partner promotional offers. That amount of data is fine for 70% of users, says Stokols, the former CEO of digital video company Woo Media and vice president at British Telecom.
via FreedomPop Preps Open Wi-Fi, Launches Free Home Internet Challenging ISPs – Forbes.
Cisco is using its Mobility Services Advertisement Protocol (MSAP) client as the frontend to triangulate location data from small cells and Wi-Fi so that it can map out the locations of stores and more on different floors inside a building. Qualcomm will build this capability into the next generation of its Snapdragon chips for mobile devices, but Cisco is offering the software to enterprises now.
via Cisco Takes Location Indoors – IP & Convergence – Telecom News Analysis – Light Reading Mobile.
To solve this problem, NC State University has devised a scheme called WiFox. In essence, WiFox is some software that runs on a WiFi access point (i.e. it’s part of the firmware) and keeps track of the congestion level. If WiFox detects a backlog of data due to congestion, it kicks in and enables high-priority mode. In this mode, the access point gains complete control of the wireless network channel, allowing it to clear its backlog of data. Then, with the backlog clear, the network returns to normal.
via New WiFi protocol boosts congested wireless network throughput by 700% | ExtremeTech.
This guide shows the basic requirements and steps to build a WISP (Wireless Internet Service Provider) using Ubiquiti AirMax devices; suggested equipments and examples are intended for a system of up to 400 subscribers based on a single Base Station and “centrally managed” from the principal router. It covers the following themes: basic legal and commercial requirements, required equipments and basic services on the Base Station, clients’ configuration and general recommendations for starters.