Posted on 07/26/2005 4:04:49 PM PDT by Mike Bates
Municipalities should leave the task of building Wi-Fi networks in the private sector's hands, the co-founder of Qualcomm said Tuesday.
"I don't think there's a ban required," Irwin Mark Jacobs, who recently retired as the company's CEO and now serves as its chairman, said during a luncheon speech here at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "But if I were voting in a municipality, I think I would not vote in favor of using tax funds to go ahead and compete with commercial services that are available and that are rapidly improving."
Many municipalities are getting into the business "without realizing the costs that are involved," Jacobs said, adding, "We'll have to wait and see what their success is."
Jacobs also suggested that the practice of charging fees for individual hot spots will die out as "all you can eat" services that offer connectivity from anywhere become more widespread.
Since Qualcomm marks its 20th anniversary this year, Jacobs used Tuesday's speech primarily to reminisce about his company's early ventures--some of which required jaunts to the nation's capital--and to boast about the multimedia advances cell phones have made during his tenure (think camera phones).
"We didn't even have a particular product in mind when we started," Jacobs said. "Very quickly, luckily, we did come up with ideas that indeed have kept us busy ever since."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.com ...
...and the inevitable strings that come attached to those dollars. Before you know it they'll be mandating "access" and free equipment for homeless bums, and all kinds of other PC shakedowns.
Irwin Mark Jacobs, Qualcomm co founder,
A local Democrat here in San Diego
WIRELESS SUCKS!
It's not secure and it's unreliable. If you use a cordless (non-cellular) phone, or cook with a microwave oven, you might as well forget using a wireless network. Why? For the cordless phone, it operates on the EXACT same frequencies that wireless networks do. And microwave ovens emit enough radio noise to scramble the signal from the wireless router, leaving you high and dry when you need it.
Wi-Fi is nothing more than a gimmick to generate new sales for hardware manufacturers whose sales were slumping as the ethernet switch and router market became saturated.
Oh yeah - and the government has no place in providing internet service.
Think it's tough getting technical support from your current ISP? Now imagine trying to get technical support from the damn government. It would be like dealing with the BMV!
But it's sure convenient.
In that case, please keep him over there. We already have too many of them here in the Land of Lincoln.
you mean, that the government wants complete access to and control over.
nothing to see here.
***
Gee, where's that tech guru from the '90's when you need him -- Gilder!?
He's got a newsletter, $195 for 12 issues. Tech's sure been good for him.
he can afford to offer it that cheap, if he put his money where is mouth was.
I can honestly say that I have had zero problems with the wireless network since installing it in April. Sometimes we have four computers surfing the web wirelessly at the same time with hardly a hiccup from all corners of the house.
As for security, we use 128 bit encryption. If some hacker has enough time on his hands to break through it so he can view my vacation pictures and see the websites that I surf to, I guess that's just my public service. At least he's not breaking into the Pentagon.
Wireless doesnt suck.
Wifey is running the microwave as I type right now. I am maybe 5 feet from the microwave.
You have to buy a phone that's not 2.4 if you use b/g
and not 5.8 if you run A.
BFD.
Hey Mikey;
How long do we have to wait for Qualcomm to roll out broadband services?
How many tax abatements are they getting from San Diego not to go to Taiwan, India or China?
This is a case of sour grapes from a non-competitive equipment vendor.
Compared to all other forms of internet access, shared wireless is the cheapest.
Most municipalities may already use it to control traffic lights and video cams and already have it deployed in buildings.
If you are worried about security you will use a firewall and VPN, turn on wep.
Qualcomm is a loser company.
I dont see too many Qualcomm cell phones, do you?
Hey Mikey;
How long do we have to wait for Qualcomm to roll out broadband services?
How many tax abatements are they getting from San Diego not to go to Taiwan, India or China?
This is a case of sour grapes from a non-competitive equipment vendor.
Compared to all other forms of internet access, shared wireless is the cheapest.
Most municipalities may already use it to control traffic lights and video cams and already have it deployed in buildings.
If you are worried about security you will use a firewall and VPN, turn on wep.
Qualcomm is a loser company.
I dont see too many Qualcomm cell phones, do you?
Hey Mikey;
How long do we have to wait for Qualcomm to roll out broadband services?
How many tax abatements are they getting from San Diego not to go to Taiwan, India or China?
This is a case of sour grapes from a non-competitive equipment vendor.
Compared to all other forms of internet access, shared wireless is the cheapest.
Most municipalities may already use it to control traffic lights and video cams and already have it deployed in buildings.
If you are worried about security you will use a firewall and VPN, turn on wep.
Qualcomm is a loser company.
I dont see too many Qualcomm cell phones, do you?
You don't see any QC phones any more because Qualcomm agreed to stop making them because it was hurting its main business, cellphone chipsets.
As far as being a loser company, QC has no debt, has $8B in cash, and has an absolute lock on the the future of wireless. In 4-5 years QC could be approaching the size of Microsoft.
Full disclosure: yes, I work at Qualcomm.
Is Qualcomm providing broadband access to San Diego?
Crickets chirping here.
If I'm discouraging people from using wireless networking, then I'm accomplishing my goal.
Point is, it's a REAL b*tch to troubleshoot remotely. I'm trying to make my own life easier, as well as those of my clients.(While not having travel costs cut into my bottom line, of course)
Plus, since I'm an old stereo system guy (1970's Marantz tuners ROCK!), I enjoy cutting holes in walls and stringing wires all over the place.
Qualcomm is no more a service provider (ISP) than a handset manufacturer. QC has however, created wireless broadband technology. QC now has working systems that allow wireless streaming video; about 30 frames a second. Just a matter of time before it percolates through the handset makers and ISP networks.
But you'll have to wait for a year or two, I'm afraid.
I don't want the damned government to have complete logs of what sites I visit or what I might post on online forums (fora?).
First off, it's none of their business. Second, what better way to built a list of possible "troublemakers" in case the State decides to declare an "emergency" and lower the boom on our basic freedoms?
I may sound paranoid, but my paranoia has saved my bacon from plenty of trouble during my life.
I do that now at home with 802.11. Not on a handset though.
So you are admitting Qualcomm is trying to supress adoption of free or low cost broadband internet services, right?
Typical.
What are the folks who live in rural areas and places where the cable and phone company will not install broadband to do?
The SD city council is probably less than happy with the local broadband providers.
Tucson is installing free WIFI downtown. I would say its a draw to businesspeople who wish to access the internet, without being scalped by the phone companies.
There are much worse things local governments can and do get into.
When the cell providers have useable broadband service that costs less than fixed cable, I will beleive it.
Meanwhile my investment money is going into GTEL and strattelites.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.