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Are you really living in a free mobile telecommunications world? |
| | Could technology help free ourselves from mobile companies? This is an adventurous question, because for the most part since Bell and Edison times persons have become dependent on telecommunications companies to render fixed and afterwards mobile services. |
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< | I will demonstrate that we have a technological alternative to change the mobile telecommunications industry and break our actual conception of the mobile environment. Unfortunately, because there are diverse economical and political interests related with this industry, mobile companies and the U.S government have opposed to this change through the years, as you will discover herein. |
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> | I will demonstrate that we have technological alternatives to change the mobile telecommunications industry and break our actual conception of the mobile environment. Unfortunately, because there are diverse economical and political interests related with this industry, mobile companies and the U.S government have opposed to this change through the years, as you will discover herein. |
| | 2. Review your telecommunications knowledge and open your mind |
| | Another way to process a mobile phone call is by using Voice over IP (VoIP? ), also called Internet Telephony. In this scenario voice is transformed into data packets that travel through the Internet to its destination where it will transform into voice again. Does this sound similar to what Skype does? |
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< | Now that you understand that almost everything in telecommunications is data transportation and fortunately, nowadays almost everyone is used to perform interactive conversations from a computer through Internet; can you imagine having the possibility to be connected to a giant Wi-Fi network and to use a phone everywhere and for free? |
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> | Now that you understand that almost everything in telecommunications is data transportation and fortunately, nowadays almost everyone is used to perform interactive conversations from a computer through Internet; can you imagine having the possibility to be connected to a giant Wi-Fi network and to use a phone everywhere by just paying a minimum fee? |
| | It is true; I can grant that Skype or similar can be use in mobile devices, but in this case you are still under the mobile companies’ control and consequently subjected to the data services payments? |
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< | 3. My alternative |
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> | 3. My proposal |
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< | Foster the usage of Wi-Fi enabled VoIP? phones (Wi-Fi phones) under super Wi-Fi environments administered by local governments. |
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> | Foster the usage of Wi-Fi enabled VoIP? phones (Wi-Fi phones) under super Wi-Fi environments. My intention is to gather technological improvements for a bigger purpose. Mobile companies have underestimated this idea through the years, because they considered that it would represent a serious threat for their revenues. |
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< | My intention is to gather technological improvements for a bigger purpose. Mobile companies have underestimated this idea through the years, because they considered that it would represent a serious threat for their revenues. |
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> | 3.1 Super Wi-Fi networks |
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< | Moreover and particularly regarding the possibility that local governments could run Wi-Fi networks, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission have opposed this scheme due to their concern for (i) unfair competition among private and public sectors in the wireless industry; and (ii) harmful interference to local TV stations. |
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> | This is the concept of turning entire cities into wireless access zones and could be achieved by means of wireless mesh networks (WMN). A mesh in this concept is a series of radio transmitters that are able to communicate with at least two others, creating a cloud of radio signals through the city. |
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< | 3.1 Super Wi-Fi networks |
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> | Mainly and among the most discussed projects during the past years for the construction of wireless mesh networks are (i) municipal wireless networks and (ii) the Freedom Box. |
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< | This is the concept of turning entire cities into wireless access zones. |
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> | Many local governments from around the world have done various initiatives to build citywide Wi-Fi network and fortunately in almost every continent there has been a successfully deployment. Further and recently considering its importance, the European Commission had submitted to the European Parliament a proposal to spend almost 9.2 billion euros from 2014 to 2020 on pan-European projects to give citizens access to high-speed broadband networks. |
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< | There have been many initiatives from local governments around the world to build citywide Wi-Fi network and fortunately many of them have been executed successfully. |
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> | In respect with the financial matters, the business model of local governments may vary between projects, but generally the service is rendered based on a fixed minimum payment that is adequately and proportionally divided according to each citizen’s income and that could be paid monthly or jointly with the annual tax payment. |
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< | Regarding the technological aspect the usage wireless mesh networks (WMN) is recommended. A mesh in this concept is a series of radio transmitters that are able to communicate with at least two others, creating a cloud of radio signals through the city, allowing you Internet access from every part of the city. |
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> | In contrast from the positive previous statements, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission of U.S. have opposed this scheme due to their concern for the possibility to generate (i) unfair competition among private and public sectors in the wireless industry; and (ii) harmful interferences to local TV stations. |
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< | In the financial matters, the business models of local governments may vary, but I considered that Wi-Fi coverage could be rendered for free based on the economical theory that people who are no longer spending money on a high-speed connection will be able to put that money back into the local economy and therefore, generate more incomes to the city via tax collection. |
| | 3.2 Wi-Fi Phones |
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< | Wi-Fi phones use the same wireless network technology as computers, but with the advantage that they are a lot more portable. Likewise as computers, these phones use VoIP? technology to make calls over an Internet Protocol network, instead of the ordinary Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). |
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> | Wi-Fi phones likewise as computers use VoIP? technology to make calls over an Internet Protocol network, instead of the ordinary Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), but with the advantage that they are a lot more portable. |
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< | Mainly because of the rejection of the mobile companies, the diverse and massive production of pure Wi-Fi phones has not arrived to the markets. Nonetheless, you can buy a ZyXEL? , Locktec or Linksys model for approximately US$75.00. |
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< | An important thing to bear in mind is that you need to buy a Wi-Fi phone with open protocol to not be related to a particular network or service provider in order to be able to contact with others in a free way. |
| | 4. Advantages and disadvantages
Herein I am going to enumerate the most important advantages and disadvantages from our proposal. |
| | - http://www.fcc.gov/blog/fcc-announces-public-testing-first-television-white-spaces-database |
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> | - http://www.muniwireless.com/2011/10/19/european-commission-seeks-9-billion-for-broadband
- http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2007/09/wheres_my_free_wifi.html |
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