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freitasm

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#139305 4-Feb-2014 10:44
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Just received:


Telecom Digital Ventures, the Telecom digital services and innovation unit, has announced it is launching a competition called GigaWiFi, using next-generation Cisco WiFi technology to help deliver arguably the fastest WiFi towns in the Southern Hemisphere.

Since it was launched only a few months ago the Chorus Gigatown initiative has created significant interest in the benefits of fibre. The introduction by Telecom of a complementary competition called GigaWiFi will help users take even more advantage of fibre connectivity and will play a helpful role in further encouraging fibre uptake.

Telecom Digital Ventures will be installing next-generation super high speed (1 gigabit per second speeds) 5th Gen WiFi hotspots at strategic and high-traffic ‘hero’ locations around New Zealand, and at towns who win the GigaWiFi competition, which will include – but not be limited to - the winning town in the Chorus Gigatown competition. Installation at hero locations will commence later in 2014. This is in addition to the ongoing expansion of the existing national Telecom WiFi network of over 800 hotspots.

Telecom Digital Ventures SVP Mobility, Commerce, Data & Apps, Ed Hyde, says, “Because WiFi can expand the reach and connectivity of Fibre this is an obvious complement to the current Chorus ‘Gigatown’ competition. The benefits work both ways, not only does WiFi expand the reach of Fibre, but having good fibre connectivity is essential to realising the full potential of WiFi.”

Mr Hyde said, “Over the past year we have already rolled out a nation-wide Telecom WiFi network of over 800 public hotspots in refitted Telecom phone booths. That’s been hugely popular, with over 280,000 people already signing up to use our WiFi network and many thousands joining each week. Our intention is to continue to build on that. We see a future for all New Zealanders, and visitors, being connected on the go by thousands of Telecom WiFi hotspots all across the country.”

“Installing even faster 5th Gen WiFi at selected locations means we can offer superior WiFi speed and performance in those areas. 5th Gen WiFi boasts speeds up to 3 times faster than the current WiFi standards and allows for faster connectivity, meaning it has the potential to have a greater impact on our daily lives. It offers improved reception, less network congestion and smoother roaming functionality.”

Full details of the GigaWiFi competition are yet to be determined; however the winning towns selected will have a meaningful number of state of the art next-generation Cisco 5th Gen WiFi hotspots installed in public areas throughout, enabling more people to create and discover great things in a world where being connected matters more than ever.

Mr Hyde said, “Increasingly, people want to be able to work and play, anywhere anytime. WiFi is the key to seamlessly integrating mobile and fixed networks. GigaWiFi competition winners will receive the sort of high-speed WiFi infrastructure that can help improve lives and foster innovation across their community in a myriad of ways.”

Victoria Crone, General Manager, Marketing and Sales, from Chorus, said “We're really excited that Telecom WiFi is getting behind the Gigatown initiative with their GigaWiFi promotion. We think there is fantastic synergy between 5th Gen WiFi and Chorus fibre to provide truly world class connectivity and GigaWifi is a great way to draw attention to this great opportunity”

The Chorus Gigatown concept has a forerunner with a successful model in the United States. Chattanooga, TN was one of the first cities in the world to roll out a fibre to the premise (FTTP) network offering gigabit connection speeds to homes and businesses. This has been credited with playing a role in attracting a swell of economic investment into Chattanooga.

Sheldon Grizzle founder of The Company Lab, a hub for digital entrepreneurs in Chattanooga, TN. said, “Whatever town wins the Gigatown competition will become the envy of not just the Southern Hemisphere, but the rest of the world.

“While Chattanooga has the best gigabit fibre infrastructure in the US, we do not yet have a publicly available next-generation WiFi. So the additional GigaWiFi competition is a wonderful opportunity for the winning community to leverage even more connectivity to improve the daily lives of its residents.”

Geoff Lawrie, Cisco New Zealand Country Manager, said, “Next-generation WiFi delivers significantly higher levels of performance and connectivity to support an incredibly fast data transfer experience. It boasts speeds up to three times faster than current WiFi deployments; and faster connectivity means positive impacts on the way we work, learn and play".






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timmmay
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  #979975 4-Feb-2014 10:57
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It's a bit light on technical details and a bit heavy on hype. I guess it's one of the latest 802.11ac/ad connected to the standard Telecom infrastructure to let customers log in? Good to see progress though, Telecom seem to be doing pretty well in the mobile space these days. I think I'd rather see more hotspots than faster hotspots though.

Supporting a lot of users in busy areas sounds useful, but personally from a phone I find 10Mbps to be more than I really need. Low latency is helpful, but downloading a 10MB app in 1 sec instead of 5 sec really makes little difference. Maybe it'd help with things like 1080p video conferencing or similar though.



Coil
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  #980013 4-Feb-2014 12:00
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How over the moon i am living in Auckland and watching some small town down the south island get gigabit Fibre and Gigabit wifi..

hio77
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  #980026 4-Feb-2014 12:11
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TimA: How over the moon i am living in Auckland and watching some small town down the south island get gigabit Fibre and Gigabit wifi..


isnt it great to be in auckland too, i mean, look at our great vdsl ;) 




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Coil
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  #980029 4-Feb-2014 12:13
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hio77:
TimA: How over the moon i am living in Auckland and watching some small town down the south island get gigabit Fibre and Gigabit wifi..


isnt it great to be in auckland too, i mean, look at our great vdsl ;) 


hio77 Why u do dis
Stahp!

chevrolux
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  #980031 4-Feb-2014 12:15
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Are there any mobile devices with Wireless AC though?

Seems like a colossal waste of money for a marketing stunt. Would hate to think what a Cisco AC access point costs! Considering a UBNT one is around $600 I guess you can triple that for the Cisco unit?

Maybe pump that cash in to a mail platform?.... too soon?

Coil
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  #980037 4-Feb-2014 12:23
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chevrolux:

Maybe pump that cash in to a mail platform?.... too soon?


The irony

hio77
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  #980072 4-Feb-2014 12:58
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TimA:
hio77:
TimA: How over the moon i am living in Auckland and watching some small town down the south island get gigabit Fibre and Gigabit wifi..


isnt it great to be in auckland too, i mean, look at our great vdsl ;) 


hio77 Why u do dis
Stahp!


what can i say, you invite it tim!

chevrolux: Are there any mobile devices with Wireless AC though?

Seems like a colossal waste of money for a marketing stunt. Would hate to think what a Cisco AC access point costs! Considering a UBNT one is around $600 I guess you can triple that for the Cisco unit?

Maybe pump that cash in to a mail platform?.... too soon?


ild assume its not targeted so much at mobile phones.. otherwise its only the real upper class higher end that will ever see this.. i know samsung have atlest one ac phone so i would assume others do.. but clearly its in that upper bracket..




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NonprayingMantis
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  #980075 4-Feb-2014 13:02
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TimA: How over the moon i am living in Auckland and watching some small town down the south island get gigabit Fibre and Gigabit wifi..


It's impossible to please everyone if you build infrastructure.

Build it in the cities first, you get small town moaning about it.

Build it small towns first and you get city dwellers moaning about it.

Can't win.

You even get people complaining about how providing free, world beating, infrastructure is all a scam. Beggars belief.

eXDee
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  #980084 4-Feb-2014 13:11
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So summary seems to be an expansion of the wifi hotspot initiative, except using a fibre backhaul and wireless AC instead of wireless N. And only in certain areas.
Is there any other differentiation than this?

chevrolux: Are there any mobile devices with Wireless AC though?

Seems like a colossal waste of money for a marketing stunt. Would hate to think what a Cisco AC access point costs! Considering a UBNT one is around $600 I guess you can triple that for the Cisco unit?

Maybe pump that cash in to a mail platform?.... too soon?

Devices with wireless AC. I think you'll be surprised.

But yes it's going to be $1500+ per AP i imagine. Plus your wireless controllers etc.

hio77
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  #980085 4-Feb-2014 13:13
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eXDee: 
Devices with wireless AC. I think you'll be surprised.


more than i thought too..




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BigPipeNZ
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  #980086 4-Feb-2014 13:14
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chevrolux: Are there any mobile devices with Wireless AC though?



My Macbook Pro has 802.11ac already, and the gigawifi is going to be a while to get fully rolled out, so there will be plenty more devices with it by then.

TBH, utilising hundreds of Mbps of speed isn't something most mobile phones will need to do anyway. It's more useful for laptops and maybe tablets.




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coffeebaron
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  #980104 4-Feb-2014 13:48
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Since no one else has mentioned; I hope Telecom increase that pitiful 1GB per day limit to something decent like 1TB, else I'm not going to be able to download all my Linux ISO's!
Hehe :)




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timmmay
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  #980129 4-Feb-2014 14:24
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I thought 1GB was super generous. 100MB would've been acceptable to the vast majority of people on phones. I guess people on laptops could appreciate the 1GB, especially for things like downloading windows updates, downloading software, etc.

coffeebaron
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  #980140 4-Feb-2014 14:52
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timmmay: I thought 1GB was super generous. 100MB would've been acceptable to the vast majority of people on phones. I guess people on laptops could appreciate the 1GB, especially for things like downloading windows updates, downloading software, etc.

Yea I think so too, just thought I'd get in first before someone else says it. I see at least one person already supports my post :)
But in all seriousness, sure there may be the odd person who would have good use for a Gig of data in a day: but I do wonder at people wanting to sit watching YouTube all day at a hot spot??
More to life than the internet!




Rural IT and Broadband support.

 

Broadband troubleshooting and master filter installs.
Starlink installer - one month free: https://www.starlink.com/?referral=RC-32845-88860-71 
Wi-Fi and networking
Cel-Fi supply and installer - boost your mobile phone coverage legally

 

Need help in Auckland, Waikato or BoP? Click my email button, or email me direct: [my user name] at geekzonemail dot com


chevrolux
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  #980141 4-Feb-2014 14:54
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Yep got to take back the supported device comment. Way more than I thought!!

Still maintain it's a waste of money though...

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