AT&T launches wireless infrastructure improvements map

Here’s something we’ve long championed: the ability to see wireless network infrastructure upgrades mapped in Philadelphia. With that kind of information, one could begin to pin down why cell phone service has improved on a commute to work, or where there might be opportunity for continued improvement.

AT&T announced this afternoon that it has made available a map of wireless cell sites, broadband improvements, capacity upgrades and network connection upgrades in Philadelphia and southern New Jersey.

All told, the map is tracking 961 improvements to AT&T’s wireless network in Philadelphia in 2011 to date across these data points. Users can also call up the telecom’s WiFi hotspots and store locations.

And if you were looking for other local information, the company is announcing today AT&T’s local Twitter account: @att_philly.

These locally-focused initiatives are happening in other cities as well, including Dallas-Fort Worth, St. Louis, Kansas City, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Indianapolis and Atlanta, according to a press release.

Comcast Roundup: appeals court backs FCC, Comcast launches 2,000 WiFi spots in Philly and More

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

DEFINITE READS

• Appeals Court Upholds Access Rules for Cable TV [New York Times] — “United States appeals court on Friday upheld a Federal Communications Commission rule that forbids cable companies that also own programming channels from refusing to allow competitors to also offer those channels.” This is expected to have a major impact on Comcast’s pending acquisition of NBC.
• As Technically Philly reported yesterday, Comcast has launched a free WiFi network for existing customers in Philadelphia and some parts of New Jersey.  The Jersey Journal reports on the spread of these hot spots outside New York City in New Jersey.

MIGHT BE OF INTEREST

• Comcast unbound: Wi-Fi service available in Philly, parts of N.J., Del. [CED Magazine] — Includes some 2,000 spots in Philadelphia
• Microsoft, Comcast, Yahoo: no zombie cookies here, Congress! [ars technica] — A breakdown of the use of Flash cookies by major sites, including what Comcast does.
• Comcast Says Interactive Ads Available in 10M Homes [Broadcasting and Cable]
• Comcast Sponsors City Year’s Opening Day [Comcast blog]

When there is just too much Comcast news to follow, the Comcast Roundup will be there every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST

Review: Sprint 4G WiMAX wireless service in Philadelphia

Sprint's Overdrive 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot in Center City

Photos courtesy of Neal Santos.

Since Clearwire launched its 4G WiMAX network in Philadelphia in October, we’ve been itching to get our hands on a device that would let us utilize the high-speed wireless network.

With promises of speeds that blow away 3G connections that one might be used to on a mobile phone or USB modem, why not?

So we’ve taken the opportunity to test Sprint’s Overdrive 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot, a compact mobile WiFi router that lets up to 5 people simultaneously connect to Sprint’s WiMAX network.

It should be said that though Sprint, Clear and Comcast all utilize the same 4G WiMAX pipes, performance has been known to vary depending on the device. So while our tests here may indicate one speed, another device could produce a better or worse connection. We hope to test Clear and Comcast devices as the year goes on. [Full Disclosure: Clear is currently a Technically Philly advertising partner]

It should also be noted that the WiMAX network is being upgraded on a regular basis, so new towers are being installed in problem-areas where connection rates may have been poor during our tests produced earlier this year, officials tell us.

That said, we think our review is an interesting look at the network’s capability throughout Fairmount, Center City, Old City and Fishtown (complete with an interactive map of detailed throughput recordings). And we hope you’ll let us know how your 4G connection—whether on Sprint, Clear or Comcast—fares in your own neighborhood.

Read more

There’s no place like Philadelphia for iPhone users

In an informal partnership with Philadelphia magazine‘s new Philly Post daily news blog, Technically Philly will be offering our insight on Philadelphia technology to a broader audience of tech-interested individuals every Tuesday. As is true of so much of our effort, this is yet another opportunity to voice the triumphs and concerns of the community to a broader audience in the city and beyond.

Since launching three years ago, the iPhone has undeniably altered the mobile market.

The iconic device changed the way manufacturers design and price mobile phones. It introduced mobile data consumption to the masses. And it’s been a testament to Apple’s ability to capture and reshape markets, like it once did with the iPod portable music player and like it’s trying to do once again with the recent launch of the iPad tablet computer.

Yet in the wake of Apple’s success, the smart phone’s pivotal backbone, AT&T, the wireless network on which the device exclusively relies to deliver data, has been on the receiving end of much criticism for dropped calls and data dead-spots. In a report released in October, half of loyal iPhone enthusiasts surveyed said that they’d leave AT&T for another network if given the chance.

But as we’ve thought often and as a regional AT&T executive is quick to point out, much of the criticism is coming from San Francisco and New York, where tech media outlets thrive and where smart phone users are more prevalent, hence, the network’s more strained. So, what about here in Philadelphia?

Read more at Philly Mag’s Philly Post.

Event Highlights for April 12-18, 2010

For those of you that follow along with our events highlights, you know we like to pick the top three goings-on to share.

But this week, there’s so many great, free technology happenings that we can’t pick just three. Wednesday alone has—count ‘em—seven events that all seem promising. That’s half of the 15 organized events this week. On a single day. Better take off Thursday while you can and see our breakdown after the jump.

Thursday, Verizon Wireless hosts a free, all-day wireless industry conference that looks put together. Sunday, we at Technically Philly will be in Cherry Hill to talk tech. Come on out if you’d like to heckle us, represent Philly’s vibrant tech community or talk shop with us after the event. And now, for the marathon…

All events listed on the event calendar are free to attend. Be sure to check our complete calendar for more.

Read more

Can mobile ubiquity help bridge Philly’s digital divide?

In partnership with Temple University’s Multimedia Urban Reporting Lab, the university’s capstone journalism class, students Chelsea Leposa and Jared Pass will cover neighborhood technology issues for Technically Philly and Philadelphia Neighborhoods through May.

Apple’s iPhone and iTouch sold 57 million units in 28 months, according to Morgan Stanley’s The Mobile Internet Report.

Smartphones and other Internet-ready handheld devices have gained immense popularity. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 83 percent of people own cell phones or smartphones and 35 percent of people have surfed the Internet with their phones.

Ashley Cox on smartphone

“I go on there for everything,” says Ashley Cox of her mobile smartphone, “I’m on it everyday, all day.” African Americans are the most active users of mobile Internet. On an average day, 29 percent of African Americans used mobile Internet in 2009, up 141 percent from 2007. In 2009 the national average was only 19 percent.

“Mobile Internet expands people’s realization of the power of the Internet,” says Michael Morgan, an industry analyst on mobile devices for ABI Research, “you know you can be connected to information wherever you are.”

Read more

Google to Philadelphia airport, others: Contact us about free Wi-Fi

Google is offering free Wi-Fi at 47 U.S. airports this holiday season, as we tweeted earlier today.

The gift, which runs until Jan. 15 and is in partnership with Boingo Wireless, Advanced Wireless Group, Airport Marketing Income and others, includes dozens of well-known airports, but there’s a noticeable lapse.

Of the country’s ten busiest airports, only the McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas is currently participating. Of the top 20, just four — Boston, Charlotte, Orlando and Vegas — have begun offering the Google deal. See all the participating airports here.

“The airports involved do cover many significant metro areas already,” said Google spokesman Andrew Pederson.

Read more

Shop Talk: Advanced Sensor Technology saving water on athletic fields and more

In 2005, Bucks County native Walt Norley was living in sunny north Palm Beach, Florida, running a successful company and making morning trips to the gym.

He’d often spot what he says is a typical suburban sight on the way: sprinklers spritzing water onto wet grass as rain poured from the sky; unintended waste caused by the use of timed irrigation systems. It struck him an antiquated practice.

Norley employed Soil Air Technologies, which developed a sub-surface aeration system used to vacuum water levels of golf courses and sports fields, and he floated the idea of measuring soil moisture to control pumps for irrigation instead of relying on timers.

His crew put together a sensor technology that measures everything that should be in soil salinity, moisture levels and temperature to grow a healthy and beautiful landscape. In the process, the sensors save, on average, 10 percent of an organization’s water use.

Today, the patented technology is known as UgMO, a proprietary wireless intelligence system that broadcasts soil information to irrigation systems, or, for the hardcore lawn geeks (and some extra green), a web-based administration system. And by geeks, we mean highly paid landscape professionals with $2 million grooming budgets.

Read more

American Airlines to expand Internet service; sorry no porn

Finally, flight travel will be civilized.

American Airlines is going to install Gogo Inflight Internet on more than 300 of its domestic aircraft during the next two years, according to a boring company press release.

Forth Worth-based American Airlines, which has Market West offices, claims to be the first U.S. airline to launch the service, which they did last August on 15 Boeing 767-200 aircraft. It (lamely) primarily served nonstop flights between New York JFK and San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Miami.

Requests for the airline to apologize for not focusing their efforts on the Philadelphia International Airport were rebuffed by a marketing intern.

Read more

InterDigital drops 100 jobs

The press release said the move was about “profitability” so, you know, don’t worry about it.

One-hundred people will lose their jobs with InterDigital, a King of Prussia-based wireless technology company, as the company closes further development of its SlimChip mobile broadband modem technology, according to a company press release.

That news was buried by the company’s announcement to expand its technology development and licensing business through targeted new investment in both cellular and non-cellular wireless technologies.

Read more