WiFi NEWS

Is Wi-Fi Bad for Humans?

dimon — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 23:30:02 +0000

January 12, 2007There has been some concern lately, mostly in the UK, that the radio frequency radiation (RFR) emitted by Wi-Fi devices poses a health risk to people. Individuals suffering from a variety of innocuous but unpleasant symptoms including nausea and “brain fog” have attributed their ailments to Wi-Fi signals. The complaints have resulted in the banning of Wi-Fi in some areas, particularly those frequented by children. However, according

to the most recent scientific studies, the fears are much ado about nothing.RFR’s biological effects are measured in terms of specific absorption rate (SAR) — how much energy is absorbed into human tissue — which is expressed in Watts per kilogram (W/kg). A dangerous level (by U.S. standards) is considered to be anything above 0.08 W/kg. Thus far, RFR measurements for Wi-Fi, both at home and abroad, are a minute fraction of emissions that could amount to this level. Wi-Fi, in fact, emits less than other common sources of RFR like microwaves and mobile phones. Since mobile phones were recently cleared as a potential carcinogen by a comprehensive, long-term study conducted by the Danish Institute of Cancer Epidemiology in Copenhagen, it seems very unlikely that devices emitting a lower (and less frequent) level could be more dangerous.”Wi-Fi cards are quite low power,” says John Moulder, PhD, Professor of Radiation Oncology at Medical College of Wisconsin, and Director of the Center for Medical Countermeasures Against Radiological Terrorism. “Their peak power is comparable to, or somewhat below, that of mobile phone handsets. They also have very low duty cycles; they aren’t transmitting most of the time. In most environments, the Wi-Fi signal is below (often far below) other RFR signals.” The Times of London quotes Dr. Michael Clark of the HPA (a UK health agency similar to the American CDC) as saying, “When we have conducted measurements in schools, typical exposures from Wi-Fi are around 20 millionths of the international guideline levels of exposure to radiation. As a comparison, a child on a mobile phone receives up to 50 percent of guideline levels. So, a year sitting in a classroom near a wireless network is roughly equivalent to 20 minutes on a mobile. If Wi-Fi should be taken out of schools, then the mobile phone network should be shut down, too — and FM radio and TV, as the strength of their signals is similar to that from Wi-Fi in classrooms.” Among the scientists doing research on the true amounts of Wi-Fi’s emitted radiation is Dr. Kenneth Foster, a professor of bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Last year, Dr. Foster, who has published 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals, conducted a study into RF levels around the globe.”In virtually all the environments I surveyed, the RF signal from WLANs was a small fraction of the total RF fields in the environment,” Foster says. “Other sources included mobile base stations, and broadcast radio and TV stations in the region.”While the study was not designed to assess health risks to humans, the measurements taken by Dr. Foster provide clear data on real world exposure levels (versus lab environments or estimates.) Based on the levels he consistently detected, Dr. Foster concludes that there is no cause for concern. “No expert review of the literature (by WHO or national health agencies) have indicated any cause for concern, nor do I know of any scientific papers in standard peer-reviewed journals that offer any evidence that would lead to concern,” says Foster.The Wi-Fi Alliance, whose primary mission is promoting interoperability between Wi-Fi products, has given some attention to the issues of health and safety. Its official position is that “although questions have been raised, there is no scientific evidence that these low-power wireless communications devices pose any health threat to the user or the general public.” Moulder, who has been studying RFR biology for nearly 25 years, concurs. “I know of no confirmed epidemiological evidence or experimental evidence that RFR exposures this low are of concern, and I know of no theoretical basis for thinking that such exposures would cause biological effects,” he says.The EMR Network, a non-profit organization based in Charlotte, Vermont, is not convinced by research that indicates the danger is non-existent — in fact, quite the contrary. A request for an interview did not receive a response, but the EMR Network’s Web site states, “We are in the midst of potentially the most pervasive and important environmental struggle of the new millennium, the struggle to understand the effects of exposure to electromagnetic radiation. Wireless devices and broadcast antennas threaten the natural and human environments in ways that affect every one of us at home, school, places of worship, and at work.”While measuring RFR levels, as Foster has done, is valuable, the fact remains that many people are complaining of symptoms which they are convinced are the result of Wi-Fi. While it looks from a reasonable scientific perspective as though they are wrong about the source, the symptoms remain. Rather than simply measuring emissions and comparing them to scientifically accepted levels, one group of researchers in London decided to “test whether people who report being sensitive to mobile phone signals have more symptoms when exposed to a pulsing mobile signal than when exposed to a sham signal or a non-pulsing signal.”Their results, which were published in the British Medical Journal in March 2006 (based on research conducted between 2003-2005) concluded, “No evidence was found to indicate that people with self-reported sensitivity to mobile phone signals are able to detect such signals, or that they react to them with increased symptom severity. As sham exposure was sufficient to trigger severe symptoms in some participants, psychological factors may have an important role in causing this condition.”120 subjects were included in the study, half of whom were “sensitive” people who reported frequently getting headaches within 20 minutes of using a mobile phone, and 60 “control” participants who did not report any such symptoms. The study showed that a virtually identical proportion of “sensitive” participants believed a signal was present during real exposure (60%) to GSM cellular signals, as did when no signal was present whatsoever (63%).Since this study was relatively small and based on mobile phones, not on Wi-Fi, it can’t be considered the final word. But since Wi-Fi equipment emits less intense radiation than do mobile phones, it does give a strong indication that the source of reported symptoms may lie somewhere other than the nearest WLAN.

Original source here

The Year of the Wireless Monitor?

dimon — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 23:30:02 +0000

January 10, 2007A lot of computer connections have gone wireless today, from your network to your printer, but there are two things that can’t go wireless: the power supply, and your monitor’s video connection. Right? Well, wireless extension cords may not be real, but work may be progressing on wireless energy transfer — which involves no cords, although the products still have to touch… But what about your display? DisplayLink of Palo Alto, California

(formerly Newnham Research) thinks it has that problem licked. The company has been providing the technology for displays to work over Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0 connections for a while. It’s not much of a stretch to move that to Wireless USB (wUSB). “We have a protocol to take a display and lossy losslessly�compress (define)it, while keeping interactivity over a network connection,” says Jason Slaughter, senior product manager at DisplayLink. To date, the technology is built into a single product from Kensington, the $180 Notebook Expansion Dock with Video, providing video output on the USB port. Yesterday, DisplayLink announced that IOGEAR will use the tech in a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 External Video Card to come out in the first quarter of this year. Both, of course, use USB cables. It is the eventual take-off of wUSB, based on the WiMedia Alliance’s ultrawideband technology, that could mean cordless monitors come sooner rather than later. “What’s interesting about USB is the simplicity,” says Slaughter. “It’s faster and more simple than VGA. In the past, USB-to-video or VGA performance was terrible… but we drive monitors at 1600×1200 pixels and have 32-bit color. The interactivity is still great as well — move the mouse, and it moves like you’d expect.” Slaughter calls the move to wUSB the “logical extension” for the company, and says a lot of wUSB makers have shown interest in what DisplayLink does. The company has new chips out this week for connecting PCs to monitors using USB 2.0, one supporting 1280×1024 resolution and another for 1600×1200. DisplayLink also includes a Virtual Graphics Card that runs on a Windows PC, which translates the information sent to a Hardware Rendering Engine in the chip on the display side. Slaughter says this works the same on wUSB as it does on wired. “We’re not a WiMedia company, we don’t make radios; we just make the technology for sending video that is network-agnostic,” says Slaughter. “It’s just USB to us. But we’re working with those guys making radios to make sure our technology is optimized for wireless.” Slaughter says their closest partner currently is UWB chip designer Alereon; DisplayLink planned to demonstrate display connectivity over wUSB at CES 2007 this week in Alereon’s suite. It was part of a “clutter-free desktop” demo, where the only cables in sight would be power cords. “Our protocol degrades gracefully when bandwidth is not available,” says Slaughter, talking about the company’s roots working with Ethernet for display signals. He says vendors of wUSB products are having issues getting the bandwidth up to the 400 Mbps speeds they want, but he believes even the speed of today’s products, like the recently released Belkin wUSB hub, would work with well with DisplayLink chips. Slaughter says he hopes to see DisplayLink technology on Wireless USB before the end of 2007.

Original source here

Vonage Inks Earthlink to Wi-Fi Deal

dimon — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 23:30:02 +0000

January 9, 2007Internet phone company Vonage (Quote)�inked a three-year agreement with EarthLink (Quote), allowing the Internet access provider to offer Wi-Fi access to customers served by municipal wireless networks. Vonage said later this year it will provide customers in EarthLink areas wireless modems as an alternative to DSL or cable Internet. Vonage also said its Wi-Fi phone will eventually use the networks, providing subscribers the option to place voice calls over Wi-Fi.

Pricing and other details were not available.The deal is possible in part because EarthLink gained San Francisco’s approval to build a municipal Wi-Fi network there. The announcement follows the earlier launch of open Wi-Fi networks in Milpitas, California and New Orleans.EarthLink, which sells a competing VoIP service called Tru Voice, said the wholesale Wi-Fi agreement is a sign of its commitment to building open networks. Analysts, however, see other reasons for the deal.

For one, EarthLink may not have a choice. As part of any agreement to builda Wi-Fi network, cities often require companies to open any network to all.

Another reason why EarthLink is working with Vonage: “they need people to fill up their network,” In-Stat analyst Daryl Schoolar said.

Vonage sees Wi-Fi as a way to expand beyond its image as just a “cheaper phone service,” according to IDC analyst Will Stofega. With increased competition from Skype, cellular carriers and cable, Stofega believes Vonage has become marginalized. They are in the ‘VoIP 101′ rut — not a survivable business plan, he said.

Moreover, when Vonage first offered its Wi-Fi phone, people realized the handsets could not easily navigate the complicated authentication process needed to connect to a wireless network outside the home. Creating its own Wi-Fi network avoids that step, improving the Vonage phone, according to AllenNogee, senior In-Stat analyst.

Nogee said Vonage soon faces increased competition from wireless carriers who plan to offer cell phones able to also use Wi-Fi networks.

Original source here

Nokia’s New Wi-Fi Tablet

dimon — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 23:30:02 +0000

January 9, 2007
Click to ViewAt the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week, Nokia has already introduced several new wireless products, including the N800 Internet Tablet. Nokia’s N800, a followup to the 770 Internet Tablet, is already available in the U.S. for $400 and in select European markets for 399 Euros. Nokia has brought the Internet Tablets under the umbrella

of its N Series, which until now only included smartphones. (The cell phone giant likes to refer to all of these devices as multimedia computers because of their multi-functionality.) As with the 770, the N800 eschews any sort of cellular-wireless connectivity for Wi-Fi 802.11b/g. This thing is definitely more PDA than smartphone. It is a handheld, however, that’s designed for messaging, Web access, and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calling from a hotspot or a Wi-Fi connection in the home or office. You can also leverage a wireless hookup to a Bluetooth-enabled phone to connect to the Internet. Nokia says the N800 is faster than its predecessor, adds a camera and full-screen finger QWERTY keyboard, and runs on an upgrade to the company’s Internet Tablet operating system, among other enhancements. In addition to Google’s gTalk for VoIP calling (available with the previous model), Nokia has struck a deal to enable Skype service on the N800 as well.
Sleeker looking and thinner (0.5 inches) than the 770, the N800 has the same-size 4.1-inch, 800 x 480 pixel and 65,536 color resolution display. Inside is a 320 MHz processor, 256 MB of Flash ROM, and 128 MB of RAM. There are two SD card slots for memory expansion, stereo speakers, a slot for the bundled stereo headset, and support for the UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) protocol to more easily connect to compatible TVs, audio systems and PCs. The battery rates for only up to 3.5 hours browsing time and up to 12 days standby. It also includes the Opera browser, Flash 7, a media player, an RSS reader, e-mail, instant messaging, handwriting recognition, Internet radio, a PDF viewer, file manager, notes and calculator, among other additional applications. Anyone who buys an N800 in the United Kingdom can get free Internet access at any of the 7,500 hotspots run there by The Cloud, at least for one month — this goes for the first generation Nokia 770 tablet as well. Also newly Wi-Fi-ed: The N93i, an update (rather than a full-on upgrade) to the N93 smartphone. Nokia performed several tweaks to the overall form factor of the device to make the 93i a bit more attractive. For example, the 4.3 x 2.3 x 1.0 inch (108 x 58 x 25 millimeter) N93i is slightly smaller, including the length, which is down 10 millimeters, and the depth, which loses 3.2 millimeters. It also weighs less, due to this loss in bulk: 163 grams (5.7 ounces) as opposed to the N93’s 180 grams (6.34 ounces).
Unlike the N93’s keypad, which sticks up a little, the N93i’s typer has been flattened in a manner that’s similar to the etched keypads found in Motorola’s RAZR and KRZR lines. Also, the mirrored finish on the front of the new model is much slicker than the N93’s, and it can hide the smartphone’s external 128 x 36 OLED display.� The device’s QVGA (320 x 240 pixel) internal display receives a color boost, going from 262k in the N93 to 16 million. And the N93i still sports a Carl Zeiss 3.2 megapixel camera with 3x optical zoom and autofocus. It can capture and play back VGA (640 x 480 pixel) resolution video at 30 fps. There’s Bluetooth (2.0), 50 MB of RAM, UPnP, a music player, FM radio, and a miniSD card slot. And, as with the N76, the Symbian/S60-run N93i is a GSM/EDGE smartphone (quad-band, in this case) that supports the 2100 MHz UMTS 3G band. And don’t forget the Wi-Fi. Integrated into the Nokia N93i is a free new personal video and photo blogging service, Vox, from a company called Six Apart. With Vox, you can select video or photos in the gallery of your N93i and upload them directly, in their original size — in addition to text, of course. Story adapted from PDAstreet.

Original source here

Router Me This

dimon — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 23:30:02 +0000

January 8, 2007Sure, the future is all about video this and multimedia that and hooking your TV to the network and watching shows over the Internet from anywhere… but the short-term money is still in the routers and PC cards with the newest technology. At least, that’s still the case at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show this week, where vendors have new gateways from your network to the broadband connection. However, with draft 802.11n tech built

in, most are designed with multimedia in mind.Buffalo Technology, for example, is pretty proud of their new AirStation Wireless-N Nfiniti Dual Band Router & AP (model WZR-AG300NH). Not only is it one of the first Draft-N routers to hit the market supporting both 2.4 GHz (for 802.11b/g backward compatibility) and 5 GHz (for 802.11a compatibility), it’s also the first to get a Windows Vista Premium Certification from Microsoft. The certification program gives vendors the right to use a logo signifying that the product works with Vista and provides a variety of services. In the case of wireless networking, among the requirements are support for dual-band, Wireless Multimedia (WMM), Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) and more. Microsoft has other standards for products like cameras, video cards, network storage, etc. Brian Verenkoff, product marketing manager at Buffalo, says the dual-band requirement “is to guarantee non-interference” with household products like phones and microwaves. The chip inside this AirStation is from Marvell. The $299 router is pricey, but Verenkoff says that’s because it’s the “Cadillac of routers,” building in all the tech above and more, including Gigabit Ethernet ports on the switch, as well as Buffalo’s own AOSS push-button setup technology for security, coupled with the new Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS), which does the same. “We pulled out everything and put it into this product,” he says. “It delivers the best performance, range and features, and Microsoft endorses that.” The router has a companion $129 CardBus adapter for laptops, which also supports 2.4 and 5 GHz modes for Draft-N. Look for the Buffalo card and router in February.D-Link is also entering the dual-band Draft-N world. The Dual Band Draft 802.11n Wireless Router (model DIR-855) targets users looking to run media centers and games as well as just computer data over the network. It has Gigabit Ethernet ports and supports security using WPS. No word on the price yet, but it should ship this quarter.Actiontec is taking a different approach with the new Actiontec Wireless FMC (Fixed Mobile Convergence) Router. This isn’t about higher speed for video and data. Instead, it “facilitates call switching between the mobile and home Wi-Fi networks as users move in and out of the house,” according to a company statement. It still supports Draft-N and has the usual Ethernet ports (not Gigabit) for wired clients, but has the extra ability to route calls from your UMA-based VoIP handset to the mobile cellular carrier of your choice without dropping the call. This router can connect to other routers and turn itself into just a switch if necessary, or serve as a separate WLAN with a unique SSID to prevent it from interfering with the original router. It supports WPA2 (no WPS) and will retail for $180.Linksys plans to help you play with the Wireless-N Gigabit Gaming Router (model WRT330N). �This $200 hardware is available now and features Gigabit ports, building in all the quality of service (QoS) it needs to push around the video and audio for multiplayer gaming. Since video is such a big deal this year in a way that it never could be before, take heed of some media-centric products for the WLAN as well: Buffalo’s LinkTheater Wireless-A&G Media Player (PC-P4LWAG), when coupled with the new dual-band router mentioned above, is supposed to offer truly interference-free multimedia playback. The interface is on the TV screen, run by a remote control. It supports Intel Viiv, Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), and even Dolby Digital sound playback of your digital files on the home theater. It will play files in MP3, WMA, AAC, LPCM, JPEG, BMP, PNG, MPEG 1/2/4, WMV 7/8/9 and Xvid formats. If you don’t use the network, you can play back data from the USB port by connecting flash memory drives. It wil cost $249. Netgear is also showing a new media player at CES. Digital Entertainer HD (model EVA8000) streams data not just from your drives, but also from the Internet, such as YouTube videos. It even organizes the files for you. It connects to an HDTV using HDMI links for best 1080p resolution. Wireless connection is based on 802.11g; the Ethernet is only 100 Mbps.

Original source here

Wi-Fi Protected Setup Arrives

dimon — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 23:30:02 +0000

January 8, 2007At CES 2007 in Las Vegas today, the Wi-Fi Alliance said it has certified the first products supporting Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS). This is an optional technology meant to make it easier for home and small office network operators – those without an IT staff — to deploy secure wireless LANs. Parks Associates forecasts that 90% of homes with networks will use Wi-Fi by 2010; the Alliance’s own surveys show security is among

the top three issues most important to consumers with a WLAN. However, only 2 in 5 people have turned it on, according to JupiterResearch. Wi-Fi security has always been notoriously hard to configure for the layman — even for some experts. WPS is seen as the next, best step to making security a seamless part of the install process.WPS requires support of Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) or WPA2, a super-set of the 802.11i security specification from the IEEE. Legacy products with WPA/WPA2 only can still join the network, but they have to go through the usual extra steps required today. WPS will not work with wired equivalent privacy (WEP). If you have even just one device on the network that supports only WEP, you can’t use WPS — WEP use forces the entire network down to that lowest common denominator. WEP has long been considered flawed and easily cracked by anyone with the time and tools to bother — but it also continues to be the only security option found on some Wi-Fi products, even today. Karen Hanley, senior marketing director for the Alliance, says, “We’re continuing to reach out to companies to get certified. As of March 2006, WPA2 was mandatory for certification. We encourage vendors to use the strongest level of security.” The setup of a WPS network is simple. Use a push button configuration (PBC) on the Wi-Fi router, or enter a 4- or 8-digit PIN code if there’s no button. Each client laptop, camera, game device, phone, or what-have-you supporting WPS will come with a hard-coded PIN code. Set an initial client up to talk with the router/gateway and it becomes the master device used to enter PIN codes of other clients that want network access. There’s no standard graphical interface for entering the PIN; the Alliance is leaving that up to the vendors. Eventually, the Alliance says WPS could be deployed using a USB memory stick, by copying settings when plugged into a router, then plugging the same stick into each client — or by using near-field communications (NFC). NFC means using a token or card that doesn’t even plug in; the user would just pass it by the client system to copy the settings via a short-range wireless signal. Both of these options require the vendors to build in the technology. Products supporting Wi-Fi Protected Setup will have the following “identifier mark” on their packaging once they pass Alliance certification tests:
Older products that support WPA/WPA2 could be upgradeable via software/firmware to support the WPS PIN-code setup. Such products will need to go through testing again before they can carry the seal or use the term Wi-Fi Protected Setup, which is a trademark of the Alliance. “Branding-wise, we have a brand review and trademark function, and we discourage the use of our trademark unless certified,” says Hanley. Vendors can’t support WPS without being Wi-Fi Certified.Several Wi-Fi chip, software and hardware vendors had a hand in helping to develop the WPS specification. Hanley says there were 20 to 30 voting members of the taskgroup working on WPS. It is also the first true specification from the Alliance — in the past, it has worked only on specifications from the IEEE and other bodies.”This is not only our first specification, but it’s a nod to what the marketplace needs in terms of ease-of-use,” Hanley says.Many of the vendors who worked on the specification are represented on the list of initial products — really, reference designs used by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to make products — that are certified to become part of the WPS testbed used by the Alliance certification labs. They include Atheros, Broadcom, Conexant, Intel, Marvell and Ralink. Atheros and Broadcom both had previous technologies to automate Wi-Fi security setup using software or push buttons. Atheros said today that it will keep the name of its technology, called JumpStart, but will upgrade to version 2.0 as it becomes fully compatible with WPS. Buffalo Technology is also on the list of WPS certified products, with its AirStation Wireless-A&G High Power Access Point (model WHR-HP-AMPGV) and AirStation Wireless-A&G High Power Notebook Adapter. Buffalo was the earliest proponent of PBC security setup for Wi-Fi with its AirStation One-Touch Secure System (AOSS) tech, way back in 2004. This tech will continue to appear in Buffalo products, including new hardware introduced at CES such as the LinkTheater Wireless-A&G Media Player. Buffalo plans to implement both AOSS and WPS together. A button on a Buffalo product would activate both, enabling PBS connections to both legacy AOSS clients and new WPS clients.The Wi-Fi Alliance later this year will start testing of the 802.11n specification as it reaches the Draft 2.0 stage with the IEEE. This is a first for the Alliance, which in the past has waited until specs were fully ratified by the IEEE’s 802.11 Working Group. However, the number of products coming out with Draft-N support forced their hand — otherwise, consumers would be left to fend for themselves, as they have with Draft 1.0 products. That testing will coincide with the WPS testing, bringing the easy security to the higher-performing products. �”We are encouraged by the response to WPS,” says Hanley, who adds that the labs are ready for testing. She expects that plenty of new products with WPS — even some supporting the NFC and USB setup — will ship within the next six months.

Original source here

Fill ‘Er Up with a Wi-Fi Pump

dimon — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 22:41:44 +0000

The Ovation iX has a touchscreen, speakers, and Wi-Fi built in. It shows commercials, but can also transfer music files to equipment in a car that’s appropriately configured. Microsoft’s Automotive Business Unit was involved in the development. Of course, I totally want to be waiting for gas while somebody fiddles with settings to buy music from a pump. Pump rage could be 2008’s road rage.

Original source here

Interop Keeps Powerline Networking Down

dimon — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 05:00:18 +0000

This is preventing the kind of growth predicted a few years ago as newer devices that use home electrical wiring as a network media were to hit the market. With specs like that of the HomePlug Alliance offering speeds of 200 Mbps, you’d have expected something to coalesce around a dominant flavor. Instead, you have chipmakers each pushing their own solution. This year’s CES doesn’t seem to offer clarity. Nancy Gohring reports for

IDG News Service that the dominant retail manufacturer NetGear is actually unhappy with the lack of interop because it’s stifled the market as a whole of which they’d like to have a piece.

Original source here

Quick Overview of Wi-Fi Health Concerns

dimon — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 22:19:03 +0000

The article includes comments from several researchers, all of which agree that the signals from wireless LANs fall well below any minimum level of concern based on decades of research, and that specific projects used to measure electromagnetic radiation confirm Wi-Fi’s small role in an overall hum of background noise.

Original source here

EarthLink Launches Trial Network in Philadelphia

dimon — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 21:47:38 +0000

EarthLink this week finally fulfilled the first phase in their buildout of Philadelphia, the largest urban deployment currently underway in the the U.S. While other networks are larger in scale, and larger urban networks are planned, Phila. is the one to watch because of its prominent political role in the development of arguments for and against municipally authorized or built Wi-Fi networks.

EarthLink committed from the beginning of its negotiations

with Phila. to a test network, and it’s been since about May that the company started down the path of this first stage, a 15-square-mile network in which they will prove their approach works. Once a review of this pilot has been achieved, the company will proceed to build the first network.

Use of the network is free until Jan. 21.

Original source here