Dubai - WiFi, a relatively low cost broadband connection service, has been provided by several hotspots in the UAE with no specific charge so far; it simply represents a customer attraction facility. However, this trend is about to change.
Etisalat's WiFi based iZone service will soon be a commercially paid service by the second quarter of 2005. Approval from the telecom authorities is awaited on this issue. The company is planning to target 275-300 hotspots across UAE with the newly introduced paid service by the end of the year.
Abdulla Hashim, senior manager, ecompany, said : "Initially we will target Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain, and Ras Al Khaimah and will then extend the services across UAE. Currently we do have 65 hotspots which offer these services. We are also in discussion with various service providers to provide the WiFi-based services in airlines, and in future public transport such as buses and trains could be considered for the same. Customers in UAE, using iZone services will have an option of paying through prepaid iZone cards, prepaid Etisalat card, credit card or GSM number."
Etisalat has achieved a growth of 98.56 per cent growth in last four years in its Dial up, Al Shamil and Small and medium enterprises services knowns as Business1. As a broadband service provider, after conducting several feasibility studies, Etisalat has arrived at business models that will encourage owners of public places such as coffee shops, hotels and exhibition centers, among others to attract more customers to their stores while enabling them to earn revenue on the Internet access service itself. Tourists and visitors to the country can easily access the iZone. Etisalat has also made arrangements to provide WiFi roaming access to visitors who can use the username and password of their Internet access account with their own Internet Service Providers (ISP) in their native countries.
WiFi service is an extension of Broadband Internet access at public places. It is therefore complimentary to services such as GPRS and 3G. As we go by, emerging technologies will make speeds higher, costs cheaper and the coverage wider. Etisalat implements security procedures based on encryption during the process of authenticating the end user for the purpose of logging into the Public Wireless Local Area Network (PWLAN).
Besides, we have deployed the best-in-class technology for the service. Security features embedded in the technology will provide an added measure of safety, added Hashim.
WiFi stands for 'wireless fidelity' which is the popular term for a high-frequency wireless local area network (WLAN). It's a way of connecting PCs and other communications devices to each other and to the Internet without any wires. On a WLAN, all what is needed is for the items requiring connection to be WiFi enabled and within signal range. With WiFi, one can use a notebook PC literally anywhere, provided that a strong enough signal is in range.
WiFi facilities are currently witnessing remarkable growth in the AGCC as well as other parts of the Middle East. This expansion corresponds with an explosion in the number of mobile workers. By 2005, it's estimated that more than 150 million business users worldwide will be working outside of traditional offices, which also indicates that the traffic on internet broad band will increase from public places which questions the Information security of WiFi enabled areas.
Based on IDC data, worldwide converged mobile device shipments are expected to grow at 47.1 per cent CAGR between up to 2008. Wireless subscribers are expected to reach 2 billion users by 2008. As mobile devices are quickly becoming a personal necessity, the opportunities to introduce malicious threats into an enterprise network are increasing.
The threats for wireless devices are similar to those of other endpoint devices but greater in some cases. In addition to the necessary protection from malicious code, SPAM, spyware, and content filtering, wireless devices must be protected against theft or loss because of their small size. The smaller the device the easier it is to lose it. The ability to lock or encrypt the data is essential, as well as the ability to "wipe" data from the device once it is known to be lost.
From the network side, in addition to existing network threats, data is at risk over the air. If appropriate precautions are not taken, information can be stolen or corrupted in-transit. It also introduces the potential of bandwidth stealing where an individual or organisation is not doing anything malicious except for using your bandwidth for Internet access. Recently Dr. Craig Barrett, chief executive officer, Intel, said: "Encrypted Capability" can secure information on WiFi. Other industry experts have echoed similar sentiments.
By Sandhya D'mello
© Khaleej Times 2005
