4 ms·

Cell networks as dumb pipes. EDIT: "becoming" to "as"

• olefoo 17y ago
  And it's complement, anything and everything can be given access to the network over the air. Your car, your washing machine, your golf bag; the wiring closet at work, the front door of your apartment building, fire hydrants, parking lots. Data everywhere is a precondition for endowing the world around us with intelligence.
  • hga 17y ago
    Hmmm, that strikes me as something to hope for in the next decade, but I can't see it happening in the next year, if for no other reason than the network buildouts required (e.g. after so many years of cutting capex, how long will it take AT&T to merely catch up with current demand?)
    • olefoo 17y ago
      The thing is it's already here to some extent, and there are some widespread deployments of embedded OTA data products, kindle, On-Star, various netbooks with modems included, commercial washing machines(for laundromats), alarm systems; there's a lot of product already out there. Yes, it's a long term trend, but it's growing stronger and there's a lot of equipment that's only going to be reporting 20-30kb of data per month. And the cost of the parts has fallen along the same curve as most other electronics. A $40 dollar broadband module can pay for itself with one service call or critical alarm, depending on the context.