The Holy Trinity of Wi-Fi

Having just returned from the annual CTIA Wireless show in my home town of New Orleans, I was overwhelmed by the emphasis on 802.11 Wi-Fi networks over the traditional cellular and wide-area networks that have typically dominated the headlines for this event. From major wireless carriers to mobile handset manufacturers and other major players in the mobile value chain, support for these expanding 802.11 network "hotspots" is growing exponentially.

Even Dr. Irwin Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm, devoted a portion of his speech to attacking the business models of Wi-Fi networks, trying to diffuse some of the mounting emphasis on this technology while touting the benefits of Qualcomm's CDMA. While I had challenges completing a mobile phone call from inside the massive convention center, my e-mail and the Internet were readily available from my Toshiba e740 Pocket PC with built-in wireless LAN, thanks to the T-Mobile Wi-Fi "hotspots" throughout the convention center. T-Mobile has also deployed such hotspots at over 2,100 Starbuck locations across the country.

NNo visit to New Orleans would be complete without partaking in one of the many award-winning Cajun restaurants. As I enjoyed my crawfishé toufée at K-Paul's, the culinary haven of world-renowned chef Paul Prudhomme, I was reminded of what Chef Prudhomme refers to as the Holy Trinity of virtually every Cajundish: onions, celery and bell peppers. And it occurred to me that the Holy Trinity of Wi-Fi is Voice, Data, and Location.

Voice