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SS3 - Joint Meeting with the Telecommunications Ad Hoc Committee - Siting Wireless Equipment
ITEM SS3 TO: Members of the Newport Beach City Council FROM: Dave Kiff, Assistant City Manager SUBJECT: Joint Meeting of the City Council and the Telecommunications Ad Hoc Committee: Siting Wireless Telecommunications Equipment on Public and Private Property RECOMMENDED Discuss & offer direction to staff and to the Telecommunications Ad Hoc ACTION: Committee regarding a new Council Policy and /or changes to the Municipal Code relating to the siting of wireless telecommunications equipment on City - owned property, rights -of -way, and private property. BACKGROUND: In November 2000, the City Council formed the Telecommunications Ad Hoc Committee and directed it to address the following issues: 1- UPDATING THE MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO CABLE TELEVISION. The City's municipal code chapter that relates to cable television requires significant amendments before the City can enter into any effective franchise agreements with Adelphia and Cox. 2 — UPDATING THE MUNICIPAL CODE AND ENACTING A COUNCIL POLICY REGARDING TELECOMMUNICATIONS . The City should adopt a new section to the municipal code relating to telecommunication so that we can effectively address: • Where to site new wireless antennas; • Whether and where to use City -owned property or rights -of -way for antennas; • What design and structural standards the City should apply to antennas, whether placed on rights -of -way or public or private property; • What fee should be levied for the use of the public property for antennas; • How to effectively ensure that the City's emergency radio network is not adversely impacted by siting activity. 3 - FRANCHISE RENEWAL NEGOTIATIONS. The City's two major cable television franchise agreements with Cox Communications and Adelphia will expire on January 27, 2003. The Committee has been actively working on a Community Needs Assessment in anticipation of renewal. Page 2 The Telecom Committee, which includes Council members John Heffernan (Chair) and Gary Adams and community members Leslie Daigle and Don Boortz, have met since early 2001 working on these tasks. At the Committee's March 19, 2002 meeting, it discussed draft guidelines for Wireless Communications Siting. It directed staff to take the draft guidelines to the City Council in a joint City- Committee Study Session. The draft guidelines are attached as a matrix that compares standards in other cities. Should the City Council and the Committee wish to move forward with these guidelines, we have prepared a draft Council Policy (F -24) that reflects the guidelines. This Policy could be adopted at the Council's next public meeting (May 14, 2002). Revisions to the Code that reflect this Policy could follow the Council's adoption of the Policy. ATTACHMENTS: Attachment A - Comparison Matrix Attachment B - Draft Council Policy F -24 2 Attachment A Ed m c c m 8 w a 6 L `o m TO s S x _ o °o `m3_mo E°mm a°,.�'"g'� cv °c �gNO pN p V m T a C mE =vm >Oa Emo aw`�m VB$ Sim @LLO C q W v_ o T 3 5 3 m coo 00 c 8S' -7 tE_ cWVC r o aA X 11! mm 8�vc3o cv3 mmv AV pma�cw Z m Nm L p b c w W W m C W y m C o 0 OF 6 W L :? v W m8 Wa ci 'S p- @m�m3p c'� oc 3wow m c o r w Q a° W c '� _� E ,; m A m aSi `� cT 9$ m m �p�m Wm g.o o- we Ma: 0241 �m Cw.w.J.R.,J tW3� w�gvZ� E m...... qw D ' m N m a c L" m Z c m y upi OWN 5 Z m y W z d C O U L 0-5 m C C °° w 8v o c 0 M 2 0 m n— o 0 w mow m mnc " °mmx am @•-•�_ gy O vow V cp °o.o s�CU s'cm .m-w- 'gm O O. 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Y$ 0 O N 3 T C Z ccC mmm E =$ U c m 1i ¢ 3 m e ? 1 o K° _ Q m O m ` e .p2 c Q mm IL E O W N m p y O C A 9 C smN �a $�q N9c NsE Nf= NC It 4 s: m t to CL m 9 U C W c Z $ at o�c m mB o 05 nm E-3q C na�m° 0 gss� a �00�Eq W v m o+ c � �o —p 'gymx. �+ o�?O,@m y 0 L) F- Za�s$�w fi V W c _ G g ° E 3 m i m m m tram; v vp r v Q 2 omo mam p c m -Ej m �omn °c o a s _� vy.� mF m �c m0, iri F m 8 @ C o�onm �V 0 .2 Eli > gc 'w � 8� W8 9 .� C a 'cmA cE O m Z 22—SS E E m¢ Ulu aH way �N a �i OF HS aF Ea v m m m $ 10 > c qq Q p V V m C m Z sec away +Cc cE q a b y E w OO aLUIL �suj o um. qi a�� n'IL 5 to � LU) k § � |k`i �§I /. ��k$$ 7|ƒ � a!o -a7 �� °2 a ! |' £ § ) k ■ -. 0 !J| ;`$! � } 0 t |a�2 ■7 �,!! 2 z � 3 DRAFT F -24 Attachment B DRAFT THE SITING OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT ON PUBLIC OR PRIVATE LAND PURPOSE: To describe the manner in which specific city-owned or city Trust properties may be used as locations for telecommunications devices that transmit voice or data and to describe the standards by which the City shall, under applicable zoning laws and the Telecommunications Act of 1996, permit private property owners to place these devices on private property. POLICY: It is the policy of the City that it shall effectively balance the needs of its population to have access to state -of- the - science wireless telecommunication systems (such as wireless Internet, voice, and other data communications) with the needs of residents and City government to safely and effectively enjoy their property. Therefore, the City shall follow this Policy when considering applications to install wireless communications devices by any telecommunications provider or siting company: I — WIRELESS DEVICES ON CITY -OWNED PROPERTY OR RIGHT -OF -WAY A — PERMIT REQUIRED 1. All communications facilities except exempt facilities must receive a permit issued by the department director, provided that the facilities meet the regulations in this Policy. The City Council shall serve as the appellate body to review the department director's decision as to whether to approve or deny a Permit. 2. All proposals affecting City-owned property and buildings shall be processed via this Policy through the Planning Department. Successful projects shall receive a "Telecom Permit." 3. All proposals affecting City right -of -way shall be processed via this Policy through the Public Works Department. Upon approval, proposals shall receive an "Encroachment Permit (Telecom)." B — SUBMITTAL AND CONSIDERATION PROCESS Applicants shall follow the following process when proposing to place a wireless facility on property owned by the City, on City right -of -way, or as a part of the City's trust properties: DRAFT F -24 Attachment B 1. Proponent submits site plan and specifications to department. Department reviews /ensures compliance with this Policy's design standards and other requirements. l 2. Department contacts the Police Chief, Fire Chief (or their designees), and the Orange County Sheriffs Department's communications coordinator to determine if the placement of the device will interfere with existing emergency communications devices. If the proposal interferes with emergency communications devices, the applicant shall either modify or withdraw the proposal. 3. If and when Fire and Police approve a proposal, the department shall forward the proposal to the City Manager's Office in the form of a tentative Permit. 4. The City Manager shall prepare and complete a standard Licensing Agreement, including the rent amount and shall seek ratification of the Manager's execution of the Agreement and the Final Permit at a regularly scheduled Council meeting. C — DEPARTMENT REVIEW /FACILITY STANDARDS The department director (or designee) shall review and issue tentative Telecom Permits to place wireless facilities on City property in accordance with Chapter of the Municipal Code. 1. Height No devices shall be placed higher than the maximum building height allowed in the zoning district. 2. Permitted Locations. Facilities may be Rlaced in any zone, right -of -way, or easement except the Open Space Passive (OSP) Zone, however: a. antenna in residential neighborhoods or adjacent to schools shall be subiect to of service b. Placement shall follow this priority order whenever practicable: 1. Wall, roof, or co- location structure; 2. Existing pole or light standard (commercial); 3. Commercial signor architectural feature; 4. New false tree or other similar structure (discouraged); or 5. New monopole (strongly discouraged). 2 DRAFT F -24 Attachment B 3. Co-location. Co- location of devices is required wherever technically feasible. However, no more than three commercial providers may exist on any co-location facility unless shown to be aesthetically feasible. 4. Design Standards. The department director shall adhere to these design standards in the issuance of any Telecom Permit: a. b. Roof - Mounted Facilities. Roof - mounted antenna facilities (except whip antennas) shall be completely screened from public view, consistent with the building's architectural style, color and materials, including, if necessary, screening to avoid adverse impacts to views from higher elevations. c. Wall- Mounted Facilities. Antennas should be painted to match wall color. Cables and mounting brackets should not be visible. d. "Stealth" Installations. Installations inside a structure or below the upper limits of a roof parapet are exempt from discretionary review. 5. Radiation Measurement. A radio frequencyy UM report, prepared by a qualified RF engineer acceptable to the City, is required in order to demonstrate that the proposed facility, as well as any co-located facilities, complies with current Federal RF emission standards. The City may require the Permit holder to conduct yearly RF report updates. D — RENT The City Manager shall follow these rules when arriving at a rent for any wireless device on City property: 1. Rent shall be equal to fair market value, taking into account rent charged by other similar Southern California communities and location. Such rent shall be determined via a semi - annual review ( "Rent Survey ") conducted by the City Manager's Office. 2. Agreement shall provide that rent shall be adjusted every three years to an amount equal to the highest rent paid to any city on the Rent Survey. E — CITY SITES ELIGIBLE OR INELIGIBLE FOR FACILITY PLACEMENT 3 DRAFT F -24 Attachment B 1. Sites Eligible for Use. The City Council has determined that the following City locations are acceptable for placement of wireless devices in accordance with the entirety of this Policy: a. Fire Stations b. Newport Beach City Hall c. Police Headquarters d. Lifeguard headquarters e. City-owned and Trust -held Properties f. The Central and Branch Libraries g. The Utilities and General Services Corporate Yards h. Big Canyon Reservoir i. City rights -of -way and City-held easements j. Streetlights (following certification and acceptance by the Utilities Department of an effective test of the facility's impacts to the light standard under various environmental conditions). 2. Sites Ineligible for Use. The City Council has determined that the following City locations are unacceptable for placement of wireless devices in accordance with the entirety of this Policy: :i F — COUNCIL NON - CONSENT. The City Council reserves the right to, at any time and for any purpose, not consent to the City Manager's issuance of a Licensing Agreement and Final Telecom Permit under this policy. Should the City Council not consent to the issuance of an Agreement and Permit, such Agreement and Permit shall not be executed. This Section shall not apply to Encroachment Permits (Telecom) for the use of right -of -way. II — WIRELESS DEVICES ON PRIVATE PROPERTY The City recognizes that private property owners may, under certain circumstations, have the right, pursuant to Chapter _ of the Newport Beach Municipal Code and this Policy, to use their private property to install wireless facilities and to generate income from these devices. However, to protect public safety and the City's emergency communications system, each of the provisions of this Policy which relate to devices on public property shall, when in accordance with local, state, and federal law, apply to the placement of wireless devices on private property and therefore require a Telecom Permit, with the following exceptions: 1. The Planning Director may issue a final Telecom Permit for a wireless device, subject to Chapter — of the Newport Beach Municipal Code, Section C of this 4 DRAFT F -24 Attachment B Policy, and subject to Planning Commission and City Council appeal if applicable, without review (or the development of a License Agreement) or approval of the City Manager; 2. The Planning Director may determine that additional notice is appropriate and direct that notice of a pending Telecom Permit be provided by the applicant to all property owners within 300' of any proposed installation; 3. The City recognizes that the placement of wireless facilities on properties administered by the California Division of the State Architect do not require a Telecom Permit but shall require a review by the telecommunications personnel of the Police and Fire Department. III -- EXEMPT FACILITIES These facilities are exempt from this Policy: 1. Receiving satellite antenna less than two meters in diameter in nonresidential districts with building permit. 2. Receiving satellite dishes less than _ inches in diameter in residential areas, as exempted by the Telecommunications Act of 1996. 3. Private installations where all facilities are inside a structure or below the upper limits of a roof parapet with a building permit. Adopted - May 14, 2002 5 Los Angeles Times Thursday, Ap 'll18, 2002 GOING MOBILE Poised to Work, Play 8t Shop Any Time, Anywhere .Technology: Telecom firms race to install next - generation wireless networks that will enable'the next big thing' to flourish. By KAREN KAPLAN, TIMES STAFF WRITER After several years of false starts, the grand hopes for mobile commerce in 2002 rest in no small part on the slender shoulders of Adirem Quintel. The 25- year -old field technician for Nortel Networks Corp. is part of an army of thousands of workers who are quietly yet methodically visiting cellular towers across the nation and upgrading them for a new generation of faster wireless networks. Quintel typically visits two or three of them a night, each time installing a sophisticated piece of digital switching equipment for Verizon Wireless Inc. that allows cell phones, two -way pagers and hand -held computers to transmit data as fast as desktop PCs with dial -up connections to the Internet. Wireless carriers expect to have their next - generation wireless networks turned on in the country's major metropolitan areas by year -end. Verizon has launched its Express Network in Salt Lake City, the San Francisco Bay Area and the Northeast corridor connecting Boston, New York and Washington. Sprint PCS Group Inc. plans to switch on its entire nationwide high -speed network this summer. Cingular Wireless, AT &T Wireless Services Inc. and others are going forward with new networks as well. April 23, 2002 Study Session Item No. SS3 Graphics Mobile Internet use In the U.S. Is growing... Cell pha;as a•cl 'IBndk:e::f C/ ITWAIS ale DKnn•.eg k0„ device9 to W.CeSS the Int.?". Ivlcmcl lic � n c1c L.S. fi[rvlikn, h1aMb JW~ W.M TW l tn[nme[ use. sow 100 95A 20D11 &9 119.0 10021216 136.0 7003.48.0 367.8 1004 =615 isms �03J mmam, ...and worldwide mobile commerce Is booming... FILT.,,e zId .k� is haW teen 1e00 ,t;'.he alp n' sell prwStls h15:�h n1abL^ deeSDS. l \lr.,tl„iae r,nnit a..vc•. I'I Gilli,n5 sac bllll0n I 35 20 as 5 D 01 V2 '03 'Ur. '06 "L5 xu,cr. [ahrus l•rSlx l'MJR ...but U.S. sales are expected to lag far behind. rc 5 +.3w sta t Ir. the J.S. •xdl -%a,, Ismail mobile cwiIIteree sales i, the near ftr, ,e L' S SRBM d wcl OxiJ2 rnctib fGYlr'relfA 112006 J S. rn.bl is C6mlm!rLn: 2.29. Workrn,de mobile cDlnmroe: 07.8% All of them are betting that the new technology finally will entice Americans to use their cell phones, hand -held soma: Lxh1':u h, Slnl -MDR computers and other mobile devices to shop and conduct a ate. .'mns business - -a trend that is supplanting the letter "e" in the technology vernacular with the letter "m." LosAnge %s Times Thursday, Apri/ I8, 2002 "The potential for m- commerce is directly related to the roll -out of these networks," said Ben Macklin, a senior analyst at EMarketer Inc., a market research firm based in New York. "It provides consumers with a much more compelling type of offering." Already a hit in parts of Asia and Europe, mobile computing has long been anticipated as the next big thing for the Internet. For corporate America, so- called m- business promises to help companies streamline their operations and increase efficiency by allowing workers to conduct business without being tethered to the office. It will allow real estate agents to access listings from the road and enable insurance adjusters to process claims without returning to the office. For consumers, m- commerce offers the tantalizing prospect of shopping for books, baseball tickets or other items on portable gadgets while commuting on the subway or standing in line at the post office. They will be able to exchange electronic greeting cards on their cell phones, place bets on racehorses using two -way pagers and download video games to their personal digital assistants. Forecasters at New York market research firm Jupiter Media Metrix predict that by 2005, $22.2 billion worth of goods and services will be purchased on mobile devices worldwide. Businesses and consumers in Asia are on track to spend $2.6 billion on m- commerce this year, and their counterparts in Europe are expected to ring up $500 million in sales by Dec. 31. In contrast, otherwise indulgent North Americans are projected to spend a paltry $100 million using their mobile devices in 2002. But analysts expect those spending habits to change once the faster wireless networks come online. The new networks -- generally called "3G" because they represent the third generation of wireless technology - -will enable new forms ofm- services, m- entertainment and, of course, m- advertising that are far more appealing than the offerings available in the U.S. today. Stock trades from wireless PDAs are slow, and Web sites redesigned for tiny cell phone screens are cumbersome to navigate with only about a dozen keys on the number pad. As a result, less than 2% of Americans whose phones are equipped with Web browsers use them for mobile commerce, said Dylan Brooks, Jupiter's senior wireless analyst. "That points to the lack of a compelling experience," he said. "A fairly large number of people have used their phones to do something, but the actual user experience isn't such that it really ropes people in." Whether that will change depends on a variety of factors, including the development of new - fangled devices with bigger screens, improvements in voice recognition technology that will eliminate the need to type on miniature keypads, and the emergence of new 2 Los Angeles Times Thursday, Apr1118, 2002 applications that will entice users to open their wallets. But after several false starts, analysts now believe the most critical factor for the U.S. is the roll -out of 3G networks. "I liken it to the automobile: You had to have roads before you could have a car," said Ken Hyers, senior analyst in the mobile carrier services group at Canners In- Stat/MDR, a Newton, Mass., consulting firm. And that's where Quintel comes in. For the last three months, she has been spending her nights cruising around Southern California in her black sport utility vehicle visiting Verizon cell sites. The essential piece of equipment that brings them onto the company's 3G network is a channel element module, a metal box about the size of a coffee table book that converts calls from the digital wireless network into signals that can be carried on the traditional phone network and vice versa. Each box can handle at least twice as many voice calls as the one it replaces, or it can boost voice capacity while ferrying data at speeds of 40 to 60 kilobits per second, about three to four times as fast as current wireless technology allows. Quintel can swap the equipment in less than 20 minutes and can usually do two or three upgrades a night. And Verizon has well over 1,000 sites to upgrade just in Southern California before it can turn on its network here next month. All the major wireless carriers are upgrading their networks to accommodate high -speed data transmissions. Though they employ different technologies, the networks all handle more calls by taking advantage of faster processors inside phones and cell sites. They also use compression technology and more efficient coding algorithms to squeeze more calls onto their networks at once. As the networks come on line, analysts say business users will be the first to benefit from the increased speed. The flood of data will be most useful for people using wireless networking cards to connect to corporate networks and the Internet on their laptops and PDAs. Businesses also are more willing to pay the higher prices that carriers will charge for 3G services, said Canners analyst Hyers. Consumers will follow in the next 12 to 18 months, although they may never embrace m- commerce as enthusiastically as their counterparts in Asia and Europe, analysts said. People there spend more time commuting on trains, where their hands are free to play with wireless gadgets, but Americans pass their commutes behind the wheel. Americans also are spoiled by the fast Internet connections they can get with desktop PCs, which display the Web on large, full -color screens. LosAnge %s Times Thursday, Aprii 18, 2002 "The ease of doing things online with a PC and the richer experience there [are] baked into the psyche of a lot of online consumers," said Jupiter's Brooks. "The idea that they'll replace that activity with wireless is probably a nonstarter." Although mobile computing may never supplant desktop computing, analysts still believe that m- commerce and m- business activities eventually will become an important part of the technology spectrum. The first big step is 3G. "Before, you saw a gazillion people try to develop applications and the network wasn't really there to support them," Hyers said. "With the new networks coming out, we will see a lot of people trying to do it again. That's what's going to make the difference." El Los Angeles Times Thursday, April 18, 2002 GOING MOBILE Can M- Commerce Overcome the Hurdles? .The industry faces the daunting challenge of persuading Americans to hang up their lowly telephone modems. By JIM COATES, CHICAGO TRIBUNE There's a strong whiff of the same old, same old wafting through the wireless world. Billions of dollars are being spent to roll out networks and devices designed to foster a mobile revolution. They use high -speed radio technologies with names such as 3G, Wi- Fi, Bluetooth and ultrawide band. Think of it as a marriage of the cell phone and the cable modem: a new generation of wireless hand -held devices such as the familiar Palms but capable of high -speed Internet features such as video e-mail, music and blazing file transfers from any place on Earth to any other place you happen to roans. But what a bitter ring of familiarity it has, this talk about a third generation of mobile phones and allied devices that access the Internet without wires. It hardly differs from the hype that fueled the first rush to get high -speed connections to home and office computers for e- commerce. That crusade to connect America to broadband lasted maybe four years before stumbling last year. It's a bit premature to start passing out the party hats and confetti for the great revolution that wireless evangelists say awaits. The question is: Can wireless somehow bring about the miracle that far - faster fiber -optic lines failed to produce? Marketers have rushed to push anything that contains the "m" word, "mobile." But it's hard to forget that the last tech frenzy left us with an incredibly powerful global fiber - optic network that remains more than 90% unused. All that dark fiber swallowed the hopes of companies such as Cisco Systems Inc., Nortel Networks Corp., Lucent Technologies Inc., AT &T Corp. and 3Com Corp. that now are gasping for air. These companies stand to gain greatly - -maybe even rebound to prior glory- -if the world embraces all the new mobile devices that soon will pour onto the market. It wasn't all disaster, of course Los Angeles Times Thursday, Apri/ 18, 2002 Although the Internet meltdown blitzed the bulk of the dot -coms, e- commerce today is almost commonplace. There is an important e- lesson here: Those selling the dream of using mobile phones or personal digital assistants to connect to the Net should remember and respect the lowly telephone modem. Today, the majority of American Internet users remain content to dial up from their homes using roughly the same technology that existed when the information revolution began. In fact, 88% of Americans accessing the Internet do so from conventional dial -up modems using connection speeds of 56 kilobits per second or slower. Only 12% of online Americans use cable modems, digital subscriber lines or other high -speed connections, according to the latest studies from the Progress & Freedom Foundation, a Washington - based technology policy think tank. Internet service providers that use cable modems such as Princeton, N.J. -based RCN Corp. and AT &T Broadband are struggling to support existing customers and find new ones. Those selling the dream of third-generation high -speed wireless access, or 3G, must convince the world that people who don't seem to want high speed in the comfort of their own homes will want it on their mobile phones. But many of those who have experienced the excitement of the new wireless world are eager to embrace it. Consumers are buying mobile devices, such as the recently introduced Samsung SPH -I300 and the Handspring Treo, which combine a PDA with a cell phone. Businesses are adding wireless networks that can provide Internet access at airports, hotels and college campuses. There is much to admire about the head - spinning array of clever wireless technologies. It is, after all, an engineering triumph to build systems that can slice and dice radio transmissions and create a 2 -ounce telephone that carries moving pictures as effectively as a 40 -pound television set. Most likely, a 3G phone will always be on, just like a PC with a broadband connection. Link them with the new global positioning satellite radios, and employers suddenly know where each worker is at any given time. Whether it's a cab service coordinating pickups, emergency operators dispatching police squad cars or a sales manager tracking order takers, 3G has huge new powers. Such gadgets will tell worried parents where their children are or how far a commuting spouse is from the front door. G Los Angeles Times Thursday, Apri/ 18, 2002 Maybe Americans will learn to use a new palette of technology tools, such as sending a digital picture on 3G phones without making a full- fledged call. Or maybe we'll just do what we did when the miracle of fiber -optic broadband was poised to change our world. Maybe we'll just stay at home, content to play with our trusty old I analog telephone modems. 3 Los Angeles Times Thursday, Apri/ 18, 2002 Struggling for a Slice of the Wireless Pie .Consumer services: Pizza - ordering system tested by Domino's and Motorola highlights hurdles of m- commerce. By ROB KAISER, CHICAGO TRIBUNE You're hankering for a pizza and have a cell phone in hand. Why not go online? That's the deal Motorola Inc. is pushing. The Schaumburg, Ill., cell phone giant, searching for ways to sell more Intemet - enabled handsets, has developed a "three- click" mobile pizza ordering system for Web - enabled phones, which Domino's Pizza tested last year in Las Vegas. Results from that trial show the wireless industry is set to revolutionize the pizza delivery business. Or perhaps the findings merit more study of the concept. The answer depends on whether you ask Motorola or Domino's. "This is easier than ordering over [a regular] phone, especially repeat orders," said Tim Krauskopf, a vice president of Motorola's Internet software and content group. "Ordering online is more difficult than picking up the phone," countered Matt Maguire, Domino's vice president for information services. The differing responses highlight the hurdles purveyors of "m- commerce," or mobile commerce, must leap before wining the hearts of restaurant and retail executives, not to Los Angeles Times Thursday, Apri/ 18, 2002 mention consumers. M- commerce, like its older cousin e- commerce, is expected to offer companies a new sales channel that could transform how consumers get information, entertainment and products, including pizza. Yet the hype about how m- commerce can turn cell phones into electronic wallets and let stores fire off instant messages to nearby shoppers hasn't translated into changes in consumers' habits. And that's unlikely to happen any time soon. Wireless analysts said the most popular m- commerce offerings for consumers in the U.S. during the next couple of years probably will be downloadable games and ring tones. "It gives the consumer a chance to dip her toe in m- commerce without diving in," said Adam Guy, a wireless analyst with Strategis Group. More elaborate offerings will be constrained by outdated infrastructure, conflicting standards, security concerns and device limitations. "It's got to get to the point where the application is so easy that people say, 'This is easier than dialing, "' said Adam Zawel, a wireless analyst at Yankee Group in Boston. That's the challenge Motorola is taking on in the pizza business. Motorola wanted to develop a shopping "engine" that can be used for various m- commerce applications. Krauskopf said the company decided to test its software in one industry and settled on pizza because it is a $30- billion market, already has strong telephone ties and includes many repeat orders. For pizza outlets, Krauskopf said, the concept clicks because it cuts down on the number of employees needed to enter orders and reduces errors in order entry. Yet the concept faces serious logistical issues. The biggest barrier from the consumer point of view, Krauskopf said, is getting people to program their phones with their favorite combinations of toppings, address and billing information, so they can quickly enter repeat orders. Many pizzerias often present their own limitations, particularly if they don't have computer -based ordering systems installed. hn the test with Domino's, Motorola had to set up a simple version of the ordering system for locations that didn't have the computer systems. Users could see a menu and specials but still had to make a call when they were ready to place an order. Many businesses still don't have Internet ordering systems. 2 Los Angeles Times Thursday, April 18, 2002 For example, Pizza Hut offers online ordering in only three places: Columbus, Ohio; Kansas City, Mo.; and the Dallas -Fort Worth area. Manish Patel, chairman and co- founder of Where2getit Inc. in Northbrook, Ill., said that though his firm develops Internet store - location search pages and maps for companies such as La -Z -Boy Inc. and Reebok International Ltd., clients have expressed little interest in building m- commerce capabilities. "At this stage, no one is really moving," Patel said. That doesn't mean, though, that some companies aren't getting ready. Donatos Pizzeria, which is owned by McDonald's Corp., has decided to use Motorola's m- commerce offering. "We're probably a year away from really pushing it," said Tom Krouse, senior vice president of marketing at Donates. "Our hope is it just grows on the front end of this wave." Donatos has drive -up windows where customers can pick up orders, and Krouse expects the ability to click orders into cell phones will be popular with people who use that service. Still, Donatos will have to clear technological hurdles before it can offer the service in its 200 locations as well as get franchisees on board with the concept. "The plan would be to make it available to all customers, but you have to make sure that everybody is set up properly," Krouse said. Ensuring that the infrastructure works and then converting customers to use the service take much more time than cranking out pronouncements on the hype machine, a lesson well learned by e- commerce pioneers. Domino's Maguire said every vendor who visits him asks how online ordering has grown in recent years. He turns around the question, asking whether they would order pizza online. "They start thinking about the logistics of it all, and they say they would still call," Maguire said. LosAnge %s Times Thursday, Apri/ 18, 2002 These Nets Have Security Holes .Safeguards: Hackers can easily break into many networks. Experts advise the use of common sense. By CHARLES PILLER, TIMES STAFF WRITER Jonas Luster, an architect of defensive wireless networks, holds a hand- held device that can read wireless networks from his car. (RANDI LYNN BEACH / For The Times) They call it "war driving." Hackers plug an antenna into a laptop computer, jump into a car, and then the fun begins. They easily break into wireless computer networks, which often spew unencrypted information into the airwaves for anyone to pick up. "There are two kinds of people doing wireless security assessments in Silicon Valley: people like me, and the 19- year -old kids who do it for sport," said Jonas Luster, president of D- fensive Networks Inc., a Campbell, Calif, security consulting firm. During a recent security audit in a Silicon Valley parking lot, Luster's electronic "sniffer" detected 169 wireless networks using the most popular standard, known as "Wi -Fi." Just six had any form of security. The experience with Wi -Fi is just the tip of the iceberg. The coming of so- called 3G wireless networks, which will allow cell phones and hand -held computers to access the Internet at high speeds, is creating a new realm of vulnerabilities. Though wireless networks differ in their strengths and vulnerabilities, none escapes the fact that they transmit information through the air and are designed to traverse the infamously insecure expanses of the Internet. Despite such concerns, the push for wireless convenience, mobility and commerce is racing ahead. II LOSAnge %s Times Thursday, Apri/ 18, 2002 Last year, about 7.5 million devices were sold that connect personal computers, laptops and hand -held computers to Wi -Fi networks, which dominate the home and business markets, according to market research firm Allied Business Intelligence. Research firm EMarketer Inc. forecasts that by 2004, 63 million people in the U.S. will be connecting to the Internet by using cell phones or personal digital assistants. Businesspeople use Wi -Fi to view documents from distant conference rooms. Forklift drivers use wireless hand -helds to monitor inventory in warehouses. Shoppers browse Amazon.com or answer e-mail over wireless links while sipping a cafe latte at Starbucks. The coffee chain has equipped hundreds of outlets with Wi -Fi, and many other restaurants and airports have done likewise. That mobility comes at a price. During an audit for a Silicon Valley company, "we picked up signals from a nearby hospital," Luster said. "It was a large amount of patient data, completely in clear text," meaning the information was not scrambled or encrypted. "We approached this hospital, and I offered to [plug the gap] for free," he said. The hospital refused to talk to him, Luster said. "It would have been an admission of a problem, and people don't want to do that," he said. On another occasion, he stumbled across a Nevada casino that was broadcasting unencrypted details of its security operations. Call it the "if I can't see it, it can't hurt me" effect. Computer -savvy businesses take at least basic steps to protect wired networks, such as using anti -virus programs and installing software "firewalls" to block hackers. Yet unwired vigilance is rare. Wi -Fi security is among the most leaky in the wireless world, and because its nodes often connect to standard networks, they can expose all manner of company secrets. The root of the problem, experts said, is the same one that has plagued standard computer networks for decades. Wi -Fi was designed for convenience and economy, not security. Default Wi -Fi security settings are next to useless. Few users bother to learn about advanced settings for wired equivalent privacy, or WEP, which is built into Wi -Fi devices. Manufacturers don't ship products with the most secure settings turned on because that causes conflicts with Wi -Fi products from other vendors. Los Angeles Times Thursday, Apr# 18, 2002 WEP is meant to encrypt data traveling over the airwaves and patch holes in company networks through wireless access points, or hubs. But even when set up properly, WEP provides weak protection on both fronts. Hacking software called AirSnort and WEPCrack, freely available online, allow even inexperienced hackers to obtain WEP's encryption "key" to unscramble airborne text. Ease of use has led to another big problem: "rogue" access points. A multitude of technically savvy but careless employees set up ad hoc wireless connections to their company networks. "Companies say, 'We don't need wireless security because we don't have a wireless network, "' said Christopher W. Klaus, chief technology officer of Internet Security Systems Inc., an Atlanta -based security company. "But just sniffing around their office, we find four or five access points." Large businesses can install virtual private networks, which block hackers fairly reliably. But that solution can be prohibitively costly and complex. Experts advise common sense: Turn on WEP to deter casual eavesdroppers, and shut down rogue hubs. They also urge caution in setting up authorized hubs. Wi -Fi is meant to broadcast only 150 feet, effectively within one building. But if hubs are set inside windows on the building's periphery- -where no walls impede signal strength -- networks become open to remote hackers, Klaus said. He has picked up Wi -Fi signals six miles from a network access point. Bad guys do the saute, using a popular hacking tool, a Pringles potato chip can, as the antenna. Ultimately, Wi -Fi security should improve as new standards upgrade WEP over the next couple of years. The first of these, called 802.1x, will be finalized within a couple of months. It changes the WEP encryption keys about every five minutes, rendering common hacking tools ineffective. As consumers adopt high -speed 3G cellular phones, they may want to consider Wi -Fi's cautionary tale. The 3G networks will fix voice encryption problems that make many of today's cell phones easy to tap. But 3G mobile commerce will require interaction with Web sites and networks whose security may not be so reliable. Such glitches have plagued PC -based e- commerce from its inception. "3G services will all be insecure," said Bruce Schneier, a cryptographer and chief technology officer of Counterpane Internet Security Inc. in Cupertino, Calif. "We'll be patching it up as we go." 3 Los Angeles Times Thursday, April 18, 2002 Warming to Wi -Fi .The network technology is so inexpensive and easy to set up that it has sparked a kind of populist movement. 'Hot spots' are sprouting all over. By JON VAN, CHICAGO TRIBUNE Cell phone executives hype the arrival of their new "3G" networks, but a lowly technology from the computer world has been steadily gaining converts as an alternative path to the nirvana of high -speed mobile access to the Internet. The technology is known as "Wi -Fi," and it's the most popular method of creating wireless networks in homes and businesses. For a few hundred dollars, anyone can pick up the gear at a local computer store and have a network running in a few hours. Although cellular carriers are spending billions to build their high -speed nationwide networks, Wi -Fi adherents point out that their off -the -shelf technology is faster, cheaper and easier. But there's one important caveat: Its range is only about 150 feet. That might seem like a fatal flaw for a technology vying for a piece of the wireless revolution - -a movement built on the promise of ubiquitous high -speed Web access that works whether you're sitting in an easy chair or on a bullet train. But as the revolution has gathered steam, the industry has begun to realize that the nationwide reach of 3G networks is not really necessary for everyone. What's important is to be able to connect in a few key locations: home, office, airport, hotel and- -why not? - -the coffee shop. Business campuses are embracing Wi -Fi networks, and even retailers are installing local systems for customers' use while they shop. In many urban areas, computer buffs can move from one Wi -Fi "hot spot" to another, keeping their Web connectivity as they go. "You can go to airports and other hot spots and be amazed at the performance," said Adam Sewall, the former chief executive of wireless gear maker Spectrum Wireless Inc., who now works at ComVentures, a venture capital firm in Palo Alto, Calif. Even wireless carriers forging ahead with their "third- generation" plans are waking up to the benefits of including Wi -Fi hot spots as part of their national networks- -not as a replacement but as a supplement. At least two wireless carriers, VoiceStream and Sprint PCS, already have invested in Wi- Fi firms. Most others have deals in the works. Wi -Fi, short for "wireless fidelity" and also known by the techie moniker 802.11 b, is the wireless version of the common ethernet networks that link computers in homes and corporate offices. The original selling point of Wi -Fi when it was introduced several LosAnge %s Times ihursday, April 18, 2002 years ago was that it eliminated the need to snake miles of wires throughout a building The earliest version of wireless ethernet transmitted information at about 1 megabit per second - -not particularly fast compared with the 100 - megabits -per- second speeds of wired ethernet. Today, Wi -Fi transmits information at a respectable 11 megabits per second, and a recently adopted standard, 802.11 a, will bump speeds up to 54 megabits per second. Wi -Fi still isn't up to wired speeds but runs rings around 3G wireless technology. The advanced wireless networks that carvers such as Verizon Wireless Inc., AT &T Wireless Services Inc. and Sprint PCS Group Inc. are bringing out this year deliver speeds of 60 to 120 kilobits per second. Wi -Fi is so cheap and easy to set up that it has sparked a kind of populist movement. Wireless hot spots are popping up in all sorts of places, creating a pseudo sense of ubiquity in some densely populated urban areas. But in the suburbs, countryside or even big buildings, Wi -Fi begins to lose its luster. Russ Intravartolo, chief executive of StarNet Inc., an Internet service provider based in Palatine, Ill., said his firm is expanding its wireless high -speed Internet service to customers in Chicago's northwestern suburbs. StarNet recently began using Wi -Fi to put wireless LANs, or local area networks, into apartment complexes and discovered the difficulties inherent in the technology. "Bringing in the signal into a development and then distributing it to everyone can be a struggle," he said. "We have this 14 -story condo where we're trying to serve the residents with a wireless LAN, but we find it won't work from one floor to the other.... Even when you install a wireless LAN for one floor, it may not propagate everywhere you want to reach." These difficulties with Wi -Fi's low- powered radio technology probably will ensure that the higher - powered signals of 3G will find a significant mass market, said Annabel Z. Dodd, author of "The Essential Guide to Telecommunications." "In the end, I'd say Wi -Fi is complementary to 3G wireless," she said. A San Diego bus that marries 3G and Wi -Fi may provide a glimpse of this hybrid future Operating on the campus of UC San Diego, the bus is connected to the Internet via an advanced 3G network providing speeds of 2.4 megabits per second. Riders on the Cybershuttle access that network through a standard Wi -Fi network set up inside the bus, which is essentially a rolling hot spot. "It's like a mobile version of a cable modem," said Ramesh Rao, director of UCSD's advanced Internet division. LosAnge %s Times Thursday, Apri/ 1812002 Although it has many advantages, Wi -Fi could become a victim of its own success. It uses unlicensed segments of radio spectrum that are shared by many sorts of devices, including some kinds of cordless phones. More applications for the same spectrum are in the works, said Roger Marks, who chairs a standards committee for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. "There are so many products that want into the band that there are a lot of concerns about the coexistence problem," Marks said. "It's hard because no one has a clear answer. There's always a scenario how these things can interfere with each other and scenarios where they don't.... But no one knows for sure." Patrick Stavors, a technician for Starnet, installs an Uni•17 antenna on the roof of a building in Palatine, Illinois, to allow use of new wireless fidelity technology. (STACEY WESCOTT I Chicago Tribune) 3 �/ k LosAnge %s Times Thursday, April 18, 2002 A student at the University of California, San Diego uses a PDA to browse the Web on the campus "Cybershuttle" bus. 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