Comments on: Using Mobile Phones when traveling abroad

By: Chris Simpson

Chris Simpson — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:58:16 +0000

Singtel Singapore, Smart Philippines, and Optus Australia are all the same company. Automatic roaming, reload compatibility, no number change.
I have had problems with both Optus and Smart but this automatic feature is brilliant; therefore I stick with them.

By: Jurgen

Jurgen — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:53:41 +0000

Sunnyyeah that’s right, that would be possible but I guess it will be kind of hard to convince so many people to buy a new piece of hardware which they don’t really need, not to mention the technical and legal complications with sharing a single internet connection. I further agree that it would be techie-tourist-heaven, but I don’t really see the business in it…
BTW, how id you manage to go frm Singapore to Australia and back in such a short time?

By: Sunny

Sunny — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 10:21:00 +0000

I’m not sure how it’s done. My uni campus had the whole area covered with wifi. Is there anyway to do it economically?

My home has a wireless router. And I think with a Meraki we can achieve the same as with an ordinary wireless router. So why not encourage everybody to use a Meraki instead? It works like a wireless router, broadcasting internet around the whole house. Also in this way they can share the unused bandwidth with people within the range of 350m radius. Better, if someone else also has a Meraki within the range, the bandwidth can be broadcast further by another 350m. Is this understanding correct? So, say there is a shop or cafe every 100-350m away in an area, the whole town can become a Meraki town.

By: Sunny

Sunny — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 10:09:01 +0000

What about 3G? Is it superior to GSM and CDMA in the range? Perhaps the most practical means is for all the shops or homes in a neighborhood to buy a Meraki so that our phones/laptop can always be within the range of 350m from the nearest Meraki. As you explained, we must be within this range to transmit data to a WiFi link. For remote places, perhaps solar Meraki? I suggested this before. This could turn the entire neighborhood into a WiFi town. If everyone would co-operate, it would become a business and tourists heaven.

By: Jurgen

Jurgen — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:13:43 +0000

Sunny, the answer to your first question is: modern phones have many different antennas and transmission modules under the hood e.g. a gsm/umts antenna, a wifi antenna, a gps antenna, a bluetooth antenna and so on. each of these antennas have a different transmission ranges e.g bluetooth up to 10 mt, wifi up to 300 mt. and gsm up to 32 km (all these values are theoretical and you won’t be able to get them in real life).
if you want to try out the wifi transmission power of your phone get yourself joikuspot or joiku light (just google for it) switch it on and try with a second wifi device the distance you’ll be able to cover.
your second question: this mini device unfortunately would always need the high gain power antenna in order to establish the 2-way connection… :-(

By: Sunny

Sunny — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:54:19 +0000

Hi Jurgen,
Thanks for your explanations. But I have a question: how do our mobile phones connect to the network? If our phone must also transmit data beside receiving, how can they be so powerful to transmit data so far?

Let’s consider another solution. Do you think Meraki should develop a mini weather-proof Meraki (powered by lithium batteries or solar) that we can carry around (perhaps clip on our backpack or hat) in a Meraki-covered neighborhood to broadcast a mini WiFi cloud around the backpacker while he uses his smart phone or laptop? Such a device should be as power-saving, light and cheap as possible. Since it’s not necessary to create a large WiFi cloud, it needs not be as powerful as the normal Meraki.

So, using this model, we have a Meraki that broadcast up to 8km from a Hostel, and another mini clip-on Meraki we carry with us that connects to this and broadcast a mini cloud around us (radius of 1-3m).

Do you think this works?

By: Jurgen

Jurgen — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:49:50 +0000

Sunny, what I described was basic physics and no company on earth can overcome these natural laws! What Meraki does on their website is mixing different kinds of information on purpose. They clearly state that there range is between 50-350 meters (exactly the same like any WiFi router on the market!) and then they add this stunning 8km figure without explaining it further. Actually this function is meant to work only in repeater modus which means that on the receiving side you need such a device again which on his behalf creates another WiFi cloud accessible and reachable by your smartphone or laptop. This technique is used to deploy the WiFi signal to a distant point which otherwise would not be easily reached by a network cable because of terrestrial problems, e.g. a road, a river or a deep canyon in between point A and point B.
Btw, you can do that with nearly every WiFi-router on the market, the difference to Meraki is only that they are cheaper, not so cute and maybe a bit more cumbersome in installation.

By: Sunny

Sunny — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 10:43:05 +0000

Hi, Jurgen, I am not sure whether Meraki really works like what you described. But if it does not support wifi devices like smart phones that are located KMs away, then the range it gives would have no meaning. What end-users want is that they can connect to the internet using their devices in that covered area to both receive and transmit data.

By: Jurgen

Jurgen — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 09:48:19 +0000

Sunny, I probably did not make myself clear enough. WiFi connection is different to the transmission of e.g. a radio station. While any Radio receiver is able to receive a givens channel signal, in case of WiFi the device has not only to be able to receive the signal but to transmit it too.
As Meraki states on their site you need a high-gain antenna in order to transmit their signal for 8km, but that’s not enough in our case. You would need a similar antenna attached to your smartphone in order to get back to the Meraki system and as such a thing does not exist or if it should, it would be very bulky.
Therefor your excellent idea of just getting this little piece of hardware with you in your backpack, connecting it to the router of the guesthouse and then automatically have free WiFi in an 8km range simply doesn’t work…

By: Sunny

Sunny — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 05:27:54 +0000

Anyway, Meraki had been field tested in many places. The whole town or neighborhood could be provided with WiFi coverage. http://meraki.com/solutions/industries/municipal/

Meraki’s wireless solutions work for your community

* We build wireless networks that provide cities with secure and reliable access to wireless Internet.
* We’ve leveraged our expertise to build wireless networks in many cities and business districts, some large like San Francisco and Harvard Square, some small like Prestonsburg KY, Ypsilanti MI, and Nashua NH, and some in other parts of the globe, like Coelemu, Chile.
* Our customers have deployed Meraki WiFi across their downtown business districts, pedestrian malls, and Main Streets. Meraki’s WiFi networks have helped them attract businesses, tourists, contributing to local economic growth

Superior technology enables superior results

* Our mesh technology enables the best coverage, ensuring reliable, secure, and dependable WiFi for any city, in any community
* Our self-configuring systems allow you to deploy a wireless network for your city in days, not months
* And our web-based dashboard minimizes the time you spend managing the network, it virtually runs itself
* Meraki’s solar wireless provide energy efficient and streamlined networks for your community