A look at the trends behind the global increase in the wireless hotspot and how this may may postively impact the less-than-successful attempts in the US to bring Municiple Wi-Fi into a sustainable mode of operation. A review of success and failure , lessons learned and recommendations. Approaches include collaborative efforts that involve the work performed at the community level in the "free wi-fi" movement , the private sector and more secure public sector institutions to make public wi-fi a success.
What Do Consumers Want from Public Wi-Fi? Gain Insights from Cisco's Mobile C...Cisco Service Provider
It seems that the iconic “Wi-Fi Here” badge is turning up everywhere these days. Once found on coffee shop windows to indicate that patrons could connect their mobile devices to the Internet, the symbol can now be seen in countless public venues. Wi-Fi can now be found everywhere from retail stores and hotels to airports, doctor’s offices, and even airplanes. Recent Cisco research found that consumers now own an average of three mobile devices each, almost all of which are Wi-Fi capable. ABI Research estimated that there were 4.9 million public hotspots in 2012, which they expect to grow by 30 percent in 2013 to 6.3 million1. It’s no wonder that we are seeing a huge increase in public Wi-Fi hotspots as mobile users look for places to connect their multiple devices when they are away from home or the office.
For many businesses and public locations, providing Wi-Fi to customers has almost become like electricity or water, a cost of doing business. Many service providers are now constructing extensive networks of public Wi-Fi hotspots for use by their mobile or home broadband customers. The intention is to enhance and differentiate their offering, with the goal of retaining their customers’ business. However, very little knowledge is currently available about how consumers are actually using public Wi-Fi and how they view the overall experience. To derive business value from the deployment of Wi-Fi hotspots, businesses and service providers need to better understand how consumers are using public hotspots and what can be done to improve the experience.
To learn more, Cisco conducted a survey of 620 U.S. mobile users to understand their needs and behaviors, current and future use of public hotspots, and unmet demands. The research findings are important, because they can help businesses and service providers understand the size of the opportunity, develop winning strategies, and optimize their Wi-Fi offerings and network deployments to derive greater business value. This document is part of a series presenting 2013 Cisco mobile consumer research findings. Additional white papers cover changing mobile usage and consumer behavior, as well as opportunities in new localized mobile services.
An expanded view by data plan size, OS, device type and LTEDavid Martin
A report demystifying data usage trends on cellular and Wi-Fi networks with an expanded view by data plan size, OS, device type and LTE. Know more at: http://goo.gl/ZQaZMU
Policy Brief : Can the GDPR help SMEs innovate for older adults in Europe?Mobile Age Project
Mobile Age project: https://www.mobile-age.eu/
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 693319.
This material reflects only the author's view and the Research Executive Agency (REA) is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
Net Neutrality and what initiatives like Internet.org and Airtel Zero mean fo...Jason Fernandes
What seemed like a noble initiative to connect millions of the world’s poor to basic internet services in the developing world had gone largely unnoticed till suddenly Facebook’s Internet.org initiative found itself mired in controversy. The main objection to Internet.org was its perceived violation of the principles of Net Neutrality.
Citizens and businesses have many different ways of contacting municipalities for services, and many municipalities allow customers to use email as a contact channel. However many municipalities often find that they have difficulties in managing the email channel, with customers contacting a range of official and unofficial email addresses, and have difficulties in measuring how successful/efficient/appropriate email is for service delivery and as a point of customer contact.
This report illustrates how the municipality of Groningen has transformed its email handling methods and processes in the context of a wider multi-channel strategy to deliver better and more effective services to its citizens.
This report provides an overview of best practices in the use and handling of email by municipalities, shares lessons from Groningen’s experience in transforming email handling through a case study, and gives an insight into the complexities and uses of the email channel. A glossary and links to further reading and resources are also included.
What Do Consumers Want from Public Wi-Fi? Gain Insights from Cisco's Mobile C...Cisco Service Provider
It seems that the iconic “Wi-Fi Here” badge is turning up everywhere these days. Once found on coffee shop windows to indicate that patrons could connect their mobile devices to the Internet, the symbol can now be seen in countless public venues. Wi-Fi can now be found everywhere from retail stores and hotels to airports, doctor’s offices, and even airplanes. Recent Cisco research found that consumers now own an average of three mobile devices each, almost all of which are Wi-Fi capable. ABI Research estimated that there were 4.9 million public hotspots in 2012, which they expect to grow by 30 percent in 2013 to 6.3 million1. It’s no wonder that we are seeing a huge increase in public Wi-Fi hotspots as mobile users look for places to connect their multiple devices when they are away from home or the office.
For many businesses and public locations, providing Wi-Fi to customers has almost become like electricity or water, a cost of doing business. Many service providers are now constructing extensive networks of public Wi-Fi hotspots for use by their mobile or home broadband customers. The intention is to enhance and differentiate their offering, with the goal of retaining their customers’ business. However, very little knowledge is currently available about how consumers are actually using public Wi-Fi and how they view the overall experience. To derive business value from the deployment of Wi-Fi hotspots, businesses and service providers need to better understand how consumers are using public hotspots and what can be done to improve the experience.
To learn more, Cisco conducted a survey of 620 U.S. mobile users to understand their needs and behaviors, current and future use of public hotspots, and unmet demands. The research findings are important, because they can help businesses and service providers understand the size of the opportunity, develop winning strategies, and optimize their Wi-Fi offerings and network deployments to derive greater business value. This document is part of a series presenting 2013 Cisco mobile consumer research findings. Additional white papers cover changing mobile usage and consumer behavior, as well as opportunities in new localized mobile services.
An expanded view by data plan size, OS, device type and LTEDavid Martin
A report demystifying data usage trends on cellular and Wi-Fi networks with an expanded view by data plan size, OS, device type and LTE. Know more at: http://goo.gl/ZQaZMU
Policy Brief : Can the GDPR help SMEs innovate for older adults in Europe?Mobile Age Project
Mobile Age project: https://www.mobile-age.eu/
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 693319.
This material reflects only the author's view and the Research Executive Agency (REA) is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
Net Neutrality and what initiatives like Internet.org and Airtel Zero mean fo...Jason Fernandes
What seemed like a noble initiative to connect millions of the world’s poor to basic internet services in the developing world had gone largely unnoticed till suddenly Facebook’s Internet.org initiative found itself mired in controversy. The main objection to Internet.org was its perceived violation of the principles of Net Neutrality.
Citizens and businesses have many different ways of contacting municipalities for services, and many municipalities allow customers to use email as a contact channel. However many municipalities often find that they have difficulties in managing the email channel, with customers contacting a range of official and unofficial email addresses, and have difficulties in measuring how successful/efficient/appropriate email is for service delivery and as a point of customer contact.
This report illustrates how the municipality of Groningen has transformed its email handling methods and processes in the context of a wider multi-channel strategy to deliver better and more effective services to its citizens.
This report provides an overview of best practices in the use and handling of email by municipalities, shares lessons from Groningen’s experience in transforming email handling through a case study, and gives an insight into the complexities and uses of the email channel. A glossary and links to further reading and resources are also included.
This presentation covers some of the major trends in marketing that are now taking hold. It covers whether newspapers as we know them will survive, cable television, yellow pages and what will replace them as they die.
This paper is intended to educate mobile and internet users on the daily threats they face while using their cell phone, emails to communicate and browsing the web.
It contains current statistics on cybercrimes, online dating, web browsing privacy issues and so forth. Analyses case studies and offers solutions to protect your privacy.
The long journey toward true data privacyMark Albala
Some recent events have illustrated the long journey we have towards data privacy, all caused by the common recognition issues of information valuation. Two companies that do indeed understand the value of information valuation, apple and Facebook, are at the cusp of a battle precipice that has all to do with the value achieved by Facebook through the monetization of information and Apple’s relentless charge towards protecting the privacy of apple subscribers.
But the fact that Facebook achieved earnings through its actions described in this article and was rewarded by Wall Street illustrates that we have a long road ahead of us, mostly on the cultural and regulatory front, to truly get actions in line with the desires for data privacy. Most importantly, the actions by Facebook have illustrated that while information has value, the regulations governing information have not caught up yet, particularly on defining parental rights for data privacy.
For those of you not aware of the events, Apple and Facebook are currently in a battle over Facebook breaching the app rules governing the harvesting of user data. At the heart of this battle was Facebook’s policy of providing those aged 13 to 35 up to $20 per month plus referral fees to harvest all the data from their mobile devices via a “Facebook Research Virtual Private Network” and use as Facebook saw fit, whether originated from the usage of Facebook or not. Many of those who agreed to receive these moneys were minors, and there has been no provision for parental approval of the use of the Facebook VPN. The Facebook VPN, according to Apple, violated the partner agreement, but again, parental rights never came into the conversation.
This article will define a series of actions that can be anticipated and why the defacto recognition of information value must exist before a realistic approach toward data privacy can become reality.
Restrictions on Internet Commerce - Trade Rules and their LimitsSimon Lacey
This is a presentation I gave at Georgetown University Law Center in May 2012. It discusses restrictions on the internet and how they constrain the commercial activities of some very big companies worldwide. It then discusses international trade rules and how these may be used to challenge the abuse of such restrictions now and/or constrain the impact of such restrictions in the future.
The Digital Vote Bank - The Tipping point in 2009 General Elections in IndiaSidharth Rao
The buzz for India's15th general elections has started brimming with anticipation of choosing a leader who adequately represents the ‘mass’ as well as the ‘class’ of over one billion inhabitants. Political parties need to step in tune with expectations of an evolving electoral base which is intelligent, opinionated, and leverages the power of the digital medium to find its individual voice amongst a crowd.
The following discussion elucidates the need for political parties to change the Indian campaign/political landscape by including a bottom-up interactive online strategy to communicate with and engage the central character in this effort – ‘The Voter’.
Smart Cities - Smart(er) cities with geolocative technologiesSmart Cities Project
This guide is for managers at Local Authorities and city management, seeking new ways to deliver local services, and/or to give citizens a greater opportunity to interact with services, from reporting problems to finding the most appropriate information.
This is an updated version of the original white paper. It discusses the importance of paid and unpaid results in connecting users and websites, and the challenges posed by the small screens of mobile devices for current search engines that rely on the PC/laptop size screen to show a full set of both paid and unpaid links.
Positioning WiMAX As The Personal Broadband TechnologyGreen Packet
More and more users want a broadband connection that is exclusive, follows them around and is available 24/7. Welcome to the concept of personal broadband. To realize this concept the chosen broadband network has to be able to deliver users’ expectations. Meanwhile, appropriate user devices must be employed. This paper presents WiMAX as the best technology to fulfill personal broadband and imparts what users expect from their personal broadband device.
This presentation covers some of the major trends in marketing that are now taking hold. It covers whether newspapers as we know them will survive, cable television, yellow pages and what will replace them as they die.
This paper is intended to educate mobile and internet users on the daily threats they face while using their cell phone, emails to communicate and browsing the web.
It contains current statistics on cybercrimes, online dating, web browsing privacy issues and so forth. Analyses case studies and offers solutions to protect your privacy.
The long journey toward true data privacyMark Albala
Some recent events have illustrated the long journey we have towards data privacy, all caused by the common recognition issues of information valuation. Two companies that do indeed understand the value of information valuation, apple and Facebook, are at the cusp of a battle precipice that has all to do with the value achieved by Facebook through the monetization of information and Apple’s relentless charge towards protecting the privacy of apple subscribers.
But the fact that Facebook achieved earnings through its actions described in this article and was rewarded by Wall Street illustrates that we have a long road ahead of us, mostly on the cultural and regulatory front, to truly get actions in line with the desires for data privacy. Most importantly, the actions by Facebook have illustrated that while information has value, the regulations governing information have not caught up yet, particularly on defining parental rights for data privacy.
For those of you not aware of the events, Apple and Facebook are currently in a battle over Facebook breaching the app rules governing the harvesting of user data. At the heart of this battle was Facebook’s policy of providing those aged 13 to 35 up to $20 per month plus referral fees to harvest all the data from their mobile devices via a “Facebook Research Virtual Private Network” and use as Facebook saw fit, whether originated from the usage of Facebook or not. Many of those who agreed to receive these moneys were minors, and there has been no provision for parental approval of the use of the Facebook VPN. The Facebook VPN, according to Apple, violated the partner agreement, but again, parental rights never came into the conversation.
This article will define a series of actions that can be anticipated and why the defacto recognition of information value must exist before a realistic approach toward data privacy can become reality.
Restrictions on Internet Commerce - Trade Rules and their LimitsSimon Lacey
This is a presentation I gave at Georgetown University Law Center in May 2012. It discusses restrictions on the internet and how they constrain the commercial activities of some very big companies worldwide. It then discusses international trade rules and how these may be used to challenge the abuse of such restrictions now and/or constrain the impact of such restrictions in the future.
The Digital Vote Bank - The Tipping point in 2009 General Elections in IndiaSidharth Rao
The buzz for India's15th general elections has started brimming with anticipation of choosing a leader who adequately represents the ‘mass’ as well as the ‘class’ of over one billion inhabitants. Political parties need to step in tune with expectations of an evolving electoral base which is intelligent, opinionated, and leverages the power of the digital medium to find its individual voice amongst a crowd.
The following discussion elucidates the need for political parties to change the Indian campaign/political landscape by including a bottom-up interactive online strategy to communicate with and engage the central character in this effort – ‘The Voter’.
Smart Cities - Smart(er) cities with geolocative technologiesSmart Cities Project
This guide is for managers at Local Authorities and city management, seeking new ways to deliver local services, and/or to give citizens a greater opportunity to interact with services, from reporting problems to finding the most appropriate information.
This is an updated version of the original white paper. It discusses the importance of paid and unpaid results in connecting users and websites, and the challenges posed by the small screens of mobile devices for current search engines that rely on the PC/laptop size screen to show a full set of both paid and unpaid links.
Positioning WiMAX As The Personal Broadband TechnologyGreen Packet
More and more users want a broadband connection that is exclusive, follows them around and is available 24/7. Welcome to the concept of personal broadband. To realize this concept the chosen broadband network has to be able to deliver users’ expectations. Meanwhile, appropriate user devices must be employed. This paper presents WiMAX as the best technology to fulfill personal broadband and imparts what users expect from their personal broadband device.
The meaning of “open source”; key issues common to most open source licenses; overview of the major open source licenses and and their impact in a corporate environment; potential risks associated with noncompliance
Izlaganje - HR nakon tri godine recesijeMarino Miloš
Što se dogodilo s HR funkcijom u zadnje tri godine recesije? Jesu li HR menadžeri dobili 'veća prava glasa' u procesima restrukturiranja ili ih se tek sad ne pita ništa? Da li je HR konačno postao 'strateška funkcija' ili je sveden natrag na 'kadrovsku službu'? Kakva su iskustva sudionika konferencije? Kakve su perspektive u naredne tri godine? Jesu li HR menadžeri spremni za iščekivani oporavak gospodarstva?
Code//Politics presentation at BornHack 2016Karen Melchior
“Code is law” wrote Lawrence Lessig back in 1999. This has evolved and been demonstrated again and again since then. Code defines an ever increasing part of our personal and social lives. How businesses and friends interact with us, but also how authorities and intelligence services see us. It is already the case for many but soon the lives and rights as citizens of all of us will be defined by code. Code is political. Politics depend on code. If we want a world that is open and diverse we must code for it. How do we achieve better code, better politics and a better world together?
Visit the Big Thinkers in Small Cells Portal: http://www.cisco.com/assets/sol/sp/big_thinkers/index.html
To learn more, please visit the Cisco Small Cell Solutions Page: http://cisco.com/go/smallcell
Wi-Fi's Role in the internet of people, places, and thingsTaren Patterson
Fi Interactive's white paper on WiFi and the Multi-Service Operator's (MSO) role in enabling Smart City. The paper covers mobile application, security, distribution, and how carriers and municipalities can ignite mobile commerce in their cities by leveraging WIFI network assets.
Etat des lieux des usages mobiles dans le monde en 2012 Arthur Megnin
Le cabinet Accenture vient de publier les résultats de son étude "Mobile Web Watch 2012". Menée en Europe, en Amérique latine et en Afrique du Sud, elle révèle notamment que :
Les smartphones sont les terminaux mobiles les plus couramment utilisés pour accéder au Web (par en moyenne 61 % des répondants), Suivis des netbooks (37 %) Et des tablettes (22 %).
GridMate - End to end testing is a critical piece to ensure quality and avoid...ThomasParaiso2
End to end testing is a critical piece to ensure quality and avoid regressions. In this session, we share our journey building an E2E testing pipeline for GridMate components (LWC and Aura) using Cypress, JSForce, FakerJS…
Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey 2024 by 91mobiles.pdf91mobiles
91mobiles recently conducted a Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey in which we asked over 3,000 respondents about the TV they own, aspects they look at on a new TV, and their TV buying preferences.
Removing Uninteresting Bytes in Software FuzzingAftab Hussain
Imagine a world where software fuzzing, the process of mutating bytes in test seeds to uncover hidden and erroneous program behaviors, becomes faster and more effective. A lot depends on the initial seeds, which can significantly dictate the trajectory of a fuzzing campaign, particularly in terms of how long it takes to uncover interesting behaviour in your code. We introduce DIAR, a technique designed to speedup fuzzing campaigns by pinpointing and eliminating those uninteresting bytes in the seeds. Picture this: instead of wasting valuable resources on meaningless mutations in large, bloated seeds, DIAR removes the unnecessary bytes, streamlining the entire process.
In this work, we equipped AFL, a popular fuzzer, with DIAR and examined two critical Linux libraries -- Libxml's xmllint, a tool for parsing xml documents, and Binutil's readelf, an essential debugging and security analysis command-line tool used to display detailed information about ELF (Executable and Linkable Format). Our preliminary results show that AFL+DIAR does not only discover new paths more quickly but also achieves higher coverage overall. This work thus showcases how starting with lean and optimized seeds can lead to faster, more comprehensive fuzzing campaigns -- and DIAR helps you find such seeds.
- These are slides of the talk given at IEEE International Conference on Software Testing Verification and Validation Workshop, ICSTW 2022.
A tale of scale & speed: How the US Navy is enabling software delivery from l...sonjaschweigert1
Rapid and secure feature delivery is a goal across every application team and every branch of the DoD. The Navy’s DevSecOps platform, Party Barge, has achieved:
- Reduction in onboarding time from 5 weeks to 1 day
- Improved developer experience and productivity through actionable findings and reduction of false positives
- Maintenance of superior security standards and inherent policy enforcement with Authorization to Operate (ATO)
Development teams can ship efficiently and ensure applications are cyber ready for Navy Authorizing Officials (AOs). In this webinar, Sigma Defense and Anchore will give attendees a look behind the scenes and demo secure pipeline automation and security artifacts that speed up application ATO and time to production.
We will cover:
- How to remove silos in DevSecOps
- How to build efficient development pipeline roles and component templates
- How to deliver security artifacts that matter for ATO’s (SBOMs, vulnerability reports, and policy evidence)
- How to streamline operations with automated policy checks on container images
LF Energy Webinar: Electrical Grid Modelling and Simulation Through PowSyBl -...DanBrown980551
Do you want to learn how to model and simulate an electrical network from scratch in under an hour?
Then welcome to this PowSyBl workshop, hosted by Rte, the French Transmission System Operator (TSO)!
During the webinar, you will discover the PowSyBl ecosystem as well as handle and study an electrical network through an interactive Python notebook.
PowSyBl is an open source project hosted by LF Energy, which offers a comprehensive set of features for electrical grid modelling and simulation. Among other advanced features, PowSyBl provides:
- A fully editable and extendable library for grid component modelling;
- Visualization tools to display your network;
- Grid simulation tools, such as power flows, security analyses (with or without remedial actions) and sensitivity analyses;
The framework is mostly written in Java, with a Python binding so that Python developers can access PowSyBl functionalities as well.
What you will learn during the webinar:
- For beginners: discover PowSyBl's functionalities through a quick general presentation and the notebook, without needing any expert coding skills;
- For advanced developers: master the skills to efficiently apply PowSyBl functionalities to your real-world scenarios.
SAP Sapphire 2024 - ASUG301 building better apps with SAP Fiori.pdfPeter Spielvogel
Building better applications for business users with SAP Fiori.
• What is SAP Fiori and why it matters to you
• How a better user experience drives measurable business benefits
• How to get started with SAP Fiori today
• How SAP Fiori elements accelerates application development
• How SAP Build Code includes SAP Fiori tools and other generative artificial intelligence capabilities
• How SAP Fiori paves the way for using AI in SAP apps
Pushing the limits of ePRTC: 100ns holdover for 100 daysAdtran
At WSTS 2024, Alon Stern explored the topic of parametric holdover and explained how recent research findings can be implemented in real-world PNT networks to achieve 100 nanoseconds of accuracy for up to 100 days.
Transcript: Selling digital books in 2024: Insights from industry leaders - T...BookNet Canada
The publishing industry has been selling digital audiobooks and ebooks for over a decade and has found its groove. What’s changed? What has stayed the same? Where do we go from here? Join a group of leading sales peers from across the industry for a conversation about the lessons learned since the popularization of digital books, best practices, digital book supply chain management, and more.
Link to video recording: https://bnctechforum.ca/sessions/selling-digital-books-in-2024-insights-from-industry-leaders/
Presented by BookNet Canada on May 28, 2024, with support from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
The Art of the Pitch: WordPress Relationships and SalesLaura Byrne
Clients don’t know what they don’t know. What web solutions are right for them? How does WordPress come into the picture? How do you make sure you understand scope and timeline? What do you do if sometime changes?
All these questions and more will be explored as we talk about matching clients’ needs with what your agency offers without pulling teeth or pulling your hair out. Practical tips, and strategies for successful relationship building that leads to closing the deal.
State of ICS and IoT Cyber Threat Landscape Report 2024 previewPrayukth K V
The IoT and OT threat landscape report has been prepared by the Threat Research Team at Sectrio using data from Sectrio, cyber threat intelligence farming facilities spread across over 85 cities around the world. In addition, Sectrio also runs AI-based advanced threat and payload engagement facilities that serve as sinks to attract and engage sophisticated threat actors, and newer malware including new variants and latent threats that are at an earlier stage of development.
The latest edition of the OT/ICS and IoT security Threat Landscape Report 2024 also covers:
State of global ICS asset and network exposure
Sectoral targets and attacks as well as the cost of ransom
Global APT activity, AI usage, actor and tactic profiles, and implications
Rise in volumes of AI-powered cyberattacks
Major cyber events in 2024
Malware and malicious payload trends
Cyberattack types and targets
Vulnerability exploit attempts on CVEs
Attacks on counties – USA
Expansion of bot farms – how, where, and why
In-depth analysis of the cyber threat landscape across North America, South America, Europe, APAC, and the Middle East
Why are attacks on smart factories rising?
Cyber risk predictions
Axis of attacks – Europe
Systemic attacks in the Middle East
Download the full report from here:
https://sectrio.com/resources/ot-threat-landscape-reports/sectrio-releases-ot-ics-and-iot-security-threat-landscape-report-2024/
GraphSummit Singapore | The Future of Agility: Supercharging Digital Transfor...Neo4j
Leonard Jayamohan, Partner & Generative AI Lead, Deloitte
This keynote will reveal how Deloitte leverages Neo4j’s graph power for groundbreaking digital twin solutions, achieving a staggering 100x performance boost. Discover the essential role knowledge graphs play in successful generative AI implementations. Plus, get an exclusive look at an innovative Neo4j + Generative AI solution Deloitte is developing in-house.
Essentials of Automations: The Art of Triggers and Actions in FMESafe Software
In this second installment of our Essentials of Automations webinar series, we’ll explore the landscape of triggers and actions, guiding you through the nuances of authoring and adapting workspaces for seamless automations. Gain an understanding of the full spectrum of triggers and actions available in FME, empowering you to enhance your workspaces for efficient automation.
We’ll kick things off by showcasing the most commonly used event-based triggers, introducing you to various automation workflows like manual triggers, schedules, directory watchers, and more. Plus, see how these elements play out in real scenarios.
Whether you’re tweaking your current setup or building from the ground up, this session will arm you with the tools and insights needed to transform your FME usage into a powerhouse of productivity. Join us to discover effective strategies that simplify complex processes, enhancing your productivity and transforming your data management practices with FME. Let’s turn complexity into clarity and make your workspaces work wonders!
GraphSummit Singapore | The Art of the Possible with Graph - Q2 2024Neo4j
Neha Bajwa, Vice President of Product Marketing, Neo4j
Join us as we explore breakthrough innovations enabled by interconnected data and AI. Discover firsthand how organizations use relationships in data to uncover contextual insights and solve our most pressing challenges – from optimizing supply chains, detecting fraud, and improving customer experiences to accelerating drug discoveries.
Threats to mobile devices are more prevalent and increasing in scope and complexity. Users of mobile devices desire to take full advantage of the features
available on those devices, but many of the features provide convenience and capability but sacrifice security. This best practices guide outlines steps the users can take to better protect personal devices and information.
National Security Agency - NSA mobile device best practices
Demographics, Devices and Cafes: Public Wi-Fi Revisited
1. Trends and Technology Series Demographics, Devices and Cafes: Public Wi-Fi Revisited irvin kovar strategic technology advisor 2.0
2. trends iPhone, Blackberry and dual-mode devices are changing the landscape rapidly… Wi-Fi use grows in popularity as more people buy iPhones with improved seamless log-on capabilities. In the second quarter, AT&T (News - Alert) handled nearly 15 million Wi-Fi connections on its network, a 41 percent increase over the first quarter of this year. With approximately 25.6 million connections so far in 2009, Wi-Fi connections this year have already surpassed the 20 million connections seen in all of 2008. Dual-mode (cellular and Wi-Fi) iPhone and Blackberry applications are driving a substantial increase in WIFI hot-spot connections. Thousands of niche applications and fast performance keep people mobile and on-line. http://telecom-expense-management-solutions.tmcnet.com/topics/enterprise-mobile-communications/articles/61311-apple-iphone-drives-41-percent-increase-wi-fi.htm#
3. trends www.jwire.com As a result public Wi-Fi Hotspots grow 400% worldwide The number of public Wi-Fi hotspots around the world is on the rise and has grown from 53,746 in 2004 to 258,853 in June 2009, a 400% increase, according to a report from JiWire, which also noted 9% growth between January and June of this year. Source: Jwire – Mobile Audience Insight Survey
4. trends Apple dominates Wi-Fi use…and AppStore names gaming as top download In statistics collected specifically from North America, the report noted that the number of mobile devices accessing Wi-Fi hotspots grew by 79% in the first half of the year. Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch remain the most popular Wi-Fi-enabled mobile devices in North America, collectively representing 97.8% of all mobile-device connections. The Palm Pre debuted as the #5 most popular mobile device in June 2009, the report said. Source: Jwire – Mobile Audience Insight Survey
5. trends Cafés double as offices and libraries…but are we studying? There has been an 18.4% increase in monthly total public Wi-Fi users from December 2008 - June 2009. Wi-Fi enabled entertainment devices - such as the Sony PSP and the iPod Touch remain popular on public Wi-Fi hotspots. Though more than half of Wi-Fi users in North America access Wi-Fi service from hotel/resort hotspots (55.3%), the research revealed that 10.5% now use Wi-Fi services in local cafés and coffee shops as extended home offices or college libraries, and 83% of these users connect locally in their own neighborhood. Those who use Wi-Fi in cafés and coffee shops comprise a desirable demographic that may be planning more big-ticket purchases in the near future, JiWire said. This audience is predominantly affluent, male and between ages 25-49. Four in 10 are business decision makers with management titles. Source: Jwire – Mobile Audience Insight Survey
6. trends www.pewinternet.org The “gaming” connection to civic participation? Supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the survey included a sample of 1,102 US youth age 12-17. It analyzed the relationship between gaming and civic experiences among teens to test the hypothesis that gaming might be prompting teen withdrawal from communities. Instead, it found that gaming can be tied to civic and political engagement because youth get experience playing games that mirror aspects of civic and political life, such as thinking about moral and ethical issues and making decisions about city or community affairs, according to Pew. The survey also shows that youth who have such civic gaming experiences are more likely to be civically engaged in the offline world. They are more likely than others are to go online to get information about current events, to try to persuade others how to vote in an election, to say they are committed to civic participation, and to raise money for charity. Source: Pew Internet
7. biz models A mix of pricing models may be best depending on municipal objectives and policy… Free – provided by local government or with the support of a sponsor for co-branding opportunities. Local businesses can diminish operating costs; the city is more attractive to new residents who see a “digital downtown” as a value-add. Free Supported by Advertising – banner advertising that promotes local advertisements for local vendors. Google Adsense is being used to maximize advertising revenues with great granularity. Subscription Based – a premium-service with guaranteed features and value. for participants It would seem that the potential market for Muni Wi-Fi service grows as businesses and communities converge upon their need for information, entertainment and social networking. One key metric is finding out: who are the Notebook and Tablet PC owners in our city? Source: Ipsos Insight Technologies
8. biz models Lower-income or non-users would most readily adopt a no cost model… Of those adults who are interested in jumping to muni Wi-Fi service, an equal percentage indicated they would sign up for the speedier premium service that would require a reduced monthly fee (40%) as would sign up for the slower free wireless service option (40%). In contrast, the majority of those (>60%) who either rely on dial-up connections at home right now or do not have internet access at home would opt for the free-service. Migration of current dial-up users to Wi-Fi-based broadband may represent an attractive expansion of rich media and location-specific advertising targets for some market players, according to Ipsos. The volume of users that could migrate to municipal Wi-Fi access has the potential to disrupt the online status quo in the US, since users would not only likely switch Internet service providers, but likely their current homepages and web search preferences as well. This also could include a greater focus on location-driven search requests and results. Source: Ipsos Insight Technologies
9. free the net www.betanews.com Public WIFI has had its challenges… Private firms offered services that limited the true global reach of the user. Open, no-charge networks are now breaking down these barriers Large-scale private initiatives have proven to be too slow to market and requests for funding considerable. Costs of supporting the infrastructure were too high, and private companies ultimately had to answer to shareholder concerns. Based on the status of some of the previously mentioned municipal broadband projects and companies, it appears that many of the projects are having economic issues that have caused municipalities or companies to change their plans, delay their plans, or completely back out. "After thorough review and analysis of our municipal wireless business we have decided that making significant further investments in this business could be inconsistent with our objective of maximizing shareholder value," EarthLink's Huff added. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_community_network http://www.betanews.com/article/Philadelphia-WiFi-project-now-in-jeopardy-EarthLink-may-back-out/1195487302
10. free the net http://freenetworks.org/ However, non-profit technology groups (and business) have continued to expand Wi-Fi to serve the community… Technology groups like FREE NETWORKS.ORG exist to create simple community based ad-hoc networks - as long as it is for reasonable personal, non-commercial use. This trend is enabling community-based expansion of a WIFI network, and relies on the goodwill of the existing DSL access owner. Some risk may be inherent in these models where ISP and Carrier Terms of Service may be violated. Better public WIFI solutions can conceivably these control abuses, but for the most part a high degree control seems to be exhibited by local business or activists with strong community ties. Finally, free and paid WIFI has been now a feature of major business entities like Starbuck and McDonalds. http://www.ilesansfil.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_community_network http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_broadband
11. free the net www.wefi.com Public WIFI is seen by some as a fundamental right… Younger generations see DSL access as affordable to business and government and a cost that should not be passed down to the mobile user. Reading, surfing and networking are seen as an integral part of the daily activity of the mobile user – like a portal book A longer stay means, a higher chance of being influenced by the surroundings, a higher rate of impression and selling products or services Better access to government information should not come at a cost Promotes a sense of “good-will” and welcome in a location Word of mouth promotion to the “free” portal or location attracts users and groups of people A proven higher degree of “loyalty” to the physical location with “free wifi” 39,000,000 hotspots identified world-wide and growing http://www.wi-fihotspotlist.com/browse/ca/2000256/2100197/
12. free the net http://www.icasit.org Counter-arguments…its just a convenience. What about public interest such as religious groups, political content, and libellous content? How is the municipality responsible for claims and concerns? WIFI is never really free – it must be funded somehow. Either through new grants from other levels of government or new taxation policy. Public messaging, open access will eventually come in conflict with advertising on open portals as a way to pay for the service. WIFI and wireless technology is not static and evolving at a rapid rate. Large scale network investments run the risk of being obsolete too rapidly to service ever increasing needs of bandwidth and applications. Business has already made significant investment in public WIFI solutions either paid or “free” – but see competing with a heavily funded local government as unfair competition. It will eventually drive them out of the WIFI solution space and take away a tool used for competitive advantage in the marketplace. Public WIFI will hamper innovation and runs the risk of remaining static overall. Business may be able to under-cut the cost of the municipality and cause wholesale disaffection with the service and destabilize the investment The system will have to answer as to how they will create policy for porn-filtering, to protect against hackers, organized crime and those who have questionable agendas when they stumble upon a free wi-fi network. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_broadband http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Two-Sides-to-the-Municipal-WiFi-Story/
13. social capital http://pewinternet.org Applications and programs drive adoption… Public WIFI allows physical places to nurture social capital through access to programs and social networks which have the power to bind the community and inspire the individual Economic Developers of the New Economy The on-line presence of local government to promote “networking” events, agendas, groups at career development centres, has replaced the traditional lobby for big “smoke stacks”. Address Niche Community Needs for Development, Promoting local programs and local entrepreneurs at the CDC brings in new participants. Free wifi changes the foot-traffic and increases participation. Neighbourhood and Community Content Non-profit programs that teach the use of simple on-line content creation tools and empowering individuals. These can skills can be transferred into the creation of on-line micro-businesses that enrich the community. Neighbourhood Reclamation and Mixed Use Projects Neighbourhood reclamation projects where arts and mixed-use business residential, are unique in concept, can further benefit from WIFI to create mini pockets of “digital downtown”. Source: Cities Online: Urban Development and the Internet – John Horriagn, Pew Internet
14. program support http://www.govtech.com/gt/586482 Bottom up initiatives – identifying community leaders and supporting their community vision. Poll and survey utilization rates – then make the appropriate investment. Encouraging the “long-tail” – acknowledging the Canadian Entrepreneur who is connected, creative and web-savvy. Develop micro-strategies that acknowledge community business “character” Financial support, public funding, better wired services for local governments is essential to supporting “performance”. Also publicity and media support to raise profile. Bridging the interests of “low-income” communities. Low-income need more access to essential services. Vigilance for Net Neutrality – the government can help protect the open and entrepreneurial nature of the Internet as Internet. Public WIFI will require policy that acknowledges the network as a public service first – a gateway to help communities better serve themselves… Public-purpose media… education, jobs, immigration, health care, and other vital issues… Helping low-income join the mainstream. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_neutrality_in_Canada http://www.mediawithapurpose.com/ http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-09-93A1.pdf
15. http://www.muniwireless.com/ public wi-fi 2.0 Recommendations for better Public WI-FI… Better Sponsorship for Stability-Protective Partnerships Essential Business cannot be relied upon, even through contract to deliver fully on the public contract. Public WIFI needs institutions and entities (schools and libraries for instance) that will not be so readily subject to market-forces and changes in leadership and leadership ideologies and priorities. Training – De-Mystify Technology for Key Users Train residents, specifically those technologically challenged, on how to make meaningful use of their new found wireless Internet service. Needs Assessment – Niche Deployments Based on Needs Bottom-up instead of top-down approach. In particular, identify community level individuals and groups to develop specific community needs assessments and gauge, (i.e. through polling/surveys), the expected utilization rates. Public/Private WIFI – Leverage Existing Infrastructure Focus Wi-Fi on areas with existing infrastructure and with a specific use: public-housing, education – or government services. Treating WIFI as a utility for police, fire and other municipal needs. Technology now can create an efficient and functional separation of service. A lower cost of municipal service makes them more efficient, and supports the WIFI initiative. http://www.betanews.com/article/Philadelphia-WiFi-project-now-in-jeopardy-EarthLink-may-back-out/1195487302
16. public wi-fi 2.0 Lessons learned include realistic expectations…. Foster more realistic expectations, proposing smaller networks that can be expanded later. Wi-Fi may not be free at the out-set. Don’t underestimate the cost of “un-wiring” a network and over-estimate the “revenues” you can generate.. Local government to act as “anchor tenants" -- or clients -- for the network, ensuring a stream of revenues to the provider from the start. Once EMS are solidly using the WLAN for evidence grade video for instance, and other security applications, expansion can take place. Find ways of being more flexible about how providers can price their service. A new approach… a holistic mandate uniting policy, technology, the community and the individual user For example: To support specific community initiatives with pockets of free WIFI, utilizing new Mesh technology and existing infrastructure to create a public/private hot-spots. Use pro-active Managed Services to provide key security and real-time remote and on-site support to ensure a continuous, high-performance user experience. http://wirelesstoronto.ca/blog/2006/08/03/nonprofit-approach-for-city-wifi-boston/#more-47 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122840941903779747.html
17. technology Wi-Fi Mesh still appears to be a multi-layer approach between real-world existing technologies. Private / public spectrum (2.4 GHz, 5.x GHz and 4.9 GHz) can now co-exist on the same Access Point – but the benchmark in quality and viability will be around providing seamless voice and video quality. Technology is still competing for primacy… Wi-fi – 802.11 a/b/g/n – largest group of client. Lap-tops and smart-phones drive the continue growth of Wi-fi hot-spots WiMax – 802.16e – now growing due to WiMax/ Wi-Fi chipset being offered by Intel in high end lap-tops. No longer a “back-haul” technology, major US players are adopting WiMax/Wi-Fi Strategies with a few cities offering USB dongles. Landscape may change radically if the iPhone moves to “WiMax”. Femto Cells – cellular technology in an “access point”, the concept is still under-development. Femto will make strong in-roads in Asia and Europe by 2012; but its perception as a disruptive play may stall in adoption in North America. Cellular as primary and Wi-Fi as the secondary layer, with emerging WiMax is the main approach to creating a Mesh environment. Data speeds at 20MB with 300MB back-haul to wired can be expected.
18. technology Technology issues still exist…with a matrix of players combining different radios, antennas and software to improve the mesh experience… Hidden Node – interfering clients causing disruptions Performance degradation through hops – packet degradation with each hop or node must be anticipated and solution-engineered Maximum number of clients – Performance availability for a large # of clients in a given area, increases infrastructure costs Spectral Interference – on-going issues with other radio frequency interference WLAN Technology Leaders and Mesh offerings: BelAir - WiMAX 802.16e base station, a Wi-Fi access point, and a DOCSISÒ cable modem Nortel - IEEE 801.11b/g WLAN standards operating in the 2.4 GHz band. The transit link (TL) radio sub-system is based on the IEEE 802.11a standard operating in the bands at 5.740 - 5.840 and 5.4 GHz in release 2.0. Cisco - 2.4 GHz frequency and the 5 GHz band to backhaul traffic Meraki – 802.11 b/g outdoor with solar mesh repeaters Aruba - 2.4 GHz frequency and the 5 GHz band to backhaul traffic Motorola - 2.4 GHz and 5.x GHz radios that support a 3X3 MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) scheme Stritx -802.11 a/b/g/n, 4 radios, WiMax and 4.9 Ghz compatible
19. security Security will be a critical issue…with millions of devices scanning the wireless air-waves with ever increasing sophistication…. The best mobile Wi-Fi scanner comes to the iPhone. WiFiFoFum scans for 802.11 wireless networks and displays information about each network it detects, including: SSID, MAC, RSSI (signal strength), channel, AP mode, security mode and transmission rates. The radar display provides a graphical representation of nearby WiFi access points.Version 1.21 includes ability to save passwords, option to view strength icon, and includes bug fixes. …for secure networks we have WPA2, which has not been fully hacked… IEEE 802.11i (also known as WPA2) itself was ratified in June 2004, and uses government strength encryption in the Advanced Encryption Standard AES, instead of RC4, which was used in WEP. 19
27. applications Many possible applications for municipal wireless…. Meter reading Video applications (Perimeter security, event monitoring, Voice over IP Asset Tracking (Wi-Fi based rugged tags, Geo-fenced assets in Wi-Fi foot-print) Field workers / health care workers Police and Fire EMS Disaster Recovery Pandemic Planning Video Surveillance Sensor networks for utilities (power outage detection) Fixed Mobile Convergence (dual-mode devices can now detach from cellular and retain PBX call)
28. infrastructure Technology ideally positioned to provide a full gamut of public Wi-Fi solutions “one size does not fit all” – municipalities must consider user-group and environment centric solutions… Wireless Controllers – expanding value-add: Location-based asset management, as well as location-based context-oriented applications Role provisioning guest access administration for wired and wireless guest identity management Policy and resource management Intelligent roaming for mobile unified communications (UC) installations (multicast) 802.11 N adoption (greater bandwidth) MESH capabilities (outdoor strategy)
29. best practices Its important to... Eliminate FAT legacy APs – not suitable for multi-media applications, poor roaming capability Perform LAN / WAN readiness assessment to meet IP requirements (latency, video server, PBX compliance) Ensure separate VLANs and network segments for wireless traffic, esp. for VoIP Always perform a full site survey and spectral analysis to optimize AP placement and detect interference Look for a tuned antenna strategy (low gain vs. high gain ,directional vs. omni) Understand your bandwidth requirements – user profiles, application requirements, usage patterns. Bring application vendors to the table and set-up pre-production environment What can your controller really manage? – automated power and channel control, APs strategies in dense use areas, set parameters for managing heterogeneous clients Understand legacy WLAN management application – is it scalable? Can it provide global control? Review corporate security policy – VPN termination, 802.1x etc Include hardware and support maintenance plan a must from the “start”. Scope out a test proof of concept in pre-production with mixed high-bandwidth apps: voice + data +video
30. tech drivers Mobility, the Cloud and Geo-Location… One Year or Less – Mobility A single portable device to perform all functions in WIFI or cellular footprint. Running 3rd party applications (like App Store) that can be used for education and social interaction and roam seamlessly – in other words true Fixed Mobile Convergence. One Year or Less – Cloud Computing The emergence of data farms has created a surplus of computing capability. Development platforms once expensive will now be very low cost enabling thin mobile clients to process any on the web. The cloud will fundamentally change the idea of infrastructure and distributed processing. Two to Three Years – Geo-Location Technology Plotting and visualization technologies will become the de facto tag of the future for all web-based data and media. This will greatly increase storage, computing and application sophistication. Caching of media and annotations attached to any web-based application will become an ever-increasing requirement – as information on the internet becomes ultra-cross referenced and semantic in nature. . Source: The Horizon Report – 2009 Educause Learning Initiative
31. stats Business use of Wi-Fi hotspots grows by 46%, 3G use increases by 59% iPass released the latest edition of its Mobile Broadband Index which shows that business use of Wi-Fi hotspots (in the iPass network) grew by 46% between the first half of 2007 and the first half of 2008. 3G data use in the US increased by 59% between Q2 2007 and Q2 2008. Please note that the statistics come from the iPass hotspot network; until recently, the iPass service was open only to enterprises (as opposed to Boingo’s, which is open to everyone), so the numbers reflect business use of Wi-Fi. Other interesting findings: (1) For the first time, in the first half of 2008 European business use of Wi-Fi exceeded that of the US; it now accounts for 47% of global use of Wi-Fi, up from 36% in 2007; 70% of the growth in worldwide Wi-Fi use came from Europe. There are more Wi-Fi hotspots in Europe (50,000 locations) than in the US (25,000); usage pattern in Europe is different: European business people use Wi-Fi to avoid data and voice roaming charges; countries showing top Wi-Fi use: UK, Germany, France, Switzerland, Netherlands. (2) Airports account for 40% of Wi-Fi use, followed by hotels (34%) and cafes/retail locations (26%). in airports, average length of a session is 40 minutes, hotels 167 minutes, cafes 68 minutes; average of the above three is 90 minutes. Top five airports in Wi-Fi use: Chicago O’Hare, Atlanta, Heathrow, Dallas, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Frankfurt, Schiphol (Amsterdam) and Charles de Gaulle Paris). http://www.ipass.com/pressroom/pressroom_wifi.html
32. stats Business use of Wi-Fi hotspots grows by 46%, 3G use increases by 59% - cont’d (4) 3G broadband use in the US has also grown dramatically, up 59% from last year (the average number of megabytes consumed per use is 211 megabytes per month). A small number of users consumes 1 gigabyte or more per month (possibly because they use it in lieu of a DSL or cable connection) but their number more than doubled from 2007 to 2008. If more people use data hungry applications on 3G networks, the operators will need to increase capacity dramatically. The number of sessions on a 3G network increased from 74% (Q2 2007) to 86% (Q2 2008); number of sessions on a 2.5G network decreased from 26% to 14% in the same period. The statistics show that more people have 3G phones and the 2.5G networks are slowly being upgraded in the US. (5) Use of Wi-Fi in train stations and other public transport locations grew 110% between 2007 and 2008 with London city train stations showing the largest number of sessions followed by Japan Rail’s network. The Seattle Washington Ferry system came in third, followed by Heathrow Express trains. (6) Most dramatic growth in usage occurred in public hotspots such as business parks and city centers. Use in these locations grew by over 500%, with average session length of almost 3 hours. Cafes were still the largest in the retail category but growth slowed to 18% (saturation, perhaps). http://www.ipass.com/pressroom/pressroom_wifi.html
33. stats Muni Wi-Fi 2.0: smaller targeted networks, flexible business models Many people were surprised to learn that in the third quarter of 2008, the iPhone was the best selling phone in the US, beating out the Motorola RAZR and the Blackberry. iPhone owners have been sending and receiving massive amounts of data via AT&T’s 3G and Edge networks. Some claim that the massive data use has contributed to outages in AT&T’s cellular networks and that AT&T’s recent moves — giving away free Wi-Fi at Starbucks to iPhone users and its acquisition of Wayport (an operator of Wi-Fi networks in McDonalds and various hotel chains — shows that the company wants more people to use Wi-Fi more often in lieu of the 3G network. Business models are also evolving and becoming more flexible. For some providers of Wi-Fi, it’s an amenity. Public transport operators in Europe entice people away from cars, airplanes and their competitors by giving away Wi-Fi service. Lower end hotel chains have already been doing this for years. In some cities, Wi-Fi is not so much a business, as a service to low income families. For other firms such as iPass and Boingo, who charge their customers a monthly fee in exchange for access to networks around the world, the selling point is convenience and ubiquity. iPass goes one step further: they target enterprise users who are concerned about security on the networks. http://www.muniwireless.com/2008/11/19/muni-wifi-smaller-more-targeted-networks/
Editor's Notes
LONG TAIL: For kids growing up in a digital world, these unique web resources are becoming central to popular culture, Now, educators must begin to incorporate the features of mash-ups and remixes in learning, to stimulate “creative tinkering and the play of imagination.” - John Seely Brownhe Decameron Web began as the WWW "translation" of a Storyspace document which was created by a group of graduate and undergraduate students in Italian Studies at Brown University during the academic year 1994-1995, under the direction of Prof. Massimo Riva (Associate Professor of Italian Studies at Brown U). Since 1995
WIRELESS UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONSMULTI CASTWireless Multicast Roaming A major challenge for a multicast client in a wireless environment is to maintain its multicast group membership when moved about the WLAN. Drops in the wireless connection that move from AP-to-AP can cause a disruption in the multicast application of a client. Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) plays an important role in the maintenance of dynamic group membership information.A basic comprehension of IGMP is important to understand what happens to the multicast session of a client when it roams about the network. In a Layer 2 roaming case, sessions are maintained simply because the foreign AP, if configured properly, already belongs to the multicast group, and traffic is not tunneled to a different anchor point on the network. Layer 3 roaming environments are a little more complex in this manner, and, dependent upon what tunneling mode you have configured on your controllers, the IGMP messages sent from a wireless client can be affected. The default mobility tunneling mode on a controller is asymmetrical. This means that return traffic to the client is sent to the anchor WLC and then forwarded to the foreign WLC, where the associated client connection resides. Outbound packets are forwarded out the foreign WLC interface. In symmetrical mobility tunneling mode, both inbound and outbound traffic are tunneled to the anchor controller. IP Multicast is a technique for one to many communication over an IP infrastructure. It scales to a larger receiver population by not requiring prior knowledge of who or how many receivers there are. Multicast uses network infrastructure efficiently by requiring the source to send a packet only once, even if it needs to be delivered to a large number of receivers. The nodes in the network take care of replicating the packet to reach multiple receivers only when necessary. The most common low-level protocol to use multicast addressing is UDP. By its nature, UDP is not reliable - messages can be lost or delivered out of order. Reliable multicast protocols such as PGM have been developed to add loss detection and retransmission on top of IP Multicast.Key concepts in IP Multicast include an IP Multicast group address, a multicast distribution tree and receiver driven tree creation.An IP Multicast group address is used by sources and the receivers to send and receive content. Sources use the group address as the IP destination address in their data packets. Receivers use this group address to inform the network that they are interested in receiving packets sent to that group. For example, if some content is associated with group 239.1.1.1, the source will send data packets destined to 239.1.1.1. Receivers for that content will inform the network that they are interested in receiving data packets sent to the group 239.1.1.1. The receiver "joins" 239.1.1.1. The protocol used by receivers to join a group is called the Internet Group Management Protocol or IGMP.