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News that's changing the Wireless World!
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Wednesday, January 07, 2004 |
Source: Computer World
Smart antennas to expand Wi-Fi range
Several vendors hope to reduce the number of access points needed for a wireless office by expanding the range of corporate wireless LANs and improving the signal quality with smart antennas.
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6:51:19 PM 
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
Wireless Competes with Cable, DSL
A handful of small companies are delivering wireless broadband access to residents and businesses in and around Seattle: Most of the companies use Wi-Fi to serve customers as far as five miles from an antenna and they're charging around $30 a month for a 1.5 Mbps service. These small operators are welcomed with open arms especially by residents who aren't served by any other type of broadband access. I'd love to see one of these startups expand and stay in business for a while. As this article notes, these small broadband wireless providers tend to come and go. The service providers targeting rural areas may have more success in the future if the FCC decides to loosen up power restrictions. Apparently the FCC is considering allowing operators in rural areas to use higher transmit power levels than operators in cities. In rural areas there's less potential for interference and more need to allow signals to travel far because people tend to be more spread out....
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6:51:12 PM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
Airy BBC Article
The BBC has a silly article about Wi-Fi written by a reporter who fails to include any sort of insight or analysis between statistics: The piece hinges on the buzz around BT OpenZone's plans to offer free Wi-Fi access from Jan. 26 through Feb. 1. The stunt aims to boost awareness and increase use of the network. Looks to me like another sign that the big operators are still struggling with a business model around Wi-Fi....
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6:51:11 PM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
Roving Planet Gets Cash
Roving Planet secured $9.5 million in funding: The company, which makes a platform that lets enterprises integrate existing network security and management functions with their wireless LANs, will use the money to expand globally and develop its product....
Source Link
6:51:09 PM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
NextComm Goes Under
WLAN chipmaker NextComm filed for bankruptcy protection last week: The company was based outside of Seattle and its Web site is still up and running. NextComm will likely be the first of many Wi-Fi chipmakers to fail as there are too many competitors in the market....
Source Link
6:51:08 PM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
PCTEL Scoops up Maxrad
PCTEL, the developer of software that makes Wi-Fi roaming easier, bought antenna maker Maxrad: Seems sort of an odd fit. While Maxrad makes antennas for Wi-Fi gear such as Proxim's access points, it also makes antennas for Motorola two-way radios and GPS systems....
Source Link
6:51:07 PM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
TI Combines a/b/g on a Single Chip
TI's new wOne software can support simultaneous use of 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g networks on a single chip: Other dual-band devices use multiple chips to support the different standards. TI claims that using a single chip will decrease the cost of products. The catch is, when an access point with TI's chip is running two networks simultaneously, they both take a hit. Users will get around 10 Mbps on either an 802.11a or 802.11g network when running them at the same time. If that's what the manufacturer says, real life ought to produce even slower speeds....
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6:51:05 PM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
Chinese Let More Local Companies Play
On the heels of announcing that only a Chinese-bred Wi-Fi security standard will be required in China and only Chinese companies can license it, the government has added nine more licensees: The names of the new companies have not been released yet and the total licensees is now 20. Foreign companies can make the gear but only with a co-production deal with a Chinese company. Plus, foreign companies must pay their partners to integrate the Chinese encryption standard WAPI into their gear while Chinese companies get the license for free. This whole situation is so ridiculous I can't even comment on it. What would happen if the rest of the world tried to prevent Chinese companies from making Wi-Fi gear using a standard that the Americans or French or Australians controlled and wouldn't allow access to?...
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6:51:04 PM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
Study Poses Interesting Questions
Research and Markets has come out with a new study that asks some interesting questions, but doesn't offer answers unless you buy the report, apparently: One interesting question the study poses is, how can health providers, which have stringent security requirements, be major users of WLANs if security is so poor? I suppose that's because there are security solutions but they can be complicated or expensive to deploy. Another question is, why do some universities hang one AP for every 15 students and others use one for 100 students? That points to the fact that deploying WLANs is a fairly new phenomena and IT folks are likely experimenting with how many APs are necessary. Authors of the report also wonder why some startups have over 100 customers if there are too many 802.11 companies. That's a silly question as a company can have thousands of customers and still fail if the business case doesn't work out....
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6:51:03 PM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
More on BT and McDonald's
BT officially announced that it will build hotspots in over 500 McDonald's restaurants in Britain: BT will pay for the install and both companies will promote it and share revenues. BT expects to have 4,000 hot spots by this summer and said it will continue to make roaming agreements with other hot spot operators around the globe. This story offers slightly different details, including some more information on what's happening with McDonald's hot spots in the U.S. A recent survey of McDonald's hot spots in the U.S. showed that customers are predominantly male, many of whom said they would not have visited McDonald's if not for the Wi-Fi. So much for the campaign to encourage people to eat healthier....
Source Link
6:51:01 PM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
GlobespanVirata's Fast Chip
GlobespanVirata has come up with an upgrade to its 802.11g and 802.11a chips that it claims will boost network speeds to 140 Mbps: The company says the upgraded chips are compatible with standard 802.11g and 802.11a clients and won't cause interference with other networks. It's not clear how the chips achieve the higher data rates. Somehow the upgrade enables transfers of compressed audio and video at the higher rates but encrypted data doesn't get the higher throughput. More companies are coming out with proprietary ways to boost throughput and that could be a recipe for trouble. We've already heard reports of interference from gear using an Atheros chip that boosts speeds. The more proprietary gear out there, the greater the likelihood of interoperability problems. Still, you can't really blame the vendors for wanting to come out with higher speed products and with the absence of standards, they don't have much choice but to do it on their own....
Source Link
6:50:59 PM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
Adios, Mega Trade Show
Conference and trade show managers see a trend toward small, targeted conferences, according to a recent survey: Apparently the hottest conferences in 2003 discussed Wi-Fi and the managers expected Wi-Fi to continue to be a hot conference subject through this year....
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6:50:58 PM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
Magis Files for Bankruptcy
Magis Networks, a developer of chipsets designed to allow users to network home electronics, filed for bankruptcy protection in mid-December: In 2002, the company raised $48 million from big shots including Motorola, Time Warner, Panasonic, and Sanyo. One analyst cited here says the demand for networking home electronics didn't materialize. He can't imagine why he'd want to hook his PC to anything. I can! I think a lot of people would like to stream music from their PC to their stereo. Still, there may be something to the fact that perhaps the market isn't ready yet. One reason may be that the higher speed wireless networks haven't made major headway into the home yet and higher speed is required to steam video, for example, from the Internet to a TV. I imagine the general public also sees connecting multiple home electronics as a pretty complicated undertaking. Until it's faster and simpler, this market space might be slow to take off....
Source Link
6:50:56 PM
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Source: InfoWorld
MCI expands wireless hotspot network
WASHINGTON - MCI has more than quadrupled the number of wireless hotspots available to customers of its Remote Access service
through an agreement with Boingo Wireless Inc. announced this week.
Source Link
6:50:55 PM
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Source: InfoWorld
Wi-Fi antennas extend reach - Infoworld Staff
Wi-Fi got several boosts this month that promise to expand coverage areas offered by wireless providers and to widen corporate
networks.ADVERTISEMENT:  Get strong 128-bit SSL security for your online business - To secure your servers with 128-bit SSL encryption, download a copy of the free VeriSign Guide, "Securing Your Web site for Business." You'll learn everything you need to know about encrypting e-commerce transactions, securing corporate intranets, and authenticating your Web site.
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6:50:54 PM
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Source: InfoWorld
Wireless - Infoworld Staff
WLANs caught fire in 2003, and network managers felt the heat, struggling to find ways to manage and secure them. We strove
to help. Early in the year, we discovered two useful products for analyzing WLAN traffic and radio environments, Network Associates
Sniffer Wireless and AirMagnet Duo. We were also impressed by AirDefense Guard, an IDS (intrusion detection system) that can
identify a wide range of policy violations, from rogue devices to poor network performance.
Source Link
6:50:52 PM
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Source: InfoWorld
CES: Motorola chooses Motia's smart antenna technology
LAS VEGAS - Motorola Inc. will use smart antenna technology from Motia Inc. to extend the range of future Wi-Fi devices and
improve the signal strength, Motorola announced Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show here in Las Vegas.
Source Link
6:50:49 PM
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Source: Wi-Fi Planet
PRISM Jumps to 140Mbps
Another chip makes the leap to super-high speeds, promising to work with legacy WLANs and avoid pitfalls its competitors have encountered.
Source Link
6:50:43 PM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
Head to Malaysia for Free Starbucks Hotspots
Thirteen of Starbucks' 39 shops in Malaysia have Wi-Fi and it's free to use: It sounds like Starbucks plans to keep it that way in Malaysia. The company encourages IT companies to use Starbucks coffee shops to hold product launches. A new notebook and Microsoft Office solutions are examples of products that have been launched locally there. It'll be interesting to see how different models for the Wi-Fi business shake out in different markets....
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6:50:40 PM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
Gloo Networks Music
Gloolabs has developed an audio device design that can run on any device that supports Java: The middleware collects music stored on any networked device in a variety of file types including MP3, Internet Radio, AAC, WAV, and soon WMA files. It also supports playlists from MusicMatch, WinAmp, and iTunes. The first customer is MacSense which has built its Linux-based HomePod using the middleware. It can stream music from a networked computer using Wi-Fi and has its own speakers but could also be hooked up to a stereo. Controls and interface on the device are described as iPod-esque. Gloolabs also plans to market the software for use on laptops and PDAs. [via slashdot]...
Source Link
6:50:38 PM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
TV Turns Videophone
D-Link is offering a new version of its videophone product that uses Wi-Fi to turn your TV into a videophone: It even uses the speakers on the TV to support the conversation. D-Link says it works on any TV and uses Wi-Fi to connect to the Internet. It displays video images at 30 frames per second....
Source Link
6:50:36 PM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
Trapeze Upgrades Switch Solution
Like other WLAN switch vendors, Trapeze has come out with some upgrades that address shortcomings indicated by the market: Trapeze access points now support 802.11g and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption keys, which are part of the 802.11i security spec in progress. (WPA includes only TKIP keys, far superior to WEP, but not as good as AES for government-grade operations.) The access points can also connect directly to an existing switch or a Trapeze switch so customers have more options in how they architect the network. The platform now can also continuously scan the air for rogue APs. Once rogues are found, it identifies their locations on a network map. Trapeze also integrated with SpectraLink's voice over Wi-Fi solution so the platform will support the solution. Trapeze has already integrated with Vocera and Telesym, other voice over Wi-Fi vendors....
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6:50:32 PM
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Last Update: 2/2/2004; 7:28:32 AM
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