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News that's changing the Wireless World!
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Wednesday, February 18, 2004 |
Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
Apple Sells 20% of 802.11g Products
BusinessWeek columnist notes that Apple's aggressive Wi-Fi promotion has brought them 20 percent global 802.11g marketshare and huge margins: Alex Salkever points out that Apple earned nearly $150 million from Wi-Fi in 2003 and talks about how Apple's managed to keep its premium margins. With increasing ease and cheaper alternatives ($75 for an equivalent Linksys WRT54G versus $200 to $250 for the Apple unit), Salkever predicts eroding markets that will force Apple to offer more features for fewer dollars. Interestingly side note: Salkever is using In-Stat/MDR numbers which shows Apple at 20 percent of worldwide unit volumes or $150 million in sales, above Linksys. Numbers reported by News.com from Synergy Research don't show Apple in the top five, and show Linksys revenue at $450 million. (I can't find In-Stat/MDR's breakout; their site shows just a few statistics that don't overlap with Synergy's.)...
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9:09:44 PM 
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
ATM Skimmers with Wireless Cameras, Pickups
Automated Teller Machine customers now robbed wirelessly without knowledge: The University of Texas at Austin police have a compelling page that shows how a skimmer (which scans ATM cards before they're inserted into the ATM) and a wireless camera in an innocuous position nearby can steal a card and the PIN. The skimmer reads the magnetic stripe; the camera can see the PIN being entered. The thieves park nearby and retrieve the information wirelessly. This is reminiscent of last month's story of a wireless Israeli post office money heist. It may be just me, but after years of being warned about shoulder surfers in the 1980s and 1990s, I often cover my hand when entering a PIN on a phone or ATM. I guess my paranoia pays off. Also, I only go to one bank's ATM machines, which are uniform. I think I'd notice a weird add-on....
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6:00:44 PM
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Source: C|Net
Nortel sees breaks in China
Nortel Networks is looking to China as a major area of growth for its telecommunications equipment, especially for its Internet telephony and third-generation wireless products
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5:29:13 PM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
Intel Forms UWB Special Interest Group
Intel and other Multi-Band OFDM Alliance members have formed a SIG (special interest group): This SIG appears to be in reaction to the stall in the IEEE 802.15.3a group on Personal Area Networking in which Motorola represents the classical ultrawideband approach and the MBOA represents a newer formation that Motorola thinks is too un-UWB-like. Bluetooth is also the product of a SIG, but the Bluetooth SIG worked with IEEE 802.15.1 to create an IEEE ratified large subset of the Bluetooth 1.2 spec that can be used by manufacturers who want BT features without using the BT name. (They have to pay reasonable and customary patent fees, of course.) Intel will also participant in an industry group to codify wireless USB, which is a broader alternative than Bluetooth as a cable replacement technology. Wireless USB (and FireWire/IEEE 1394) are gaining interest as a generic way to use existing protocols for connectivity without being tied to a specific cable or radio medium....
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4:06:04 PM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
Linux Powers Wayport
Newly liberated ex-Wayport, ex-Musenki, ex-Vivato engineer Jim Thompson outs Wayport's hardware secret: Jim notes in his new blog that Wayport's success is definitely partly dependent on its choice long-ago of 802.11b (radical at the time) and Linux. Jim imagines having to fly out and remotely fix thousands of Windows-based authentication and billing modules when Windows viruses and worms hit -- not a problem for Wayport because of their non-MS infrastructure. Jim was CTO at Wayport for several years, and his work at Musenki led to the bridging box that Vivato sells now....
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1:49:53 PM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
Wi-Fi Problem Solvers for Publication
I'm looking for people not in the Wi-Fi industry who have had certain problems and solved them: For a feature article I've written, I'm trying to track down a few people in the U.S. who would be willing to have their photograph taken and be quoted talking about how they solved any of the following problems: dead zones of Wi-Fi access in and around their house; Windows XP wireless zero configuration problems; bridging a network using Wireless Distribution System in their house; and interference from nearby networks that made their own Wi-Fi network unusable or lower speed. Please email me directly with what your problem was and how you solved, and I'll get in touch. The goal is to take common problems and attach a real person to them. The article focuses on solving each of those (and some other) difficulties that often frustrate people in trying to get a working home Wi-Fi network....
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1:03:34 PM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
More Wireless in Nepal
A group of locals and volunteers are using wireless to link together a handful of villages in Nepal and link them to the Internet: It seems that many initiatives to bring the Internet to rural Nepal are focused on trying to use the Internet to improve the lives of people and also to preserve culture. That was the goal in a project I've written about where some Sherpas used wireless to bring the Internet to base camp. Their plan was really to be able to re-use the gear in the village below to bring better educational opportunities and jobs to the people. This group, Nepal Wireless, has already connected five villages where people use the connections for email and to access educational information that has been posted on their intranet....
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11:50:03 AM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
Boring Business Week Articles
Business Week ran a series of articles about Wi-Fi: Some are pretty basic and don't really cover anything new. But the first article focuses on the need for roaming deals and a simplification of logging onto any network. That seems to be the theme for the year....
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11:29:33 AM
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Source: C|Net
TI jumps onto ultrawideband wagon
The chipmaker joins joined the WiMedia Alliance, which is pushing the wireless networking technology as a low-cost, power-stingy alternative to Bluetooth.
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11:08:43 AM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
Ottawa Trials BelAir, Belanger Gets New Post
Telecom Ottawa is trialing gear from BelAir Networks: BelAir's antennas beam out in a 65-degree wedge which allows them to travel further with the same signal gain--as far as one kilometer, the company says. BelAir also supports mesh networking. Telecom Ottawa has set up a hotspot covering city hall and another at a sports arena. Ultimately the company wants to cover the whole city. Spotnik is also using BelAir's gear to provide access in a Radisson hotel in Ottawa. In other BelAir news, Phil Belanger, formerly of Vivato, is now serving as vice president of marketing for BelAir. Seems fitting as Vivato also markets an access point that can be placed outside of a building to provide coverage over the entire building. Belanger is among a set of early (but not founding) Vivato employees that joined the company during the ascent to the top of its ride who have now left the firm. Most of the founders had already left or reportedly been forced out....
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10:47:44 AM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
Orange France Expects Continued Growth
Orange France said it has built 1,031 hotspots in France and expects to have 2,500 by the end of this year: Traffic on the hotspot network is increasing by 60 percent per week, but that number isn't a great indicator of growth because the service only started to be marketed at the end of last year. Orange France expects to earn 10 million Euros in revenue on Wi-Fi this year....
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10:26:13 AM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
Oregon Mall Goes Wireless
Cedar Hills Crossing, a mall in Beaverton, Ore., is now covered by Wi-Fi: Access is free to visitors and the network is co-sponsored by Personal Telco. Without interesting applications for visitors, I'm not sure how useful this network will be. I don't often carry my laptop with me when I'm shopping. There is a restaurant here that's covered, however. Plus, this would be a good place for customers to use services that let them scan bar codes and compare products and prices. Best Buy, Borders, and Office Depot are in this mall so those stores might be able to think up some useful applications for the network....
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10:14:13 AM
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Source: Wi-Fi Networking News
Optimistic Gartner Report
Gartner says that the number of hotspot users worldwide will grow to 30 million in 2004, up from 9.3 million in 2003: The firm warns that companies should take control of how their workers pay for the service, recommending contracts rather than one day usage fees. Managed service providers like iPass, FiberLink, and GRIC will be good solutions for companies. It goes on to say that alliances, mergers, and acquisitions will be prevalent in the second half of the year. Most of the recommendations in the report seem to point to the lack of unity in the market. Today, companies must sign up for service with multiple operators to get access to the most hotspots. More roaming and interconnection deals will likely encourage more use by heavy travelers....
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9:41:33 AM
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Source: C|Net
Conflicting technologies may stall cell mergers
Cingular's planned $41 billion acquisition of AT&T Wireless puts new merger pressure on U.S. cell phone carriers, but incompatible back-end technologies could make it difficult for would-be partners to find a match.
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4:06:05 AM
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Source: Wired.com
Cingular to AT & #038;T: I Got You, Babe
Cingular is set to acquire AT & #038;T Wireless for almost $41 billion after Britain's Vodafone withdraws from the bidding war. The merger will create the nation's largest cell-phone company.
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2:43:36 AM
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Source: Wired.com
New Outlet for High-Speed Access
Services offering broadband over power networks are still far from prevalent or profitable. But with advances in transmission capability, along with greater attention from regulators, the technology is gaining momentum. By Joanna Glasner.
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2:43:34 AM
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© 2004 [OCCalWUG]
Last Update: 3/1/2004; 10:15:01 AM
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