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BEA buys ConnecTerra
Application developer BEA Systems is buying RFID maker ConnecTerra. One of BEA's strong suites is providing middleware--the software layer between the operating system and applications--and the acquisition of ConnecTerra would allow BEA to integrate RFID into its middleware products. BEA has made it known that it was looking to make acquisitions to strengthen its AquaLogic and WebLogic lines. AquaLogic is a service infrastructure product, while WebLogic is an application platform for …
SPOTLIGHT: Location, location, location
Why would bid on offering San Francisco 300 Kbps free WiFi? Glenn Fleishman writes that the company is interested in providing location-specific searches and advertising. Such local advertising represents about 35 percent of print and broadcast advertising dollars spent in the US. By providing a free WiFi network, could also offer localized searches and advertising to both desk-bound and mobile users. Thus would win advertising dollars not just from national companies …
ALSO NOTED: Sony Ericsson updates P-series smartphones; Nokia's WLAN phone; and much more...
> Sony Ericsson updates its P-series smartphones by including 3G, WiFi. Report
> Nokia, too, is showing a WLAN phone. Report
> Canon is showing its new WiFi digital SLR camera, which also uses an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display. …
FierceWiFi October 5, 2005
- 802.11n standard discussions near conclusion
- Free-hotspots.com offers free WiFi in London
- Trend: In-flight WiFi slow to take off
- Muni-WiFi battle essentially over, incumbents lose
- TI shows VoCable gateway platform
- SPOTLIGHT: WiFi in the Bill of Rights?
- ALSO NOTED: Nikon WiFi cameras; Telstra offering free WiFi down under; and much more...
802.11n standard discussions near conclusion
The discussions over 802.11n specifications resemble the fourth movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony: The end of the final movement has so many bursts of music punctuated by silent pauses that it's hard to know whether to begin applauding or wait for the orchestra to issue one more musical flourish.
Michael Hurlston, vice president of Broadcom, told the World Broadband Forum that the impasse, which has caused delays in finalizing the standard, is about to be broken. He also said …
Free-hotspots.com offers free WiFi in London
While is mulling whether or not to offer free WiFi, Dublin-based Free-hotspot.com, launched only two weeks ago, is already offering free WiFi in 25 locations in London. The service is aimed at business people and travelers. The company is now aggressively pursuing advertisers to support the free service. The company is also in the process of publishing a directory with the locations of its hotspots. The service, by the way, is free not only to consumers, but also to venue owners, …
Trend: In-flight WiFi slow to take off
In-flight WiFi is not exactly a major trend yet. In fact, you have to look hard to find it, with fewer than 1 percent of commercial aircraft offering the service to their passengers. One reason is that most passengers are deterred by the $9.95 per hour price of the Connexion by Boeing plan, a plan aggressively promoted by Boeing. The reason for the high per-hour price is that it costs the airlines a lot of money to offer the service. It takes about $500,000 to $600,000 to equip one …
Muni-WiFi battle essentially over, incumbents lose
Remember the many stories we published last year about the not-always-honest campaign incumbent telcos launched against muni-WiFi? That effort consisted of paying obscure entities calling themselves "research organizations" to publish factually anemic studies on how muni-WiFi would not make business sense and would violate the spirit of free competition. The other part of the campaign consisted of donations to politicians' coffers in return for legislation which would prohibit …
TI shows VoCable gateway platform
Texas Instruments is showing a Voice over Cable (VoCable) gateway platform which combines voice, data, and WiFi in a single design. The TNETC731's reference design supports all the PacketCable 1.5 requirements, including primary line VoIP. The design is based on TI's Puma-3 DOCSIS chip, and it integrates a 460x cable modem SoC, voice DSP with the 1350A 802.11b/g silicon, and AP driver. The DOCSIS2.0 compliant cable interface supports transfer rates of up to 38 Mbps downstream and 30 …
SPOTLIGHT: WiFi in the Bill of Rights?
As if we did not have a sufficiently weighty issue in whether or not the right to privacy is embedded in the Constitution, now come San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to argue that WiFi is a "fundamental right" of US citizens. San Francisco is planning to build a WiFi network covering the city's 49 sq.mi. The cost of building the network is estimated at between $8 million and $16 million; with the city more than $200 million in the red, finding the money will be an issue. Story
ALSO NOTED: Nikon WiFi cameras; Telstra offering free WiFi down under; and much more...
> Nikon's new WiFi-capable Coolpix P1 and P2 compact digicams hit the market this week at $749 and $649, respectively. Last week Kodak began shipping its own WiFi camera. Story
> Telstra is offering free access to its new WiFi hotspot network until the end of this month, while continuing to expand the network all over Australia. …
FierceWiFi September 28, 2005
- Renewed interest in satellite communication
- SkyPilot shows mesh supporting 4.9 GHz
- Sprint to begin trials of 802.16e
- New alliances in PDA sector
- DLNA to require WiFi certification
- SPOTLIGHT: The Times They Are A-Changin'
- ALSO NOTED: Vocera goes with WildPackets; VeratNet to use WiMax gear from ZTE; and much more...
Renewed interest in satellite communication
One thing that did work during Hurricane Katrina and its immediate aftermath were satellite phones. Now, satellite communication provider Inmarsat said it has filed a petition with the FCC asking for authorization to provide Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) by 2010. The service will use a spacecraft operating in the 2 GHz band. Globalstar and Iridium already provide satellite phone service in the US, but they do not have terrestrial repeaters so their service is expensive and the coverage …
SkyPilot shows mesh supporting 4.9 GHz
Much has been written about the failure of communication systems during and following Hurricane Katrina. There is legislation pending in Congress to create a public-safety dedicated band. In the meantime, Colorado Springs, Colorado-based SkyPilot Networks is adding 4.9 GHz licensed bands to its product line, thus making its offerings more suitable for use in public safety networks. The SkyExtender DualBand is a mesh backhaul product which supports both 802.11b/g access services and 4.9 …
Sprint to begin trials of 802.16e
Sprint Nextel and Samsung early next year will launch a series of lab and field trials of 802.16e-based products offering 1 Mbps average throughput in the 2.5 GHz band. The companies thus become the first in the US to conduct major tests of the mobile version of WiMax. 802.16e is expected to be ratified by the IEEE later this year. Sprint will be using a wireless modem and a cellular/WiMax handset in the trials. Note that Sprint has every incentive to enter these trials, as the company …
New alliances in PDA sector
The PDA market is heating up, leading to interesting alliances and partnerships. Intel has just agreed to a technology deal with with Blackberry creator RIM. Intel will provide RIM with Intel's PXA9xx 3G wireless chipset (codenamed Hermon). Intel said it will offer enhanced battery life for smartphones and other mobile devices. The Intel-RIM deal follows closely on the footsteps of a deal announced two days ago between Microsoft and Palm. The two companies will offer a version of the …
DLNA to require WiFi certification
Good going, Wi-Fi Alliance. The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) is now requiring a WLAN interoperability certification from the Wi-Fi Alliance as part of DLNA's own certification program for home networked devices. The DLNA will no longer allow WLAN-enabled gear to carry the group's certification and logo unless they have been certified for WiFi interoperability and security. The DLNA was formed in 2003 to set up a platform for interoperability based on open industry standards. The …
SPOTLIGHT: The Times They Are A-Changin'
Pittsburgh used to be the steel capital of the US. Now it aims to become the premier RFID technology testing center in the nation. The University of Pittsburgh has just unveiled an RFID-dedicated research facility. The center will be directed by Marlin Mickle, the Pitt electrical and computer engineering professor leading much of the RFID work. At current funded research income levels, Pitt is seeing revenue of $1 million per year from its RFID research. Building the RFID center could …
ALSO NOTED: Vocera goes with WildPackets; VeratNet to use WiMax gear from ZTE; and much more...
> Vocera Communications, makers of the famous badge for intra-company wireless communication, has selected WildPackets for internal wireless and wired analysis, and external field test support. Release
> Eastman Kodak is shipping the EasyShare-One, which appears to be the world's first WiFi-enabled camera. The camera plus the WiFi card sell …
enters WiFi arena
One thing has is plenty of money at its disposal, and it has decided to use some of it to offer a new WiFi service to be called Secure Access. The site already offers the downloadable WiFi client application. The tool provides an addition layer of security when accessing the Internet through a WiFi connection. The client redirects any requests to pass through servers, enabling to access massive amounts of information. The service is currently available …
Embedded EV-DO to challenge WiFi
WiFi is becoming ubiquitous in the sense that more and more handheld devices incorporate the technology. WiFi hot spots, however, are not ubiquitous, so you may be carrying a WiFi-enabled device but still cannot make an Internet connection. The short range of WiFi and the slowness of developing more roaming agreements among carriers do not help. Into this gap steps Verizon Wireless. The company is aggressively pushing PC notebook makers to embed CDMA EV-DO chips in their gear -- and it …
Ruckus brings age of IPTV closer
The age of IPTV has arrived. Last week we reported that Mountain View, California-based wireless startup Video54 was changing its name to Ruckus Wireless and putting in the bank the $9 million it has just received from VCs. What, exactly, did Ruckus tell the VCs about its technology that made them invest in the company? It told them that it had found a way to deliver high-quality video over WiFi, that's what.
The …
Alvarion selects Freescale
Israeli WiMax pioneer Alvarion has selected Freescale's advanced PowerQUICC III processor for a WiMax base station designed to support both fixed and mobile broadband connectivity. Alvarion is offering WiMax solutions based on both the 802.16-2004 and 802.16e standards. WiMax is currently used for last-mile broadband access and backhaul for carrier infrastructure, enterprises, and WiFi hot spots. The technology will support personal broadband connectivity in the future, especially as its …
Cisco receives FCC certification for 802.11 SDR
The popularity of WiFi comes at a price: Crowded spectrum. Partly to alleviate the spectrum congestion, the FCC recently adopted a rule which would increase the capabilities of software defined radios (SDRs). Cisco's 802.11a radios have just been certified by the FCC under the new rule, making them the industry's first WiFi SDR products. Cisco 802.11a radios currently provide 12 operating channels in the three 5GHz Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure bands. They will soon …