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FierceWiFi August 8, 2006
- Solar-powered WiFi for Indian schools
- Cheyenne's city-wide WiMAX public works network
- Airoha to bring 802.11n to consumer electronics
- Atheros bucks semiconductor sector's trend
- Bumpy start for Portland's muni-WiFi
- SPOTLIGHT: WiFi to the rescue
- ALSO NOTED: Solving WiFi hotspot security; Seamless Wi-Fi tests encryption software; and much more...
Solar-powered WiFi for Indian schools
We are a couple of weeks away from the beginning of the school year, so here is a school-related story. It is also a story in which the term "convergence"--a term which is bit overused these days--plays a central role, except that this time it is a convergence of WiFi, solar power, and the bridging of the digital divide. We reported a few months ago about the US military testing a solar-powered WiFi system for use in the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan, but this convergence effort is more …
Cheyenne's city-wide WiMAX public works network
Cheyenne, WY, calls itself the Magic City of the Plains. Perhaps. We note that Excelsio Communications and BIG Wireless use gear from WiMAX pioneer Alvarion to deploy a city-wide wireless broadband network. The network aims to support the communication needs of several public safety and public works departments in the city. The combined fixed and mobile network uses Alvarion's BreezeACCESS 4900, operating in 4.9 GHz for multipoint backhaul, and BreezeACCESS 900, operating in 900 MHz, to …
Airoha to bring 802.11n to consumer electronics
The 802.11n standard is yet to be completed, a fact which has not stopped vendors from rushing pre-802.11n or draft-802.11n products to market. We note Taiwanese company Airoha Technology, is showing its AL8230, a dual-band (2.4-2.5 GHZ and 5.9 GHz) RF device armed with three RF transceivers and which uses silicon germanium BiCMOS to integrate power amplifiers. Note that the transceiver is one transmit-one receive (1T1R) architecture, but that it may be used in different …
Atheros bucks semiconductor sector's trend
There is always a silver lining. An example: The semiconductor sector has seen disappointing results this year, but--and there is always a "but"--one company proved to be an exception: Atheros's revenues grew by 70 percent in the second quarter, reaching $73 million.
We wrote last week that if AMD were to follow Intel's Centrino strategy and offer bundled chips, chipsets, and WiFi cards, companies such as Atheros and Broadcom would be facing a tough slog. We are not there yet (and …
Bumpy start for Portland's muni-WiFi
A few months ago the city of Portland, OR unveiled its plan for metro-WiFi with much fanfare. It has been a bumpy road, though, as several problems combined to make the launch of the ambitious project less than smooth (ambitious, because the city said the system would offer WiFi coverage for 95 percent of the city). First, negotiations between local utilities and MetroFi, the provider with which the city has signed the WiFi agreement, have stalled. At issue: How much should Portland …
SPOTLIGHT: WiFi to the rescue
WiFi to the rescue
As if to add insult to injury, the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina were accompanies by the collapse of communication systems, hampering rescue work and emergency response efforts. The communication system connecting emergency crews proved more robust during the July 7, 2005 terrorist attacks in London, but still, a recent government report on the attack highlighted that the first responder groups sometimes had difficulty talking to each …
ALSO NOTED: Solving WiFi hotspot security; Seamless Wi-Fi tests encryption software; and much more...
> You like to do your work at Starbucks or on a bench in a city park, but you are worried about the security of your communication. What to do? Eric Geier has good advice. Tutorial
> Speaking of security, Seamless Wi-Fi has completed beta testing of version 2.0 of its Phenom encryption software. Report
> Not a moment too …