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SF metro-WiFi project stalls
Five months after and EarthLink won a headline-grabbing contract to install a city-wide WiFi network in San Francisco, nothing much has changed. Chris Sacca, who is in charge of 's special projects, complained that endless rounds of talks with city officials have not moved the ball forward. "Every meeting is like the first," he said in frustration.
Part of the reason for the delay in finalizing the negotiations about implementation is that politicians and bureaucrats …
Test program for dual-mode phones
Knowledge is power. Dual-mode handsets, combining WiFi and cellular capabilities, are becoming more and more popular (see story #5), so inquiring minds want to know more about them. The Wi-Fi Alliance and CTIA have now joined forces to offer carriers a new source of data on these handsets. The two organizations have developed a testing program for WiFi/cellular phones which offers RF performance mapping in a converged environment. The testing program provides detailed measurements on key …
Rumors of WiFi-WAPI war
In 1972, President Richard Nixon and national security adviser Henry Kissinger made their historic visit to communist China. On the last day of the visit, at a state dinner, Kissinger found himself sitting next to the aging Chairman Mao. He turned to him and said: "Mr. Chairman, before I joined government I was an academic studying revolutions and revolutionary movements. You, Mr. Chairman, led one of the 20th century's greatest revolutions. As a revolutionary, then, how would you …
WiFi banking takes hold in India
There were early adopters of WiFi, then there were late adopters of the technology, and then there are those who have yet to adopt it. Among those who took their time about the technology were financial institutions. The reason: Nagging doubts about the technology's safety. Things are changing, however, and in India, for example, more and more banks are using the technology to offer additional service to customers. In Mumbai, the country's financial center, they have begun to talk about …
Netgear shows WiFi Skype phone
Converged cellular-WiFi phones are all the rage (or, rather, will soon be all the rage) and companies with market savvy have noticed. The latest to join the lengthening list of vendors (e.g., Wistron, Accton) offering cellular-WiFi phones is Netgear, which last week began shipping its SPH101 (it demonstrated the unit in January at a trade show). The company says that the SPH101 is the first publicly announced handset certified to make Skype WiFi calls. However, at $249.99, it's not …
SPOTLIGHT: Zune-iPod battle commences
Last week, Microsoft officially unveiled its Zune portable media player. This response to Apple's iPod features 802.11 connectivity, a FM Tuner, a 30 GB hard drive (surprisingly modest, by the way: What if you are a fan of Bach's Goldberg Variations?), 3.0-inch screen, and more. It also comes in three colors--black, brown, and white. The company says that users who download songs will be allowed to share songs with fellow "Zuners" for a period of up to three days, but then these …
ALSO NOTED: WiFi coming to Colchester, Pittsburgh; WiFi regulation coming to CA?; and much more...
> Colchester is joining other UK cities in offering free WiFi in its downtown area. Report
> Pittsburgh's downtown is now offering WiFi, too. Report
> BT has launched BT Corporate Fusion--an extension of the company's private fixed-mobile convergence service for organizations. …