NetStumbler.com

Twenty-one telecommunications operators from 15 nations in Asia, America and Europe are collaborating to create a global “roaming belt” for WiBro Mobile WiMax service, according to KT Corp. The Korean firm, which is spearheading the initiative, and the group met recently for the maiden session of the WiBro Mobile WiMax Community. KT refused to state the names of the companies involved in the new partnership and only said that the community is a first for the technology.
Via [eetimes.com]

The largest WiMax network to date is due to begin operations in Pakistan, according to Motorola. The firm will supply 802.16e-based MOTOwi4 network to the country’s Wateen Telecom and expects a million subscribers to initially avail of the service.
Via [news.zdnet.co.uk]

Bundling reaches new heights with plans to add WiFi and VoIP to items such as Apple’s iPod digital media players. A new study suggests that the combination, called “real-time Internet,” will become the preferred way for consumers to access the Internet in the future. 100 million consumer mobile VoIP users are expected by the year 2011.
Via [vnunet.com]

Early attempts to deploy citywide wireless Internet access have run into unforeseen problems. Contractors have been forced to place more access points than planned, and subscribers need to attach signal boosters to their homes in order to receive Internet access. Help may be on the way in the form of Wavion, a San Jose, California-based company, which boasts software and silicon that increase the transmission distance of a WiFi signal and put an end to much of the signal loss.
Via [news.zdnet.com]

Startup company M2Z Networks plans to offer free wireless access with speeds at 384 Kbps across the U.S. once it secures a license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). For higher speeds, users will have to pay a fee, five percent of which will go the government, according to the firm’s application to FCC. To access the ad-supported free service, customers will have to buy an inexpensive receiving device. M2Z expects to begin the service two years after it gets the FCC authorization.
Via [informationweek.com]

George Ou covers how to do a WLAN site survey with a number of tools, including Netstumbler and Airmagnet survey. He also covers the proper usage and importance of a spectrum analyzer to a proper WLAN survey. In the end you get what you pay for. The commercial software is easy to use and has more features, but using his included excel macro with Netstumbler you can have a very comparable and free site survey tool.
Via [zdnetasia.com]

Hotspot operator Boingo has expanded it’s reach with the purchase of Concourse, giving it a presence in 12 major US airports and over 100 locations in the US and Canada. The purchase should not cause any job losses and should hopefully expand Boingo’s ability to support WiFi handsets.
Via [wirelessweek.com]

The growing demand for Wi-Fi technology led to a dramatic rise in sales of Wi-FI equipment in the U.K. over the past year. According to a new study by analyst firm GfK, sales of wireless routers totaled £24 million, or an increase of 108 percent from the first quarter of 2005 to the same period in 2006. Also, customers spent £13 million on wireless cards, which constitutes a rise of 87 percent in the same period. The research firm said businesses continue to make up the bulk of users of mobile wireless technology, in particularly 3G data cards. Sales of these cards rose by 580 percent with sales amounting to £1.7 million.
Via [vnunet.com]

The 802.11n Draft 1.0 — the most recent version of next-generation wireless technology — garnered 12,000 comments from the standards-setting group IEEE according to a WNN report. To be ratified, the draft spec must be approved by 75 percent of the voting membership, and the high volume of comments indicates that a finalized version of 802.11n is well over a year away. Bottom line: buying draft-compliant products this early out may (or may not) end in non-compatibility — and wasted money — when the dust finally settles.
Via [arstechnica.com]

At The Wireless Event in London, the merits of WiFi, HSDPA, and WiMAX — the contenders for wireless technology’s number one position — were debated back and forth, but discussions ended with no real winner. WiFi is predicted to come out on top initially thanks to its early market presence and to the lack of available WiMAX and HSDPA devices. But whichever technology comes out on top in the end, the arguing vendors agreed on one thing: value-added services will be their path to revenue once ubiquitous wireless and flat-rate packages with bundled services become a reality.
Via [cbronline.com]

When hurricane Katrina made landfall, an unlikely group came to help rebuild. A contingent from the Burning Man festival, who are very familiar with building a community from nothing. Thier efforts were greatly helped with the Kyocera Wireless KR1 Mobile Router that allowed them to share the EV-DO 3G connection that previously was only usable through sharing a lone EV-DO card. The router allowed many users to communicate to the outside world for information sharing and fundraising.
Via [wi-fiplanet.com]

Linksys has released their new 802.11g wireless VoIP phones, the WIP300 and the WIP330. Both WiFi phones require a broadband connection and activated VoIP service to operate. The WIP300, with a 1.8-inch color display and standard features such as call forwarding, call transfer, and call history, has an estimated street price of $219.99. The WIP330, at $369.99, comes with advanced features such as a 2.2-inch color display and power-management features as well as video and email capabilities.
Via [pcmag.com]

BT Group intends to install a network of Wi-Fi hotspots in 12 U.K. cities, including Leeds, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Cardiff and London’s Westminster area, by the end of 2006. Steve Andrews, BT’s chief of converged services, clarified that the plan only constitutes the first phase and that the company expects to expand its coverage. In addition to the networks, the firm also plans to offer a set of information and public services for the local authorities. Another Wi-Fi company, The Cloud, has already set up nine hotspot zones such as London’s Square Mile and Canary Wharf financial districts and Manchester city centre.
Via [today.reuters.co.uk]

Altera Corp. and Sequans Communications announced the availability of mobile WiMax chipsets. Using FPGA technology, they seem very certain that they will be able to upgrade the chipsets for future improvements to the WiMax standards. No word yet on any customers.
Via [eetimes.com]

John Muleta (former head of the FCC’s wireless bureau) and cable executive Milo Medin (creator of AtHome Networks) have founded M2Z Networks Inc. with the goal of offering nationwide high-speed Internet service via a vacated slice of airwaves. The unused airwaves, 2155 megahertz (Mhz) to 2175 Mhz, have been allocated for advanced wireless service, and M2Z hopes to use them to forward President Bush’s goal of universal broadband access by 2007. In a departure from the usual method of securing spectrum at auction, M2Z has offered to pay the U.S. Treasury 5 percent of its premium broadband gross revenues instead.
Via [today.reuters.com]