NetStumbler.com

US Wireless has won the contract to cover Pittsburgh’s downtown business district and Golden Triangle and some other areas. The system will allow for 2 free hours a day with day passes and high speed passes for sale as well. US Wireless also operates networks in Los Angeles and Baton Rouge.
Via [wirelessweek.com]

Wavesat and Texas Instruments are teaming up to create a mini-PCI module and reference design to allow the use of WiMAX in the unlicensed 5.8GHz frequency band. The plan is to employ Wavesat’s Evolutive WiMAX DM256 chip and TI’s RF silicon for the platform. “Because 5.8GHz is an unlicensed frequency band, it can be rapidly deployed by wireless Internet service providers around the world and especially in North America, where it is the only WiMAX Forum profile currently deployable,” Vijay Dube, Wavesat’s vice president for marketing and business development, said.
Via [electronicsweekly.com]

Some cafe owners in the U.S. are now fighting back against customers taking advantage of the free WiFi connection in their restaurants. Though the service attracts more customers, it also caused problems, i.e., some would buy nothing or if ever they purchase anything, it would be cheapest item. There are also instances when people would stay longer than usual, leaving no available table during the lunch rush. Among the strategies employed my owners include politely asking customers who bought nothing to purchase an item from the menu or turning off the connection. Others have started asking for fees as a way to restrict access particularly during peak hours.
Via [arstechnica.com]

According to muniwireless.com, Wi-Fi systems have been deployed in nearly 60 U.S. cities and the goal is to add another 120 to the number. One of these cities is Chaska in Minnesota. Although considered a success by the Wi-Fi tracker website, Chaska’s network had suffered problems like slow speeds and dead connections. Roberta Wiggins, a wireless analyst at tech research firm Yankee Group, expects more challenges for cities that are bigger than Chaska, which is home to just 8,000 households. Wiggins said: “It’s much easier to implement Wi-Fi technology in a smaller site. It hasn’t yet been proven in a really large area.”
Via [seattletimes.nwsource.com]

Taipei is gearing up to become the first city to have citywide VoIP service. It has launched the Taipei Easy Call project, which will enable mobile phones to switch from their existing connection to VoIP calls when they are within network coverage. The new service, according to the Taipei Computer Association, is likely to attract as many as 200,000 users by the end of 2006.
Via [vnunet.com]

An Indiana hospital will soon have their nurses equiped with voice-over-Wi-Fi phones in an effort to boost their mobility. Hancock Regional Hospital in Greenfield, Indiana is currently assessing phones from Cisco Systems, Vocera Communications, and SpectraLink. The hospital’s infrastructure is ready to support the new service. Last year, Hancock installed several Extreme’s Altitude 350-2 access points, Summit WM series switches and a BlackDiamond 8810 switch to enable the network to perform voice and data convergence.
Via [computerworld.com]

Trango Broadband Wireless, a privately-held company founded in San Diego in the 90s, makes connecting to the Internet possible just about anywhere. Trango uses radio spectrum that doesn’t require a license and requires just a base-station radio and a subscriber radio. A base station (access point) runs about $1,000, and a subscriber radio can go as high as $500. The system serves as a relatively inexpensive alternative to laying cables in hard-to-reach areas and in emergency situations, and can reach as many as 300 computers within a 10-mile radius.
Via [signonsandiego.com]

About 23,000 Michigan school children, mostly sixth-graders, were handed wireless HP notebook PCs, instructed to start a self-directed learning program (complete with highly personalized computer instruction), and left to their own devices. 1,500 teachers also joined the experiment, and a survey shows the teachers found the students were more motivated, had better student-teacher interaction, and achieved increased technology skills while using the computers. The surveyed students said the computers increased their interest in learning and made schoolwork easier. The report on these findings, backed by HP, is being analyzed, but earlier findings in similar programs demonstrated improved math and reading scores.
Via [informationweek.com]

Blackberry addicts rejoice! WiFi/cellular dual mode is coming. The dual mode will mean that WiFi enabled business and campuses can reduce the cellular data usage, but still allow travel and roaming. Also planned is blackberry software for other devices such as palm handhelds.
Via [techworld.com]

Hardware hackers have reclaimed the WRT54G v5 from Linksys. The version 5 of the ubiquitous wireless router swtiched from a linux based OS to a Vxworks proprietary system. The hackers have figured out a way to replace the bootloader with a linux friendly one and load linux onto them. The reduced memory of the version 5 routers means that space is cramped and only micro versions of the linux firmware can be added, it’s quite the achievment for a community who were not happy with the change to Vxworks, even though Linksys released the WRT54GL which still runs linux, but is more expensive.
Via [theinquirer.net]

Cisco announced two severe vulnerabilities in Wireless Control System software. The vulnerabilities could lead to attackers gaining encryption keys, and in one case, full control of the administration utility. Cisco is planning an update soon.
Via [informationweek.com]

Due to pressure from telco companies fearing subsidized competition, several states have passed regulations preventing municipalities from providing municipal WiFi services to it’s residents. The US senate noticed this and is proposing legeslation that would allow municipalities to provide services, with some considerations for telco’s. This legislation might have trouble though as it’s caught in the middle of the net neutrality debate.
Via [news.zdnet.com]

Nokia’s found a great way to sell phones in New York — offer free Wi-Fi Internet access networks in 10 major city parks (including Central Park), and make sure park visitors need one of your phones to tap into the service. Users need a phone like the Nokia N80 and N91 or the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet with built-in wireless Lan capabilities in order to access the free Wi-Fi service. Park representatives feel the service provides park visitors with more options, while Nokia sees it as an opportunity to try out new services with their media industry partners.
Via [vnunet.com]

Intel, with hopes of encouraging a nationwide service that equips notebook PCs for fast Internet access and Internet-based calling throughout the US, has invested $600 million in Clearwire. This is Intel’s second investment in the Kirkland (Wash.)-based wireless broadband provider, and a big boost for WiMax. WiMax technology is used to cover large areas with wireless broadband Internet access, and Intel plans to push the market forward by incorporating dual WiFi/WiMax chips into its Centrino platform. The newly-funded Clearwire has recently moved from introducing a WiMax-precursor in 27 small cities across the US to providing service for big cities like Seattle and Honolulu.
Via [businessweek.com]

Analysts expect India to have 13 million WiMAX users by 2012, an increase of 11.5 million from the current number. According to Sridhar Pai, chief executive of Tonse Telecom, the country is set to become one of the world’s leading broadband wireless markets over the next six years. Pai ascribed the projected growth with the dearth of basic communication services in villages, with more than two-thirds of India’s households having no access to wired lines. He identified the lack of spectrum and cost as the major barriers to the massive adoption of the technology but he noted that steps are being taken to address these issues. There are ongoing discussions between the government and telecommunications companies to allow defense-occupied spectrum for civil commercial use while firms such as Telsima and Beceem Communications are working on technologies — the former came up with a system-on-a-chip design with smart antenna and radio frequency systems while the latter aims to develop efficient chips and modems — that will lower the cost of customer equipment.
Via [redherring.com]