NetStumbler.com

Silicon Valley has chosen MetroConnect, a coalition involving IBM Corp., Cisco Systems Inc. and wireless Internet firms Azulstar and SeaKay, to provide wireless Internet coverage to most of the area. Under the contract, the group will shoulder the costs of developing the massive hotspot spanning over 1,000 square miles of Silicon Valley. Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network expects MetroConnect to start building antenna towers as early as January 2007 and offer Internet service, which will range from a basic free service to paid subscription starting at $20 per month, within 12 months to 18 months thereafter. Seth Fearey, vice president and chief operations officer for Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network, said municipalities that immediately approve the proposal will be on the roster of areas that will get the service first.
Via [bizjournals.com]

The WiMax deal with Sprint Nextel could bring $210 million for Motorola in 2007 and $307 million the following year, according to Bear Stearns analyst Philip Cusick. Sprint recently announced the selection of of Motorola, along with Samsung, as the principal vendors for the new high-speed network that it plans to build. Cusick said: “While fairly small compared to Motorola’s Networks and Enterprise category, this and other WiMax revenue could be important in driving growth in the category for the next two years.” Cusick expects further revenues for Motorola from other companies because of this development. “Given the importance of the Sprint contract to the WiMax ecosystem, Motorola, Intel and Samsung may be looking at very tight margins on this contract. We believe that ClearWire, the Canadian joint venture and Sprint together could generate over $500 million in annual revenue for Motorola,” Cusick continued.
Via [forbes.com]

California lawmakers endorsed a bill that will require manufacturers of wireless internet equipment to provide guidance on data security for wireless connections. The legislation, which still needs Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s signature, is expected to take effect on October 1, 2007. Under the law, companies must ensure WiFi-capable products have warning labels — box stickers, special notification in setup software, notification during the router setup, or automatic securing of the connection — that must be placed in a way that would require the consumer to remove them before the equipment can be used. The guidance should provide information on how to secure data, folders and connection.
Via [theregister.co.uk]

Telkom hopes to start offering WiMax in South Africa next year, Papi Molotsane, the company’s CEO, told participants at a Telkom-hosted event at Spier outside Stellenbosch. It has been testing the technology for two years now and announced that WiMax will be an essential part of its next generation network. The fixed-line operator has repeatedly trumpeted that WiMax is set to become a commonplace technology in “less than two years.”
Via [mybroadband.co.za]

Panasonic is now offering Skype-supported phones. The handset uses public hotspots as well as home and office WiFi to run Skype voicemail and call forwarding. The firm plans to also develop VoIP handsets for Vonage. Meanwhile, Cisco’s consumer unit Linksys has shipped WIP330 to Europe. The VoIP phone operates on SIP 2 protocol and is compatible with 802.11b and 802.11g with WEP and WPA. The company is selling WIP330 for 400 Euros.
Via [techworld.com]

Taipei, according to its mayor Ma Ying-jeou, is now a wireless city. Over the last two years, city officials have installed around 4,000 access points in several buildings to allow anyone to connect to the Internet anywhere in the area for a fee. Residents need to pay 400 New Taiwan dollars or about 12 US dollars per month to have broadband service. Taipei’s visitors may also access the network for a minimal fee.
Via [iht.com]

Analysts expect the WiFi equipment market to become a $3 billion sector in the next three years. The reason: the emerging WiFi applications such as wireless game consoles, PDAs, cell phones and home entertainment systems. According to Chris Taylor, who heads the wireless components service at the Boston-based consultancy Strategy Analytics, “the market for WiFi chips will grow to more than $1.9 billion in 2006, and to $3 billion in 2010.” The company said the demand for transceivers, base-bands, and power amplifiers and other WiFi components is rising. Microsemi, Taylor revealed, is the leading supplier of modular components for WiFi networks but its market position is now being challenged by Anadigics, TriQuint, Fairchild, and RF Integrated.
Via [technewsworld.com]

Samsung unveiled its 4G WiBro (Wireless Broadband) technology at a forum it sponsored in Jeju Island, Korea. The company claims that WiMax’s cousin, which is based on the IEEE 802.16.e-2005 standard, generates a nomadic speed of 1 Gbps or 50 times speedier than 3G. This means that transferring 100 MP3 files (300Mb) will only take 2.4 seconds and an 800Mb movie, 5.6 seconds.
Via [weblog.infoworld.com]

Ghana is due to have a nationwide WiMax coverage. Internet Ghana will use Navini Network’s Ripwave MX solution with smart WiMAX to build the first 802.16e software upgradeable network in the African country. “With high consumer demand, poor DSL access and long customer connection times Ghana is absolutely ready for mass market, rapid install, broadband wireless services. We will be first to market across the whole of Ghana, beginning in the capital Accra followed by the regional capitals and commercial towns,” Internet Ghana CEO Leslie Tamakloe said. The first phase of deployment will cover the capital city of Accra and ten other cities including Tamale, Kumasi and Tema.
Via [edn.com]

Experts believe WiMax will have the same security problems as WiFi. These problems, according to former Tipping Point security consultant Shawn Merdinger, include “weak management protocols and vulnerable applications — embedded Web servers, unencrypted access via telnet and SNMP V1 and V2.” Gartner’s VP of mobile computing Ken Dulaney, however, stressed that any security problem should not be blamed automatically on the technology itself. He said it could be because of faulty drivers or other areas. Sprint Nextel Corp., which announced that it will use WiMax as the vehicle techology of a new high-speed wireless network that it plans to build, is worried about such attacks. “That’s exactly what I’m thinking about. One of the things we really need to do is make sure we work with our vendors on that,” Sprint Labs research scientist John Larson said.
Via [darkreading.com]

Tropos Networks is releasing Tropos 5320, a new outdoor wireless mesh router that includes more than one radio. According to Tropos senior director of marketing Bert Williams, the new device may integrate Wi-Fi, WiMAX metropolitan-area wireless and even 3G, and determine which combination will provide the best performance within the mesh, a network that can provide WLAN coverage over a broad area, at a given period. The company plans to introduce more models in the future and the products will have the capability to incorporate other technologies such as WiMAX and MIMO (multiple in-multiple out) multi-antenna WLAN. It plans to start selling Tropos 5320 in October.
Via [networkworld.com]

Pipex Wireless declared the trial of its WiMax wireless wide area network in Stratford-upon-Avon a success. The project assessed the performance of Pipex Wireless WiMax-based broadband services for clients with internal and external antennas that run on Intel Rosedale chipsets. The test found that indoor antennas attained speeds of over 2Mbps up and down without direct line of sight and outdoor antennas realized speeds of 10Mbps down and 9Mbps up in a test house, both at a range of 1.2 kilometers from the base station. This, according to the Pipex-Intel joint venture, therefore indicates that WiMax can render “near symmetric” services in most settings. Pipex Wireless plans to undertake more trials this year and offer new services in various cities in 2007.
Via [vnunet.com]

The Royal Hospitals Trust is planning to add 200 more access points to its wireless network, which currently houses 400 of these devices, as part of its plan to open a new digital imaging center. The trust — a hospital network comprising the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, the Royal Jubilee Maternity Service, the Royal Victoria and the Dental Hospital — will increase the number further by 500 to cover most of the buildings on the 80-acre site. It hopes to have full coverage of the area in two years. The trust expects the wireless network, which was developed by Trapeze Networks and installed by Telindus, to reduce time and cost of dispensing drugs, streamline flows and processes, and increase mobility for elderly patients, doctors and other medical personnel.
Via [silicon.com]

Israeli startup Amimon got 14 Million in second round funding for thier wireless HDTV chipset. The company claims the ability to stream HDTV signal wirelessly to TV’s potentially avoiding costly cable installation. Other companies are in the same market, but are basing thier technology on pre-802.11n specs that might not be around by the time the market opens up for the technology.
Via [redherring.com]

Immunity is showing off thier Silica device, a handhelp wireless penetration tool. The $3000 device can automatically scan wireless networks and launch one of 150 attacks on the network, all while looking casual and covert. The device is powered by Immunity’s Canvas pentration testing product and will be available in October.
Via [theinquirer.net]