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… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: September 2006
Wi-Fi Guidance Becomes Law In California
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… Continue Reading
Telkom Set To Offer Wireless Broadband In 2007
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… Continue Reading
WiFi Phones Arrive, But Still Expensive
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… Continue Reading
Taipei Becomes Wireless City, Offering Residents Access To Internet Anywhere In City
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… Continue Reading
Demand For WiFi Equipment, Components Growing
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… Continue Reading
Samsung Breaks 4G Barrier
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… Continue Reading
Ghana Set For Nationwide Mobile WiMAX
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… Continue Reading
WiMax’s Small Steps To Security
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… Continue Reading
Tropos Expands Municipal Wireless Options
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… Continue Reading
Pipex Wireless Claims Successful UK WiMax Trial
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… Continue Reading
Hospital Puts Wireless At Heart Of Tech Plans
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… Continue Reading
Wi-Fi HDTV Startup Gets $14M
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… Continue Reading
Portable Wireless Hacking Device Goes On Sale
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]
Motorola Could Drive Growth With WiMax
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… Continue Reading