NetStumbler

Cisco Builds Massive Wi-Fi Network In Italian Province

NetStumbler — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 12:55:34 +0000

The Italian Province of Brescia will soon become a Wi-Fi zone, thanks to a network being developed by Cisco Systems. The mesh extends over 4,800 square kilometers and covers over 200 rural towns.

Cisco put about 600 access points on light poles, and plans to deploy 200 more to complete the project. It also installed switches in town halls and a management system for the network. Aside from Internet connection, the Cisco-built network will offer VoIP and videoconferencing to city agencies and local businesses.

Building municipal and city-wide wireless networks has become a global trend. In the U.S., over 300 municipalities are looking at rolling out WiFi networks. A similar phenomenon is seen in Mexico, China, and Taiwan.
Via [informationweek.com]

Cisco Set To Tackle WiFi Interference

Eliza Villarino — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 11:59:00 +0000

Cisco has teamed up with Congio to reduce the volume of radio interference around WLAN devices. Cognio’s Spectrum Expert for WiFi — a CardBus device that plugs into a Windows notebook — can analyze WiFi interference and would complement the company’s Wireless Control System. These tools would help companies deploy wireless LANs and manage interference from a range of sources, including non-WiFi appliances like microwave ovens. The Spectrum Expert is sold at Cisco’s regular sales outlets.
Via [techworld.com]

IBM-Cisco Group’s Bid Wins Valley Wi-Fi Contract

Eliza Villarino — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 09:54:00 +0000

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]

Cisco Details Wireless LAN Vulnerabilities

RenderMan — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 12:05:00 +0000

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]

Cisco Introduces Stackable WLAN Controller

RenderMan — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 08:11:00 +0000

Cisco has released a new line of stackable WLAN controllers to it’s catalyst line. The new controllers bring cisco back into competition with companies like Aruba in terms of features like wireless roaming. The new switches will hopefully help fill the demand for more port density in the wiring closet for the increased user demand.
Via [eweek.com]

Cisco Pushes The Wireless Enterprise

Sherry Jones — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 12:47:00 +0000

At about $20,000, Cisco’s new Catalyst 3750g is a bargain if merging your wired and wireless networks into one will simplify your business life. Merging systems via Catalyst allows not only wireless laptop use but also dual-mode mobile phones and uniform security settings. Cisco has also released version 4 of their Unified Wireless Network software supporting the not-yet-certified 802.11w standard. Catalyst 3750g is available now and can be upgraded immediately with free Unified Wireless Network software.
Via [vnunet.com]

HP Launches Wi-Fi Rival To Cisco

Eliza Villarino — Wed, 17 May 2006 04:13:00 +0000

Hewlett-Packard is introducing a Wi-Fi switch module for its ProCurve 5300 edge switch. The company believes its Wireless Edge Services Module (WESM) is more tightly integrated than the Wi-Fi Services Module (WISM) from rival Cisco. HP plans to sell WESM, which will initially include support for 12 access points or “Radio Ports”, for 3,699 euros and will charge another 2,959 euros for an additional 24 access points with software keys. It expects its ProCurve 5300 edge switch to hold a pair of the modules, thus providing support for 72 access points and therefore accommodating 1,000 users.
Via [techworld.com]

Cisco, Motorola Abandon Wi-Fi/Cellular Venture

Sherry Jones — Mon, 08 May 2006 15:34:00 +0000

This year’s plan for a “seamless” cellular/WiFi roaming technology partnership between Cisco Systems Inc. and Motorola turned out to be not so seamless, so a new generation of fixed/mobile convergence devices won’t be coming your way until at least 2007. The devices are predicted to allow handsets to roam seamlessly between WiFi and cellular networks without a loss of service or data.
Via [informationweek.com]

Cisco CIO Slams Wireless Industry

Wayne Slavin — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 11:54:00 +0000

Cisco ClO Brad Boston found there was no single place to buy all the software he needed to power a mobile workforce, and his team had to cobble together components to secure and manage the devices and enable remote access to corporate data. “When I talk to my peers, they all have the same problem,” he said.
Via [cio-today.com]

Internet Standards Group Picks Cisco Wireless Technology

Wayne Slavin — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 10:22:00 +0000

The Internet Engineering Task Force chose Cisco’s lightweight access point protocol to help ensure WLAN interoperability.
Via [informationweek.com]

Cisco Takes ‘Strategic’ Stake In Home Networking Group

Wayne Slavin — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 12:52:00 +0000

Cisco has made a ‘strategic investment’ in home control specialist Zensys. The network giant’s interest is directed towards Zensys’ Z-Wave wireless home control technology.
Via [eet.com]

Cisco: Zensys Investment Stymies ZigBee’s Progress

Wayne Slavin — Thu, 19 Jan 2006 15:05:00 +0000

Cisco Systems has revealed that it is making an undisclosed investment in Zensys, developer of the Z-Wave wireless mesh networking technology. While this move is a huge fillip for Zensys, it constitutes a setback for the development of the standards-based ZigBee protocol to which Z-Wave is an alternative.
Via [cbronline.com]

Cisco To Enable Advanced Wireless Services

Wayne Slavin — Wed, 14 Dec 2005 11:20:00 +0000

Cisco Systems has thrown its support behind an evolving set of wireless standards that will enable cellular carriers to offer new services based on the Internet Protocol.
Via [news.com.com]

Cisco Invests In Active Wi-Fi Based RFID

Wayne Slavin — Fri, 02 Dec 2005 13:59:00 +0000

With the growing importance of RFID, Wi-Fi companies, which specialize in location awareness of wireless devices don’t want to miss the bus. Confident that the Wi-Fi based active RFID solutions are the way to go, Cisco has announced that it is investing in AeroScout Inc., a specialist in the field of Wi-Fi based Active RFID solutions.
Via [cxotoday.com]

Mesh Nets Offer Challenges

Wayne Slavin — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 11:56:00 +0000

Though a late entry, Cisco’s first wireless LAN mesh product will throw fuel on an already hot market.
Via [networkworld.com]