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U.S. lags in WiMAX deployment
The United States accounts for but a tiny fraction for the as-yet small market for WiMAX technology, but industry representatives say the expected emergence of equipment operating in U.S. frequency bands later this year will help bolster demand in this country. "There has been a little bit of a cloud over the market," because of the lack of certified products, said Carlton O'Neal, vice president of marketing for Alvarion. "The market has been relatively small."
Alvarion should …
Taiwan, China produce more WiFi gear
As has been the case with other electronics and communications gear (but also, it occurs to us, with sneakers and T-shirts), more and more of the production is being done in Asia. Recently published market research says that production of WLAN APs in Taiwan and mainland China will likely continue to grow steadily and keep pace with developments on the standards front. Gear makers are directing their efforts more toward improving 802.11g and 802.11a APs, with combination products also in …
Financial industry adopts WiFi, neglects its risks
Financial services institutions have invested much money and effort to make their wired communication networks secure. The same cannot be said about their wireless networks. New research from TowerGroup underscores this fact against the backdrop of increasing number of instances of data theft in the financial services industry. WiFi networks, if not properly managed, will emerge as a channel of significant threat to reputation and customer trust. "The first and perhaps the most onerous …
Accton to manufacture gear for FON
Maybe FON is not today's version of the 1960s, but still, there is something about its concept of sharing that brings the good old days of the 1960s communes to mind. Not that purely capitalist tools mind, as evidenced by reports that Taiwanese networking vendor Accton Technology is close to a deal with FON SA to manufacturer wireless equipment for the Spanish company. In February Madrid-based FON made the headlines by announcing the completion of a $21.7 million Series A funding round …
SPOTLIGHT: The advantages of backwardness
In the 1950s the economist Alexander Gerschenkron wrote about the "advantages of backwardness": Japan and Germany were destroyed during the Second World War, so that when they began to rebuild, they availed themselves of the latest technologies and industrial processes then available. In the process they leap-frogged the US and UK, the countries which won the war, because the winners were still using 1930s technology in their industrial plants. Thus, backwardness or destruction …
ALSO NOTED: Conexant chip targets handhelds; Alt telco PeterStar to launch WiMAX in Kaliningrad; and much more...
> Conexant has rolled its out its vCX53121, a new chip targeted at low power WiFi-equipped devices such as battery-powered handheld and MP3 players. Report.
> 5G Wireless Communications has completed concept testing in Delta State, Nigeria, and will begin to provide the state with last-mile solutions for voice, video and data via multiple citywide WiFi deployments. Press …
FierceWiFi May 30, 2006
- CSIRO wins first round in WLAN patent war
- Motorola in world's largest 802.16e deployment
- Trend: Diverse muni-WiFi landscapes
- Netgear stumbles in draft-n race
- Easier WiFi set up in Windows Vista
- SPOTLIGHT: A successful muni-WiFi
- ALSO NOTED: Mesa, Arizona to roll out free WiFi downtown; BWI to install free WiFi at the airport; and much more...
CSIRO wins first round in WLAN patent war
This is not a case of David and Goliath, but a case of David and several Goliaths: In one corner is the Australian science agency CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research organization). In the other corner: Microsoft, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Apple, and Netgear. Who would you put your money on? Don't reach for your wallet quite yet, as earlier this month Judge Leonard Davis of the US District Court for the eastern district of Texas issued a Markman opinion accepting …
Motorola in world's largest 802.16e deployment
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Last week Motorola said it would help build the world's largest planned network based on 802.16e. The network will be built in Pakistan by Pakistani company Wateen Telecom. Patrick Donegan of Heavy Reading reports that Wateen planned to deploy Motorola's MOTOwi4 technology at 193 sites by the end of September this year and 600 by the end of June 2007. The Pakistani carrier plans to use the network to provide voice, wireless broadband, …
Trend: Diverse muni-WiFi landscapes
There is a groundswell of community networks around the world, with U.S. communities leading the way. Yankee Group estimates there are around 300 municipal wireless projects in the US and municipal wireless projects will probably account for a $400 million spend next year, an impressive year-on-year growth (from a very modest base, though).
The worldwide market is fragmented one because these networks have as many different names as strategic deployments and business models. Yankee …
Netgear stumbles in draft-n race
When you walk point you draw fire. Netgear boasted that it was first to ship a draft-802.11n wireless ADSL router and now it has drawn criticism for a product which is likely to prove inferior to its existing products. Netgear says its RangeMax Next ADSL2+ modem router, or DG834N, is the first wireless-enabled ADSL2+ modem router based on the 802.11n draft. The company also claims that it delivers "the fastest data throughput speeds and furthest ranges available in the industry." The …
Easier WiFi set up in Windows Vista
WiFi equipment prices have been steadily falling, leading to cut-throat competition among WiFi vendors. The last thing they need, therefore, is the high return rate--currently at 30 percent at retail--for their products. They will be glad to know that Windows Vista has an easier WiFi set up feature which will likely contribute to a reduction in return rate. The WiFi setup feature in Vista (called Windows Connect Now-NET, which is a new version of the Windows Connect Now feature in Windows …
SPOTLIGHT: A successful muni-WiFi
As observed earlier, there is a groundswell of community networks, or muni-WiFi, around the world. No surprise there. We live in a digital age in which access to information, for business or personal benefit, using whatever form of technology available, is expected by many in the community. Most of the announcements of yet another wireless network covering a city district revolve around flooding an area with WiFi coverage and the lure of more widely available connectivity, with a …
ALSO NOTED: Mesa, Arizona to roll out free WiFi downtown; BWI to install free WiFi at the airport; and much more...
> In anticipation of the 2007 opening of a community college, and responding to local business needs, Mesa, Arizona will roll out free WiFi in its downtown. Report
> Last Friday, Earthlink got the go-ahead from the New Orleans City Council to build a WiFi network around a free, city-owned system currently offering free services to residents, many of whom still without regular phone service. …
FierceWiFi May 23, 2006
- Editor's Corner
- BT to blanket UK cities with WiFi
- Intel continues global WiMAX investment push
- Consumers drive UK WiFi sales
- Wavion shows innovative metro-WiFi AP
- HP releases kit to unify business networks
- SPOTLIGHT: Tough slog for 802.11n
- ALSO NOTED: Boingo acquires Concourse Communications; Netgear to ship RangeMax NEXT router; and much more...
Editor's Corner
As you can see from the countdown at the top of today's issue, our WiMAX Strategies event @ GLOBALCOMM is right around the corner! Though our early bird rate has officially expired, we're still offering an exclusive discount to our readers. Enter the promotional code "FIERCE" when you …
BT to blanket UK cities with WiFi
A new project announced by BT will fit street furniture such as phone boxes, bus stops, and park benches with WiFi antenna to extend the coverage of wireless Internet access. Cardiff and Westminster have been testing the new service which allows users with WiFi-enabled gadgets to access the Internet using a pay-as-you-go service or an ongoing subscription. The trial is currently in its final stages, and BT says that the first six WiFi-enabled cities will go live by the start of …
Intel continues global WiMAX investment push
Intel Capital continues to invest in WiMAX companies around the world. The latest investments call for collaborative efforts between Intel and two established companies. The investment in Egyptian company Orascom Telecom WiMAX is the first investment from the Intel Capital Middle East and Turkey fund announced in November of 2005. Orascom will focus its efforts on working with governments and companies throughout the Middle East and parts of Asia to obtain spectrum licenses for the …
Consumers drive UK WiFi sales
Sales of WiFi equipment in the U.K. have rocketed over the past year, with consumers adopting the technology at a faster pace than expected. Report from market analysis firm Gfk says that sales of wireless routers increased 108 percent in the first quarter of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005. Some 380,000 units were sold over the three-month period, worth a total of £24 million. Sales of wireless cards increased by 87 percent year on year to 525,000 units, worth £13 …
Wavion shows innovative metro-WiFi AP
San Jose, CA-based start-up Wavion has a new technology which would be on interest to service providers and infrastructure equipment vendors: It is a new category of wireless AP. Wavion's spatially adaptive AP appears to be the first MIMO-based metro-scale AP. The company says it goes a long way toward addressing vexing performance and penetration issues currently facing metro-WiFi equipment--and in the process, also addressing similarly vexing profitability issues for metro service …
HP releases kit to unify business networks
Hewlett-Packard's ProCurve network division is showing new hardware allowing companies a unified wired and WLAN network. ProCurve's global mobility product manager, Kail Krall, said, "We're providing a single 'pane of glass' to manage both user policy and devices [wired and wireless] across the network." The new hardware includes a Wireless Edge Services xl Module for HP's 5300 series switches, a Redundant Wireless Services xl Module and three thin access point models (HP calls them …
SPOTLIGHT: Tough slog for 802.11n
Glenn Fleishman reports that an IEEE member informed him that the Task Group N schedule has slipped considerably. The group received 12,000 comments on the Draft 1.0 proposal, which was accepted as a working draft in March and failed to achieve in May anywhere near the 75 percent required (it received under 50 percent) to make it a final draft heading to ratification. The big surprise in the 802.11n ratification process to date is not so much the failure of Draft 1.0 to receive 75 percent …
ALSO NOTED: Boingo acquires Concourse Communications; Netgear to ship RangeMax NEXT router; and much more...
> "Wireless LAN (WLAN) is strongly preferred as the home networking technology of choice for not only experienced home network users wanting to upgrade their equipment, but also those who are planning to set up their first home network," says Joyce Putscher, In-Stat analyst. Report
> Boingo acquires Chicago-based Concourse Communications Group, which provides WiFi services at O'Hare and Midway airports. …
FierceWiFi May 16, 2006
- Editor's Corner
- McCaw set to disrupt wireless landscape
- BT rolls out fixed-mobile convergence services
- , Nokia bet on muni-WiFi
- Fon eying Argentina deal
- Altera, Sequans show first 802.16e-2005 base station
- SPOTLIGHT: Fixed-line telecom: It only looks dead
- ALSO NOTED: TerraTec shows WiFi Internet radio; Maxisat selects Ruckus Wireless WiFi system; and much more...
Editor's Corner
You will notice that this issue of FierceWiFi is arriving in your inbox on Tuesday rather than Wednesday. The reason? This week we are launching WiMAX Watch, a new semi-monthly supplement to FierceWiFi. WiMAX Watch will be mailed to you every other Thursday, starting this week, and in order not to crowd your inbox we have moved FierceWiFi …