New standard proposed, using multiple antennae, MIMO technology, makes WLANS way-fast?
A new Wi-Fi standard that promises to significantly boost the speed of existing wireless local area networks (WLANs) is being submitted for approval by a consortium of companies looking to take broadband wireless to the next level.The WWiSE (worldwide spectrum efficiency) group said it has developed technology for review by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11n task group, which is overseeing a next-generation Wi-Fi standard capable of sustaining data throughput exceeding 100Mbps.
Network 802.11, IEEE, mobileTech, spectrum, wi-fi, WLAN
From Lockergnome news:
“Being close to a Wi-Fi transmitter is heaven for laptop users, but being close to several is something else entirely. In buildings with dozens of Wi-Fi transmitters, signals can overlap and interfere with each other, slowing data transmission. But Propagate Networks in Acton, MA, is introducing so-called swarm logic software that lets access points communicate with each other and choose nonconflicting frequencies or adjust their power levels to eliminate overlap.”
From Propagate’s site:
AutoCell turns 802.11 access points and clients, into a self-organizing network. It’s lightweight. It’s powerful. It’s embedded. It runs continuously. It automatically controls the RF environment.
Network 802.11, interference, mesh, mobileTech, self-organizing, swarm, wi-fi, wireless
PhoneScoop has the news (and a link to FCC docs) on Motorola’s new mobile phone.
The FCC today approved the Motorola CN620, the first phone capable of operating on both mobile and Wi-Fi networks. Although the phone was developed by Motorola’s iDEN group, the phone supports only GSM and Wi-Fi networks. Voice calls started on Wi-Fi networks can be handed off to a GSM network. The reverse is possible only for certain types of calls. Features of the phone include a large color main display, an external display, speakerphone, eight-way navigation, and PTT (push-to-talk). Although the prototype approved by the FCC operates only on GSM networks, FCC documents reveal that the final model will support all three major types of Wi-Fi (802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11a), as well as quad-band GSM.
Devices, Policy 802.11, FCC, GSM, IDEN, Motorola, push to talk, telephone, wi-fi, wireless
Seems that “free” is a better business model in many places than “pay” after all.
Cities and community development organizations across the country have embraced free Wi-Fi to boost economic development and attract visitors to downtown areas. A handful of small airports in the shadow of large hubs offer free Wi-Fi to attract travelers. And Verizon Communications Inc. in New York offers Wi-Fi free of charge to its Internet service subscribers to distinguish itself from its cable-modem rivals.
Operators of free Wi-Fi hot spots are capitalizing on the boom market in Wi-Fi-enabled notebook and handheld computers. Gemma Paulo, an analyst at In-Stat/MDR in Scottsdale, Ariz., estimates that shipments of notebooks equipped with industry-standard 802.11b chips or cards–which offer a raw data rate of 11Mbit/sec. at a range of 100 feet indoors and 300 feet outdoors–will hit 16 million this year.
Devices, Network 802.11, free, mobileTech, muni wi-fi, municipal network, wi-fi
The Japanese, always vanguards in technology design and adoption, are modeling the curve on lower cost, transitional technology (for that truly mobile experience).
Japanese cell phone service provider NTT DoCoMo is urging its handset suppliers to build Linux-based cell phones, a milestone for the operating system’s acceptance by the wireless industry.
In related news, as reported by a Japanese colleague:
Yesterday’s news from Japan : DoCoMo will start dual mode services both 3G FOMA and wireless LAN VoIP mobile from spring next year. People can talk through VoIP when you are in the area of wireless LAN as an extention call. Outside of LAN, it connects to 3G FOMA network automatically. DoCoMo will try to extend the waiting mode life time as IEEE802.11b needs more battery than FOMA from here after to be applied to newer terminal line up.
Devices 3G, 802.11, cell phone, Japan, Linux, mobile, mobileTech
Coming together? What will they think of next?
New wireless networking chips for handheld devices are giving second life to the 802.11b standard and could soon test the theory that Wi-Fi and cellular data services can work hand in hand rather than compete.
Broadcom and Royal Philips Electronics have developed a chip that does wireless networking on portables, including phones. Combining is a good thing:
Wi-Fi delivers large amounts of bandwidth over short range, while cellular data networks deliver relatively small amounts of bandwidth over a wide range. As a result, each can compensate for the shortcomings of the other.
Devices, Network 3G, 802.11, cell phone, chip, data, mobileTech, SOHO Nets, wi-fi, wireless