Ed Sutherland

India-based outsourcing giant Wipro Technologies is the latest company seeking certification of Wi-Fi products which never will appear on store shelves. The move is a trend fueled by increased competitiveness, acknowledges Frank Hanzlik, Wi-Fi Alliance general manager. In April, the nonprofit industry group certified Wipro Technology’s proprietary FireFly platform used to test its 802.11a silicon […]

Enterprises seeking answers on how best to integrate voice and video with existing wireless data networks should be encouraged by results released last week of the first-ever wireless “triple play” tests. After testing products from 35 different Wi-Fi vendors, the University of New Hampshire’s InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) announced that while some technical issues remain, there […]

Wi-Fi client devices, such as a laptop computer, will connect to the strongest available signal. But when the signal degrades and data packets begin dropping, the client device sends out a SOS on all channels looking for another access point, a process that could take as long as one second. In other words: sometimes the […]

Sandersville, Ga., isn’t your typical sleepy town of the American South. Not only is it home to the governor, it is also a telecom-savvy city with a municipally-owned fixed wireless network — and now it can add a Wi-Fi-enabled police force to its list of innovations. Less than a year after the non-line-of-sight network was […]

As interest grows in extending the reach (802.16/WiMax) and speed (802.11n) of wireless networking, so does the intensity of a long-running battle over who will profit from the new technology. An interesting sub-plot to the story of when the proposals become actual IEEE-endorsed protocols is a recently-renewed debate over patents. In a rare demonstration of […]

With the IEEE Atlanta Plenary Session over, news of progress on UWB and the high-speed 802.11n could overshadow a potential civil war between two factions scrambling to control what has been described as the nirvana of wireless spectrum. It’s almost fitting that a war of words between the somewhat beleaguered 802.16 (WiMax) proposal and the […]

Clouds may be on the horizon for high-profile broadband wireless startup Clearwire Corp. Led by cellphone mogul Craig McCaw, the Kirkland, Wash.-based Clearwire is weathering a storm of criticism over its policy limiting subscriber access to VoIP. Following its $100 million deal with Bell Canada providing U.S. customers WiMax-based private label VoIP, Clearwire is now […]

As an increasing number of enterprises investigate VoIP to combat rising telecommunications costs, migration to IP telephony will not be a wholesale swap of current PBX installations, say some experts. Rather, VoIP’s appearance in enterprises will be a gradual transition. Introduction of VoIP in enterprises typically happens in stages, according to ABI Research analyst Michael […]

For traditional cellular carriers and wired broadband providers, the writing is on the wall: the future lies in convergence with wireless packet-based technology. The creation of a working group to study the best way to bring together the parties is just the latest sign of change. The goal of the Wireless Wireline Convergence Working Group, […]

Combine historic Venice, Italy with millions of automobiles and you have the perfect test of Wi-Fi-based RFID. San Mateo, Calif-based AeroScout accepted the challenge to bring a confusing vehicle tracking system into the wireless future. While vehicles for locals are banned from Venice in favor of gondoliers moving along watery canals, the ancient city still […]

Although WiMax is still months away from its official inauguration, numerous wireless broadband proponents are announcing products. Many won’t see the light of day until at least mid-2005. The WiMax Forum, a wireless broadband industry group similar to the Wi-Fi Forum, says it won’t be able to certify products for interoperability until June or July. […]

Anyone who has ever tried to locate his car in a crowded parking lot could use AeroScout’s new Visibility System. The San Mateo, Calif.-based company’s wireless tracking system is being deployed in a 60-acre shipping yard. American Port Services of Savannah, Ga., plans to use the AeroScout Visibility System to track 1,000 trailers headed for […]