Eric Griffith

San Francisco-based company Sputnik announced an upgrade to its Control Center software this week. Version 3.0 will include new features to help in monitoring and controlling Sputnik’s Linux-based access points deployed for public access, particularly in the area of scalability. However, instead of putting all the work on wireless ISPs to install the software and […]

3Com of Marlborough, Mass., today announced a quartet of new products for different areas of the Wi-Fi market. For business travelers, the company is shipping the OfficeConnect Wireless 54Mbps 11g Travel Router, which will sell for $89.99. Similar to other “pocket” APs out from D-Link and Apple, 3Com’s Neal Kaufman, a senior director of 3Com’s […]

Radio Frequency identification, or RFID , a high-tech solution to replace barcodes as the number one way to track assets and automatically collect data in any organization, is quickly taking on a life of its own as companies like Wal-Mart begin using it to make sure no widgets are misplaced. RFID is growing in importance, […]

Today, Holtsville, N.Y.-based Symbol Technologies and WLAN equipment-making rival Proxim of Sunnyvale, Calif., announced a settlement and partnership deal bringing to a conclusion the company’s patent lawsuits of the last few years. In September 2003, Symbol won a jury award in a patent infringement case against Proxim over technologies used in 802.11 and 802.11b products. […]

As of today, the Wi-Fi Alliance — the non-profit industry consortium that tests and certifies wireless LAN products for interoperability — is adding a new test that it hopes will push “rapid adoption of Wi-Fi networking in consumer electronic devices such as DVD players and televisions,” according to their prepared statement. Called WMM (short for […]

With broadband use now overtaking the number of dial-up Internet connections in the United States — Nielsen/NetRatings said as of July that 63 million people at home use broadband, making up 51% of the market — it would seem that the time for a Wi-Fi router that specifically targets dial-up use would have passed. Rudy […]

The WiMax Forum — the industry group that will promote interoperability between future IEEE 802.16-based products that do long-range wireless connections — has gained some big names recently. Last week, outlets like Unstrung.com and DigiTimes reported that Cisco Systems has joined the forum, or at least applied to do so. Today, Nortel Networks also announced […]

Aruba Wireless of San Jose, Calif., today announced new products and partnerships to take advantage of an architecture which it says will keep enterprise WLAN costs down while increasing performance. Called Wireless Grid, the system would use more access points with fewer users per AP (rather than trying to space out APs and maximize the […]

Home routers have long been only useful to computers, acting as a “splitter” for the broadband connection (DSL or cable modem) so it can be shared by all the PCs. Soon, however, you’ll be able to plug in your phone and use that same broadband connection to make cheap phone calls. Today, two of the […]

T-Mobile Hotspot’s network of public venues with Wi-Fi is extensive, and its partners are big names you’ve probably heard of (Starbucks, FedEx Kinko’s, Borders Books). However, until recently, the company didn’t make a big thrust at enterprise employees — unless you count its many airport lounge locations. That’s all changed this summer, as the company […]

iPass , an aggregator of hotspots for business users, is moving beyond the hotels, cafes, and even its many airports with wireless connections, to tackling the sky itself. The latest provider of high-speed Wi-Fi to join the iPass footprint is Connexion by Boeing. A unit of the Boeing Company , Connexion uses satellite backhaul to […]

Until the hotspot business treats roaming like the cell phone business does, whoever has the largest footprint of public access venues will still have the advantage — the selling point for picking one provider over another — especially for business-oriented hotspot aggregators like GoRemote and iPass. Add to that mix a company like Infonet Services […]