Eric Griffith

Hotspot “wholesaler” Cometa Networks was supposed to have opened up a few thousand hotspots by now. However, with actual numbers falling far short of previously announced plans, the company has adopted a “year-by-year” approach to installing its public access Wi-Fi network. Now, in what the company is touting as the “initiation of its national rollout […]

Remote broadband connectivity for enterprise users is usually up to the corporation’s IT staff to provide, and more and more are turning to subscription services such as those of GRIC or iPass. They allow users to get access back to the corporate network in a number of ways, including dial-up, Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Fiberlink of […]

Need to find a Wi-Fi signal but hate having to boot up the laptop to do it? PCTEL feels your pain. The Chicago-based company, which makes the Segue Roaming Client software that allows computers to connect to available Wi-Fi and cellular networks, is working with hardware designer Chrysalis Development to create a Wi-Fi finder device […]

Wi-Fi chipmaker Agere Systems of Allentown, Pa., is again teaming up with network processor and platform designer Ubicom of Mountain View, Calif. to create reference designs for future 802.11a/b/g products suitable for SOHOs and SMBs. “About a year ago we did an announcement with our 11b and their 2000 series [processor],” says Frans Frielink, director […]

This week, two London-based companies introduced a prepaid card for long-distance calls and Internet access. The service, called simplifi, is from phone card provider IDT Europe (a division of IDT Telecom ) and WISP Connect Spot. The voice calls use discounted rates IDT can get around the world; the Internet access and Wi-Fi aspect comes […]

Planet3 Wireless, developers of the curriculum and tests for the Certified Wireless Network Professional (CWNP) training and certification program, has introduced some changes with an eye toward streamlining and providing information for the increased number of network professionals turning to WLAN switch products. Kevin Sandlin, CEO and cofounder of the company, says Planet3 will take […]

Back in August 2003, four major wireless carriers in Canada– Bell Canada, Telus Mobility, Rogers AT&T Wireless, Microcell Solutions — announced plans to allow roaming on each other’s hotspot networks. This week, the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), Canada’s version of the CTIA in the U.S., announced that the agreement between the four companies has […]

As municipalities around the world start to look at wireless technology to support first responders in the field, a self-healing/configuring mesh topology is always a contender due to its simplicity and low cost. One mesh provider, PacketHop of Belmont, Calif., thinks it will see a lot of initial success with a specific target: homeland security. […]

Even though it is rated the No. 2 player in the home and SOHO wireless LAN market by both Synergy Research Group and Dell’orro Group, D-Link of Fountain Valley, Calif., is planning to branch out of that comfortable niche with a major foray into wireless products for the enterprise (they’ve introduced a few business class […]

Two research firms this week released information gleaned in surveys of American consumers that points to overall increased awareness of Wi-Fi and the productivity gains wireless networking brings. A survey of 1,000 people by New York-based Ipsos-Insight reveals that media attention of Wi-Fi has made enough of an impact that 59 percent of Americans over […]

Pronto Networks of Pleasanton, Calif., a provider of operational support systems (OSS) for hotspots, is trying to get hardware makers to work directly with its system. And the hardware makers are responding. The company took the wraps off a program that Doug Hilmes, vice president of business development, calls “Pronto Compatible.” It’s a program to […]

Last year there was a rush of startup wireless LAN “switch” vendors looking to get to market with their hardware. Now many are looking to beef up their offerings with more advanced security solutions by partnering with third-party security and authentication vendors. Over the last week, Legra Systems, Chantry Networks and Aruba Networks have all […]