Meraki Networks is testing a WiFi network that aims to provide affordable wireless Internet connection. In several neighborhoods, the Mountain View, California-based start-up has installed $49 boxes, which is equipped with a Wi-Fi router-on-a-chip and software that supports a “mesh network”. This network redirects signals when boxes are removed or added and when network performance… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Deployment
Global Mobile Connections To Pass Three Billion In 2007, Says Wireless Intelligence
Research firm Wireless Intelligence predicted that cellular connections will grow to 3 billion by the end of 2007, up by half a billion from September 2006. Asia-Pacific would account for most of the increase, with India, Pakistan and Bangladesh seeing the fastest growth rate. About 75 percent of Western Europe, according to the firm, will… Continue Reading
WiMAX IPOs Are On The Way
Clearwire and NextWave plan to go public by early 2007 and have already filed their S-1 forms with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Both companies, which are beset by losses, are banking on WiMax for future profitability. Clearwire already secured backing from chip manufacturer and WiMax champion Intel and cell phone maker Motorola for its… Continue Reading
Wi-Fi Cities May Fail To Realise Potential
BT’s Wireless City initiative hopes to make wireless data access pervasive in large U.K. cities such as Newcastle and Birmingham initially as well as six other city centers in the future. The program is limited to allowing local government employees and citizens access to local government content such as tourism information. It does not include… Continue Reading
Cohda Tests Enhanced Wi-Fi In Australian City
Cohda Wireless is testing how OFDM technology can improve both unlicensed wireless and licensed public-safety networks. The Australian municipal Wi-Fi startup, which emerged from the University of South Australia’s Institute for Telecommunications Research, expects the technology to support applications for police and fire networks such as automatic vehicle location tracking, voice-over-Internet Protocol, teleconferencing and distribution… Continue Reading
Clearwire Pushes WiMAX to The Big Time
Clearwire finally rolled out its WiMax service and has chosen Seattle for this maiden venture. The company, which owns a license on 2.5 GHz spectrum, uses a proprietary “pre-WiMax” technology instead of the IEEE 802.16 standard that is equated with the term, for the network. The service offers 768 kbps downlink/256 kbps uplink speeds under… Continue Reading
NZ Wireless Has Cash For WiMax Network
Wireless Internet provider NZ Wireless revealed it has earmarked tens of millions of dollars to develop a WiMax network with spectrum that the New Zealand government plans to auction next year. According to NZ Wireless managing director Chris Aspros, the company, which recently rolled out its first WiMax networks in Wellington, obtained funding from a… Continue Reading
WiMAX To Roll Out In India
Starting January 2007, broadband subscribers of Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) will get an upgrade in their connection — speeds will go up from 256 kilobits per second to 2 megabits per second. India’s national telecommunications carrier has no intention to charge more for the service; thus the tariff will remain at 250 rupees (or a… Continue Reading
Holiday Decorations vs. Wi-Fi Networks
A study by wireless networking firm AirMagnet indicates that holiday decorations cause interference to indoor Wi-Fi network. It found out that tinsels and Christmas wreaths can reduce WiFi signal strength by 25 percent. Chia-Chee Kuan, AirMagnet’s CTO and vice president of engineering, said the introduction of new elements in a corporate environment has potential serious… Continue Reading
S.F. Nears WiFi Deal
Contract negotiations over a citywide wireless network in San Francisco is set to wrap up soon, according Chris Vein, who heads the city’s technology office. The city has already selected the joint venture of Google and Earthlink for the multi-million-dollar project. Under the deal, Earthlink will build and manage the 50-square-mile network, which will hold… Continue Reading
WiMAX May Challenge Asia 3G ‘In Five Years’
Analysts believe it will take another five years for WiMax to challenge 3G in the Asia Pacific region. According to In-Stat analyst Bryan Wang, WiMax users will grow to 14 million by 2011. This is just about 8 percent of the Asian 3G market by that time, as per the prediction of Frost & Sullivan… Continue Reading
Leicester Square To Become A Free WiFi Zone
Visitors to Leicester Square can now access the Internet wirelessly for free. The London tourist spot now hosts an 8 Mbit/s line but those connecting to it must be aware of the zone’s fair use clause, i.e., no one person should tap all the bandwidth at once. According to Phil Ryan of the PR and… Continue Reading
Vodacom Buys Stake In WiFi Firm
Vodacom is buying a 26 percent stake in G-Mobile Holdings, a company that owns WiFi and broadband provider WirelessG. In a statement, the leading cellphone operator in South Africa said it considers “WiFi as an ideal complement to its 3G HSDPA mobile broadband services as it provides an alternative means of connectivity.” It did not… Continue Reading
Mobile WiMax To Be Rolled Out In China Next Year
Samsung Electronics disclosed that it has already sold mobile WiMax equipment to a client in China and will provide similar equipment to another. Hwan Woo Chung, a vice president at Samsung’s Mobile WiMax Group, declined to state the clients’ names and just told delegates to a conference in Singapore to “see early next year what… Continue Reading
S.F. Should Not Rush Free Wi-Fi Deal
Jake McGoldrick, a supervisor for San Francisco’s First District, raised concerns over the city’s deal with EarthLink and Google to build a citywide Wi-Fi network. He cited a report by a Budget Analyst for the Board of Supervisors recommending that the city explore several business models. This move, the report said, “would encourage creativity and… Continue Reading