Broadcom has unveiled BCM4325, a chip that supports WiFi, Bluetooth and FM radio. With the use of proprietary “InConcert” algorithms, the chip is able to address interference issues between Bluetooth and WiFi. Such problems normally happen in the past when radios operate in the same spectrum — both Bluetooth and WiFi tap the 2.4GHz band.… Continue Reading
Skyriver Receives Funding
Skyriver Communications and Comerica Bank have signed an agreement giving the former both a working capital line of credit and equipment financing line. The wireless broadband service provider plans to use the money to finance its plans to expand its coverage into Los Angeles and Orange County and upgrade its existing network using next generation… Continue Reading
NTT DoCoMo Achieves World’s First 5Gbps Packet Transmission In 4G Field Experiment
NTT DoCoMo announced that its field experiment of fourth-generation radio access in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture on December 25, 2006 saw the attainment of a maximum packet transmission rate of about 5Gbps in the downlink using 100MHz frequency bandwidth to a 10km/h mobile station. The development followed the company’s decision to increase the number of MIMO… Continue Reading
Boingo Launches Worldwide Wi-Fi Service For Mobile Phones And Devices
Boingo Wireless has launched its new global Wi-Fi service for mobile phones and devices. Boingo Mobile, which the company offers for a monthly flat rate of $7.95, allows users to get high-speed Internet connection in airports, hotels, restaurants and convention centers across the globe. The service can run with Windows Mobile 5.0-based Smartphones or Pocket… Continue Reading
Intel Eases Wi-Fi Interference From 802.11n Chips
Michael Chen, Intel’s Asia-Pacific director of embedded sales group, clarified that the new 802.11n Centrino chips will not support channel bonding if they run on the 2.4GHz spectrum. The said function involves using two channels in the WiFi spectrum to enable higher data transmission, as compared to current WiFi technologies that employ only one channel.… Continue Reading
Beginner’s Guide To Internet Phoning
There are several ways to make calls online. Vonage allows unlimited calls from anywhere in the U.S. to Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Britain for a monthly fee of $25. But a user needs to plug an existing home telephone handset into a little adapter box — worth $60 after rebate — and plug… Continue Reading
Ignore The Skype Hype
People who find using Skype to contact landline or mobile phones expensive can use other methods to save on call fees. Both parties can call for free if they have instant messaging applications such as MSN Messenger downloaded on their computers, plus a headset with microphone. Jajah.com, meanwhile, allows anyone from North America, Australasia and… Continue Reading
Atheros Sinks Teeth Into Bluetooth
Atheros has rolled out the new Atheros AR3011, the company’s first Radio-on-Chip for Mobile (ROCm) product for shorter-range wireless technology, which is normally used in cell phones. But the chip, according to Srinivas Pattamatta, senior product marketing manager for mobile and embedded products at Atheros, is intended primarily for PCs and not mobile handsets. Pattamatta… Continue Reading
Residential VoIP Users To Hit 267m By 2012
A new study shows that users of residential VoIP service will reach 267 million by 2012. ABI Research principal broadband analyst Michael Arden said major regions will see differing trends in this area. Competition between cable operators and telcos, according to Arden, will spur the growth in the U.S., while European carriers are expected to… Continue Reading
Firms May Find 802.11n Kit Too Hot To Handle
With the release of the Next-Gen Wireless-N component for Centrino laptops, Intel became the latest company to unveil a product supporting IEEE 802.11n. Other vendors like Asus, Belkin, Buffalo, D-Link and Netgear have also shipped 802.11n hardware, which would require a firmware upgrade to be fully consistent with the specification when it is ratified. A… Continue Reading
SIPphone: Gizmo Plug-in A Faster Route To VoIP
It is now possible to make VoIP calls without having to use a traditional software client. This can be done via SIPphone’s Gizmo Project, a downloadable flash plug-in that enables users anywhere in the world to call most landline or mobile phones via any Internet browser. Everyday, Gizmo users get five minutes of free calling… Continue Reading
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
Qualcomm, Under Legal Attack, Defends Business As Wireless Innovator
Qualcomm expects its legal costs to double this year to $200 million amid a slew of lawsuits from firms accusing it of charging unjust fees for the use of its patented technologies. The company owns 1,900 patents in the U.S. for code division multiple access (CDMA), a wireless standard that is crucial for cell phones… Continue Reading
RuBee Seen As Alternative Protocol To RFID
The IEEE working group for RuBee (IEEE 1902.1) is due to meet in Boston on February 20. RuBee, a wireless networking protocol deemed as an alternative to RFID, is expected to enable networks to run on long wavelengths and cover thousands of radio tags working below 450 kHz. It allows for real-time inventory under harsh… Continue Reading
Wireless Internet For All, Without The Towers
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