Author: Eliza Villarino

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...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Camden and Gloucester Counties in New Jersey are considering deploying a two-county WiFi zone that would serve over 800,000 people. Politicians from both counties believe building a wireless network makes sense because of the need and their geography, which is characterized by flat land without many big buildings interfering with wireless signals. Louis Capelli Jr.,...

Boeing has dropped its plans to provide in-flight entertainment on its 787 "Dreamliner", citing network weight and spectrum issues. According to company spokeswoman Lori Gunter, installation of the wireless network means additional 200 pounds per plane, or four times heavier than a wired network. Boeing also failed to get authorization to tap certain wireless bands...

Cingular Wireless reported that its profits trebled in the fourth quarter of 2006. Profits for the said period amounted to $782 million or $578 million more than the previous year. Revenues also went up by 10 percent, from $8.85 billion to $9.76 billion. The company, the largest wireless carrier in the U.S., said its subscribers...

Seagate Technology has rolled out a pocket-sized 10GB to 20GB hard drive that can store and trade digital files between mobile phones, PCs and other mobile platforms through Bluetooth or WiFi connection. The company expects to make the Digital Audio Video Experience (DAVE) available to telecommunications carriers and mobile phone manufacturers in the second quarter...