Author: Wayne Slavin

Eyebrows shot up recently when Broadcom Corp. announced sampling of an Intensi-fi chip set for 802.11n. Analysts were again taken aback three days later, when Atheros Communications Inc. announced its XSpan AR5008 family for the same standard. Via [commsdesign.com]

Wi-Fi startup Xirrus raised an undisclosed amount of venture financing from Microsoft-backer David Marquardt Monday to help accelerate sales of its multifunction access point for businesses. Via [redherring.com]

The test is a disaster for the IEEE and 802.11n. The good news is that the new Wi-Fi MIMO technology really does reach throughput speeds of 100Mbps. The bad news: it utterly crushed a neighbouring network that used standard 802.11g. Via [theregister.co.uk]

The success of WiMAX wireless broadband will be decided by government determination to provide broadband access for all, according to the co-founder of Qualcomm, Dr Andrew Viterbi. Via [electronicsweekly.com]

Google has met with mobile gear vendors including Motorola and Sony to explore how their devices might be able to take advantage of municipal Wi-Fi networks, an executive of the search company said Thursday. Via [networkworld.com]

Nokia is holding fire on mobile WiMax until 2008 as it waits for the market to develop. Via [vnunet.com]

Last Thursday, the IEEE announced that the 802.11n Task Group (TGn) had approved a draft of what may be the most significant new standard to come out of IEEE in the past 10 years. Based largely on a specification developed by the Enhanced Wireless Consortium (EWC), an association of leading network silicon developers, the proposal,...

Companies should stay away from next-generation Wi-Fi equipment described as 802.11n compliant, Gartner has warned. Via [vnunet.com]

A group of Silicon Valley civic and business leaders don't think the high-tech center is connected enough, so they are looking to build a regionwide wireless networks. Via [news.com.com]

Zigbee products will hit the market this year and a lack of interoperability testing of the technology will not be a problem, according to Freescale Semiconductor. Via [electronicsweekly.com]

The IEEE has abandoned its effort to create a UWB standard, but has agreed on a draft for the next generation of WiFi, 802.11n. The conventional wisdom is that this week's events are great news for Wi-Fi, and a disaster for Ultra-Wide Band, UWB, and by association, Bluetooth. In fact, the exact opposite is likely...

London has lost its place as the city with the most Wi-Fi hotspots, according to a recent survey. Via [vnunet.com]

The Open Base Station Architecture Initiative, (OBSAI) reports that nearly one third of its members actively work with WiMAX technology and that the initiative's WiMAX integration will be completed soon. Via [eetuk.com]

Consumers won't wait to snap up new, faster wireless LAN gear this year, research company Dell'Oro Group said Tuesday, even though the IEEE 802.11n standard responsible for the latest breakthrough probably won't be signed off on until 2007. Via [pcworld.com]

While WiMax has the strong backing of Intel, the study noted that another type of wireless broadband, FLASH-OFDM, is now owned by Qualcomm and is based on another standard. Via [informationweek.com]