Author: Eliza Villarino

Anvil Technologies performed a demonstration of its Wi-Fi-supported emergency communications system at the Aldwych subway station in central London. The event took place a year after the London subway bombings, to which the response was considered generally efficient except for the difficulty of communication among the first responder groups. The Canadian wireless systems integrator worked...

With 12,000 comments to review, the earliest date that the IEEE Task Group E in the 802.11 Working Group can come out with a 2.0 draft on Draft-N chips is sometime in January 2007, and not next month as many had looked forward to. The panel had already tackled half of the comments as part...

Like other U.S. cities, Boston is hoping to build a citywide Wi-Fi network. The goal is to reduce broadband fees in the area from around $35 to $15 per month. Pamela Reeve, former Lightbridge CEO and a member of Boston's Wireless Task Force, is in charge of establishing a not-for-profit agency that will manage the...

Socket Communications unveiled its new SDIO (Secure Digital Input/Output) card that allows for 802.11g wireless LAN connectivity in Windows-supported mobile devices. The Go Wi-Fi! P300 card, which comes with Wi-Fi Companion connectivity and management software, is sold for $99. The Socket's website provides a list of devices that are compatible with this new card. Via...

The future of WiMax remains in doubt, as per remarks by analysts. Craig Mathias of research firm Farpoint Group said "there's just no infrastructure supporting WiMAX today." In addition, "converged Wi-Fi and cellular networks also give the best of both worlds." Dave Park, BelAir Networks' vice president of product development, believes the situation is a...

At the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas, two researchers showed how criminals can attack laptops due to a flaw in WiFi card software. David Maynor of SecureWorks and independent researcher Jon Ellch, aka Johnny Cache, opted for a video presentation instead of a live demo so as not to provide too much information...

The LiftPort Group is conducting a two-month test to find out if a balloon-based platform can act as a reliable relay of Internet signals in remote regions. The company's president, Michael Laine, said the Federal Aviation Administration issued a waiver for the trial, which began last week in a rural area near Poulsbo on western...

The Wireless Silicon Valley Task Force has chosen MetroFi Inc., VeriLAN Event Services Inc. and Silicon Valley Metro Connect Team to go through the next round of negotiations concerning a plan to provide wireless Internet coverage in the area. Seth Fearey, chief operating officer of the Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network, which assisted in the...

Green Wi-Fi is looking to develop cheap solar-powered WiFi networks in the hope of bridging the digital divide in developing countries. The non-profit group has obtained funding from the One Laptop Per Child initiative to enable it to build and test prototype nodes, each of which will include a battery-powered router and a solar panel...

Intel has discovered flaws in its Centrino's wireless technology that could make laptops hosting it susceptible to security attacks such as worms. The vulnerabilities, according to a statement by the company, "exist in the Microsoft Windows drivers for the Intel 2200BG and 2915ABG PRO/Wireless Network Connection Hardware because of the way that they currently handle...

Caltrain declared its trial of uninterrupted wireless Internet access on one of its trains a success. The test forms part of the transit agency's plan to offer free wireless Internet service on all its trains within a year. Upgraded service, according to Caltrain spokeswoman Rita Haskin, will be available for a fee. The project will...

According to a new study by Juniper Research, Mobile WiMax subscribers will exceed 21 million by 2012, a great leap from next year's estimate of 1.7 million. The analyst firm ascribed the trend to the growing preference for the technology over its fixed counterpart as well as the relative inexpensiveness of deploying mobile WiMax base...

The city of Burbank in California is one of the many the cities in the U.S. that currently offer free WiFi service to residents and visitors. The downtown area has 12 access points and is expected to have nine more in the coming months. Getting a strong-enough signal, however, is very difficult, with the highest...

The Florida Department of Transportation plans to offer free WiFi service to traveling motorists. Under the project, 50 to 60 Wi-Fi hotspots will be placed at various sites -- rest stops, turnpike plazas, welcome centers and truck weigh stations -- on interstate 95 and other major highways in the state. The plan also involves installing...

UK's largest free municipal wireless network, Norfolk Open Link, is now up and running. Kurt Frary, Open Link project manager for Norfolk County Council, claimed that the pilot system is "the first network of its type to tackle both urban and rural areas at once." The East of England Development Agency financed the project, whose...