Author: Eliza Villarino

Two companies are releasing wireless chipsets that will enable consumers to share videos and other entertainment wirelessly. Airgo Networks will supply high-speed wireless chips to ST Microelectronics and Caton Overseas, a German manufacturer of set-top boxes for various satellite and cable TV companies. Texas Instruments will offer wireless chips for portable consumer gadgets such as...

A plan to develop a citywide wireless network is moving forward in New Orleans and Philadelphia. The New Orleans City Council as well as Philadelphia mayor John Street gave their consent to begin the project, which will be managed by EarthLink. The company said access to the New Orleans network at speeds of up to...

Twenty-one telecommunications operators from 15 nations in Asia, America and Europe are collaborating to create a global "roaming belt" for WiBro Mobile WiMax service, according to KT Corp. The Korean firm, which is spearheading the initiative, and the group met recently for the maiden session of the WiBro Mobile WiMax Community. KT refused to state...

The largest WiMax network to date is due to begin operations in Pakistan, according to Motorola. The firm will supply 802.16e-based MOTOwi4 network to the country's Wateen Telecom and expects a million subscribers to initially avail of the service. Via [news.zdnet.co.uk]

Startup company M2Z Networks plans to offer free wireless access with speeds at 384 Kbps across the U.S. once it secures a license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). For higher speeds, users will have to pay a fee, five percent of which will go the government, according to the firm's application to FCC. To...

The growing demand for Wi-Fi technology led to a dramatic rise in sales of Wi-FI equipment in the U.K. over the past year. According to a new study by analyst firm GfK, sales of wireless routers totaled £24 million, or an increase of 108 percent from the first quarter of 2005 to the same period...

BT Group intends to install a network of Wi-Fi hotspots in 12 U.K. cities, including Leeds, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Cardiff and London's Westminster area, by the end of 2006. Steve Andrews, BT's chief of converged services, clarified that the plan only constitutes the first phase and that the company expects to expand its coverage. In...

Hewlett-Packard is introducing a Wi-Fi switch module for its ProCurve 5300 edge switch. The company believes its Wireless Edge Services Module (WESM) is more tightly integrated than the Wi-Fi Services Module (WISM) from rival Cisco. HP plans to sell WESM, which will initially include support for 12 access points or "Radio Ports", for 3,699 euros...

Google is working with Nokia to launch a handheld device that will include Google's instant messenger and Internet calling service called Google Talk. The plan envisions users to tap a wireless Internet network instead of cellular signals to make calls. The service will be restricted to people with Google Talk on their PCs or Nokia...

Researchers at Imperial College, London have launched a project called MEMBRANE (Multi-Element Multihop Backhaul Reconfigurable Antenna Network), which seeks to come out with an integrated set of antennae and wireless networking technologies. The $3.6 million project is supported by Intel, Lucent Technologies and Telefonica as well as the European Commission. The group hopes to have...

Silex Technology unveiled a new device that will require fingerprint identification to gain access to a WiFi network. According to a Silex spokesman, the Silex Bio-NetGuard will likely be sold for $499. It contains a Fujitsu MBF200 fingerprint sensor, which when touched, will prompt the device to scour its database of 27,000 unique fingerprint key...

Nortel and Russian Internet service provider Golden Telecom have joined forces to establish a Wi-Fi mesh network in Moscow. The network, according to the companies, will utilize 5,000 Nortel-supplied access points to service some 3.9 million homes in the city. The partners assured that the network will be secure and can support VoIP and location-based...

Google will not join the competition for the establishment of a Wi-Fi Silicon Valley in San Francisco. Google spokeswoman Megan Quinn said the company has no intention to respond to a request for proprosals for the $200 million project, which is due on June 30. The Wireless Silicon Valley Task Force is looking for one...

A Philadelphia city council committee gave its nod to a WiFi project that will see Earthlink's equipment installed on 4,000 city-owned utility poles. The full city council is set to vote on May 11 and the decision is expected to favor the project. Once it gets the final approval, Earthlink plans to start construction a...

AirMagnet is offering a new network analysis tool to help network managers identify voice problems over wireless networks. The AirMagnet VoFi Analyzer can detect these problems in real time, keep track of voice traffic from one device to another, and determine if both wireless APs and wire-side devices are configured just right. The company said...