Author: Wayne Slavin

Bluetooth -- a short-range wireless technology -- is finally coming of age. Via [mercurynews.com]

Baggage handlers are moving more than your bags at Toronto's Pearson International Airport these days. They're also moving megabytes worth of information about them. Via [globetechnology.com]

BT has added BT Mobile business subscribers to the list of customers to whom it is offering Wi-Fi access for a pound a month. Via [theregister.co.uk]

Wireless telecommunications passed a milestone of sorts this fall, with spending on wireless outpacing wired solutions for the first time, according to a study from TNS Telecoms. While the study did not address Wi-Fi directly, its authors say the wireless-spending numbers could have positive implications for the world of WLAN. Via [internetnews.com]

SBC Communications has teamed with Barnes & Noble and Avis Rent A Car System to expand its FreedomLink Wi-Fi service offering. In separate deals, Barnes & Noble now is offering SBC wireless access at several hundred bookstores across the United States, while Avis has agreed to make the service available at up to 88 Avis...

Philadelphia's plan to offer inexpensive wireless Internet as a municipal service - the most ambitious yet by a major U.S. city - has collided with commercial interests including the local phone company, Verizon Communications Inc. Via [seattlepi.nwsource.com]

Revenue for WiFi hardware has grown 9% in the past year, with WiFi switches up 80%, according to a report by Infonetics Research. Cisco remains the top seller of WLAN hardware, with 16% of the market, and had a second consecutive $100-million-plus quarter, the report said. Linksys, which is owned by Cisco, was in second...

Two new Wi-Fi products from Broadcom, a client chipset and a router system-on-a-chip, utilize the company's new BroadRange signal processing technology, which can boost the coverage area of broadband wireless systems by as much as 50 percent, Broadcom says. Via [newsfactor.com]

Wireless technology will increasingly be used for mission critical solutions and provide greater channel opportunities as standards continue to be ratified, according to Cisco's senior manager of wireless mobility, Ann Sun. Via [arnnet.com.au]

You thought spyware slowed you down? Try Wi-Fi congestion. But with mesh networking, you can win the battle for bandwidth. Via [eweek.com]

Symbol has upgraded its WS-2000 branch switch system, with new access points that include 802.11g, as well as the 802.11a/b standards. The product also supports 802.11i security and other standards. Via [techworld.com]

Broadcom today unveiled two wireless Lan chipsets which it claims allow Wi-Fi users to maintain high speed wireless connections at distances up to 50 per cent greater than previous offerings. Via [vnunet.com]

Dennis Tseng is an avid Web surfer who loves to hang out in Taipei's upmarket Hsinyi district, where wireless Internet access is freely available to all. Via [olympics.reuters.com]

There's never a dull moment. Just when wireless switches start to sell in significant numbers, the makers start a fight. The leading player claims the start-ups have "jumped on the bandwagon" with inferior technology, while the start-ups say that's just the old guard getting huffy. Via [techworld.com]

Broadcom Corp. will introduce two new 802.11g radio chip sets designed to extend access point range. Via [eweek.com]