Author: Wayne Slavin

Fourteen mobile phone makers, telcos and others announced their intention to publish specifications that they claim will allow 802.11-equipped handsets to make calls via Wi-Fi hotspots. Via [theregister.co.uk]

Throughout the underground internet the last few months, everyone has been whispering the same magic word: ‘wardrive’. No, not warp-drive, like in the Star-Trek series, the ‘engine’ that allows to travel faster than the speed of light. Wardrive. Via [dmeurope.com]

Belkin's Wireless Pre-N router offers enhanced range and throughput in advance of the upcoming 802.11n standard. However, it could be rendered obsolete when the specification is finally ratified. Via [reviews.zdnet.co.uk]

Newbury Networks' war drive found thousands of unsecured access points around Madison Square Garden, even though the GOP had declared its convention a Wi-Fi free zone. Via [informationweek.com]

The complexity involved in adding mobility to the 802.16 WiMAX wide area networking standard has caught out some developers, according to one U.K. firm. Via [reed-electronics.com]

Network hardware manufacturer D-Link announced yesterday the D-Link AirPremier Access Point DWL-2200AP, an 802.11g access point that delivers instant Power over Ethernet (PoE) for remote placements where power outlets are not within reach. Via [zdnet.com.com]

Next week, the Wi-Fi Alliance will release Wi-Fi Multimedia, or WMM, an interim standard that will provide early quality-of-service functionality for multimedia equipment based on the emerging 802.11e specification. Via [eweek.com]

The grand city of Philadelphia unveiled today an ambitious plan to coat the city with Wi-Fi, using a mix of public and private funds to provide the service. Via [theregister.co.uk]

The U.S. government is encouraging Japan to drop a proposal to tax users of Wi-Fi devices and high-bandwidth wireless local area networks. Doing so, it claims, would result in dampening demand and slowing development of wireless Internet services. Via [internetnews.com]

Capable of zapping data many times faster than the common home networking technology, ultrawideband is moving closer to commercial reality. Now there's just that pesky fight over standards to resolve. Via [technologyreview.com]

The first products certified to support Wi-Fi Protected Access 2, the latest wireless security technology, were announced by the Wi-Fi Alliance on Wednesday. Via [zdnet.com.com]

Wi-Fi equipment developer Sputnik is providing software and hardware to SoCalFreeNet, a group of 802.11 enthusiasts planning to blanket San Diego, Calif. with free wireless access. Via [wi-fiplanet.com]

IT managers eager to hear more about forthcoming phones and services that will allow users to roam between Wi-Fi and cellular networks may be in for a long wait. Via [eweek.com]

Amsterdam's Web surfers could soon be liberated from their home computers and Internet cafes, with plans by a start-up firm to make their city the first European capital where laptops can hook up anywhere to the Web. Via [reuters.com]

Businesses looking to deploy a wireless LAN will soon have an alternative to climbing a ladder and installing access points on the ceiling. Aruba Wireless Networks Inc., a Wi-Fi systems vendor, and Ortronics Inc., a provider of cabling systems, on Monday are unveiling Wi-Fi wall jacks. Via [informationweek.com]