Category: Standards

"WPA is better than WEP, but we still have a way to go before true wireless network security," Robert Moskowitz, senior technical director of ICSA Labs at TruSecure, told the E-Commerce Times. "A lot of cryptologists don't like WPA because it's based on older ciphers." Via [technewsworld.com]

Federal regulators on Wednesday set aside a swath of spectrum for a new wireless technology that would let motorists use small display screens to get traffic updates, buy fast food or find a nearby hotel. Via [usatoday.com]

WiFi wireless networks are an unqualified success both in performance and in acceptance by a skeptical public -- they let you share an Internet connection among all the PCs in your home for less than $100 a PC. Via [washingtonpost.com]

New wireless standards with better security and the ability to support high-bandwidth applications such as video over wireless networks will appear in products by the end of next year, analysts said. Via [macworld.co.uk]

Engineers from Cisco Systems Inc. and Intel Corp. are trying to kick off an effort to standardize mesh networks, one of the hottest new segments in wireless. The move comes as a handful of startups are hitting the market with proprietary mesh networking technologies embedded in their homegrown ASICs and software. Via [crn.com]

Is 802.11g really better than 802.11b? In one respect, it is. Networks using the IEEE 802.11g wireless standard can, in theory, transmit content at a rate of 54 Mbps. 802.11b networks, on the other hand, have a maximum bandwidth of only 11 Mbps. Via [itbusiness.ca]

Regulators said yesterday they would help bring high-speed Internet connections to rural areas by expanding the spectrum of frequencies for wireless devices that do not require modems and phone jacks. Consumer groups were skeptical. Via [seattletimes.nwsource.com]

Wireless ad hoc mesh networking will get a boost on two levels this week with the unveiling of startup PacketHop Inc. and the announcement that wireless home networking and automation proponent Zensys A/S has entered into a business partnership with Intel Corp. Via [crn.com]

Setting up a home wireless network was once expensive and scary. Now it's affordable and -- if you're lucky -- almost effortless. Via [siliconvalley.com]

Wireless communication has dramatically changed the way people work and interact. Unfortunately, the wireless era also continues to be plagued by insufficient security, and both corporations and users are being put at risk. Via [news.com.com]

Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), thought to be a significant security improvement for wireless LANs compared to Wireless Equivalent Privacy (WEP), has a significant built-in flaw, a paper to be widely distributed in the next few days claims. Via [crn.com]

A new wireless local area network standard is being developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers—the 802.11n protocol. According to the standards body, the new 802.11n protocol will raise the effective throughput for wireless LAN to at least 100 megabits per second, three times the existing speed of 30 Mbps. Via [rcrnews.com]

Presently, Wi-Fi comes in three flavors: 802.11A, 802.11B, and 802.11G. To help you decide which version will work best with your network, here is a discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of each of these standards. Via [techrepublic.com.com]

As the International Telecommunication Union's World Radiocommunications Conference 2003 (WRC-03) finishes up its next-to-last week of a month-long session, delegates have reached an agreement that will add 455 MHz of new spectrum in the 5-GHz band for wireless LANs on a global basis with few restrictions. Via [computerworld.com]

The 54Mbps 802.11g wireless networking standard has been approved and proposals for a much faster standard - 802.11n - have been put on the table. Via [news.zdnet.co.uk]