A group of Silicon Valley civic and business leaders don't think the high-tech center is connected enough, so they are looking to build a regionwide wireless networks. Via [news.com.com]

Zigbee products will hit the market this year and a lack of interoperability testing of the technology will not be a problem, according to Freescale Semiconductor. Via [electronicsweekly.com]

The IEEE has abandoned its effort to create a UWB standard, but has agreed on a draft for the next generation of WiFi, 802.11n. The conventional wisdom is that this week's events are great news for Wi-Fi, and a disaster for Ultra-Wide Band, UWB, and by association, Bluetooth. In fact, the exact opposite is likely...

London has lost its place as the city with the most Wi-Fi hotspots, according to a recent survey. Via [vnunet.com]

The Open Base Station Architecture Initiative, (OBSAI) reports that nearly one third of its members actively work with WiMAX technology and that the initiative's WiMAX integration will be completed soon. Via [eetuk.com]

Consumers won't wait to snap up new, faster wireless LAN gear this year, research company Dell'Oro Group said Tuesday, even though the IEEE 802.11n standard responsible for the latest breakthrough probably won't be signed off on until 2007. Via [pcworld.com]

While WiMax has the strong backing of Intel, the study noted that another type of wireless broadband, FLASH-OFDM, is now owned by Qualcomm and is based on another standard. Via [informationweek.com]

Symbol Technologies will this week ship a new handheld aimed at mobile staff such as service engineers and delivery drivers. The ruggedised device offers multiple wireless options and facilities such as a barcode scanner, allowing staff to query central data sources while in the field. Via [vnunet.com]

Texas Instruments Inc. has added a ZigBee play to its portfolio of high performance analog chips with the completion of its acquisition of Chipcon. Via [reed-electronics.com]

A first draft of the 802.11n wireless LAN (WLAN) standard was unanimously approved by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) last week. The approval could prompt vendors to ship compliant equipment in mid-2006, though the final specification will not be ratified for another year. Via [vnunet.com]

Two critical decisions at last week's IEEE 802 meeting in Waikoloa, Hawaii, underscore the different paths possible when implementation choices appear to be at loggerheads. Because the 802.15.3a effort to develop a common ultrawideband standard could find no common ground between the multiband-OFDM and direct-sequence groups, the project authorization request was officially abandoned. Via [commsdesign.com]...

Atheros Communications Inc. today announced the launch of its XSPAN family of wireless LAN technologies for 802.11n, based on a triple-radio RF design. Via [reed-electronics.com]

The US government plans to start licensing spectrum this year for wireless broadband services based on the recently ratified 802.16e WiMAX standard, aiming to stay "one or two steps ahead of other countries," according to an official from the DoC. Via [cbronline.com]

Following successful trials of Wi-Fi/mobile phone convergence last year, services are likely to be rolled out commercially in 2006, new research has predicted. Via [vnunet.com]

Meru Networks Inc. plans to offer in April an intrusion-detection and -prevention system that secures wireless local area networks by scanning for intrusions at the radio-frequency signal layer. Via [informationweek.com]