Carmen Nobel

The Federal Communications Commission last week began auctioning a chunk of spectrum in the lower-700MHz range, while keeping its plan to auction the rest of the 700MHz spectrum in January. The abbreviated auction is a compromise authorized by Congress, addressing rural wireless carriers immediate need for additional spectrum while still acknowledging urban carriers assertions that […]

IBM on Thursday introduced a lightweight notebook computer that weighs 3.6 pounds and can last up to eight hours at a time when equipped with an optional second battery. The ThinkPad X30 is an “ultraportable” notebook designed to hold two batteries at the same time and manage power consumption between both of them. It also […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) this week began auctioning a chunk of spectrum in the lower 700MHz range, while keeping its plans to auction off the rest of the spectrum in January. The abbreviated auction is a compromise from Congress, addressing rural wireless carriers immediate need for additional spectrum while still acknowledging urban carriers assertions […]

Starbucks Corp. is aiming to let its customers get wireless Internet access while they get wired on the chains premium coffee. The Seattle-based java giant last week announced that it has set up WLANs (wireless LANs) in 1,200 of its retail coffee shops and plans to have 2,000 cafes hooked up by the end of […]

In mobile computing, the equipment is only as good as the power supply that runs it. While processors get faster, networks get wider and applications get smarter, battery technology continues to lag. It has been years since a mobile device has run on anything more innovative than a lithium-ion battery. But power supply innovation is […]

The proposed National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace plans to get tough on wireless technology, saying that if secure WLANs dont exist, federal agencies shouldnt use them. The proposal aims to prevent the proliferation of unsecured wireless LANs that run on the 802.11b standard, also known as Wi-Fi, according to a draft of the strategy obtained […]

Starbucks Corp. is aiming to let its customers get wireless Internet access while they get wired on the chains premium coffee. The Seattle-based coffee giant on Wednesday announced that the company has set up wireless LANs in 1,200 of its retail coffee shops and plans to have 2,000 cafes wirelessly hooked up by the end […]

Wireless carrier Nextel Communications Inc. on Wednesday announced its Wireless Business Solutions initiative, a combination of home-grown applications and partnerships with large systems integrators designed to woo corporate customers. “As a result of partnerships with IBM and [Electronic Data Systems] and Sun [Microsystems Inc.], new products are being created,” said Ernie Cormier, vice president of […]

To cut costs, Cingular Wireless is cutting both employees and calling plan minutes. The Atlanta-based wireless carrier on Tuesday said that it would lay off as many as 3,000 employees, a third of which will come from attrition and temporary positions. Many of the cuts will come from Cingulars sales department, which the company is […]

With the long-awaited WLAN security standard known as 802.11i hung up in the approval process, some vendors are moving ahead with their own security solutions. Symbol Technologies Inc., along with Intersil Corp., Intermec Technologies Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc., have formed an ad hoc consortium to develop an interim solution known as SSN, […]