FCC OKs Leasing of Wireless Spectrum
Federal regulators voted Thursday to allow cell phone companies and others to lease unused portions of their airwaves, a move that could lead to new wireless services for consumers, particularly in rural areas. The Federal Communications Commission voted 4-1 to abandon a 40-year-old standard that restricted leasing. The new regulation allows airwaves license-holders to work out leasing deals without prior FCC approval. By leasing airwaves, companies can make deals to use slices to fill cell phone dead zones or provide wireless services to certain locations for limited times.
Read the full story on: TechNews.com
Intel Steps up 802.11g Plans
Intel is moving up the timeframe for using 802.11g technology in its Centrino bundle of chips, Sean Maloney, Intel executive vice president, said Thursday at the companys spring analyst meeting in New York. Intel will be in production with a Centrino package that includes an 802.11b/802.11g component by the end of the year. Behind Intels accelerated schedule for 802.11g is the progress that the specification has made in the standards and interoperability approval process, along with its growing popularity in the market, according to Maloney.
Read the full story on: CNET News.com
WorldCom to Build Wireless Network in Iraq
Bankrupt telephone company WorldCom said Thursday it won a contract to build a wireless telephone network in Iraq as the post-war country tries to rebuild and restore communications and other basic services. WorldCom, which is changing its name to MCI, said it was on track to have a small wireless network operating in June. It declined to comment on the location of the network or size of the contract. The wireless network will use GSM technology.
Read the full story on: USATODAY.com
Broadcom: Taiwanese Companies Manufacture 100% of Its Clients Products
WLAN chip vendor Broadcom said that Taiwan-based networking equipment companies handle 100% of the manufacturing for its clients products. Jeff Abramowitz, senior director of marketing at Broadcoms WLAN group, said that Broadcoms clients include Apple Computer, Belkin Components, Dell Computer, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Melco, Motorola and Linksys. “We plan to announce six more clients in the next 30-60 days,” he said. Broadcom, which launched 54g-brand 802.11g chip solutions last December, is the front-runner in the fast networking chip market. The company sold over three million 802.11g chips, or the equivalent of 1.3 million chipsets, within three months of launching the product.
Read the full story on: DigiTimes
The Virtual Me: The Next Step in Wireless Development
The Virtual Me is a shorthand term for a new generation of convergence technologies that will change the way modern enterprises do business. One of the simplest yet most powerful features of The Virtual Me is one-number availability regardless of location or access device. In contrast, first-generation VOIP systems — like their circuit-switched predecessors — often tied numbers to particular devices. The number was embedded in an IP phone or other device and became portable only if that device was transported and plugged in at the new location. “We envision a not-too-distant future in which 35% of the typical workforce will have only mobile phones — mobile phones that can also function as campus extensions, and offer full desktop functionality from anywhere,” said Mark Straton, senior vice president of global enterprise solutions at Siemens Enterprise Networks.
Read the full story on: Computerworld