WiFi Companies

Intel-backed startup peddles WiFi PAN technology

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 06:59:57 -0400

A California start-up is coming to market with low-power WiFi personal area network (WiFi PAN) to bring low-power peripheral connectivity to WiFi platforms and give Bluetooth some competition.

Ozmo Devices, with Intel as one of its backers, is coming to market with technology that doesn't require an additional radio inside the platform or a dongle to communicate with a peripheral, such as a mouse or headset. The technology includes a software driver and an ultra-low power integrated circuit in the wireless peripheral that communicates with the platform.

Ozmo says its WiFi PAN technology is slated for integration in high-volume WiFi platforms and major peripheral manufacturers such as Belkin are sampling the IC for their new designs.

Ozmo's strategy is to target the computer and peripheral market initially, followed by consumer electronic devices that incorporate WiFi. Dave Timm, CEO of Ozmo, says WiFi PAN technology offers performance advantages over Bluetooth, including longer talk time. The price of the technology is also competitive with Bluetooth, he says.

For more about this story:
- check out this release

Ruckus Wireless sues Netgear over WiFi patents

Thu, 08 May 2008 06:59:55 -0400

Ruckus Wireless, which recently introduced its SmartMesh WiFi equipment for the enterprise market, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Netgear. Ruckus alleges that in the development of Netgear's RangeMax WPN 824v3 wireless router, Netgear infringed on two WiFi patents having to do with intelligent and adaptable WiFi antenna arrays like those developed by Ruckus.

Ruckus and Netgear entered into a technology licensing agreement back in 2005 under which Ruckus developed the underlying technology with in the Netgear RangeMax 824v1 and v2 wireless routers, which were the predecessors to the RangeMax 824v3 at issue. Ruckus says the resulting hardware and software technology developed for Netgear was owned and patented by Ruckus and Netgear never paid royalties on this latest version or asked for permission to release it.

Ruckus is seeking a permanent injunction against Netgear and Rayspan as well as damages and royalties.

To find out more about Ruckus Wireless' lawsuit against Netgear:
- check out this release

Related articles:
Ruckus makes aggressive push into enterprise WiFi
Ruckus Wireless named to Fierce 15 list

Cheap 802.11n could be the mantra going forward

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Interest in the enterprise 802.11n market is certainly heating up. This week alone we saw Ruckus Wireless take a deeper plunge in the market with a self-configurable 802.11n package and Broadcom, a top player in the consumer 802.11n market, announced a new enterprise solution (see story No. 3). Other enterprise vendors are coming to market with new offerings.

But could harder economic times hinder the growth of this market? Aruba has already been hit, Goldman Sachs recently noted. The enterprise WiFi vendor fell short of expectations for the second fiscal quarter. "In addition to U.S. weakness, the company is also seeing weakness in Europe, particularly northern countries such as the U.K.," the firm wrote. "While U.S. enterprise weakness is not a major surprise, weakness in European enterprise suggests that macro issues could weigh on the company longer than originally expected."

802.11n is not a straight sell for many enterprises, except those verticals that are seeing huge capacity demands. While the technology offers better throughput and capacity, an enterprise has to weigh those benefits in light of the fact that upgrading to the better technology isn't simply a matter of replacing existing WiFi access points with 802.11n access points. It often requires a complete overhaul of the network, meaning new end-user clients, upgraded switches and controller equipment, as well as gigabit Ethernet rewiring in most cases to handle the additional data throughput.

Most vendors acknowledge that 802.11n deployments won't be Greenfield deployments but add-ons or strategic replacements in high traffic areas. How it will be deployed will depend much on the budgets of enterprises.

That's obviously why Ruckus Wireless is so aggressive with its message that its SmartMesh product enables enterprises to deploy WiFi networks in half the time and half the cost to get three times the performance of typical WLANs. Broadcom says its single-chip solution consumes half of the power of competing 802.11n chipsets, reducing the cost of deploying or upgrading enterprise networks.

I suspect cheap 802.11n will be the mantra going forward as vendors work to convince the enterprise that 802.11n is worth their investments.--Lynnette

Muni-WiFi player Azulstar shifts gears to WiMAX

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 07:59:57 -0400

Muni-WiFi vendor Azulstar said it plans to upgrade all of its existing muni-WiFi networks with WiMAX. Using equipment from Airspan Networks and Redline Communications, Azulstar will roll out WiMAX across 15 cities in the Midwest and Southwest, including the nation's first muni-WiFi market Grand Haven, Mich., which will be the first market to upgrade. The vendor is using licensed 3.6 GHz spectrum.

The WiMAX network is in final stages of testing in Grand Haven and first customers are being connected. The network will overlay the existing unlicensed WiFi mesh networks, which will continue to operate supporting visitors and residential customers as long as there is demand. Legacy WiFi customers wanting to move to WiMAX will receive a discount toward their adapter.

Azulstar, which cites WiMAX as having better economics, performance and reliability, said it will continue its strategy of owning and operating municipal wireless networks in regions where it can also deploy licensed-spectrum WiMAX. In existing Azulstar projects where WiFi technology is the only viable option due to spectrum limitations, Azulstar has migrated to a subcontractor role, assisting the municipalities and partners achieve their goals, but no longer acting as the network owner.

To find out more about Azulstar's WiMAX plans:
- check out this release

Related articles:
- Silicon Valley Network faces another setback Report
- Consortium wins Sacramento WiFi network build Report

Siemens says analyst confirms power-over-Ethernet 802.11n claims

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 06:59:55 -0500

When Siemens Communications announced in January that it had solved the 802.11n power problem by running a system on normal power over Ethernet, there were plenty of skeptics. So this week, Siemens issued a press release stating that test results from independent analyst firm Farpoint Group verify that the HiPath Wireless Access Points do in fact deliver dual-radio, 3x3 MIMO 802.11n functionality while remaining compliant with the wattage limitations of power-over-Ethernet.

Farpoint Group confirmed this capability recently published results of comprehensive lab testing of the Siemens HiPath Wireless AP3620. The firm performed its own tests aimed to verify if Siemens had met the difficult challenge of addressing both the physical power delivery constraints of the IEEE 802.3af PoE and the needs of power-hungry, dual-radio 802.11n APs.

Other enterprise WiFi vendors have said that two 802.11n radios require 15W, which is a higher power requirement than what can be delivered over powered Ethernet. Others have come up with various solutions to deal with the power problem, including using fewer antennas or proprietary power over Ethernet.

Siemens also announced that its new 802.11n HiPath Wireless AP has received the WiFi certified seal of approval for 802.11n draft 2.0 from the Wi-Fi Alliance.

To read more about the Farpoint Group's findings:
- check out this release

Related article:
Siemens says it solved 802.11n power problem Report

Beijing operator embarks on ambitious WiFi plan

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 06:59:53 -0500

Chinese service provider CECT-Chinacomm and infrastructure provider Azalea Networks have embarked on an ambitious plan to unwire Beijing in time for the Summer Olympics. The city, which spans 6,500 square miles, will provide public access, traffic management and military/public-safety applications along with serving as the wireless backbone for the Olympics. CECT-Chinacomm is funding the network buildout but the Beijing government is serving as an anchor tenant.

Azalea Networks says Phase 1 of the WiFi, which represents about 10 percent of planned mesh footprint, should go live in April.

For more about the Beijing project:
- check out this article from MuniWireless

Related article:
Chinese play big role in WiMAX Report
China set for telecom shakeup Report

EarthLink officially pulls plug on muni-WiFi business

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 06:59:57 -0500

Not surprisingly, EarthLink has officially pulled the plug on its muni-WiFi business. The ISP revealed in November that it was mulling an exit from the business and was actively looking for a buyer. The company revealed during its fourth-quarter results that it is writing down a $20.7 million charge on discontinued operations related to the muni-WiFi assets.

"We made the decision to stop any further market rollouts and substantially reduce the cash being spent on this initiative while we search for ways to make the model viable," CEO Rolla Huff said during a conference call. "We'll continue to provide service to people currently on the networks until disposition of the assets in the various communities has been accomplished. We're actively working to determine if there are viable outside buyers for the assets or if the cities themselves are interested in the assets. We are looking to come to a solution with the municipalities that work for them and reduces our future spending obligations."

The question is: Who wants to buy these assets? EarthLink's earnings report said it lost $80 million in 2007 from municipal operations, including a $28 million impairment charge that wrote down the municipal assets' goodwill, essentially. The ISP also took an $111 million hit from Helio, its MVNO joint venture deal with SK Telecom. However, gross revenue was $1.2 billion.

For more about EarthLink's muni-WiFi business:
- read this article from RCR Wireless News
- take a look at this report from WNN Wi-Fi Net News

Related Articles:
EarthLink could dump Philadelphia muni-WiFi Report
Earthlink may bow out of WiFi altogether Report
Who would buy EarthLink's muni-WiFi business? Editorial

EarthLink could dump Philadelphia muni-WiFi

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 06:59:54 -0500

Philadelphia, one of EarthLink's showcase cities for muni-WiFi, is preparing for the possibility EarthLink may sell or abandon the city's network. Terry Phillis, the city's chief information officer, told ComputerWorld that he believed there was a 75 percent chance EarthLink could bail out of Philadelphia. The city expects an answer within 60 days but is already preparing for that reality.

Back in August, EarthLink announced it would eliminate 900 workers by the end of 2007. "That statement said to me that WiFi is no longer in their strategic initiatives, and they wouldn't make that statement if they were continuing here," Phillis said.

Philadelphia would prefer the network be sold to another private provider over running its own network, but definitely sees the WiFi network as an asset to the city. The city has begun trials to see if it is compatible for use with city inspections and emergency services.

For more about Philadelphia's WiFi fears:
- read this article from ComputerWorld

Related articles:
EarthLink launches Philadelphia muni-WiFi Report
EarthLink cuts 900 jobs Report

Siemens says it solved 802.11n power problem

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 06:59:54 -0500

Siemens said it is launching a WLAN system based on 802.11n that can run on normal power over Ethernet--a feat other players have not managed to do. The vendor says it is using two concurrent radios, both running 3 X 3 MIMO with all the features running at 12W.

Other enterprise WiFi vendors say that two 802.11n radios require 15W, which is a higher power requirement than what can be delivered over powered Ethernet. Others have come up with various solutions to deal with the power problem, including using fewer antennas or proprietary power over Ethernet. Siemens doesn't use any of these approaches but won't divulge much about how it accomplished this capability.

To read more about Siemens' claims:
- take a look at this article from TechWeb

Related articles:
Siemens CEO dropped in scandal fallout Report
ABI: Siemens trumps Microsoft on middleware Report

Minnesota city may sue WiFi vendor

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 06:59:55 -0500

St. Louis Park, Minn., city council plans to vote today on whether to declare its WiFi vendor in default of its contract given the fact the city's muni-WiFi project is months behind schedule. The WiFi network, which is supposed to be the nation's first muni-WiFi network using solar power, was supposed to light up by June. But Arinc, the city's infrastructure supplier, is significantly behind, and the city has stopped making any projections on when the network will be up and running. St. Louis Park could very well sue the vendor, which has reportedly cited technical problems as the reason for the delay. Some 4,000 people have pre-registered for the service.

For more about St. Louis Park and its WiFi delays:
- check out this article from the Star Tribune

Related articles:
Is the muni-WiFi market headed for a shakeout? Report
Muni-WiFi fad is fading Report

Aruba jumps on 802.11n bandwagon

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 06:59:55 -0500

Enterprise WiFi infrastructure provider Aruba Network, the last major 802.11n holdout, announced its is entering the 802.11n access point game. The vendor announced a new generation of multi-service mobility controllers to enable unified communications such as FMC, along with 802.11n access points.

Earlier this year, Aruba had said that 802.11n wasn't ready for the enterprise since the standard wasn't finished. Cisco also warned that the draft 802.11n product had no guarantee of working together. But Cisco jumped into the 802.11n space in September.

What has changed? Michael Tennefoss, director of strategic marketing, told FierceBroadbandWireless that the draft 802.11n standard is far enough along that the company is convinced the final standard won't deviate much from the draft standard. Secondly, the company was sitting on its new 802.11n access point since June, but it was waiting for the second generation of chips that showed improvement in power consumption.

My how things can change in the matter of months. Cisco and Aruba, the two biggest vendors in the enterprise WiFi space, had earlier declared that most customers didn't need the throughput of 802.11n. Now many enterprises are pushing video services and looking for strategic replacement of of the wired Ethernet in certain areas of their businesses. 802.11n significantly improves data throughput and coverage of existing 802.11-based technologies.

"We're now at a point that customer can choose which is better: copper or wireless," Tennefoss said. "N has leveled the playing field with copper with respect to connectivity and performance."

For more about Aruba's 802.11n plans:
- check out this release

AT&T scales back muni-WiFi plans in St. Louis

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 07:59:54 -0400

AT&T confirmed that it is pulling back on plans to blanket St. Louis with a muni-WiFi network. Instead, the company will build a WiFi pilot network in downtown by early next year. AT&T, which had planned to build out the network across the entire city within two years, said the primary concern was cost. AT&T engineers couldn't find an inexpensive way to provide power to the network's transmitters that carry the network signal.

For more about AT&T's scale back in St. Louis:
- read this article from AP News

Clearwire IPO draws near

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 19:01:37 -0500

The long-awaited Clearwire IPO is around the corner, as the WiMAX pioneer finalizes its plans to offer up to 23 million shares at $23 to $27 each, bringing the company more than $600 million--about $100 million more than the company's initial expectations. The funds raised in the IPO will more than make up for the $300 million Clearwire spent in February, for an additional swath of WiMAX-suitable spectrum from AT&T. The IPO will also affect the company's equity distribution: Last year, Intel, Motorola and other shareholders had invested $1.1 billion in Clearwire. The IPO means that Intel and McCaw will control 77 percent of the company after the IPO, down from the current 84 percent.

Clearwire intends to make its money in mobile WiMAX. "The real opportunity will be with mobile WiMAX. DSL and cable will continue to dominate fixed broadband," says Dan Locke, an analyst with Pyramid Research. Making money in mobile WiMAX, however, will not be easy in the short run. Pyramid Research points out, for example, that Clearwire has not yet begun to build a mobile WiMAX network and that the rate of growth of its subscriber base may be relatively slow: Pyramid expects that only 5.1 million people will be using mobile WiMAX worldwide by 2010. Note that at the end of 2006, Clearwire had 206,200 fixed WiMAX customers and it expects to have as many as 400,000 subscribers worldwide by the end of this year. Moreover, in 2006, Clearwire had about $100 million in sales, but about one-third of its revenues came from network equipment, a business it sold to Motorola last summer. That means that future revenues for Clearwire will depend even more on money from WiMAX subscribers.

The company has deep pockets, but its losses--so far, and projected--are not trivial: Clearwire had $284 million in losses in 2006, and the company expects to burn through $800 million this year. The company anticipates remaining in the red for at least the next five years, and it has amassed $756 million in long-term debt.

For more on Clearwire's IPO strategy:
- see this Business Week report
- and The Wall Street Journal's comments

WiFi-enabled RFID tag specialist raises $11 million

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 19:01:35 -0500

RFID technology is used by many sectors of the economy and government organizations to manage supply-chain operations. It is also used for national security. Many countries are moving toward adopting RFID-enabled passports and travel documents which contain biometric information, and some highly secret labs and facilities admit they contemplate requiring their employees to have RFID tags implanted under their skin. Therefore, it is not surprising to learn that WiFi start-up Aeroscout (formerly BlueSoft) has raised $11.4 million out of $20.5 million it is seeking in its third financing round. The company has raised $28.2 million since it was founded in 1999. Existing investors Pitango Venture Capital, Star Ventures, Intel Capital and Menlo Ventures are participating in the current round.

The company specializes in enterprise WiFi network solutions aiming to locate and manage assets and people in multiple environments. The system includes indoor and outdoor real-time asset location (RTLS), long range active RFID, choke-point visibility and telemetry. The company says that the system does not over-burden customers' communications networks. AeroScout has strategic partnerships with Cisco, IBM, Microsoft, and MobileAccess Networks, among others.

The company has just launched its AeroScout T3 Tag, its most advanced tag for asset and people tracking.

For more on Aeroscout and RTLS technology:
-DailyWireless discussion
-Batya Feldman's Globes report
-and the company's Web site

MORE: Ekahau, another specialist in WiFi-based RTLS, is showing its T301-B, a WiFi-enabled badge designed to support location-tracking and communications applications on enterprise campuses. Report

Foneros at Starbucks

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 19:01:34 -0500

As WiFi networks become more prevalent, many states and localities are contemplating making the stealing of WiFi signals a crime. At times, however, the sharing of a WiFi signal may be a win-win situation. Madrid, Spain-based FON is offering Starbucks' visitors a $2-a-day deal for access to the Starbucks' WiFi service. This is significantly less than the $10 a day price tag that T-Mobile USA charges for its hotspot access in most U.S. Starbucks coffee shops.

FON can offer this deal because it makes its wireless routers free to residents who live next to or above a Starbucks' store. The routers split the broadband connection in two--one signal for personal Internet use, the second for public use. It is that second signal which anyone within range, whether a coffee drinker or a neighbor, can use for $2 a day.

FON has been conducting a similar project on a much larger scale also. FON was founded 18 months ago by Argentine telecom entrepreneur Martin Varsavsky with $22 million in funding from Sequoia Capital. Varsavsky's ambitious plan called for building the world's largest WiFi network by persuading as many of the world's 300 million broadband customers as possible to become "Foneros"--that is, to buy La Fonera routers and share their wireless access with other FONInternet subscribers. Varsavsky beileves he is on track to realizing his dream by 2010: One million global WiFi hot spots to which all Foneros will have access of the FON community.

The Foneros, by the way, come in three groups: The "Bills," named after Bill Gates, charge $2 for signing to their network and pay $2 to sign onto any other Fonero's network. The "Linuses," named after Linus Torvalds, the creator of open-source Linux system, offer their extra bandwidth for free to other Foneros and can themselves access any other Fonero network for free. The "Aliens" are users from outside the FON community who may sign to any Fonero's network by paying $2 using PayPal. FON says that, globally, about 85 percent of Foneros are Linuses and 15 percent are Bills.

For more on FON
- see this DailyTechRag article
-Mary Crane's Forbes report
-and see FON hot spots map

CSIRO closer to WiFi victory

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 19:01:37 -0500

Two Christmas gifts for the Aussies: First, Australia beat England in the Ashes (pulverized, really: Simon Barnes, the London Times cricket analyst, wrote: "I accept defeat at the hands of a superior force. What I don't accept is surrender.... England didn't lose the Ashes; they surrendered them.") Second, research organization CSIRO took an important step forward in its legal battle for royalties payment on its OFDM patents. The U.S. Federal court in California has agreed with CSIRO that the cases be moved to Texas, where a federal judge is already familiar with the case and the related issues, and has already issued a ruling favoring CSIRO in its skirmish with Buffalo Technology.

CSIRO argues that Buffalo's 802.11a and 802.11g wireless devices infringe on its U.S. patent which covers OFDM, now widely used in WiFi systems. Last year, Intel, Dell, Microsoft, HP, and Netgear sued CSIRO in Federal District Court in San Francisco seeking a declaratory judgment that its the organization's 1996 patent which covers 802.11a and g technology was invalid. The move of the case from California to Texas is interpreted as an implicit recognition of the merit of CSIRO case.

If CSIRO wins, many companies will have to pay tens of millions of dollars in royalties.

For more more about the CSIRO case:
- see this Seattle Times report
- and Naomi Graychace's Wi-fiplanet report

WiFi-enabled robots join hospital staff

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 19:01:35 -0500

It is one thing to use WiFi at a coffee shop to look at the latest football scores, and it is another to use the technology to save lives. Houston's Methodist Hospital has two new staff members: 6-foot tall, WiFi-enabled, remote-controlled robots. The robots have been assigned to care for critically ill patients suffering from stroke or other neurological problems.

The Remote Presence technology used at Methodist's neurosurgical-ICU and Eddy Scurlock Stroke Center is part of a broader patient safety and quality care initiative at the medical center. The robots are named MURDOC (Mobile Unit Robot Doctor) and ROHAS (Remote Operated Health Assessment System). They travel at up to 2 mph, can be steered down a hallway or alongside a patient bed, and are equipped with infrared sensors to help the physician navigate. "Having the ability to see our patients and the ICU nursing staff and talk with them face to face when we can't be there in person greatly impacts how we're able to provide individualized treatment," said Dr. Saleem Zaidi, neuro-intensivist director in Methodist's NICU.

Physicians or nurses down the hall, on another floor, or even at home can use a laptop and joystick to guide the robot to the patient's bedside, review medical chart information, and speak with patients and nurses. Through a widescreen, two-way TV monitor, the doctor communicates with the patient and nurse face to face to determine the appropriate and immediate care needed. Time is often of the essence. "Our window of opportunity for effective treatment is within three hours of the onset of stroke symptoms. This robotic technology gives us quicker access to the patients, and timeliness is everything in helping a stroke patient recover," said Dr. David Chiu, medical director of the Eddy Scurlock Stroke Center.

The robots are made by Santa Barbara, California-based InTouch Health.

For more on the hospital robots:
- see InTouch Health press release

ALSO: NEC is showing its rather homely looking R100 WiFi-capable robot; the robot can flip TV channels for you, and also, after some programming, greet users by name, ask what it can do to help out and read your email. Review