Ericsson has agreed to purchase BelAir Networks to help boost its Wi-Fi credentials, just as we said it would. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but this deal was all about Wi-Fi and the changing needs of the mobile operator.
Wi-Fi is now a staple in today’s smartphones, but it’s expected to improve in the handsets of tomorrow. The new 802.11ac standard, or “5G Wi-Fi,” offers improved power efficiency and speeds faster than 802.11n Wi-Fi, and it could be your smartphone’s new best friend.
The sky is falling again in cellular land, and this time Siri is to blame. At least that’s the assessment form this opinion article in the Washington Post this morning claiming Siri’s piggy ways will destroy our cellular networks. But this assessment is wrong.
Choosing a home automation network standard can be a hassle. It’s too bad there isn’t a ubiquitous network standard to use in plug-and-play modules. Oh wait: what about Wi-Fi? Belkin’s new WeMo products use Wi-Fi, which may help move home automation from geeks to the mainstream.
Intel’s wireless ambitions go beyond smartphones and tablets. It’s set its sights on the guts of the mobile network as well. By embracing a new network design concept called Cloud-RAN, Intel believes it can reshape wireless networks to make the best use of its chips.
Sending a bit over a wireless network is 200 times more expensive than sending a bit over wireline, which explains some of the high costs and limits of wireless data plans. How can operators drive down these prices so wireless doesn’t lose its luster?
Ignoring the threats by Congress to kill off white spaces, the Federal Communications Commission has approved commercial operations of the first networks and devices to tap into the airwave gaps between TV broadcasts, potentially setting off a new revolution in ‘Super Wi-Fi’ services.
Researchers from UC Santa Barbara, Intel and IBM have shown they can send data between servers without those pesky Ethernet cables, using 60 GHz wireless and bouncing radio signals off the ceiling. It’s crazy, but wireless could offer fat pipes economically over short distances.
There are signs that Apple’s Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme are poised for an updated, based on diminishing stock of the current models. Buzz is that the refresh will provide caching for software updates. But what if it provides media streaming caching, too?
