Wireless News Jan. to June 2004

Home News Index 2005 Wireless News 2004 July to December Wireless News

January to June 2004 Wireless News

June, 2004
Texas to set up free wireless Internet access at highway rest stops and information centers to encourage drivers to take more frequent breaks
Keith said the state hopes to reduce fatigue-related accidents by encouraging drivers to stop more often. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 1,500 people die annually in fatigue-related crashes in the United States. Full Story AP/CNN_ 6/18/04

Scientists applying Wi-Fi technology to farm management
Farms of the not-too-distant future could be managed through wireless computer networks that allow farmers to sit in their pickups with a laptop and drive tractors, monitor soil moisture and even feed the hogs remotely. Stuart Pocknee, leader of advanced technologies at a University of Georgia agricultural lab, believes some aspects of wireless networks will be common on farms in about five years, helping growers with insect control, opening gates for livestock and controlling irrigation pumps. Full Story AP/CNN_ 6/18/04

Five short-range wireless standards seen combining
Sector specialists say companies will eventually combine the five to make life easier. Automatic wireless connections between electronic devices are the Holy Grail of the computer and consumer electronics industry. Full Story Reuters_ 6/11/04

France Telecom-owned mobile operator Orange launches world's smallest smartphone

The new smartphoneis one third smaller than its predecessor and the handset is the world's smallest that can handle computer applications. The carrier also said that by the second half of 2004 it would have specially designed "Orange-signature" phones from all six major vendors, adding models from South Korea's Samsung Electronics and Germany's Siemens. The telephones have functions unique to Orange. The new phone, the SPV C500, is contract manufactured for Orange by Taiwan-based High Tech Computer Corp and runs on Microsoft Windows for smartphones. Full Story Reuters_ 6/8/04

May, 2004

Wi-Fi popularity opens security holes

Wi-Fi hot, security not

Makers of Wi-Fi routers, access points and other gadgets say that as many as 80 percent of home and office users don't bother to enable basic encryption or other protections against connection theft, eavesdropping and network invasion.
Experts say that while Wi-Fi hardware makers have made initial setup easy, the enabling of security is anything but. Full Story CNN 5/31/04

AT&T Corp. to restart its mobile phone service using Sprint Corp.'s network
AT&T, under pressure from a price war with Baby Bells such as Verizon Communications Inc. and SBC Communications Inc., said the deal would allow it to match Baby Bells' offers to consumers that bundle local, long-distance and wireless phones services. Full Story Reuters_ 5/18/04

Wireless medicine: From the frontiers of space to the locker room
A trial on the international space station is using ultrasound to look for injuries inside the body during spaceflight. Researchers recently installed one of the devices in the locker room of the Detroit Red Wings hockey team. The technology also has been used by the U.S. armed forces to diagnose casualties on the front lines of in Iraq. Full Story CNN_ 5/12/04

FCC proposes using empty TV slots for wireless
New wireless communications services could be deployed using vacant television airwaves in cities and rural areas, under a proposal issued by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. The additional airwaves could help meet growing demand and spur innovations like the Wi-Fi wireless Internet services that now connect consumers to the Web in airports and coffee shops. Full Story Reuters_ 5/13/04

From CBs to Wi-Fi: Truckstops go wireless to draw in customers
Wireless Internet is fast becoming as vital a communications tool for drivers as CB radio, truckers say, giving them a way to stay in closer touch with home and to entertain themselves. Industry analysts say there are now about 695,000 wireless networks operating in the United States, with roughly $1.7 billion spent on Wi-Fi equipment in 2003. Full Story AP/MSNBC_ 5/6/04

African rush for mobile phones makes it world's fastest-growing market
The International Telecommunication Union says more Africans have begun using phones since 2000 than in the whole of the previous century and more use mobile phones than traditional fixed lines. However, only about half of sub-Saharan Africa is covered by a mobile signal, and many people remain too poor to buy their own phone. Full Story BBC News_ 5/5/04

BBC to test making all television programmes available on the internet

They could be viewed on a computer screen, burned to a DVD and watched on a television set or downloaded to a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). "If we don't enter this market, then exactly what happened to the music industry could happen to us, " said Ashley Highfield, the BBC's director of new media and technology. Full Story The Independent_ 5/3/04

Boom Time Back in Mobile Market
The mobile phone market is booming again, a study has indicated. World sales of handsets leapt by an annual 40% to 153 million in the first three months of 2004, according to the report. The boom in cheaper camera phones combined with a surge in upgrades in the US, Europe and Korea are driving the resurgence. Full Story BBC_ 5/2/04

April, 2004

Wal-Mart Begins Using RFID Product Tags
Pilot program begins in Dallas stores for a technology that's targeted to one day replace the bar code. Radio frequency information, or RFID, tags provide automatic tracking of pallets and cases of goods. Wal-Mart says the tags will help reduce theft and counterfeiting, the latter particularly affecting prescription medicines. Full Story MSNBC_4/30/04

Senate Extends Internet Tax Moratorium
After months of debate, the U.S. Senate has extended a moratorium on Internet access taxes, but stopped short of permanently extending the ban on taxes specific to the Internet. Full Story Computerworld_ 4/30/04

EFJohnson receives additional $986,000 orders from the U. S. Air Force for mobile and portable radios: it's the fifth order this month from the Air Force
The equipment - the company’s 5100 series Project 25 Portable Radios - is being deployed to meet National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) mandated narrowband standards and expanded operational requirements. Full Story Press Release_ 4/26/04

China drops plan to impose own wireless technology standard

The Chinese said they would indefinitely postpone a plan, scheduled to go into effect on June 1, to impose a software encryption standard for wireless computers that American giants like Intel and Microsoft regarded as an unfair trade barrier. Full Story New York Times_ 4/22/04 (logon required)

Delayed after post-September 11 airline turoil and bumped by its original U.S. patrons, Boeing Co.'s Internet service for commercial airplanes is finally getting airborne
Connexion's launch follows that of rival Tenzing Communications, which has for months been offering e-mail and text-messaging -- but not Web browsing - on about 800 U.S. and overseas airplanes. Full Story AP/CNN_ 4/21/04

Police action to go live in Tyler, Texas thanks to digital video cameras in the city's patrol cars linked through a wireless network
The IBM digital video system is the first for cruisers in a U.S. police force. Numerous police forces currently use dashboard-mounted video cameras that record police stops on tape. Full Story Reuters_ 4/20/04

Star Trek communicator ready to go
The US firm Vocera created the lapel wireless voice communicator just like they use in Star Trek: The Next Generation. The wi-fi gadget is proving popular in hospitals to make it easier for nurses to find and get advice from doctors. Full Story BBC News 4/17/04

Intel's new chips target future phones
Previously code-named Bulverde, the chips have been built to support the growing number of wireless technologies phones are being expected to handle. Full

Story BBC News_ 4/13/04

American Municipal Power-Ohio uses Spacenet to monitor and control power network
Gilat Satellite Networks' subsidiary Spacenet has been chosen by American Municipal Power Ohio (AMP-Ohio) to provide a high-speed VSAT data network. The Spacenet Connexstar service will provide remote control for more than 100 transmission substations and carry vital data to AMP-Ohio's SCADA network. Full Story Space Daily_4/6/04

Office for Domestic Preparedness/Department of Homeland Security to purchase Aegis SafetyNet™ Radio Bridge
Aegis Assessments, Inc. announced that, after a successful demonstration on March 25, 2004 at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (SSC) - San Diego, the Office for Domestic Preparedness, the principal component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responsible for preparing the United States for acts of terrorism, has agreed to purchase the SafetyNet™ Radio Bridge for further testing and evaluation through SSC - San Diego. The SafetyNet™ Radio Bridge interconnects incompatible radios and bridges them beyond their normal capabilities to provide immediate radio interoperability at an emergency site. Full Story Press Release 4/6/04

Oil exploration by remote control: wireless brings off-shore crews to dry land
A geologist wearing 3D glasses stands in front of a giant screen showing a computer generated model of the sea bed under an oil rig in the Norwegian North Sea. This is the future of oil and gas exploration. Now crews don't have to spend weeks at sea. And it saves money. Full Story BBC News_ 4/5/04

Military Spec, Multi-mode 802.11 WLAN Solutions for Indoor, Outdoor & Harsh Environments: The Most Secure, Ruggedized Wireless APs Introduced by 3e Technologies International
3e Technologies International, Inc., the leading provider of FIPS 140-2 secure wireless solutions to the US Navy and Army, today announced a new generation of multi-mode, extremely secure and ruggedized wireless access points (APs). The new APs – the 3e-525MP, 3e-526OAP, and 3e-527APH combine IEEE802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11a functionality into multiple platforms for use indoors and outdoors, as hotspots, stationary or mobile wireless bridges, repeaters, and LAN switches. Full Story Press Release_ 4/5/04

Quake Global announces two new dual-mode satellite and terrestrial modems available through Teletouch Communications in the United States
Both modems facilitate global wireless communication over Quake Global's connection to a network of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, as well as either the CDMA or GSM networks, making them ideal choices for fleet managers whose tracking systems must be able to access the satellite network when the cellular network is unavailable, and vice versa. The new dual-mode modems automatically switch to the most effective and cost-efficient available network. Full Story Press Release_4/5/04

Terrorists have been using the built-in alarms in mobile phones to set off explosives
High profile figures like Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf reportedly are turning to radio jammers to block attacks on their cars. The U.S. Department of Defense has plans to jam larger areas. Full Story CNN 4/4/04

March, 2004

Alcatel, Intel team in WiMAX push
FRENCH telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel and US chip giant Intel have announced an alliance to push WiMAX, a broadband standard designed to compete with current GSM and future UMTS mobile protocols. WiMAX technology stirred interest this year at the CeBIT tech fair in Hannover, Germany, vowing to compete with cable, ASDL and UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems) or third-generation mobile phone standards. Full Story Australian IT 3/29/04

San Francisco ballpark becomes first pro sports stadium WiFi internet hub
The San Francisco Giant's wired stadium is the latest in a growing world of wireless connectivity. Earlier this month the city of San Jose, the capital of Silicon Valley, began offering free WiFi service in its downtown areas. Full Story Reuters 3/30/04

Mobile phones to operate TV video recorders, says Opera
Opera Software said that the Mobile Interactive Programming Guide (IPG) would allow clients to look up television schedules on a mobile phone and then press "record" to a video recorder, no matter how far away.

Full Story Reuters 3/30/04

Wal-Mart hits snags in push to use radio tags to track goods
March deadline is moved to June. A radio identification system uses electronic readers to retrieve digital data stored in microchips embedded in plastic product tags, with metal grids around the chip that serve as an antenna. Full Story New York Times 3/29/04

Tectonic Engineering solves cell site selection and construction issues with new program
Tectonic, as program manager, and American Water, the leading water services provider in the United States, have teamed up to make over two thousand facilities (water tanks and towers, raw land, rooftops, etc.) in 19 states nationwide available to the cellular industry. These locations involve some of the most challenging states to obtain zoning approval, including New York, New Jersey, Virginia and California. Full Story Press Release 3/27/04

Cellular execs say go slow on high-speed wireless
High-speed wireless data technology claimed much of the limelight at this year's Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association industry show in Atlanta, but before they pour billions into faster networks, executives want more time to evaluate the technology and wait for more advanced consumer devices, such as phones that can send and receive video clips. Full Story Reuters 3/24/04

U.S. government wants to approve some new online communication companies to ensure they offer wiretapping tools
Critics, including some online businesses that are working with authorities to make their services wiretap-capable, say the DOJ proposal isn't just unprecedented and overzealous but also dangerously impractical. Full story AP/CNN 3/23/04

Powerwave Technologies introduces high performance MCPA for global network operators
The G3L-1929-120 MCPA is the highest performance Powerwave product to date for this market and its multi-protocol capability provides network operators with a path from GSM to W-CDMA without requiring a change or upgrade to the amplifier. Full story Press Release 3/22/04

Move over 3G, here comes WiMAX
Just when European mobile operators are finally getting their costly third-generation (3G) networks up and running, semiconductor giant Intel is putting its formidable weight behind WiMAX, a powerful wireless technology that offers lightning fast wireless data communications over distances as far as 50 kilometers. Full story Reuters 3/19/04

Plug Power's GENCORE? hydrogen system is supporting a remote cell tower in the United Kingdom

?This breakthrough means we will be able to extend our network to new areas not presently covered," said Ian Guthrie, Operations Manager for Orange in Scotland.? "We are also pleased that we have been able to do this in a cost-effective way, while minimizing the environmental impact to the surrounding area.? Full story Press Release 3/18/04

Siemens to cooperate with Ericsson, Motorola
German technology conglomerate Siemens said it would cooperate with rivals Motorola and Ericsson to develop a standard for so-called "push-to-talk" technology that allows handsets to be used like walkie-talkies. Full story Reuters 3/16/04

China won't back down: Wireless encryption rules to stand despite Intel complaints
Chinese officials said Thursday that they would not back down on a plan to require computer makers to adopt a new standard for encrypting wireless communications despite a pledge by the chipmaker Intel to halt sales of its Centrino technology in China. Intel, the world's biggest chipmaker, will stop sales of the wireless communications chipset after balking at government demands for alterations before June 1. A quarter of all laptops sold in China last year used the chip, including those made by Legend Group, the country's largest personal-computer maker. Full story Bloomberg News/International Herald Tribune 3/11/04

Rivals work on mobile internet registry
Leading mobile phone and computer firms Nokia, Microsoft, Vodafone, Orange, Sun Microsystems, Samsung and the GSM Association have teamed up to create a domain registry for mobile internet sites. Although not yet approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann), the directory aims to make wireless internet-based services simpler by offering a common naming and registration standard. Full story vunet.com 3/11/04

Wireless Sensor Networking: $7 Billion Market by 2010
More than half a billion nodes will ship for wireless sensor applications in 2010 for an end user market worth at least $7 billion, according to a recently released report by emerging wireless research firm, ON World. Full story Press Release 3/9/04

Reliance IndiaMobile introduces India's first Wrist Watch phone
Reliance IndiaMobile has launched Telson TWC 1150, a wristwatch designer phone with plug-in camera from Telson Electronics, for the first time in India. A next-generation mobile phone with 'cybertic' design, Telson 1150 can be worn on the wrist and is the world's lightest CDMA2000 1x phone. Telson TWC 1150 is a RUIM enabled phone. Full story Press Release 3/3/04

Built-in WiFi a challenge for standalone products
Intel wants desktop PCs to double up as network hubs and video recorders, a move that could make life tough for the companies that produce those standalone products.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based chipmaker will begin midyear by adding wireless networking technology Wi-Fi to an upcoming pair of desktop chipsets. When manufacturers choose a specific version of one of the two new chipsets, they will be able to add the foundation for a built-in Wi-Fi access point nearly for free. Full story NEWS.com/MSNBC 3/3/04

Canadian wireless industry announces inter-carrier Wi-Fi® agreement
Canada’s national wireless carriers announced they have signed an inter-carrier agreement that establishes common standards for roaming and interoperability of the public Wi-Fi® hotspots they operate. In addition, the carriers have joined together to create a common brand identifier for Wi-Fi hotspots in Canada. Today’s announcement by Bell Mobility, Microcell Solutions (Fido®), Rogers AT&T Wireless and TELUS Mobility serves as confirmation of the carriers’ commitment to develop Wi-Fi in Canada. Full story Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association 3/1/04

February, 2004

New Edge Marries Wireless, DSL
New Edge Networks is offering Wi-Fi networking connectivity as a standard option to its DSL customers. The company believes it is the first national broadband provider to offer a combined DSL and Wi-Fi device as a standard business option. Full story news@2 direct/Wireless Week 2/25/04

Alcatel and SK Telecom jointly introduce the world's first Photo-Music-Video service
Alcatel and SK Telecom, the largest mobile operator in Korea, jointly introduced the world's first photo-music-video (PMV) service at the 3GSM World Congress 2004 in Cannes, France.
With this service, end users can produce and send personalized video content to mobile phones or an email address. Full Story Press Release 2/24/04

Agilent announces new solutions at 3GSM that help wireless service providers manage 3G networks and increase revenue

Three new Agilent solutions, announced at the 3GSM World Congress event held Feb. 23-26 in Cannes, France, help wireless service providers effectively manage quality of service (QoS) across the entire service life cycle. Full story Press Release 2/23/04

Intel outlines broadband Wi-Max vision

Broadband wireless technologies will help bring the next five billion users to the Internet, an Intel Corporation executive explained today at the Wireless Communications Association (WCA) annual symposium. Sean Maloney, Intel executive vice president and general manager of the Intel Communications Group, outlined the company's plan to work with the industry to dramatically drive down the cost and increase the availability of broadband wireless technologies, including 802.11 wireless local area networking (WLAN) and 802.16 wireless metropolitan area networking (WMAN). This effort will help attract the next wave of Internet users, particularly those in emerging markets such as China, India and Latin America.? Full Story? Press Release 2/23/04

NSA is taking on a host of new security challenges as wired, wireless and IP-based networks grow more interoperable.
The National Security Agency (NSA) has spearheaded a number of initiatives to tackle the toughest network security problems ever, from Internet interoperability and network convergence to wireless vulnerabilities. They include the GSM and CDMA wireless networks, the Public Switched Telephone Network with Internet Protocol-based networks, and wireless with wired networks. Full story Military Information Technology 2/9/04

3rd Wave Wireless for Europe

Fourteen CEOs from key players within the mobile communications sector today set out more than twenty recommendations on steps needed to support and sustain the rollout of mobile networks and services across Europe. This involves action on research, standards, content, security, spectrum, international co-operation and regulation. Full story 3G.co.uk 1/12/04

Home News Index 2005 Wireless News 2004 July to December