New 4G tech may heat up mobile Net neutrality debate

Fine-grained network controls that are coming with next-generation mobile technology could make some demanding mobile applications such as video perform better but may also raise Net neutrality concerns.

Ruckus targets enterprise Wi-Fi with lower pricing

Ruckus Wireless aims to lower the cost of entry to enterprise IEEE 802.11n Wi-Fi gear with a stepped-down line of access points it is introducing on Monday.

Intel sees 2012 deployment for mobile WiMax Release 2

Chip giant Intel, a major backer of the movement to provide mobile WiMax wireless broadband to Internet users around the world, expects the next major release of the technology to be deployed starting in 2012, an executive said Tuesday.

"Standards work will be completed by the end of this year," said Rama Shukla, a vice president and director of the WiMax program office at Intel, during a news conference in Taipei.

Does Wi-Fi make your laptop more vulnerable to thieves?

It was a startling claim: Like a virtual trail of cookie crumbs, your laptop could be beaming out invisible signals that are attracting intrepid thieves armed with a common $5 gadget.

This alarming scenario comes by way of a press release from security vendor Credant Technologies.

Mobile data explosion: Not the iPhone's fault

Here's an irony for you: Mobile data traffic will increase by a factor of 12 by 2014 -- to a mind-numbing 9.7 exabytes, or 9.7 million terabytes -- from what it was in 2008, the iPhone's first big year. But the iPhone won't drive that growth -- in fact, all smartphones, iPads, and the like together will account for just 10 percent of data usage, concludes ABI Research.

Enterasys enhances Wi-Fi management, 802.11n performance

A new version of Enterasys' Wi-Fi software simplifies network management and operations, and improves client performance in 802.11n enterprise wireless LANs.

Google has no plans to compete with mobile operators, CEO says

Google has made investments in wireless networks, is testing gigabit-to-the-home technology, and is selling 60,000 Android smartphones a day -- yet has no plans to compete with network operators, CEO Eric Schmidt told attendees at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday.

Macworld Expo 2010 Best of Show winners

When it comes to Macworld Expo, there's one question that Macworld editors are asked without fail: What are the most interesting products at the show? And that's the idea behind the Macworld Expo Best of Show awards -- to highlight the products that stand out at the show.

Picking the Best of Show winners wasn't easy. There were lots of new Mac, iPhone, and iPod products to consider, and the Macworld editors had strong opinions on each one. Eventually, we came to a consensus on 11 products worthy of Best of Show.

Update: Motorola will split up in Q1 2011

Motorola will be split into two publicly traded companies in the first quarter of next year, with one focusing on handsets and home entertainment devices and the other on making enterprise communications gear, the company said Thursday.

The company's two co-CEOs, Sanjay Jha and Greg Brown, will lead the two new entities. Jha was named CEO of Motorola's Mobile Devices and Home businesses, effective immediately. Brown was immediately named CEO of the Enterprise Mobility Solutions and Networks businesses.

Wireless broadband: There's a gap for that

Back in 2007, Nemertes Research predicted a "broadband access" gap that would begin affecting Internet connectivity by the year 2012.

Specifically, we noted that although core routing, switching, and transmission capacity in the Internet were growing exponentially, access capacity (including both wired and wireless) was growing merely linearly -- meaning that the edges weren't keeping up with the core. More important, Internet traffic was also growing exponentially -- meaning that bottlenecks would soon begin to occur at the edges.

Sprint's first WiMax smartphone called Supersonic, runs Android, say reports

Reports and a photo of Sprint Nextel's first WiMax smartphone, code-named Supersonic, have surfaced, but the company has not yet confirmed the device.

Southwest is latest airline to deploy in-flight Wi-Fi

Southwest Airlines has ordered equipment for an in-flight Wi-Fi service and will start deploying it on planes in the second quarter of this year.

AT&T sees soaring use of Wi-Fi -- just in time for an Apple tablet

Wi-Fi connections via AT&T more than quadrupled last year, hitting 85.5 million connections mostly made via smartphones from 20,000 hot spots, the carrier said late Monday.

Are wireless carriers preparing to increase data fees?

Talk is cheap, at least if you consider how AT&T and Verizon Wireless have recently chopped the price of unlimited nationwide voice calling plans from $100 to $70 a month.

Analyst: AT&T needs to spend $5 billion to catch up to Verizon's 3G

AT&T would need to spend about $5 billion on its wireless network to catch up with the coverage offered by Verizon Wireless, a financial research firm said Tuesday.

Why 4G won't fix your mobile woes

With all the frustration over 3G networks unable to handle the traffic generated by the iPhone, not to mention the slew of Google Android devices now in the works, pinning your hopes on a 4G network is understandable. Sprint, in particular, is playing off these aspirations, advertising 4G networks, while several handset manufacturers are claiming to offer 4G devices as well.

Aruba adds support for wired networks to AirWave management tool

Aruba Networks is adding support for wired networks to the next version of its AirWave network management tool, it said on Monday.

AirWave 7 will be able to configure and monitor edge switches from Cisco Systems, and monitor edge switches from Hewlett-Packard and Netgear, according to Roger Hockaday, Aruba Networks' director of marketing for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

FCC warns of impending wireless spectrum shortage

U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said an impending shortage of wireless spectrum in the U.S. will dampen future economic growth unless action is taken to fix the problem.

"Our data shows there's a looming crisis, not tomorrow, not next week, not next year, but at some point in the future," Genachowski told attendees at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Friday. "The record is pretty clear that we need to find more spectrum," he said.

Sprint's Overdrive goes on sale Jan. 10

Sprint will start selling its Overdrive wireless WiMax router on Jan. 10, allowing users to connect any Wi-Fi-enabled device to its WiMax network.

Overdrive connects to Sprint's WiMax or 3G network and can be used to link up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices. The device, which is portable, will cost $100 with a two-year service contract that costs $60 per month. The monthly service contract includes unlimited data over Sprint's WiMax network and 5GB of data over the 3G network.

Google lobbies FCC to help run 'white spaces' database

Google is soliciting the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the company to be an administrator of a database that would allow devices to access broadband Internet on unlicensed TV signal spectrum, known as "white spaces."

The position is a reversal for Google, which said in February 2009 that it did not plan to be an administrator.