News on Wi-Fi updated from major sources around the net
Naturally, we’re familiar with Wi-Fi in our laptops and smartphones. But the next level of Wi-Fi penetration, the firm says, is likely to be in home automation and smart, connected cars, as manufacturers continue to connect formerly isolated devices, equipment, and other things
The council voted unanimously to authorize Mayor Harvey Persons to sign a Wi-Fi Network Grant Agreement and a Promotion Agreement with Google, Inc. for installation and operation of an outdoor wireless Internet network to cover the downtown plaza areas, Jessie Davis Park and Hunter Park.
Fluke Networks announced a new BYOD Classification capability that reduces the cost and time needed to optimize and secure a wireless network for authorized and unauthorized smartphones and tablets.
The new over-the-air patent pending smart device detection and analysis capability, available in AirMagnet WiFi Analyzer PRO (10.5) and AirMagnet Enterprise (10.6), provides visibility into smart device type, operating system and usage details without the need to deploy end-user software agents.
According to Gartner, 821 million smart devices (smartphones and tablets) will be purchased worldwide in 2012, accounting for 70 percent of total devices sold.1 As these devices come onto corporate networks, it is increasingly critical for network engineers to be able to identify and report on them, optimize the network for BYOD in real-time, and instantly identify and take action when unauthorized devices or rogues appear.
WLAN, which is usually referred to as Wi-Fi, allows electronic devices to exchange data wirelessly over a computer network. Because of the explosive growth of mobile data traffic, Chinese telecom operators, as well as many other enterprises, have stepped up the pace of deploying more wireless network access points across the country since 2010.
China Mobile Ltd, the world's biggest mobile carrier by subscriber numbers, aims to add 1.4 million Wi-Fi access points in China this year to reach a total access point number of 3.78 million.
Li Yue, chief executive officer of China Mobile, previously said Wi-Fi is a highly efficient network solution with the lowest deployment cost. He added China Mobile will create more than 6 million Wi-Fi access points in the future.
China Telecom Corp, the nation's smallest mobile operator, also revealed that it planned to have about 900,000 wireless network access points by the end of this year.
Zeng Jianqiu, a professor at Beijing University of Posts & Telecommunications, said WLAN is a necessary method for telecom operators to meet the rising demand for mobile data.
China has more than 1 billion mobile phone subscribers, according to statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The country is likely to overtake the United States to become the world's biggest smartphone market this year, according to a report by global data provider International Data Co.
"The network capacity of traditional 2G, 3G and even 4G telecommunication networks is not increasing as quickly as mobile data growth but Wi-Fi can greatly relieve the pressure on operators by diverting a large share of data traffic," Zeng said.
East Midlands Trains announced it will install free Wi-Fi for rail passengers across 30 of its stations, including in Lincoln.
The deal with Wi-Fi provider The Cloud will allows access to the internet via a dedicated, branded landing page where they will log-in and be able to browse the web and use social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
The service will be launched in 2013.
Wi-Fi users will be directed to a content portal that includes a combination of Sky News, Sky Sports News and live travel updates as well as access to the broader internet.
The content portal will also carry location-based video advertising, targeting commuters and visitors during specific times of the day.
True Corp recently won an international award for its next-generation hot-spot or wi-fi service in Thailand, due to its seamless access and enhanced security.
Dr Attapol Wannasarnmaytha, deputy director, True Internet, says the award was granted by the WBA Wi-Fi Global Congress in the US.
Cisco is closing the year with yet another acquisition that demonstrates its big bet on the impacts of global IP traffic growth. Cisco is buying BroadHop, a provider of next-generation policy control and service management technology for carrier networks, for an undisclosed amount.
With traffic projected to increase threefold over the next five years alone -- and that's after increasing eightfold over the past five years -- Cisco is convinced that policy control and services creation at large scale has never been more vital for mobile and fixed communications service providers.
"BroadHop's widely deployed policy control solutions for mobile and fixed networks will be integrated into Cisco's Service Provider Mobility Group to provide service providers the flexibility to control, monetize and personalize the types of service they choose, on any network ," said Hilton Romanski, vice president and head of corporate business development at Cisco.
A wireless signal inside an airplane can deviate randomly when people move around. Boeing’s new test process takes advantage of state-of-the-art technology and ground-breaking statistical analysis to identify strong and weak signal areas and balance them by adjusting the connectivity system accordingly. The result is increased safety and reliability.
Using their breakthrough approach, Boeing engineers applied the process to improving signal strength in passenger cabins. Using a de-commissioned airplane, the team from Boeing Test & Evaluation laboratories conducted a series of tests. The team determined that sacks of potatoes were ideal stand-ins for passengers, given their similar physical interactions with electronic signal properties. Much of the testing was conducted on the grounded airplane with the seats filled with 20,000 pounds of potatoes in sacks. The test data was then validated with human stand-in "passengers."
Once the new method was established, testing that previously took over two weeks to conduct was reduced to 10 hours. The new, efficient process promises to benefit Boeing Commercial Airplanes customers and the flying public.
In 2012 a major milestone has been reached for the Wi-Fi market: over 5 billion Wi-Fi enabled devices have been shipped in the technologies..Wi-Fi continues to develop as a technology in many ways,” said Peter Cooney, wireless connectivity practice director, “the 802.11n protocol is now well established and has pushed the envelope increasing data rates, expanding Wi-Fi into the less crowded 5GHz space and adding MIMO capability, 802.11ac roll out is already well underway with certification to start in 2013 which will build on the 802.11n enhancements. Following this, 802.11ad will push Wi-Fi into a whole new era with tri-band solutions (2.4GHz / 5GHz / 60GHz) becoming a significant part of the market from 2014 onwards.”.
Stadiums and other areas that receive a lot of temporary but high-volume traffic have WLANs that have to be formatted in a particular way and use technologies, like 802.11k, to provide reasonable performance. So, if you are ever curious about the inner workings that make up a stadium WLAN and how a network engineer handles all the users and applications during game time, below is a quick overview of how it works, and what it’s comprised of.
The market for wireless LAN equipment passed the $1 billion milestone for the first time ever during the third quarter of 2012, according to market research firm Infonetics. The firm also noted that shipments of 802.11ac Wi-Fi products will increase in popularity in 2013.
"Coming on the heels of a 16 percent jump the previous quarter, WLAN equipment revenue grew another 6% quarter-over-quarter, passing the $1-billion mark for the first time," said Matthias Machowinski, Infonetics directing analyst for enterprise networks and video. "The usual demand drivers--wireless devices, BYOD [bring your own device], mobility--were in play, but there was also an acceleration of carrier WiFi deployments, with sales of outdoor access points doubling over the past year."
Infonetics said global demand for WLAN gear is well balanced, with North America; Asia-Pacific; and Europe, the Middle East and Africa seeing about 20 percent year-over-year revenue growth.
