Ekahau RTLS (RFID-over-Wi-Fi) Badges and Tags Track IT Staff and Equipment at Interop New York 2013

Interop NOC employees managing the Jacob Javits Center's Xirrus wireless network will wear Ekahau RFID-over-Wi-Fi badges, allowing technical staff to text one another and locate each other on virtual, web-based floor plans of the 675,000 square foot facility. Ekahau will also track IT equipment and Ekahau Vision, helping Interop's managers analyze traffic patterns and effectively plan for future events."Interop has always experimented with cutting-edge technology. Now we've partnered with Ekahau, a leader in RFID and location-based messaging, to ensure that our IT staff can communicate and find one another instantly over the Xirrus Wi-Fi network," notes Glen Evans of Acrux Consulting and manager of the Interop IT program.Mark Norris, President and CEO of Ekahau adds, "Interop chose Ekahau technology because our RFID solutions bring together text-based messaging and real-time location tracking to improve the Interop experience for exhibitors and attendees."Ekahau and Xirrus will also address RTLS and Wi-Fi capacity planning, in a conference session entitled "Enhancing real-time location and communications over Wi-Fi: Interop Case Study," on Thursday, Oct. 3rd at 1pm EDT in the Interop Net Classroom.

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Extreme Wi-Fi Deployment: Wireless on the high seas

Technology consultant company ICNS deployed Aerohive AP330s, providing superior coverage, even in a challenging outdoor setting for the 2013 Tall Ships Festival. ICNS only had three days to implement the wireless deployment, setting up configurations ahead of time for technicians to quickly and easily install the APs. Aerohive allowed crew members to keep in touch with their families and the outside world while aboard these majestic vessels in the Cleveland Harbor!

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Gogo In-flight Wi-Fi Now on 2,000 Commercial Aircraft

Gogo hit a major milestone by installing its 2000th commercial aircraft with its in-flight Internet service.Out of the 2,000 aircraft installed with Gogo's in-flight Internet service, more than 300 have now been equipped with the company's next generation service – ATG-4 – that increases peak bandwidth to the aircraft by more than three times Gogo's original service.

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UK Launches Spectrum Forum: Real Wireless Chairs “Spectrum Needs” Group

Spectrum is a critical element in economic growth and social activities: wireless systems, for which spectrum is essential, are at the heart of an increasing array of products and services across the whole economy. The wireless spectrum is a scarce resource, delivering £52 billion of value per year (1) to the British economy and balancing the needs of different users is a challenging task. In a recent study Real Wireless forecast a need for extra allocations of 200-300 MHz of licensed spectrum for mobile applications and 350 MHz of spectrum for Wi-Fi applications by 2020 to meet even a medium forecast of growing demand (2). This has to be achieved without compromising on the needs of other sectors such as transportation, emergency service and many others.

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Broadcom Intros 802.11ac/Bluetooth Chips for Connected Car

Broadcom introduced a new line of wireless chips for automotive infotainment applications.



The new product line, which initially consists of two chips, use use IEEE 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Smart Ready technology to allow drivers and passengers to sync and stream content from mobile devices to the car's infotainment system and rear-seat displays. The new chips also enable high-speed connectivity beyond the vehicle, serving Internet and cloud content via LTE telematics or directly from a Hot Spot connection.



Key Features:

• 5G WiFi system including MAC, PHY, RF and Bluetooth Smart Ready on a single chip


• Integrated Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast and Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Passpoint support


• Resolves interference challenges in systems with both 4G LTE cellular radios and wireless connectivity


• Advanced beamforming, Low-Density Parity Check and Space-Time Block support for better coverage

"Car connectivity is the new battleground for product differentiation and the next frontier for Broadcom," said Rahul Patel, Broadcom Vice President of Wireless Connectivity. "Broadcom is delivering our proven expertise and leadership in wireless connectivity to the automotive market. By providing the same technology and roadmap associated with the fast-moving mobile ecosystem, the possibilities enabled by our new wireless automotive chips are endless."

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Multipath TCP lets Siri seamlessly switch between Wi-Fi and 3G/LTE

In the past, Google has created alternatives to widely used networking protocols such as SPDY in order to deliver search results as fast as possible. Apple is now doing something similar by having Siri use Multipath Transmission Control Protocol (MPTCP). MPTCP is an extension to the TCP protocol that's used for about 85 percent of all Internet traffic. Generally, it allows TCP to operate over multiple paths at the same time. However, Apple seems to use MPTCP for one very specific purpose: to allow Siri to switch between Wi-Fi and 3G or LTE as quickly and seamlessly as possible.An interesting difference between Google's and Apple's approaches to networking improvements is that Google came up with SPDY first and then went to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to have SPDY adopted as a standard. Apple wasn't involved in the development of MPTCP, but the company simply adopted the IETF specification. Although Apple uses MPTCP for a rather pedestrian purpose, it's not just an optimization to eke out a bit more speed. This is a fundamentally different approach to network communication.Within the large backbone networks that make up the Internet, there are always multiple paths between A and B. Routing protocols make sure packets follow the "best" path. That works well if you have one really good path and one really bad path, but it's less than ideal if you have two paths that are about the same quality. In that case, pushing all packets through one path and leaving the other idle is a waste of resources. This is where MPTCP comes in: it allows the packets that make up a TCP session to flow over multiple paths at the same time.

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"In earlier blog posts on 802.11ac practical considerations, we reviewed 80 MHz channels, 256 QAM and 5 GHz migration. Continuing the 802.11ac insights series, in this post we will look at some pra...

"In earlier blog posts on 802.11ac practical considerations, we reviewed 80 MHz channels, 256 QAM and 5 GHz migration. Continuing the 802.11ac insights series, in this post we will look at some prac..."

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Multipath TCP lets Siri seamlessly switch between Wi-Fi and 3G/LTE

In the past, Google has created alternatives to widely used networking protocols such as SPDY in order to deliver search results as fast as possible. Apple is now doing something similar by having Siri use Multipath Transmission Control Protocol (MPTCP). MPTCP is an extension to the TCP protocol that's used for about 85 percent of all Internet traffic. Generally, it allows TCP to operate over multiple paths at the same time. However, Apple seems to use MPTCP for one very specific purpose: to allow Siri to switch between Wi-Fi and 3G or LTE as quickly and seamlessly as possible.An interesting difference between Google's and Apple's approaches to networking improvements is that Google came up with SPDY first and then went to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to have SPDY adopted as a standard. Apple wasn't involved in the development of MPTCP, but the company simply adopted the IETF specification. Although Apple uses MPTCP for a rather pedestrian purpose, it's not just an optimization to eke out a bit more speed. This is a fundamentally different approach to network communication.Within the large backbone networks that make up the Internet, there are always multiple paths between A and B. Routing protocols make sure packets follow the "best" path. That works well if you have one really good path and one really bad path, but it's less than ideal if you have two paths that are about the same quality. In that case, pushing all packets through one path and leaving the other idle is a waste of resources. This is where MPTCP comes in: it allows the packets that make up a TCP session to flow over multiple paths at the same time.

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Apple updates iMacs: Haswell, PCIe SSD, and 802.11ac

Just a day after announcing its iPhone launch numbers, Apple is updating its iMac lineup. Last year's all new iMac was an impressive performer and quite the looker, and an update to Haswell was expected at some point this year. Pixel density enthusiasts may be disappointed to learn that there wasn't a move to a higher density display at either the 21.5-inch or 27-inch SKUs. Thankfully, pricing hasn't changed, so the base model retains its $1,299 sticker, while the 27-inch model starts at $1,799........Other improvements include the addition of 802.11ac Wi-Fi, which is certainly a boon for those of you sporting a capable router, and is in line with the updates to the rest of the Mac lineup.

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Insight Vacations adding free WiFi to coaches worldwide

Here’s a perk for jet-setters who want to stay connected. Insight Vacations just announced via press release today September 19, that the company will be offering free Wi-Fi on its coaches in more than 25 European countries by November 1, 2013 and in North America by January 1, 2014.According to Marc Kazlauskas, president of Insight Vacations, “Our passengers have been requesting Wi-Fi on the coaches and we are thrilled to offer that in 2014 for many of our destinations, including the U.S. and Canada. We have been using Wi-Fi on a limited trial basis for some time and are excited about rolling it out in such a broad way across Europe and North America. Guests value being able to utilize their time on-board to stay connected, and Insight is proud to be a leader in offering our guests this complimentary convenience in so many countries.”

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Wirelessly Transfer Images with New Wi-Fi-Enabled Memory Cards

Eye-Fi’s new "mobi" Wi-Fi-enabled SD memory cards make it easy to quickly transfer images from your point-and-shoot camera to mobile devices, and they work much better than previous versions, according to CIO.com blogger Bill Snyder.

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Google's Project Loon is full of hot air, contends famed balloonist

The enthusiasm accompanying Google's Project Loon global wireless Internet project is seriously misplaced, according to balloonist Per Lindstrand, who says he tried to talk Google out of the effort.

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Whitepaper: Wi-Fi Capacity Planning Theory and Practice

Check out the newly published Ekahau whitepaper on Wi-Fi Capacity analysis for 802.11ac/n written by our Wi-Fi mastermind, Dr. Timo Vanhatupa (Ph.D.), Senior Research Scientist at Ekahau. The Ekahau whitepaper covers the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of capacity analysis and demonstrates how to calculate capacity in theory and in practice using Ekahau Site Survey.

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PIM Brings a New Perspective to DAS Installations

Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) are commonly deployed inside buildings or large venues such as stadiums to provide localized coverage and capacity. In some cases this is done to off-load the outdoor network and in other cases it is done to extend coverage to areas the outdoor network is not able to reach. Regardless of the reason, DAS installations have proven to be a real challenge due to their susceptibility to Passive Intermodulation (PIM) interference. I was reminded of this fact during a recent visit to a potential customer.It was a serendipitous PIM evaluation. Upon my arrival at the company’s facility, I was given the option of going ahead with my carefully prepared PowerPoint presentation or to do a live demo of the PIM Master™ MW82119A on a new DAS recently installed at the customer’s location. Live demos are more interesting so we skipped the conference room and headed directly to the DAS front end. Within minutes, we were able to use the PIM Master to identify and repair PIM problems within reach, as well as identify branches that require further investigation.

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Comparing DAS and Small Cells to meet high traffic situations

DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems) have come under a lot of criticism from the small cell community in the past, being positioned as expensive, difficult and time-consuming to install. We thought it time for a DAS vendor to put their side of the story, and spoke with Tony Lefebvre, Director Product Management at TE Connectivity, to highlight the tradeoffs.We concluded that both DAS and Small Cells are needed to meet future needs, with different scenarios where each could be more suited.Comparing the fundamental architecture and components.In both cases, cellular signals are transmitted from multiple RF radio heads spread around high traffic areas. DAS systems comprise relatively dumb radio units connected usually by dedicated fibre cables to a central machine room/hosting location, equipped with racks of traditional macrocell basestations. The baseband processing happens in the basestations, allowing additional capacity to be installed at the central location. DAS systems can be shared by multiple operators, each connecting their own basestations to the shared RF distribution system. Multiple radio heads can simulcast the same RF signal, allowing the same capacity to be delivered over multiple floors of a building or campus areas. Wideband designs allow each DAS radio head to transmit across all licenced bands and for multiple operators simultaneously. Small cells are designed with full basestation capabilities and processing onboard, reducing the requirements for backhaul to IP broadband, usually over Ethernet. They implicitly provide additional capacity through frequency reuse, with each unit providing an additional sector. Small cells are usually single operator and single frequency band today, although multi-band/multi-technology products are becoming available.

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Capital seeks funding to realise Edinburgh wi-fi ambitions

EDINBURGH'S plan to become the first city in Scotland with an extensive on-street wi-fi network is back on track - but whoever provides it will have to finance the whole operation, the Sunday Herald has learned.

The council has launched a tender for a telecoms company to provide a city centre wireless network by next June, roughly centred around Princes Street. It also indicates that it could be extended to high streets outwith the centre including Morningside, Corstorphine, Portobello and Leith Walk. As well as providing on-street wi-fi, it would also beef up 3G and 4G signals through infrastructure that would be attached to street furniture.

When the move was originally outlined early last year, the council indicated that the provider would have to pay for the core central network but that there might be public money for extensions further out, and especially to deprived areas that would not be commercially attractive.

But the new tender states that the service will be "at no cost to the council". Although Edinburgh is also requiring that the service be partly free to customers, it makes clear that it expects a share of the revenues.

The tender also references £2.7 million plans to put wireless capability into the capital's trams, buses and public buildings, which was part of a bid in May to the UK government's £100m Super-Connected Cities fund. However, Edinburgh does not yet know if its bid was successful, and thus if the money will be available.

A wider £10.7m proposal was approved last year, but then had to be resubmitted amid fears from London that plans to finance ultra-fast broadband infrastructure for businesses in Edinburgh and other cities would fall foul of state aid rules.

The new total proposal is the same size, but includes several new elements instead, including wireless infrastructure for universities and business incubators, and a £1m archive of festival/cultural activity.

WiFiNovation's insight:

"As well as providing on-street wi-fi, it would also beef up 3G and 4G signals through infrastructure that would be attached to street furniture."

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5 Steps to a Killer Wi-Fi Network

Wi-Fi Optimization is the practice of readying your network for BYOD-like environments so that IT can deliver users a predictable experience, regardless of how heavy the network load is. There are 5 components, and we've even created a handy, shareable infographic to help illustrate how you can optimize your Wi-Fi network: User Optimization: deploy secure access for guest and approved personal devices. Application Optimization: ensure predictable application performance at all times. Device Optimization: classify and manage devices by type to address their unique characteristics. Spectrum Optimization: maximize the usage of limited RF spectrum. Capacity Optimization: increase capacity as demand grows.

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Apple iOS 7 surprises as first with new multipath TCP connections

Apple's iOS 7 is the first large-scale use of a newly-minted Internet protocol, called multipath TCP. It lets computers send and receive data across different network paths and interfaces at the same time, such as Ethernet, Wi-Fi and 3G.

There is evidence [see screen shot below that Apple is using the new protocol for iOS 7 device links to Siri, Apple’s cloud-based, natural language voice command and navigation service. MPTCP is intended to create more robust connections, resistant to path failures, and to improve performance, especially for delay-sensitive applications such as voice. It’s part of an ambitious, global effort to transform the Internet from a mainly data network today to one that supports far more demanding applications such as telephony and IP TV.

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4G EFFECT : Devicescape says Wi-Fi Usage goes Up

Device scape says "It would seem logical that once consumers get their hands on a 4G device and realise just how fast applications such as video streaming can be, then their use of Wi-fi hotspots should decline.

Devicescape claims it compared wireless data usage on 4G smartphones versus 3G smartphones across a wide array of 4G deployments.

Since Devicescape gathers data from US and European based networks, it can only hint that it thinks the difference is that the UK’s 4G market is ‘less mature’.

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Philadelphia Eagles to offer free Wi-Fi, NFL Red Zone at Lincoln Financial Field

Through a partnership with Enterasys Networks, the Eagles have equipped the stadium with the latest high-density Wi-Fi technology, improving fans’ overall experience with the ability to access the Eagles Mobile App, as well as other social platforms or applications that require an internet connection. The installation is complete and the team will be asking its fans to help test the network throughout the season.The EaglesFREEWiFi network can be utilized by fans in all areas of the stadium, including the seating bowl, concourse, and club level. Access is as simple as enabling Wi-Fi from the settings menu and selecting the network. Fans who log on to the team’s official mobile App in stadium will also be able to enjoy new features:New Features on Eagles Mobile App· Fans will have the ability to stream the popular NFL Red Zone Channel live through the App, allowing them to watch action from around the league.· Live camera view of the player tunnel prior to the game, which will give fans a unique glimpse of the players pumping each other up right before they run onto the field.· Live stream of the video board, allowing the user to get a better view of the replays that are displayed on the big screen.· A dynamic stats channel that provides fans with updates from the Eagles game, as well as information and statistics from around the NFL.· Social media hub, which will make it easy to log on to various popular social platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and others without having to leave the Eagles app.· Many of the original features remain, including: news, game previews, video clips, photo galleries, fantasy stats, rosters, depth charts, bios, stadium information and much more.Key Wi-Fi Facts· Enterasys will provide Wi-Fi access that is made available for free to all fans and across the entire Lincoln Financial Field complex, including the seating areas, club level, suites, press box, locker rooms, and concourse.· The implementation of Enterasys’ IdentiFi wireless solution and OneFabric Control Center management provides centralized visibility and control over the network, giving the Eagles valuable intelligence to more easily roll out new applications and services to improve the overall in-game experience.· Lincoln Financial Field will be equipped with Wi-Fi throughout the stadium to support the high on-demand traffic of mobile and BYOD users, enhancing the fan experience.· Enterasys’ partnership with the Philadelphia Eagles continues the company’s momentum in sports arenas, most recently having successful deployments with the New England Patriots and the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore Center.· Enterasys delivered the solution with services partner PCM, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCMI), who is leading the overall networking deployment and optimization with the Eagles.

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Sports Fans Celebrate Wi-Fi in 12 Stadiums

These days, Wi-Fi is everywhere. Jason D. O’Grady, writer of “The Apple (News - Alert) Core” for ZDnet, reports that there are 12 new additions to the world of Wi-Fi that will make sports fans very happy: Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, Atlanta’s Georgia Dome, Chicago’s Soldier Field, DFW’s AT&T (News - Alert) Stadium, Miami’s Sun Life Stadium, Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium, Detroit’s Ford Field, New Orleans’ Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium, New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC; and Phoenix’s University of Phoenix Stadium.The addition of Wi-Fi to Lincoln Financial Field, O’Grady says, was part of a $125 million renovation, and it can accommodate a whopping 45,000 simultaneous users.While it may seem as though it defeats the purpose of paying the king’s ransom charged to attend a live game, where people should, ostensibly, be engaged with real life, on May 22 of last year, the NFL website published a video of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell extolling the benefits of having Wi-Fi in NFL stadiums. Some of the benefits include the ability to engage in social media, the ability to access fantasy football, access to highlights, and access to Red Zone. Recognizing these benefits, Goodell wants all NFL stadiums to offer Wi-Fi. When asked how much such an undertaking would cost, there were, understandably, a few chuckles from the crowd, and Goodell called that “the trick.”

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Nomad Digital wins contract to install Wi-Fi on new Eurostar trains

Nomad Digital, one of the key suppliers of wireless connectivity solutions for the transportation sector, has been chosen to install Wi-Fi service on the the new Eurostar e320. Nomad Digital has been contracted by Siemens to supply Wi-Fi systems on 10 e320 trains.Separately, in 2011, Nomad had been awarded a contract by Eurostar directly to supply Wi-Fi solutions on its existing fleet which is undergoing a major programme of refurbishments. Both contracts will see delivery of modern, high-speed passenger Wi-Fi across Eurostar’s entire fleet.Haydn Abbott, Nomad Digital’s Interim CEO, claims the e320 passenger Wi-Fi win is a credit to Nomad’s superior solution: “Siemens’ decision to award Nomad the contract to equip Eurostar’s e320 trains with Wi-Fi demonstrates the quality of the Nomad solution as well as the value of its client service. We are delighted and proud to be part of such a prestigious project.”Nigel Broughton, Siemens contract manager, said: “We are pleased to be working with Nomad on this exciting and high profile project. We hope Eurostar passengers will enjoy the fast and reliable Wi-Fi solution that will be available on board.”The introduction of the new e320 trains is part of Eurostar’s £700million investment in its fleet. This includes the complete overhaul and refurbishment of the existing fleet as well as the purchase of 10 new e320 trains from Siemens.Wi-Fi service is already available on TGV Thalys trains between France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland. Wi-Fi service is free for certain ticket classes. ...n

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Two-thirds of business travelers don't want to connect with Wi-Fi in-flight

According to the research, not all business travelers want to be connected while in-flight. Instead, they are taking the time in-flight as a personal break and focusing on watching a movie or reading a book.Of those surveyed, 35% reported that their companies are willing to cover the cost of in-flight WiFi. For those whose companies do not cover this expense, 38% said that they would be willing to pay for Wi-Fi access out-of-pocket.However, despite overall better connectivity offered by airlines, business travelers actually prefer to have a break from work while on a long or short flight.Two-thirds (61%) of the U.S. business travelers surveyed said they look forward to disconnecting while in-flight, as it gives them the chance to take a break and unwind......According to UK-based IFE Services, 3,194 aircraft were fitted with in-flight Wi-Fi at the end of 2012. By the end of 2015 it is estimated that $1.5 billion will be spent by passengers on in-flight connectivity services.

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Infographic : The Evolution of Wi

WiFiNovation's insight:

You use it nearly every day on your notebook Mac, PC or smartphone but have you ever really thought about what Wi-Fi is and how it got started? Follow along with us to see where Wi-Fi has been and where it’s going.

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Global App Downloads to Pass 100 Billion This Year

By the end of 2013, the total count for mobile apps downloaded will reach 102 billion, according to projections. That number pales in comparison to the number of app downloads expected by 2017: more than 268 million

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