Alliances, competitors, technologies, hardware, and roaming line the path to dual-mode, cellular/Wi-Fi handsets. Another game of sit and wait has begun as major carriers ready themselves to swallow small providers whole once they have fattened themselves with successful Wi-Fi hotspots.

No longer do people request information from machines, now they're all talking to each other! 2M technologies and applications span the supply chain. At near individual item level, RFID tags and sensors automate data communications about pallets and cases.

Wireless is taking off in a big way, but some surprises await us. How do you predict the seven biggest surprises about to hit the wireless industry? I spoke with two well-connected 'ringers' who have a keen sense of the industry. I absorbed their combined input an...

Industry players Wavecom and Intel have successfully entered the cellphone market with solutions-based, all-in-one chipset modules. These modules are waltzing OEMs over the line into the world of cellular phones.

IM (instant messaging) for the enterprise is being touted as something new. Don't you believe it. I recall using ICQ Corporate at an ISP in Cleveland in 1998.

In this concluding part of a three-part series on the space shuttle, WBT's David Geer looks at spread spectrum technology and its role in keeping encrypted data secure.

The president tells us we are fighting a new kind of war. We have witnessed the first battle ­ fought on our turf. The battle of September 11 was fought in part not just with communication, but with wireless communication ­ the new manifestation of an age-old wea...

Outside of North America, mobile entertainment is commonplace among a vast throng of the young and mobile...but why do Europe and Japan lead the way? Is it just lagging technology or a combination of cultural and geographical marketplace disparities? Are the hardw...

E911 is Enhanced 911, the service that would ensure that 911 calls made from a cell phone are tagged, routed, and handled in such a way that help arrives at the appropriate destination. If my cell account is from Ohio and I'm in Maine, witnessing an accident, I ne...

Is the cap lift equally capable of improving QoS and making carriers more profitable? Or only the latter? Unfortunately, we may not know until the smoke clears whether the consumers, the carriers, or both are the winners. On November 8, 2001, the FCC began a gradual...

Worldwide wireless broadband connectivity is spreading around the globe. What technologies are taking us there? How close are we? What are the obstacles? Robert Hoskins, director of the Broadband Wireless Alliance (BWA), describes three network environments that...

An unnamed source close to RIM tells Wireless Business & Technology that the RIM BlackBerry cellular phone (service by AT&T Wireless) is ready to ship. The device remains almost identical, adding a headset for cellphone capabilities. The major change (if you can c...

You don't hear much about the Tauzin-Dingell Telecom Bill, unless you're in Washington, DC, or in the camp of either the CLECs (Competitive Local Exchange Carriers) who oppose it or the ILECs (Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers) who we might assume all but wrote it...

Many blame WAP, a lack of 3G bandwidth, or both, for the m-commerce woes we've all experienced or heard about. But what every consumer wants, sooner or later, every consumer gets. In this case, some of us may be getting a truly user-friendly m-commerce solution as soon as this fall.

How can your corporate network possibly be susceptible to drive-by hacking if your IS department hasn't set up or authorized any wireless LANs? Easily! A significant number of employees are setting them up on corporate campuses...without authorization. Read on f...

Today, computers go everywhere with us. We port laptops, handhelds, and BlackBerry devices for every purpose from remote teleworking to anytime, anywhere e-mailing. As long as the device does its job, we don't gripe.

Most rainbows are colorful shining heralds that a storm has passed. 'Project Rainbow' leaves us in a fog as to what is to come. So do frequently named participants such as IBM, Intel, AT&T, and Verizon by their silence. At its vaguest, Project Rainbow is a con...

Nextel is building on its industrial voice service success with a broad professional data service that features 30 new J2ME applications, with 20 more in the works. Starting with several choice partnerships and customers old and new, it is now set up to deliver ...

Universities across the country are increasingly implementing wireless solutions.The reason is twofold: better access for students in an information-centered lifestyle, and increased ROI for the academic institution.

A modern-day Atlantis of sorts, the city of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada sits on an island - the delta of the Frazier River. A haven from the watery depths surrounding it, the landmass is made mostly of sand and silicon deposits from the river itself. The ...

Which 'wireless that works' application wins the award for long-standing, highly critical, and longest distance? That's the wireless at work at NASA; in particular, the wireless technologies that are crucial in shuttle missions.

In a continuing report on the space shuttle and the critical role that wireless technology plays in its launch, orbit, and re-entry, WBT's David Geer takes a closer look this month at the program's S-band and Ku-band systems.