« Security Site Collects and Tracks Vulnerabilities | Weblog | How to Get the Most out of this Website »

The sound you hear is the other shoe falling: Cellular Companies signing on to Wi Fi

Nokia gets aggressive on Wi-Fi - vnunet.com According to Jarkko Sairanen, vice president for strategy and planning at Nokia Technology Platforms, Nokia has "the most aggressive LAN roadmap of any manufacturer." The proof is in the pudding: Nokia has confirmed that it will no longer release business phones without Wi-Fi capability.

These plans focus on the handsets using the Series 80 operating system, and a growing number of Series 60 phones. The low cost of Wi-Fi, and the growing installed base of wireless networks in offices, will also drive future demand.

As for other wireless technologies, look for WiMax technology to be integrated as well, but it may take longer as networks will have to be upgraded to deal with the signal. And cellular data speeds will stay lower than for Wi-Fi for the foreseeable future, but Nokia hopes to have 100Mb download speeds by 2010 using enhanced high speed packet access technology.

Add this to the move by Qualcomm to join the Wi Fi Alliance last week, and you can start to connect the dots. When major cellular players like Nokia and Qualcomm get behind Wi Fi, can there still be any doubt that its ready for prime time? The other shoe has fallen, no need to wait any longer - come on in, the water's fine.

Regardless of MAN/LAN debates over Wi-Fi's use, Qualcomm joining the alliance is recognition that handset makers and cellular operators worldwide want unlicensed mobile access (UMA) in their phones, among other uses of Wi-Fi. Qualcomm's participation may make it easier for compatibility and interoperability of standards. Glenn Fleishman in Wi Fi Networking News

Posted on December 15, 2005 at 11:06 PM

Comments


Post a comment




Remember Me?

(you may use HTML tags for style)