This blog is now continuing over at WireGenius. All existing content here will stay in place for now but may be moved or redirected.

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Cisco Systems and Cognio are working together to solve problems caused by radio frequency interference. RF interference is particularly an issue in the enterprise, where radio signals are interfering with WLAN (Wireless LAN) networks. [via BBW Exchange] This could also have potential applications with RFID systems as well.

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Gamer addicts who were reluctant to ride trains because of lack of Wi-Fi can relax. At least in the UK, as train operator GNER will be offering hotspots [Asterisk VoIP News] on their trains. And when that happens, you can play Fallen Earth or maybe even collaborate on songs using Rype. Next thing you know, we'll finally have real virtual reality gaming, and cyborg-looking kids with HUD (heads-up display) goggles will be running around society participating in fully wireless RPGs (Role Playing Games) on mobile computing devices.

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You read that right. SanDisk is boasting a new miniSD flash memory card [Cellular-News] that can hold 4 gigabytes of data. That's about 1000 song files or 8 hours of video content. If you've never seen a miniSD they aren't much bigger than the average thumbnail. The cards will be available in 2007 and are targeted at mobile devices that are SDHC-compliant, especially smart cell phones or PDAs that have cameras, video, music, and gaming.

To think, I actually remember writing a computer program using bubble cards pencilled in, during summer high school in California, where the teacher couldn't run my card deck because I went over the 60-card limit, or some such. Imagine the leap in technology in three decades. But you probably can't use this card with neither the Kyocera CDMA payphone nor the Vertu Ascent Motorsport cell phone.

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And you thought Wi-Fi was just for computers and VoWiFi phones. This sexy Creston remote control unit [Asterisk VoIP News] works over 2-way Wi-Fi communication to let you command your home media center, even your lights, air conditioning, shades, and pretty much anything that's been Wi-Fi-enabled. Throw in a TV, stereo system, and video and voice over IP calling (WoIP/ VoIP), and you'll have your own space age bachelor(ette) pad.

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There were a few speculations earlier this year that the mom and pop shops who sell prepaid cell phone and long-distance cards might lose a source of income when the service providers behind the service consider adopting new technologies such as RFID. With RFID-enabled kiosks, subscribers would be able to easily prepay for more minutes without having to purchase cards.

Phone cards are already such low profit margin items, so such new technology might be beyond the budgets of convenience stores. At least that's the hypothesis. Well, Kyocera and Microtel Electronica are offering one possible new source of income: a CDMA-based cellular payphone [Cellular News]. The phones are targeted at the Latin American and Carribean markets. Venezuela will be the first country to have it.

Call cost is tabulated after the call is finished, and the store owner just bills the customer. Of course, since the item sits in-store, there isn't a lot of privacy, but if you are making a call out in public anyway, it's probably something you're used to. I assume it's near-neon bright yellow exterior is to make it stand out amongst all the candy bar wrappers on the counter that it'll be sitting on. Then again, if you're rich, you might prefer to have a Vertu Ascent Motorsport, one of the most expensive phones in the world.

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The secondary school district of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - the seventh largest in the United States, will be employing an all-wireless model for their 278 schools. They are starting with a prototype "School of the Future" that they hope will be a model for schools all over the U.S. [via Avaya]

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MTS Allstream has signed a Cdn$700 M, 28-month contract with the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada to set up a wireless network for city employees. Employees, including police officers, firefighters, service workers, etc., use around 2,000 cell phones and wireless devices. The network will give them access to wireless services and the 1xEV-DO network. [via CNS Magazine]

According to the FCC, the number of US broadband Internet subscriptions increased by 33% in 2005. [via eWeek]

Firetide Inc. is shipping software that provides secure support for simultaneous video, voice and data apps over wireless mesh networks. This includes solutions for VoIP, video surveillance and Wi-Fi over mesh. Routing performance has been increased up to 32 Mbps, and QoS (Quality of Service) enhanced by using Layer 2 802.1p. [via Asterisk VoIP News]

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BBN Technologies has come up a low-power mesh network as part of research funded by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) to produce ad hoc wireless networks on battlefields.

The transfer rate is around the mbps (megabits per second) range and is fast enough to stream video, but only takes about a hundredth the power of a regular network. Consumer applications of this technology would be to produce more energy-efficient mobile devices. According to the article linked to above, it's unlikely that these mesh networks in particular would be used for anything like Municipal Wi-Fi.

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BT (British Telecom) has plans for Municipal Wi-Fi in a number of cities, and are suggesting to people that it could be a way to detect noisy parties. In addition, BT would like for authorities to supplement these Muni Wi-Fi networks with attached webcams, hoping that these measures will reduce crime.

Surprisingly, BT is expecting Muni Wi-Fi users to be able to make free VoIP calls, something that would likely cut into their profits. Their current plans involve adding six cities to their current count of fourteen that they've setup with Muni Wi-Fi.

Some other recent (non-BT) Muni Wi-Fi projects include: Yokota US Air Base in Japan; Nokia's Central Park hotspots; Fort Wayne, Indiana's downtown free Wi-Fi; New Orleans second attempt at a Wi-Fi network; and Paris' plan to install 400 hotspots - with comfortable street furniture, laptop rests, and possibly solar-powered electrical outlets - followed by city-wide coverage by the end of 2007.

Unfortunately, the Nokia Central Park setup will provide two different experiences, depending on whether or not users have a Nokia device or something else. Unlike other towns and cities, residents of San Francisco have mixed opinions about Wi-Fi, free or otherwise. The plan being negotiated by the city would have Google offering free Wi-Fi at 300 Kbit/s, and Earthlink offering paid 1 Mbit/s service.

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In what is quite possibly one of the oddest team-ups, Microsoft (NYSE: MSFT), Vodafone Group (NYSE: VOD) and Palm, Inc. (NASD: PALM) will collaborate on a new Treo smartphone. Not surprisingly, the phone will run Windows Mobile 5.0.

Initially, the phone will only be available to Vodafone customers in several European countries this year. The reason for this collaboration has to do with the fact that Palm's Treo 650w (Windows edition) does not comply with certain EU (European Union) regulations.

Source: InfoWorld.

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RFID Review is a brief synopsis of events in the RFID industry.


Wisconsin state Governor Jim Doyle signed a law that bans forced RFID microchip implantation. Privacy advocates will no doubt be happy about this move by Wisconsin and other states. Privacy issues with RFID technology are of great concern to privacy advocates such as Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntyre of Spychips and CASPIAN.

It's an interesting step forward, then, that a number of large companies, including Procter & Gamble and Visa, have recently agreed upon a set of guidelines for the usage of RFID tags. The guidelines are aimed at any company planning to implement RFID technology in their consumer products, and suggest how these companies should inform their customers about the collection of private data.

RFID technology manufacture is slated to be a multi-billion dollar industry over the next decade and beyond. One of the issues that is already cropping up is that there are not enough skilled workers with RFID knowledge for the jobs that are just starting to open up. Middlesex College in the New England area of the United States is offering the first college RFID technician program in the area.

This is positive step forwards for RFID, and no doubt will be echoed by other colleges. I see community colleges being ahead of universities in this regard, as they tend to cater to fast-track program requirements, which the RFID industry is going to need.


Tags: tech-watch, RFID, radio frequency identification

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