BROWSING: Wi-Fi

#MWC15: Alcatel-Lucent combines Wi-Fi and cellular networks

Alcatel-Lucent is demonstrating software at Mobile World Congress that it says can combine standalone cellular and Wi-Fi networks into one unified wireless network. The company calls the solution Wi-Fi boost and is demonstrating it on Qualcomm handsets with specialized operating system software. Qualcomm and...

Ixia White Paper: BYOD Mitigation Starts in the WLAN: Evolving Best Practices for Validating APs and Controllers

BYOD: Evolving Best Practices for Validating APs and Controllers This white paper takes a timely look at the mobile “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) phenomenon and what wireless LAN (WLAN) manufacturers and administrators are doing to mitigate its impact on application performance. Includes insights into...

Wi-Fi vs. cellular: Software helps operators and users strike a balance

For mobile operators, Wi-Fi represents both a challenge and an opportunity. Traditionally seen by many as competitive to cellular, Wi-Fi is now recognized as a way to maintain a more consistent user experience by offloading traffic when cellular networks become congested. The challenge for...

Skyroam Hotspot device review: #MWC15

Need for #MWC15 Speed Each year, RCR Wireless News sends members of our team to Barcelona, Spain, to cover the  proverbial "Super Bowl" of the mobile industry – GSMA's Mobile World Congress. Last year, our team met with over 125 companies, posted dozens of articles and...

Analyst Angle: LTE in unlicensed spectrum and Wi-Fi, Looking beyond coexistence

LAA-LTE: Looking beyond coexistence The first time I heard about LTE in the 5 GHz license-exempt band, my reaction was: “Why do we need it? Wi-Fi works well, it’s cheap, and it’s in every device.” The growth in cellular data has been stunning, and we are...

Public Wi-Fi, cellular coming to LA transit

Public Wi-Fi being tested in buses and subway cell build-out underway The city of Los Angeles Department of Transportation is looking to help keep riders connected by deploying cellular and public Wi-Fi solutions in city buses and subway tunnels. The city is currently testing Wi-Fi deployments on...

HetNet: Hybrid Wi-Fi deployed in English Channel

P&O Ferries offers satellite/terrestrial Wi-Fi on shuttle boats U.K.-based P&O Ferries deployed a Wi-Fi solution designed to keep passengers connected as they make the 22-mile crossing of the English Channel from Dover, England, to Calais, France. The ferry company, which moves more than 9 million passengers...

Ethertronics unveils Active Steering EtherChip for Wi-Fi

Ethertronics launched its Active Steering EtherChip EC482 designed for multiple-input/multiple-output 5 GHz and Wi-Fi applications. According to the company, the chip can be integrated into any antenna system and is designed to provide improvements in range and data throughput for video streaming, as well as interference reduction, connection...

Wi-Fi sheep possible in rural IoT experiment

Equipped with a hefty research grant, a professor in the U.K. is taking a novel approach to bringing Wi-Fi coverage to rural Wales: sheep outfitted with collars that transmit an Internet signal. Professor Gordon Blair from Lancaster University was awarded about $267,000 from the Engineering...

Video: Azimuth on testing Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi positioning

Testing Wi-Fi offers a set of unique challenges in the indoor environment. Azimuth Systems has been working with a large chipset manufacturer on testing new technology that uses Wi-Fi, rather than the Global Positioning System, for locating an end user device. GPS signals tend not...

HetNet: Outdoor DAS coming to Santa Clara

DAS will improve data, cellular by 2016 The city of Santa Clara, Calif., is looking to enhance cellular and Wi-Fi services by installing an outdoor distributed antenna system in busy parts of town. Projected for completion early in 2016, the DAS is owned by the city...

HetNet: Eero Wi-Fi looks to do away with dead spots

Wi-Fi router comes in three-pack and covers whole home The new Eero router seeks to create small-scale Wi-Fi mesh networks by foregoing the traditional one-router home setup for a base kit of three routers available on pre-order for $309. The easy-to-install network is run from a...

Top 10: Wi-Fi speeds in Starbucks

Rotten Wi-Fi asks users to run speed tests Free, public Wi-Fi access is often a big draw for businesses like restaurants and cafes looking to keep customers busy browsing the Web and buying products. Starbucks is no exception with business travelers often going out of their...

Analyst Angle: The realities of a Google wireless play

Much has been written in the last week or so about Google's “rumored” upcoming mobile virtual network operator play, including the reasons it will not be successful and the challenges Google will face challenging the incumbent mobile operators. As we read each developing story,...

Marriott won’t appeal FCC Wi-Fi hot spots decision

Hotel fined $600,000 for jamming Wi-Fi hot spots After being fined $600,000 for jamming a guest’s personal Wi-Fi hot spot, Marriott Hotel Services will not press a petition against the Federal Communications Commission, which took a firm position on the issue. Following an investigation, the FCC...

Worst of the Week: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile US, Sprint: your days are numbered!

Hello! And welcome to our Friday column, Worst of the Week. There’s a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCRWireless.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way....

Wi-Fi hot spots cannot be blocked by hotels

FCC enforcement advisory follows $600,000 Marriott fine Hotel operators cannot block guests from using Wi-Fi hot spots rather than the hotel’s network, according to a strongly worded “enforcement advisory” published by the Federal Communications Commission. The advisory comes following an Oct. 3 FCC order that fined Marriott...

Reality Check: Weakening wireless technology patents hurts everyone

Today, everyone connects effortlessly to the Internet via Wi-Fi technology when at home or in coffee shops, or on the move via the 3G or 4G networks used by smartphones and tablets. Fifteen years ago, everyone was literally tethered to the Internet via a cable,...

HetNet: Melody Wireless Infrastructure adds 908 locations

Sites for small cell, Wi-Fi, towers Melody Wireless Infrastructure on Jan. 26 announced the acquisition of 908 locations. The relatively new independent wireless infrastructure player controls more than 2,000 locations nationwide. Greenwich, Conn.-based Melody Wireless, part of financing firm Melody Capital Partners, completed the transaction with...

2015 Predictions: Faster Wi-Fi, IoT, smarter smartphones

Long before the Internet and Wi-Fi were mainstream, prestigious hotels provided complimentary Wi-Fi service in public areas, such as the hotel lobby, and wired Internet connections in guest rooms. As the Internet and Wi-Fi became part of everyday life, existing solutions – which required...

2015 Predictions: Mobility in 2015 and beyond

Wi-Fi/LTE integration, security, cloud set to impact mobility in 2015 Subscribers are using 4G LTE networks and consuming wireless data 14-times more than on non-4G networks, according to a recent Cisco Systems study. Today, a multitude of applications and devices are available to consume the...

Satellite Internet plans for unconnected 3 billion people

Virgin Galactic, Qualcomm, Elon Musk in the mix In the past week, OneWeb, with support from the Virgin Group and chipmaker Qualcomm, and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk have announced plans to launch constellations capable of bringing high-speed satellite Internet connectivity to the more than 3...

HetNet: Purple Wi-Fi raises $5M to expand free service

Using big data to monetize free Wi-Fi With its recent announcement of a $5 million investment, United Kingdom-based Purple Wi-Fi is poised to expand its workforce and international heterogeneous network presence. Purple provides software designed to enable a user to log in to a public Wi-Fi...

National Championship: AT&T data records and demos

As data traffic broke records at the first ever college football playoff championship between the Oregon Ducks and Ohio State Buckeyes at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, AT&T tested and unveiled a few new products that could lead the way to a more interactive...