at least 1 year until fibre decision., page-5

wireless broadband - technology improves Intel is backing Wi-Max (fast speed broadband), all next generation computers will have Wi-Max as standard equipment.


Wireless: The story of 'Wi'
By Eric Sylvers International Herald Tribune
TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2006

MILAN Wi-Fi has entered the general lexicon of millions of laptop users who have become accustomed to flipping a switch and jumping onto a high-speed Internet connection, whether at a coffee shop, library or park. But what exactly is Wi-Fi, and what about those other acronyms beginning with "Wi" that we have been hearing about of late?

Here is a short primer for those who have wondered about the whys in Wi-Fi and its cousins, WiMAX and WiBro. But first, a look at how a "Wi" begins life and then jumps from being a little-known acronym used by a few tech enthusiasts to a technology that changes the way we live.

It almost always begins with companies grouping together to promote a particular technology they are backing. After investing millions of dollars in research and development, the companies want to ensure that the technology becomes the standard that everybody will use. If more than one technology emerges, it is often enough that a big name like Nokia or Intel is supporting a particular technology to catapult it to the ranks of industry standard.

Above these industry groups are umbrella organizations like the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, or ETSI, which is based near the French city of Nice and sets telecommunications standards for Europe. The organization has almost 800 members, including IBM, Motorola and Microsoft, from more than 50 countries.

Though unknown to most people, ETSI plays a critical role in dictating how more than 300 million people make everyday use of telecommunications, Internet and other technologies. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or IEEE, also plays a major role, promoting particular standards, which often are adopted internationally, for many technologies.

Here are the standards:

Wi-Fi. Developed by the IEEE, Wi- Fi originally referred to a specific standard, 802.11b, for connecting to the Internet through a wireless network. Now it is a generic term used to describe more than a dozen 802.11 standards (802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11c and so on). Most laptops connect to the Internet wirelessly using 802.11b, which usually has a range of about 100 meters, or 330 feet. The term Wi-Fi is a play on Hi-Fi, for high fidelity.

The IEEE has developed other 802 standards, the better known of which include 802.3, or Ethernet, the most common type of broadband Internet connection; and 802.15.1, which is used for short-range wireless connections between electronic devices and is better known as Bluetooth.

The Wi-Fi Alliance brings together about 250 companies with the goal of promoting the 802.11 standard for connecting wirelessly to the Internet. The alliance tests and certifies that different Wi-Fi products can be used together and can connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot. More than 2,500 products have been approved as "Wi- Fi Certified."

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, or WiMAX, is an industry group that promotes the IEEE's 802.16 standard. WiMAX is similar to Wi- Fi, though it functions at much greater distances. Theoretically, WiMAX has a reach of about 50 kilometers, or 30 miles, though until now in most testing it has been effective at a maximum of about 8 kilometers. WiMAX is already available in selected areas in some countries, including the United States, Britain and South Korea, and more than 100 trials are going on around the world.

The WiMAX Forum plays essentially the same role for WiMAX that the Wi-Fi Alliance does for Wi-Fi.

Wireless Broadband, or WiBro, is based on the same standard as WiMAX, 802.16, but WiBro continues to work in motion and is therefore sometimes referred to as mobile WiMAX.

WiBro is promoted as bringing mobile broadband access speeds to levels until now seen only on fixed-line networks.

WiBro-enabled cellphones allow always-on connections to the Internet, eliminating connection delays and permitting a service similar to that of a broadband fixed-line connection. Samsung developed WiBro in South Korea, where the commercial rollout is scheduled for the coming months, and the technology is now making inroads in the rest of the world.

Telecom Italia Mobile and Samsung tested Europe's first WiBro network in Turin during the Olympic Games in February. Telecom Italia Mobile has said it will begin selling WiBro phones at the beginning of next year, when it will make the WiBro service available.