The Change Mariner: Wireless Blooms Beyond Wi-Fi

April 16, 2004

Wireless Blooms Beyond Wi-Fi

It's just one example of how the unlicensed portion of the radio spectrum is turning into a hothouse of technological innovation.
For years, these radio frequencies were neglected, the lonely domain of cordless phones and microwave ovens. In the past few years, however, engineers at institutions from Massachusetts Institute of Technology to Dutch giant Royal Philips Electronics have been hard at work on a grander vision for the unlicensed radio frontier. That tinkering is what sparked the creation of Wi-Fi, the wildly popular wireless Net technology that took off last year with the support of chip giant Intel Corp.

Wi-Fi is just the first step, though. Hard on its heels are four equally innovative technologies -- WiMax, Mobile-Fi, ZigBee, and Ultrawideband -- that will push wireless networking into every facet of life, from cars and homes to office buildings and factories.

These technologies have attracted $4.5 billion in venture investments over the past five years, according to estimates from San Francisco-based investment bank Rutberg & Co. Products based on them will start hitting the market this year and become widely available in 2005. As they do, they will expand the reach of the Internet for miles and create a mesh of Web technologies that will provide connections anywhere ...

Wireless Communications and Networking
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Wireless Communications: Principles and Practice (2nd Edition)
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Testing of Digital Systems
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Digital Integrated Circuits (2nd Edition)
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