I was asked today what's hot in wireless. I'm not an expert, you know -- I just write a blog on wireless. I guess that entitles me to an opinion. So here's mine:
(10) Nearfield Communications. Near Field Communication combines RF-ID and wireless technology, making it possible to connect any two devices and exchange information simply by bringing them close together. It can also turn a handheld device into a wireless wallet. NFC operates in the 13.56 MHz range and is designed to work other wireless protocols, such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Nokia is a big supporter. Maybe that's what Wibree is all about. Wibree has Bluetooth like 10 meter range with data rates of 1 Mbps.
(9) RF-ID. This week, California Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed SB 768, the Identity Information Protection Act of 2006. California would have been the first state bill to address how RFID technology may be used in identification documents issued by state and local governments and agencies. The federal government, under the REAL ID Act, has not yet released new technology standards to improve the security of government ID cards," he said.
(8) Gigabit Wireless. Looking for GigE backbones? First Avenue Networks bought out the radio spectrum assets of bankrupt of Advanced Radio Telecom (at 39GHz) and Teligent (at 24 GHz) and now has 24/39 GHz licenses throughout the United States with deep coverage in 77 metropolitan areas. Competitor XO is one of the largest holders of fixed wireless licenses in the 28 GHz-31 GHz spectrum covering more than 70 U.S. major metropolitan markets. Municipal wireless competitor MetroFi uses DragonWave's unlicensed gear at 24 GHz. GigaBeam's WiFiber operates in the licensed 71-76 GHz and 81-86 GHz radio spectrum bands for point-to-point communications at gigabit speeds.
(7) Zigbee 2006. It's a sensor net. It's a mesh network. It's two nets in one. Zigbee will make your environment self-aware. Runs forever. Just like SkyNet.
(6) UltraWideBand. The battle between Wireless USB (WiMedia) and Cable-free USB (DirectSequence) will be won by WiMedia (Intel). Was there any doubt? Good for settops. Will it replace Bluetooth? Why not.
(5) Advanced Wireless Services. What impact will the new $14B, 1.7GHz/2.1GHz band have in 2008? It smells like the same wine in a different bottle. T-Mobile will go 3G. Cable will offer phone service. But Cingular and Verizon may integrate AWS invisibly, with little impact on cellular price/performance.
(4) Mobile TV. What have we got...MediaFLO (700 MHz), HiWire (700 MHz), Modeo (1.6 GHz) and Mobile WiMAX (2.5 GHz) so far. They promise to multicast dozens of audio/visual channels to millions of mobile devices - often integrated into cell phones. HiWire has two channels of 700 MHz...but is Charles Townsend really serious about DVB-H?
(3) Mobile Satellite Services. The sleeper cell. When the FCC assigned the 2 GHz MSS band in 2000, they divided the 70 megahertz available into two 35 megahertz chunks (up and down). It got nibbled away by the AWS (3G) band leaving 20 MHz each (10MHz up and 10MHz down) for the two MSS satellite providers still standing -- MVS and ICO. The FCC gave them the ability to use repeaters -- much like XM satellite radio. That means MVS gets to use their space frequencies for terrestrial cellular (free). By 2008, they could have their huge geo platform ready - and Rupert Murdoch as a partner.
(2) 802.11n. Coming on fast - 300 Mbps or more. Entertainment centers will need this MIMO assist to deliver HDTV. But the real benefit might be increased range from a mass market item.
(1) Mobile WiMAX. WiFi speeds with cellular range. Sprint says Mobile WiMAX will be 10 times more cost-effective. Maybe Sprint and Clearwire are right. Don't overlook unlicensed 5.8GHz. DirecTV (might) deliver 2-way on this band.
That's my take. What's yours?
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