WirelessDoc

Telecom shares up: Sprint leads with reports of restarted talks with Clearwire for WiMax networks

From the Financial Times:

Sprint, the third largest US operator, and Clearwire are reported to be discussing a joint venture that would attract funding from Intel, the US chipmaker and a leading proponent of WiMax technology. According to a Wall Street Journal report that cited unidentified sources, the two companies have also approached Google and Best Buy about possible financing.

It seem some other telecoms are fairing well, possibly due to the hope of another rate cut by the Fed, according to the Boston Globe:

Shares of AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. also advanced. Goldman Sachs analyst Jason Armstrong said the two garnered 85 percent and 98 percent of total and postpaid net subscriber additions during the fourth quarter, respectively.

Fourth gen Centrino (Santa Rosa) notebooks arriving

Today's WSJ article "Newest Laptops Tap Intel For Faster Links," reports that 230 new laptops will be marketed by the Intel processor brand "Centrino Duo." This replaces the code name Santa Rosa which is the 4th generation Centrino platform.

[This will] offer a slightly faster version of Intel's Core 2 Duo microprocessor chip. But there are two other elements: a set of accessory chips that can display more realistic computer graphics, and Intel's adoption of draft industry specifications called 802.11n in wireless chips that send data at about five times the speed of today's Wi-Fi technology.

Just to recap, Centrino is the platform-marketing initiative by Intel that denotes the use of all 3 of its chips--CPU, mainboard chipset, and wireless--in the design of laptops. OEMs that use only the processor and chipset carry the Intel Core label instead.

The photo here shows Fujitsu's $1750 LifeBook T4220 convertible laptop/tablet with Centrino Duo. Notice that they prominently display the optical drive which as been absent in many Tablet PCs.

Dell is also planning on offering 2 new Centrino Duo laptops in its Latitude line of notebooks. These supposedly will be 15% faster and will have up to an hour and a half more battery life.

It is expected that the Santa Rosa platform will be updated in the first half of 2008 with the new 45nm Penryn processor replacing the current generation of 65nm Core 2 processors (Merom).

For those wanting WiMAX support, you might have to wait for the fifth generation Centrino (Montevina) release in 2008, but there are rumors that WiMAX may still be introduced in 2007

Technorati Tags: Intel, Santa Rosa, Centrino Duo, Montevina, WiMAX

WiMax PC card approved by FCC

dailywireless.org » Clearwire Gets Carded

This is a roundup of this story by dailywireless.org.

The first type 2 laptop card, developed by Motorola, has been approved by the FCC for Clearwire Mobile WiMax service.  Mobile WiMAX wave 2 uses a 2×2 MIMO system [Wikipedia on MIMO: "Multiple-input multiple-output communications, in electrical engineering usually refers to wireless communication systems using an array of antennas (i.e. multiple antennas) at both the transmitter and receiver.], said to have twice speed as Wave 1, and is said to provide some 60% longer range through beamforming.

This is all part of Motorola's plan for their wi4 WiMAX broadband network.

Their Web site assures us that "WiMAX isn't your average disruptive technology." Considering how it's been embraced by carriers including Sprint, it's mainstream even before it's implemented.

TGDaily reiterates Intel's plan for processor support of WiMAX:

As it was the case with Wi-Fi integration, also WiMax is likely to become part of wireless chipsets for notebooks and eventually part of integrated processor packages. Intel recently said that it will be offering a WiMax chipset for its Centrino technology as part of the “Montevina” platform: Montevina is scheduled to be released with the “Echo Peak” WiMax/Wi-Fi chipset in the first half of 2008.

Technorati Tags: WiMAX, Motorola, Clearwire, Intel, Montevina, Echo Peak, MIMO

WSJ: The Future of Wireless

Real Time - WSJ.com

Jason Fry checks in with a blog post subtitled: ISPs, businesses, and even cities seek to offer cheap or free connections--which will win?

Nothing new here, except for mention of the recent Fon/Time Warner Cable deal, and the opinion by Dana Spiegel of NYCwireless who is "skeptical of the deal's impact, seeing it as little more than a public-relations move for both companies."

The Fon USA CEO acknowledges that there are only 60,000 "Foneros" in the US, with more of a view toward the future for a workable network.

There does appear to be agreement that muni Wi-Fi projects are likely to be complementary to the efforts of the ISPs and other commercial wireless providers.

Fry talks about the "much-hyped WiMax," which might be a tad too cynical considering the commitment by such companies as Sprint, and the device manufacturers.

Spiegel, using air conditioning as an analogy, makes the point that wireless broadband access, once considered a luxury (or "much hyped"), will be seen as a necessity for communication and commerce.

Technorati Tags: NYCwireless, FON, Time Warner Cable, Foneros, WiMax, ISP, Wi-Fi,

Intel's upcoming Montevina mobile platform (due 2008) will support WiMAX

From ars technica reporting on the Intel Developer Forum in Beijiing
WiMAX coming to Intel laptops in 2008:

Montevina is currently targeted for the first half of 2008 and will be the successor to Santa Rosa, which is due to arrive next month. We touched on Santa Rosa last month, which will include support for Intel Turbo Memory Technology (aka, Robson), built-in 802.11n Draft 2.0 capability, support for vPro under the Centrino Pro brand, and Advanced Management Technology, all rolled into a new chipset.

Intel's betting on widespread availability of WiMAX is bolstered by Sprint's plan to rollout WiMAX, also in 2008:

Working together with Intel, Motorola and Samsung, Sprint Nextel will develop a nationwide network infrastructure as well as mobile WiMAX-enabled chipsets that will support advanced wireless broadband services for computing, portable multimedia, interactive and other consumer electronic devices. These efforts are intended to allow Sprint Nextel customers to experience a nationwide mobile data network that is designed to offer faster speeds, lower cost, and greater convenience and enhanced multimedia quality.

Technorati Tags: Montevina, Intel, WiMAX, Sprint