Group items tagged

How Wireless Communication Changed the World

With the advent of Ethernet, the typical practice is to oversubscribe all the wireless network services (based on individual peak rates) knowing that there is a statistical improbability of hitting the peak rate across all your wireless communication towers at the same exact moment.

Now enter video streaming where data is “streamed” between two wireless communication points over a sustained period (e.g., 30-second YouTube video clips, Skype HD Video Conferencing, Netflix movies). The sustained aspect of these video streams begins to strain the overall stat mux paradigm.

This wave is washing up on our shores now—and it’s already reconfiguring the politics of spectrum access, as well as the future architecture of broadband networks. Although unlicensed spectrum is typically associated with home and coffee shop Wi-Fi, as well as with embattled community networks promoted by nonprofits and some municipalities, increasingly the leading broadband carriers are waking up to the cost-effectiveness of sharing public spectrum.

Wi-Fi is one of the most ubiquitous wireless communications technologies in use today, primarily because it is easy to install, easy to use and inexpensive. Wi-Fi was originally designed as a way of extending internet connections wirelessly within an enterprise. However people soon began installing Wi-Fi Access Points at home and in public Hotspots to give convenient internet access to laptops, which ended up with Wi-Fi chips installed as standard. Today there are hundreds of millions of devices which use Wi-Fi including tablets, smart phones, TVs and set tops. There are millions of public hotspots and many hundreds of millions of home and enterprise access points. The Wi-name Fi is reserved for the IEEE 802.11 standards – so far A, B, G and N, with more on the way, and use 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum bands, with more being considered up to 60 GHz. Wi-Fi today is managed and policed by the Wi-Fi Alliance. Wi-Fi reach varies with the power of the signal and the spectrum used, but will typically reach a few hundred feet and current generation devices will provide between 50 Mbps and a 100 Mbps shared between connected users.

iParenting: How I keep my kids safe around tablets The FTC reminded us Monday what many a parent knows all too well: Not all kids' apps are safe, especially where privacy is concerned. So, as a parent of two small children in a house full of tablets, what do I do to keep them safe? Here are my guidelines. FULL STORYShape Minds and Moving Images via iTunesFCC to hold hearings on post-Sandy cell coverageITC to review Apple, Samsung patent decisionAndroid 4.2 skips ChristmasGoogle, Dish may be mulling wireless serviceText messaging is on decline in US, says reportIs a new iPhone 5S in trial production?Skype for Windows 8 Phone out as 'preview' appSome cellphone fees waived for Sandy victimsWireless carriers gearing up for nor'easterAT&T must refund overcharged cell customersJuice up phones via wireless carriers in NJ, NYPentagon: BlackBerry stays; iPhone, Android newAT&T, T-Mobile share networks for Sandy usersMobile service still not fully restored for many

Wireless connectivity solutions are vital in powering the next-generation of connectivity to be leveraged by mobile devices, 4G/LTE networks and communication applications. When supporting wireless connectivity solutions, it is vital that systems and components work together to provide high network performance at a cost-effective price.