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Archive Category: Wi-Fi

Atlanta Airport expands Wi-Fi, cell phone coverage

There's the old saying that whether you go to heaven or hell, you will have to change planes in Atlanta. Soon, at the world's busiest airport, you will have improved cell phone coverage and greatly expanded access to the Internet on Wi-Fi connections

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport this week announced the details of a $5.4 million multi-faceted contract with SITA for wireless and management services. SITA's system for Atlanta includes the design and implementation of an airport-wide Wi-Fi and cellular wireless network, as well as management of the airport's new fiber, cellular and Wi-Fi network for a period of one year.

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New Zealand start-up advocates free Wi-Fi access

There is a growing advocacy for free access to Wi-Fi networks based on the argument that much of the connection charge paid by consumers goes for marketing and payment processing. On the other side of this argument, there are those who maintain that consumers, especially the business traveler, are more than willing to pay for reliable and secure Internet access. Now, a New Zealand start-up is going global saying that free Wi-Fi is going to win the race.

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Hyatt plans T-Mobile Wi-Fi at all 200 hotels

CHICAGO -- Several major hotel chains have already installed and begun promoting high-speed Wi-Fi Internet access for their guests. Today, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts announced that nearly all 208 properties will have broadband wireless by mid-2005 through an agreement with T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telekom. While Wi-Fi service in hotels is on the verge being as common as a fax machine, what's new in today's announcement is that there will reportedly be no extra charge for existing customers of T-Mobile.

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Minneapolis airport expands neutral host Wi-Fi

MINNEAPOLIS -- Two years ago, the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was one of the world's first airports to offer public access to neutral host Wi-Fi. The wireless Internet service to travelers has now been expanded to include the Humphrey Terminal, through an agreement between the Metropolitan Airports Commission and wireless service provider Concourse Communications Group.

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UK rail travellers want wireless broadband

LONDON -- Three out of four UK business rail travellers want to use Wi-Fi for Internet access on the move, believing on-train connectivity is a clear reason to choose rail travel over other forms of transport, according to research released by Broadreach Networks Limited. The findings come from the UK’s largest-ever study of the awareness and interest in Wi-Fi technology amongst business rail travellers, commissioned by Broadreach, the UK’s leading provider of Internet locations earlier this year.

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Voice-over Wi-Fi handsets to top 50 million by 2009

Although dual-mode cellular/voice-over Wi-Fi handsets will not be available until later this year, ABI Research is predicting that these devices will represent about 7% of all handsets shipped by 2009. Driving the near term interest in these phones are the enterprise user and the need for data-intensive applications. Ease of use, the convenience of mobility, and access to information stored on cell phones has made it more practical for office users to continue to use their cell phones versus switching to the enterprise telephone system when at the office.

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JiWire launches portable Wi-Fi hotspot locator

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- In what is being marketed as the first in a suite of new "to go" services, JiWire is offering a downloadable hotspot locator for mobile professionals to access and search the more than 28,000 Wi-Fi hotspots worldwide. In addition to finding locations closest to search parameters, JiWire says users can access detailed information about venues such as hotels airports and cafes, verified by JiWire's global staff.

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McDonald's to install 500 Wi-Fi hotspots in UK

LONDON -- After a successful roll-out of 400 Wi-Fi hotspots in the United States, McDonald's restaurants will be installing wireless internet access points at more than 500 locations in the United Kingdom within the next few months. McDonald's UK has teamed up with BT Openzone in an announced campaign to bring public Wi-Fi to every community in the UK.

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Detroit Airport now has Wi-Fi network access

DETROIT -- By this time next year, it will not be news that a major airport is providing travelers with high-speed wireless access to the airport. This is remarkable because it was just a couple of years that the first airport in the world installed a Wi-Fi network.

The latest major airport to announce the availability of wireless Internet access Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) at the the state-of-the-art McNamara Terminal / Northwest WorldGateway. Through the Christmas and New Year's holiday, Wi-Fi access will be available and free of charge to travelers flying through Detroit's McNamara Terminal.

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T-Mobile and iPass sign distribution agreement

The adoption of Wi-Fi for airline lounges, hotels, coffee shops and convention centers will soon reach the tipping point where special announcements of new services are no longer necessary or newsworthy. But, for the moment, a new agreement between T-Mobile USA and iPass serves as a strong signal of where the wireless industry is headed.

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MapInfo offers map database of Wi-Fi hotspots

TROY, New York -- The rapidly maturing Wi-Fi industry is already well established at major airports and hotels. But, how does the traveler find other hotspots? MapInfo, using a Jupitermedia database of Wi-Fi hotspots, is now providing one answer.

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Wi-Fi, broadband for European hotels offered

Demand is growing as fast or faster than supply, and tomorrow's hotel guest will expect a high-speed, secure Internet connection to be as common and as easy-to-use as the old land-line voice telephone. Anticipating growth of Wi-Fi and fixed broadband to meet these demands, STSN and BT Openzone will jointly offer throughout Europe "the first total broadband service designed specifically for the specialist hospitality sector."

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Mostly pubs, but Exeter is UK’s Wi-Fi Capital

SWINDON, UK -- Exeter has been declared the Capital of Britain’s Wi-Fi revolution in a new study by Intel to locate Britain’s technology hubs. Bangor is Britain’s second Wi-Fi city, while the gateway to the North, Newcastle, comes in third. The figures are on a per capita basis, which partially explains why London came in 33rd. And surprisingly, or maybe not, it’s over a pint that Britons are getting wireless, with more of the UK’s 3,000 Wi-Fi hotspots located in pubs than anywhere else. Hotspots are wireless Internet access points installed across the country in cafés, hotels, stations and other public locations.

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French Riviera tourism goes high tech

By Ken Smith | Editor, SmartTravelNews.com

CANNES -- The French Riviera has a long and well deserved history as a favorite tourist destination. Less well known is that this area of southern France is also a high tech center. From a modest start 30 years ago, technology companies on the Riviera have grown to an annual turnover of four billion euros, equal to the revenue from tourism.

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Wi-Fi deployed at four California yacht marinas

ICOA, Inc. has signed a three-year agreement with LGW, owner and operator of California Yacht Marina (CYM) to deploy Wi-Fi Internet access at CYM's marinas. CYM has over 1,800 boat slips at its four California marinas. Beginning with Port Royal Marina, ICOA will install and manage Wi-Fi services for four marinas owned and operated by LGW under a revenue sharing agreement.

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Wi-Fi installed at tourist lake in Kashmir

Just two months ago, portable phones were restricted in the state of Jammu & Kashmir in a government effort to control separatists. Now, to attract tourists once again and to restore the economy, the state of Jammu & Kashmir is working with an Indian networking company that has turned the scenic Dal Lake into a Wi-Fi hotspot.

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Peggy Lee named to direct US travel Wi-Fi for BT

ARDEN HILLS, Minnesota -- Peggy Lee, the former CEO and founder of b-there.com, has been named by Syntegra as business development director for its North American travel and leisure sector. Syntegra, a provider of Wi-Fi and other mobile solutions, is a US$1 billion subsidiary of British Telecommunications.

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European Wi-Fi growing faster than in America

The growth of Wi-Fi in Europe is growing more rapidly than in North America, although there are some unsolved technical issues, according to two separate studies released this week. Frost & Sullivan, in its report, says the European WLAN public access hotspots market is starting to look like a hype bubble. Despite widespread failure to address the technical and business challenges that need to be overcome before the market can truly flourish, many players are viewing WLAN hotspots as an exciting business opportunity, with wide-ranging business models being debated.

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Global hotspots to exceed 45,000 by year end

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts -- According to the latest issue of Global Wi-Fi, the number of hotspot locations globally will surpass 45,000 by year end. More than half of these hotspots will reside in Asia, although the U.S. and Europe are gradually taking a larger share of the pie.

"By the end of 2002, there were less than 20,000 hotspots globally," said John Yunker, analyst at Pyramid Research. "The pace of hotspot deployment has quickened over the past three months. We are now on track to see more than 100,000 hotspots deployed by early 2005."

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Wi-Fi Zone keeps global travelers connected

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California -- The most often asked question by wireless LAN public access service users has been: "Are we in a wireless LAN zone?" Now, the Wi-Fi Alliance has announced that the Wi-Fi Zone program has been adopted by over 6,000 public access service locations in almost 50 counties. The Wi-Fi Zone program began in March of this year, and has participating locations ranging from hotels and coffee shops to RV parks and McDonald's restaurants.

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Train hotspots worth US$420 million by 2008

LEDBURY, UK -- Train travellers will be spending US$420 million per year by 2008 on in-transit wireless LAN hotspot services, according to the latest report from W-LAN experts BWCS. Figures from Railway Wireless LAN Services indicate that within five years 625 million people will be travelling on WiFi-enabled trains around the world every year.
Train hotspots worth US$420 million by 2008

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Mobile usage higher at home than at work

FRAMINGHAM, Massachusetts -- Mobile users continue to take advantage of wireless network capabilities, but more so in their personal lives than in their professional lives. According to a recent survey of more than 2,500 members of IDC’s Mobile Advisory Council, 34% of respondents use a wireless 802.11 (Wi-Fi) LAN at home compared to 27% at work. These results confirm IDC's position that although Wi-Fi is being utilized more frequently by highly mobile individuals, business use of Wi-Fi, especially within the enterprise, is lagging behind home use.

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Sprint plans Wi-Fi at 2,100 airports and hotels

OVERLAND PARK, Kansas -- Through a combination of Wi-Fi Zones built and managed by Sprint and roaming agreements, Sprint plans to provide customers with high-speed Wi-Fi access in public locations such as airports, convention centers and hotels at speeds 50 times faster than standard dialup. The service is expected to be available later this summer in over 800 locations, with over 2,100 locations planned by the end of the year.

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My AvantGo adds Wi-Fi hot spot locator

NEW ROCHELLE, New York -- As Wi-Fi networking technology continues to gain ground, My AvantGo has created a Hot Spot Locator channel for personal digital assistants (PDAs) and smartphones. In addition to being able to access more than 2,500 channels of content, My AvantGo users can now locate the nearest "hot spot" for Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) connectivity by entering a local postal code or city name. 

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McDonald's begins Wi-Fi trials at 75 locations

SAN FRANCISCO -- About 75 McDonald's restaurants in the San Francisco Bay area today will offer Wi-Fi high-speed wireless access for wireless-enabled notebook computers and handheld devices. Although the Starbucks coffee chain has had wireless for some time, McDonald's has the claim of being the first quick service restaurant to offer high-speed wireless access in a major market. 

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12 airports, 565 hotels now have Wayport Wi-Fi

AUSTIN, Texas -- With installations at 565 hotels and 12 airports, Wayport is justified in claiming to be the world's largest provider of Wi-Fi (802.11) wireless and wired high-speed Internet access. This week, Wayport passed the 2.5 million mark for customer connections, and has undertaken an extensive advertising campaign to heavily promote its high-speed Internet service to business travelers and hoteliers.

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Microsoft and partners make Wi-Fi access easy

REDMOND, Washington -- Microsoft is teaming up with high-speed wireless service provider T-Mobile HotSpot as well as Boingo Wireless and Wayport with the goal of making it easier for U.S. customers to find, access and use Wi-Fi network discovery configuration capabilities.

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Wireless Internet tested at Paris metro stations

PARIS -- Cisco Systems is working with Naxos, one of two telecommunications subsidiaries of the Regie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP), the Independent Paris Transport Authority, in a WiFi (wireless fidelity) test of local area network points deployed in the city's metro stations.

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Wi-Fi launched for French hospitality industry

PARIS -- Passman, a specialised network installation and Internet services company, is launching a Wi-Fi service for the French hospitality industry, based on Wificom's SAB Server platform. Founded in 1995, Passman offers a wide range of turnkey IT Services for the hospitality industry and other public and private market sectors. Passman's clients include premium hotels and hotel chains such as Holiday Inn, Marriott, Best Western, Kyriad, Suitehotels, Novotel and Mercure.

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Unisys to provide Wi-Fi for Starwood hotels

BLUE BELL, Pennsylvania -- Unisys Corporation has been chosen to manage a wireless Internet solution for Starwood hotels across the United States. The Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) solution, leveraging the emerging 802.11 standard for wireless connectivity, will complement the wired offering already installed and managed by Unisys in many Starwood properties.

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Wireless Internet, the enterprise's new frontier

When a sales representative needs to work appointments in the Denver area, she stops at the Embassy Suites hotel on East Hampden Avenue. Not because the hotel provides her a comfortable workspace. In fact, this sales rep isn't even a guest there. The big attraction is the hotel's parking lot.

Why?

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Wayport and CNN to provide wireless at airports

AUSTIN, Texas -- Wayport, the world's largest provider of Wi-Fi (802.11b) wireless and wired high-speed Internet access in hotels and airports, has announced an agreement with CNN Airport Network, the only satellite-delivered television service specifically designed for waiting air travelers. The two companies said the agreement would allow a complete neutral-host Wi-Fi wireless high-speed Internet solution to the 38 airports in the United States with access to CNN Airport Network.

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Starwood, Intel add wireless Internet to 150 hotels

WHITE PLAINS, New York -- Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and Intel have announced a marketing agreement to enable wireless Internet access in more than 150 Sheraton, Westin and W hotels in the United States. The installation of wireless 802.11, or Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) technology, in Starwood hotels will take place between March and August and coincides with the upcoming launch of Intel Centrino mobile technology for notebook PCs. Intel's Centrino mobile technology features built-in wireless communications capability.

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Wireless hotspot pricing varies widely worldwide

LONDON -- An analysis of pricing for public access wireless networks shows a wide disparity around the globe, with European providers charging far more than American and Asian companies, according to a new report by the consulting firm BroadGroup. The most popular locations for public wireless access are airports and hotels.

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Hong Kong group picks Wificom wireless server

SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS, France -- Hong Kong-based Systech Telecom has chosen Wificom’s flagship SAB Server as the backend service management platform for the company’s rapidly expanding wireless local area network (WLAN) services in the Asia-Pacific region. Systech Telecom provides high-speed and secure wireless broadband Internet access services to public users in hotels, airports and shopping malls throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Systech said the SAB Server would serve as the software solution for managing all current and future WLAN services.

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Free wireless for guests at luxury Omni Hotels

IRVING, Texas -- A six-month trial has shown that it is good business to give high-end customers free wireless Internet access. Omni Hotels announced this week that the company will be the first luxury hotel brand in the U.S. to offer free high-speed wireless Internet access in guest rooms and select public spaces at owned and managed hotels in North America.

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BT rolls out Wi-Fi to British airports and hotels

LONDON -- Pierre Danon, the CEO of BT Retail, is on a wireless mission to bring commercial broadband to Britain. In the past week, BT has taken a big step towards establishing a comprehensive Wi-Fi network by installing 80 additional live hotspots at Hilton hotels, four airports and motorway service stations. Agreements are in place for another 40 hotspots soon.

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Enterprise-level wireless certified at 400 hotels

LOS ANGELES -- STSN, a major provider of wired and wireless high-speed data communications to hotels and conference centers worldwide, has tested and verified the Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) of over 50 major corporations. The company said this assures enterprise-level security for over 280,000 business travelers at more than 400 STSN-installed hotel properties worldwide.

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AT&T, Wayport enter Wi-Fi roaming partnership

AUSTIN, Texas -- The aggressive expansion of wireless services for travelers continues. Wayport and AT&T announced today have joined to provide Wi-Fi wireless and wired high-speed Internet access in more than 475 hotels and 10 airports in the United States. This roaming relationship agreement will enable AT&T Wireless customers to roam onto Wayport's neutral-host high-speed Wi-Fi wireless network.

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Wayport, Intel promote Wi-Fi at airports, hotels

AUSTIN, Texas -- Investment and expansion in wireless services and infrastructure continues to rebound. Wayport, a provider of wireless and wired high-speed Internet access in 475 hotels and 10 airports, is working with Intel to promote Wayport's service in hotels and airports in conjunction with Intel's recently announced Centrino mobile technology brand.

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Senate bill would jumpstart broadband access

WASHINGTON -- Senators George Allen (Virginia) and Barbara Boxer (California) have co-authored legislation to expand access to Internet broadband technology, with the goal increasing development in the telecommunications industry. Broadband increases the capacity of Internet connections, which means information can be transmitted much faster.

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inCode converts pay phones into Wi-Fi hot spots

SAN DIEGO -- With the rapid growth in mobile phones, the number of public pay phones in the United States has dropped from 2.6 million in 1998 to maybe less than two million today. Just last month, for example, at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska, 25 pay phones were removed amid comments that the remaining 80 pay phones were still too many.

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Free Wi-Fi access at Sundance Film Festival

PARK CITY, Utah -- The much talked about independent film Levity opened the Sundance Film Festival this week. There was another debut that serves as a strong indicator of how fast and how far wireless Internet access is growing. HotSpotzz, one of the largest providers of wireless hot spots, is making its Park City debut by offering Sundance Film Festival goers, stars and staff free Wi-Fi Internet access. 

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Intel launches Centrino Mobile Technology brand

LAS VEGAS -- Intel Corporation said today Centrino mobile technology is the new brand name for its upcoming wireless mobile computing technology. Intel said the new brand signifies Intel's best technology for notebook computers, based on a new mobile processor microarchitecture and wireless capability as well as features designed to enable extended battery life, thinner and lighter form factors, and outstanding mobile performance.

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City of Long Beach offers free wireless internet

LONG BEACH, California -- As part of a marketing campaign to attract tourists and new businesses, the city of Long Beach is offering free wireless internet access in a four-block area of its downtown business district. The city's next project is to deploy a wireless hot spot at Long Beach airport.

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Marriott launches wireless access at 400 hotels

WASHINGTON -- Marriott International is planning to install wireless high-speed internet access at 400 hotels in the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany. This would be the largest deployment of wireless high-speed internet access in the hotel industry.

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Oslo Airport gets public wireless Internet access

OSLO -- Oslo Airport has become one of the few airports and public places in Europe providing paid access to the Internet through its existing wireless Internet facility, which is available throughout the airport and allows passengers to access Internet. The airport's new wireless access network was developed by Nomadix, a California-based supplier of public access systems, and 3C Communications, based in Luxembourg and Europe's leading specialist credit and debit clearing house.

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Cometa Networks formed to offer national Wi-Fi

NEW YORK -- Technology giants AT&T, Intel and IBM, and global investment concerns Apax Partners and 3i are pooling their collective technologies and capabilities to create a new company, Cometa Networks, that will provide broadband, wholesale, wireless Internet access nationwide.

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T-Mobile to provide Wi-Fi to big 3 US airlines

BELLEVUE, Washington -- T-Mobile USA has announced an agreement with American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines to provide Wi-Fi (802.11b) wireless broadband Internet access in each airline's clubs and lounges across the United States, giving even more airline customers convenient, reliable access to the Internet, corporate e-mail and other business applications at super-fast speeds 40-50 times faster than standard dial-up connections. 

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Agere and Ericsson plan public wireless network

ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania -- Agere Systems and Ericsson have announced plans to develop technology intended to significantly expand service providers' ability to provide laptops and handheld devices with access to the Internet and corporate networks from public spaces. The two companies plan to provide complementary 802.11/Wi-Fi systems that connect to service providers' network hubs to enable user authentication and billing, a key step toward offering mobile users the freedom of roaming network access.

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Intel invests $150 million in wireless technology

WASHINGTON -- Intel Corporation has announced plans to invest $150 million in companies developing Wi-Fi technology. The investment is another step in the company's efforts to accelerate wireless network deployment and proliferate the Wi-Fi standard worldwide.

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Wi-Band launches Wi-Fi for travel industry

ORLANDO, Florida -- Wi-Band Networks has formally introduced its wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) high-speed Internet access service for the hospitality industry. Wi-Band's system allows hotels, resorts, convention centers and others in the travel industry to provide wireless Internet access for guests at their facilities.

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English bar patrons get free wireless Net access

HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, England -- 3Com Corporation and Wialess.com have formed a partnership to provide customers in several bars in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England, with wireless Internet access for free. Restaurants and bars offering this service so far include Harry Smiths and Barneys, with Radio Days scheduled to offer wireless service soon.

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Wayport provides Loews with high-speed wireless

AUSTIN, Texas -- Wayport, a major provider of high-speed Wi-Fi (802.11b) wireless and wired Internet access in hotels and airports nationwide, will provide broadband Internet service in seven properties operated by Loews Hotels, a collection of hotels and resorts in the United States and Canada.

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Starbucks, HP and t-Mobile launch 'hot spots'

SAN FRANCISCO -- High-speed wireless Internet access becomes faster, simpler and more convenient this week as Starbucks Coffee, T-Mobile International, the wireless subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG, and HP officially launch T-Mobile HotSpot service in Starbucks coffee houses. 

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HP offers mobile workers wireless 'hot spot' access

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- HP has launched a worldwide initiative aimed at providing public wireless LAN "hot spots" in public areas such as airports, hotels, restaurants and other locales. This offers mobile professionals affordable, secure high-speed access to email and other business applications using virtually any wireless local area network and mobile access device.

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iPass extends Wi-Fi in global travel hot spots

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. -- iPass Global Broadband Network is expanding in Europe and Asia to provide wireless Internet services at major international airports, hotels and conference centers. iPass has announced agreements with five European and one Asian Wi-Fi (802.11b) providers that will enhance and extend the reach of the iPass Global Broadband Roaming (GBR) service in six countries. The agreements are with the Copenhagen Airport of Denmark, Kubi Wireless of Spain, Megabeam of the United Kingdom, Monzoon Networks of Switzerland and Germany, Wificom of France and StarHub of Singapore.

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Wi-Fi leaders join WCA hot spot panel

NEW YORK -- Two leaders in the rapid growth of Wi-Fi have joined the WCA 2002 panel June 26 in Boston: "Hot Spot Pioneers Adapt Local Networks To Nomadic/Mobile Uses," the Wireless Communications Association (WCA) has announced. They are Clark Dong, CEO & Co-Founder of hereUare Communications, and Adam Sewall, Entrepreneur-in-Residence for ComVentures. 

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Seamless Wi-Fi, cellular roaming test announced

FREMONT, Calif. -- The first field trial marrying cellular and Wi-Fi networks has been announced by Green Packet, a leading developer of intelligent roaming infrastructure and wireless network solutions, and WiFi Metro, one of the largest wireless Internet service providers (WISPs) in the U.S. The trial will take place in the San Francisco Bay Area over the next three months using GreenPacket's SONaccess IP mobility solution and the WiFi Metro network. 

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One of largest wireless networks in US expands

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Already one of the largest wireless networks in the United States, WiFi Metro has announced further expansion into hot spot locations. With 40 current locations concentrated in the San Francisco Bay Area, Wi-Fi Metro, 50 more hot spots nationwide are scheduled by the end of this year. 

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Minneapolis airport gets neutral-host Wi-Fi

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport is up and running with high speed Wi-Fi Internet access in what is being described as the first neutral-host wireless network at a major U.S. public facility. It was developed by Massachusetts-based Concourse Communications Group and iPass Inc., a global provider of secure remote connectivity services. The system is delivered across an end-to-end Cisco system.

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GoAmerica offers Boingo at airports and hotels

GoAmerica, a provider of wireless data solutions, and Boingo Wireless have agreed to provide GoAmerica's corporate customers with access to Boingo's ultra-high-speed Wi-Fi service. Launched two months ago, Boingo's Wi-Fi service offers high-speed wireless access in major hotels, airports, coffee shops and other popular business traveler locations. 

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Wayport gets $15 million more in venture funding

AUSTIN, Texas -- Wayport Inc., a major provider of Wi-Fi (802.11b) wireless and wired high-speed Internet service to business travelers with a nationwide network of 450 hotels and nine airports, has secured $15 million in venture funding to boost direct sales efforts, roaming partnerships and network expansion activities.

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Intel, Appear Networks show high-speed LBS

CANNES -- Using what is described as "groundbreaking application provisioning technology," Intel and Appear Networks demonstrated WLAN location-based services (LBS) this week at the 3GSM World Congress.

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AirTran offers Airpath Wireless at boarding gates

ORLANDO, Florida -- AirTran Airways  has signed a contract with Airpath Wireless to offer passengers high-speed wireless Internet service at the boarding gate with the purchase of an Airpath Wireless card for $79. Currently, several AirTran Airways' destinations offer the new service including Atlanta, Washington Dulles, Baltimore/Washington, Boston and Philadelphia.

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Large US wireless Internet service launched

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Operating in the San Francisco Bay Area, WiFi Metro has announced the launch of its wireless network with 40 "hot spot" locations. The wireless Internet service provider (W-ISP) said this is one of the largest such footprints in the United States.

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EarthLink founder starts Boingo Wi-Fi service

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Boingo Wireless is now signing up customers for its high-speed wireless Internet service in major hotels, airports, coffee shops and other popular venues. Over 400 hot spot locations are now available to Boingo members, with hundreds of additional locations being added in the coming weeks. The company also has released version 1.0 of its Boingo Software  to replace the beta version released one month ago.

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WLANs impacting growing public area access

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -- The emergence of wireless connectivity to public area access has largely altered the structure of, and brought renewed attention to, the public area access market, according to Cahners In-Stat/MDR.

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WLAN growth seen for airports, public hot spots

WASHINGTON -- A new report by the Strategis Group concludes that the wireless local area network (WLAN) enterprise market is experiencing dramatic growth, led by the U.S. marketplace. In addition to increasing use of wireless network access in the enterprise, the number of public "hot spot" locations is expected to grow -- including such areas as airports or college campuses, where a high density of users will create demand for wireless network access.

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Aptilo launches products for mobile networks

STOCKHOLM -- Aptilo Networks launched this week a product line for local mobile networks, with Internet access and local network services in public locations. An installation that uses all of the components was completed two months ago at Copenhagen Airport, where passengers now have wireless Internet access while waiting for their planes.

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20 million European wireless LAN users by 2006

CAMBRIDGE, U.K. -- Fast access to the Internet, at speeds 100 times greater than over a GSM phone, will soon be a reality for mobile workers, according to a new report, Public Wireless LAN Access: Market Forecasts, from Analysys, a global advisor on telecoms and new media.

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Yankee Group looks at local area public wireless

BOSTON -- While struggling with more pressing issues regarding next generation network infrastructure, mobile carriers are quietly investigating the opportunities presented by public wireless local-area solutions (PWLASs). In a new report entitled Public Wireless Local-Area Solutions, the Yankee Group looks at how mobile carriers are responding to the competitive threat posed by the emerging independent wireless ISP community, as well as to the potentially large market opportunity of the yet-to-be-defined PWLAS-WAN internetworking market. 

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Mercedes-Benz shows new wireless at Comdex

LAS VEGAS -- Mercedes-Benz USA demonstrated 802.11a wireless technology from Atheros Communications in a specially equipped C320 Sedan this week at the Comdex trade show. The sedan is a research prototype used to develop and show services that would be made possible by high-performance wireless communications in an automobile. 

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Study says in-building wireless will top $1 billion

PARSIPPANY, New Jersey -- The market for licensed in-building wireless infrastructure in publicly used buildings and areas is growing at 20% per year, and will exceed $1 billion for the period from 2002 through 2006, according to InfoTech, a global telecommunications consulting firm.

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Wi-Fi provider MobileStar closes its doors

RICHARDSON, Texas -- MobileStar, a wireless access provider with more than 650 installations in Starbucks cafes, airports, American Airlines Admirals Clubs, hotels, conference centers, and restaurants, has suspended operations and dismissed most of its 90 employees. It is not yet known the extent to which service will be disrupted.

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Tandberg markets first wireless videoconferencing

OSLO -- Tandberg has announced the first videoconferencing product capable of running on wireless LAN. With the increasing popularity of wireless LANs, the Norwegian company sees a need for a videoconferencing product compatible with this type of network. 

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Aptilo installs public wireless at Copenhagen Airport

STOCKHOLM -- Copenhagen Airport is opening its wireless local area network (WLAN) to the public this week. Named CPH-WIZ (Copenhagen Wireless Internet Zone), the network will provide coverage for large portions of the transit hall.

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Wayport andiPass team to provide Wi-Fi access

AUSTIN, Texas -- Wayport, a provider of high-speed Internet access in airports and hotels, and iPass, a provider of remote access services, will offer iPass customers access to more than 420 Wayport locations, which include Wi-Fi (802.11b) wireless access throughout all gates and terminals in airports and hotel common areas, and wired access in approximately 100,000 hotel guestrooms. 

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Starbucks offers free wireless access in New York

NEW YORK -- In an effort to assist those impacted by the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, Starbucks Coffee and MobileStar Network offering New York area residents free wireless Internet access at all company-owned stores in Manhattan.

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MobileStar expands wireless Net access in Dallas

RICHARDSON, Texas -- MobileStar Network, a provider of broadband wireless Internet access in public areas, today officially launched its expanded service in Dallas/Fort Worth, which includes approximately 90 locations. Dallas is the first of several cities to expand its high-speed wireless service into airports, Admirals Clubs, hotels, meeting centers and Starbucks coffeehouse locations.

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Wayport buys nine Laptop Lane airport locations

AUSTIN, Texas -- Wayport, a provider Wi-Fi (802.11b) wireless and wired high-speed Internet access throughout airports and hotels, is expanding its airport footprint and lineup of airport business services for the traveler with the purchase of nine strategic Laptop Lane locations.

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