Sharing mobile broadband is a great idea, in theory at least, as one can take the broadband connection anywhere.

However, current mobile broadband speeds are not really that great compared to wired connections and are also patchy, depending on the
location.

More ISP is rolling out HSPA+ service which, again in theory, can reach speeds of 21 Mbps versus the current maximum of 7.2 Mbps for HSPA connections. If this works out, more people may switch to mobile broadband and use the PWH2001 router to spread cheer around.

Source: MyPaper 30 June 2009

Tags: Mobile Wireless, Mobile Broadband, 802.11g

Here’s how to set up your second router as an access point. We’ll use the Linksys Wrt54G router for this example:

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Tags: 802.11n, Mobile Wireless, Wi-Fi

A good example is Wi-Fi aggregator Boingo Wireless. We installed its GoBoingo client on our Windows XP machine. Operating this application is a bit counter intuitive, it wakes up when near a Boingo hot spot, but otherwise remains invisible. So, while GoBoingo is frequently listed as a discovery tool, it is’nt really. It’s just a way to connect to Boingo, and only Boingo, and subsequently manage your Boingo account.

We also tested T-Mobile’s HotSpot Connection Manager 1.8, a fundamentally consumer oriented tool that unsurprisingly allows the selection of a skin during installation. Upon start-up, it rapidly produced a list of potentially conflicting applications, disabled them and subsequently fired itself up.

Selecting the “networks” button brought up the usual information such as Service Set Identifier, icons for ad-hoc and infrastructure-mode availability, Basic SSID, radio , details on encryption, and a bar graph depicting signal strength. While slower than our Intel manager, T-Mobile’s tool is very usable and suitable even for those who do not regularly use T-Mobile’s not spot service.

We should point out that neither the Boingo nor the T-Mobile services require a connection manager, but the whole point of these, apart from discovery, is to make network access simple, especially for the less than technically literate.

Interestingly, some wireless WAN operators also provide discovery and connection-management tools that are occasionally configured to support WI-FL For example, Smith Micro Software, whose QuickLink Mobile application is used by a number of carriers, is sometimes made available with basic WLAN connectivity.

The product, however, is sold only on an OEM basis, and the version we frequently use at Farpoint Group Verizon Wireless’ VZ Access Manager 6.7.3 has no WLAN capability. In WWAN mode, however, it functions in much the same way as a WLAN connection manager, discovering networks, letting users choose their connection, setting up links and gathering statistics. Similarly, T-Mobile’s manager is configured to enable the setup of T-Mobile GPRS and EDGE connections.

Click to find out more on related info-products.

Tags: Mobile Wireless, , 3G

Security researchers say they’ve developed a way to partially crack the Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) encryption standard that is used to safeguard data on many wireless networks.

Researcher Erik Tews was to demonstrate the attack at the PacSec conference in Tokyo in mid-November. Cracking WPA encryption could be exploited to read data being sent from a router to a laptop, or to send bogus information to a client connected to the router.

Tews and coresearcher Martin Beck found a way to break the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) key, which WPA uses, in a relatively short 12 to 15 minutes, says Dragos Ruiu, the PacSec conference’s organizer.

In this particular attack, however, they have not managed to crack the encryption keys used to secure data sent from the PC to the router.

WPA, widely used on today’s Wi-Fi networks, is considered superior to the original WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) standard, which most security professionals now deem insecure. Retail store chain T.J. Maxx was in the process of upgrading from WEP to WPA encryption when it experienced one of the most widely publicized data breaches in United States history, in which hundreds of millions of credit card numbers were stolen over a two-year period. The new WPA2 standard is considered safe from the recently developed attack.

“Everybody has been saying, ‘Go to WPA because WEP is broken,’” Ruiu says. “This is a break in WPA.”

If WPA is significantly compromised, it would be a blow for business customers who have been increasingly adopting it, says Sri Sundaralingam, vice president of product management with wireless network security vendor AirTight Networks. Although customers can use other Wi-Fi technology such as WP A2 or virtual private network software that will protect them from this attack, many devices will still connect to the network via WPA, or even by way of the thoroughly cracked WEP standard, he says.

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Tags: 802.11g, Wireless-N, 802.11n

Networking giant Cisco posted a set of first-quarter financial results last week showing an eight per cent increase in sales, but with profit down 0.2 per cent year on year. The firm recently announced Phil Smith as its new UK and Ireland vice president and chief executive. He has been with Cisco since its birth in 1984 when it employed 12 people ­ a figure that has since grown to more than 65,000 worldwide. Computing talked exclusively to Smith to discuss the challenges faced by the supplier.

How do you see the current financial turbulence affecting Cisco?

Phil Smith: Our game plan for the downturn will be centered on the increasing role we think intelligent networks will play in all forms of communication and IT, with the top objectives for Cisco being: next-generation company and next-generation customer relationships; collaboration technologies/Web 2.0; datacentre and virtualization; video; and globalization.

Given your focus on collaboration technologies, what is your view of how firms should deal with systems such as Facebook?

Phil Smith: The new generation of collaboration technologies has posed a big management issue, rather than a technology one. Systems such as these need to be deployed and built around this generation of workers ­ if you ban Facebook, you’re cutting off a whole community at the knees.

Next-generation collaboration technologies use a significant amount of internet bandwidth ­ do you think the web could become overloaded?

Phil Smith: The debate about whether the internet will become overloaded has been ongoing for years now. The statistics speak for themselves ­ the footprint of the average internet user is now one terabyte. This is a huge amount of data and when you add in factors such as increasing amounts of video streaming, the vast uploads of user-generated content, software-as-a-service and the number of devices offering access to the web, this figure will continue to expand. In reality the solution will come from a variety of areas both structurally and technologically, and either way it will require a sustained collaboration between governments, the providers of technology and the ISPs.

What is the current state of Cisco’s telepresence offering?

Phil Smith: It’s kind of what we’d always assumed videoconferencing would be like ­ high image quality, near zero latency and no really painful setup requirements. It is all scheduled via Outlook, and firing up the system involves pressing a touchscreen. Indian chain Taj Hotels has telepresence rooms and it charges about £250 per hour. We have about 270 rooms deployed in-house, and we’re getting 40-50 per cent utilisation, where traditionally we would be looking at low single figures. We have logged the number of meetings in these rooms at 144,000, which we estimate has saved us between $230m (£146m) and $240m. Energy costs are always going to be high, and more firms are setting environmental targets, although I am not sure that this actually changes their behaviour in all cases.

Cisco has invested in environmental initiatives, one of them being the Connected Urban Development (CUD) programme ­ could you explain what this is?

Phil Smith: CUD is focused on what we can do with current digital capabilities to improve the way that cities actually operate, given their massive greenhouse gas footprint globally. Can we be smarter with technology and use IT as a separate utility? We kicked off with three pilot cities ­ San Francisco, Seoul and Amsterdam. The aim was to build something with these cities using technology to make them more environmentally friendly and then use this as best practice. Since then we’ve added four more cities ­ including Birmingham.

CUD looks at fundamentally changing the way that cities deliver services to residents. By looking at how traffic flow is managed, for example, CUD uses IT to improve efficiency, and in turn, help cities reduce carbon emissions. Think about public transport ­ it’s not just about getting it all to run on biofuel. It’s about making it a better and more efficient way to travel so that more people want to use it instead of cars. Buses with wireless internet access or specialist information to tell waiting passengers of their whereabouts are examples of how this works.

Source: Computing. London

Tags: 802.11n, , Wireless-N

The band was once used for microwave links between carrier facilities; but in 2006, citing the lack of any FCC plan at the time for assigning the spectrum, M2Z Networks proposed using it for a combination of free and paid wireless services that would reach 95 percent of U.S. residents. The startup proposed paying the government 5 percent of its revenue rather than going through a traditional license auction.

Last year, the government rejected M2Z’s plan, but FCC chairman Kevin Martin is now circulating a proposal that would set rules for an auction of the spectrum.

T-Mobile took issue with the FCC report, saying the agency based its conclusions on assumptions not used when the tests took place. M2Z, not surprisingly, praised the report.

“There is no longer any need for American consumers, the public interest, and the FCCs regulatory process to be held hostage” by carriers, M2Z said in a statement.

via PC World Dec 2008

Tags: Wireless-N, Wi-Fi, Wireless-G

This interference occurs when devices emit signals into the same frequency that your network uses. For example, many cordless phones use the same 2.4GHz band used by 802.11b and 802.11g networks. Even 802.11n devices, which use the 5GHz band, aren’t immune to interference, because some cordless phones, radar, and satellites also use this band.

To help decrease interference, don’t place your wireless router near the aforementioned devices, and if you suspect you’re receiving interference from a network outside of your home, try moving your router to a more central point inside your home. You can also try changing the Wi-Fi channel on your wireless devices, which can help to avoid interference from in-home devices. Finally, angling the antennas on your routers or wireless adapters can help to ensure better reception.

If you’re in the market for a new cordless phone, buy a phone that uses a frequency different from your network’s frequency. Better yet, consider buying a phone that uses DECT 6.0, a new protocol that’s designed to avoid interference with other wireless networks. As an added bonus, DECT 6.0 features improved voice quality, range, and security over other cordless phone technologies.

Tags: Bluetooth, Mobile Wireless, Wireless-N

If none of your computers have wireless capabilities, you’ll still need to know which wireless standards are compatible with each other so you don’t buy incompatible products

Refer to the chart above when purchasing wireless devices

Tags: Wi-Fi, Mobile Broadband, 3G

A wireless router is the device that sends the wireless signals, including Internet access to other computers on your network, its placement within your home can be crucial. If the router is stationed in an obscure corner of the home, it might be difficult to obtain reliable connectivity throughout your home. Therefore, it’s generally best to choose a central location for the router. Not all users have the option to choose their location, because if the network is paired with a broadband Internet connection, the router will need to be connected by cable to the broadband modem, and there might be limited cable outlets in the home.

Also, be aware that the closer a wireless router is to external walls, the more easily its signals can be detected by someone outside your home. Although your wireless security configuration will protect you from wireless hackers, it doesn’t hurt to place the wireless router toward a central location to weaken the signal that leaks outside of your home. If the initial location doesn’t provide solid coverage throughout your home, try other spots or consider using more powerful wireless antennas on your equipment or a wireless signal booster.

Configuring your wireless network is a fairly straightforward process, but there are important steps throughout that ensure that your network will run as designed and that it is safe from attacks. For this configuration, it’s necessary to connect your primary computer to the router using an Ethernet cable, but you’ll be able to connect to the router wirelessly afterwards with any computer that has a wireless adapter, including this primary computer.

First, shut down the computer that’s connected to your broadband modem and then turn off the modem. Find the Ethernet cable that’s connected to the rear panel of the modem and disconnect the end that’s attached to your PC. Attach this end to the WAN port on the wireless router. Next, connect another Ethernet cable to the Ethernet port on the rear panel of your computer and connect the other end to a numbered port on the rear panel of the router.

Power on your modem, wait a bit for it to initialize, and then connect the router’s power adapter to its rear panel and plug it in. Turn on your computer and take a look at the lights on the router’s front panel. In addition to the power and WLAN lights, you should see a light that represents the LAN port to which you connected the computer. For example, if you plugged the Ethernet cord into port one, the light above “1” may be on. The interfaces for routers can vary, so check your router’s manual if you’re not sure what to look for. If no lights are on, or the expected light is not on, check all of your cable connections.

The next step will vary depending on your device, but you’ll need to either install the software included with your wireless router or enter an IP address in your browser that will direct you to the router’s configuration page. Each of these options should walk you through the process of setting an administration password to access the router’s configuration settings, selecting your Internet connection type, and inputting your username and password for your Internet connection.

During this phase, you’ll also need to create an SSID for your network. This essentially gives your network a name. Choose the name with care, because an easily guessable name can make your network more susceptible to attack. Don’t use your name or other personal info and don’t use a name that could entice outsiders. Create a long SSID that includes letters and numbers and try to change your SSID about every three months.

Finally, configure the security for your wireless network. Again, your router will likely include a wizard that walks you through the process. Regardless of what the wizard defaults to, you should select the strongest security option. If your router have WPA support, use that. If not, use the strongest available WEP option.

After your wireless router is installed and configured, you’re almost finished. Now you need to install or configure the wireless adapters on your computers or mobile devices. If your notebook or mobile device has built-in wireless, use the included wireless utility to connect to the network.

If you’re connecting with a computer that doesn’t include built-in wireless, you can connect to the network using the USB or PCI adapter that you have installed. After installation, the device’s software can be used to input the SSID and security information.

At this point, your wireless network is complete. Although the typical installation is trouble-free, it’s possible you can encounter trouble with flaky network adapters. If you’re unable to connect a computer to your network, make sure the adapter is securely attached to the computer and that you’re using the correct passphrase or encryption key.

Tags: Bluetooth, 802.11g, 802.11n

Yes, wireless encryption can slow the net data throughput of your wireless connection, but the impact should be only slight and not even noticeable unless you’re comparing detailed throughput measurements.

Encryption is a mathematical process that has to be applied to data before it’s transmitted and then again once the data is received. A well-designed encryption feature can achieve this at nearly line rate. But in actual practice, the encryption causes just a little latency, slightly slowing the data transfer. For most users, the benefit of wireless encryption far outweighs the slight performance
penalty.

Tags: Mobile Broadband, Mobile Wireless, 802.11g