The long and short of wireless networking
The tussle for wireless preeminence was more the result of confusion than a case of competing technologies. As the technologies matured into actual products, their roles in the wireless spectrum clarified and they were seen as true complements to each other, largely defined by their ranges of operation. Bluetooth handles the short haul well, connecting notebooks, PDAs, phones, and so forth, to peripheral devices--a job that at one time infrared was expected to do. Wi-Fi's place is in the halls and offices of enterprises and in manufacturing facilities, where it can be a cost effective replacement for cabled networks while delivering the cost-saving convenience of mobility. Cellular is still more promise than reality, but it will handle data transmission services over great distances.
With this scenario shaping up, it's no surprise that wireless vendors are ready with products that mirror this unwired hierarchy. As the utility of the three wireless technologies converges, so do the wireless networking products.
Symbol Technologies offers a solid case for wireless convergence. At NetWorld+Interop this week the company introduced its Symbol CompactFlash embedded LAN/WAN module. The product is a Type II extended CompactFlash card that provides access to Wi-Fi and GSM/GPRS networks. Within the case of the tiny card are two discrete sets of miniature circuitry packed back to back--one controls 802.11b access, while the other provides data and voice services over cellular networks.
Symbol also demonstrated AirBeam Safe, a VPN system for wireless devices. AirBeam provides security using the Wireless Transport Layer Security (WTLS) protocol, but its most interesting feature is its seamless roaming. With this feature, your mobile device will detect a loss of signal from one form of wireless access--802.11b, for example--and seamlessly switch to another, such as cellular. Of course, the portable device must be equipped with appropriate adapters--or maybe just Symbol's own CompactFlash card.
While Symbol's products address mid- to long-range wireless networking, another firm, Silicon Wave, showed off engineering models that address the two complementary technologies at the other end of the wireless range. The company used NetWorld+Interop to show off of a mini-PCI card reference design that combines 802.11b capabilities with Bluetooth. Although company reps weren't at liberty to name names, they did say that samples have been sent to numerous OEMs and their interest is strong. Silicon Wave expects that its design will appear in notebooks from major manufactures by this fall.
