Communications/Network Design

Intel invests $500M in Taiwan WiMax 4/22/2008

Intel has agreed to invest $500 million over the next five years in Taiwan’s technology efforts, including those for WiMax. In doing so, it and the Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs will evaluate the creation of a business entity for WiMax system integration and invite relevant Taiwanese industries to invest in this business entity.

Voices: GreenPeak Technologies’ Cees Links: wireless-networking visionary 2/21/2008

Cees (pronounced case) Links is an engineer and the chief executive officer at GreenPeak Technologies, an international supplier of low-power wireless-system modules compatible with IEEE 802.15.4 and ZigBee. Based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, Links has been a pioneer in the wireless industry and was involved in the establishment of the IEEE 802.

GPON-ONT IC delivers Gigabit Ethernet, voice, and video 1/24/2008

Iamba Networks' iSN1000 chips implement the complete ONT (optical-network-terminal) function that serves as the interface between the GPON fiber and traditional twisted-pair, cable TV, and Ethernet wiring in the home.

IBM millimeter-wave wireless technology inches toward commercialization 1/10/2008

IBM and Taiwan-based fabless chip maker MediaTek recently announced an agreement to develop chip sets based on IBM Labs’ 60-GHz mmWave wireless technology. Prototype mmWave chips that IBM unveiled in early 2006 achieved throughput of 630 Mbps with a maximum range of 10m, but the company touts the technology as potentially suitable for even higher bandwidth applications, such as ferrying u...

Qualcomm barred from using Broadcom 3G in chipsets, software, Qualcomm readies work-around products 1/2/2008

Broadcom scored one last legal victory in the final hours of 2007, when a federal judge issued an injunction enjoining certain Qualcomm WCDMA and new EV-DO products found to infringe Broadcom patents. Legacy Qualcomm EV-DO products may ship for limited period with royalties paid to Broadcom.

Bluetooth: Sufficient fidelity even for average listeners? 6/26/2008

Applications require video support and additional audio channels to cope with stereo, driving the need for low-latency codecs. Using a Bluetooth chip set simplifies development and enables the manufacturer to leverage the brand recognition that Bluetooth now enjoys among consumers.

Protocol-stack testing for LTE technology 5/29/2008

Effective test strategies can help transform UMTS into a cellular-wideband system.

Unraveling the dynamic-range specification in modern spectrum analyzers 5/29/2008

Using a relatively simple chart to calculate dynamic range, along with speed and accuracy specifications, ensures that you choose the right spectrum analyzer and make appropriate price/performance trade-offs.

Laser goes to (trim) pot 5/14/2008

Tales From The Cube: The laser in a SONET transponder begins to behave erratically with varying temperature. Should the engineers blame the climate, or the human element?

10-GbE in the mainstream 5/1/2008

10-GbE edges closer to major product rollouts as silicon prices and power consumption fall. But it may be two years or more before widespread deployments start meeting demand.

Voices: GreenPeak Technologies’ Cees Links: wireless-networking visionary 2/21/2008

Cees (pronounced case) Links is an engineer and the chief executive officer at GreenPeak Technologies, an international supplier of low-power wireless-system modules compatible with IEEE 802.15.4 and ZigBee. Based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, Links has been a pioneer in the wireless industry and was involved in the establishment of the IEEE 802.

Open-cellular-network boasts lack substance 1/10/2008

There are dozens if not hundreds of products that might be more compelling if they integrated a cellular radio.

Holiday wishes target technological harmony 12/5/2007

From an accord among the high-definition DVD camps to signs of progress for UWB and Wireless USB, my list highlights technological developments that I believe would be good for the high-tech segment.

Airing problems in wireless 10/9/2007

Breakfast in the Valley:  Rapidly evolving technologies raise questions about data collisions between and within devices; future devices to become aware of what else is on the network.

Reach is key to broadband-based innovation 9/27/2007

You don't have to be far from the heart of Silicon Valley to find yourself without broadband coverage.

Achieve simple IR-data transmission from a PC’s serial port 10/11/2007

By transmitting appropriate hex values from a PC's serial port to a pair of IR LEDs, a remote-control IR receiver can enable 38.4-kHz data transmission.