Chicago-based network gear vendor U.S. Robotics has unveiled a fleet of wireless LAN products that the company claims can connect users at 100Mbps. Dubbed the 802.11g Wireless Turbo family, the set includes a router, a multi-function access point, a PCI adapter and a PC card. The devices employ U.S. Robotics’ “Accelerator Technology,” which boosts network speeds beyond 54Mbps – the data rate normally associated with 802.11g, a wireless spec that the IEEE was expected to turn into a standard by mid-June. See U.S. Robotics online at www.usr.com.
Call-Net calls for change
Toronto-based service provider Call-Net Enterprises Inc. last month sent to the CRTC a list of proposals that the company says could boost local phone competition. The proposals would make it easier for users to switch from one telco to another, reduce for two years the cost of unbundled local loops, and educate users about local competition. That last proposition led Mark Quigley, an analyst with The Yankee Group Canada, to suggest, “If Canadian consumers don’t understand local competition, perhaps [Call-Net] have not done their job on the marketing side.”
Wireless war heats up
BWireless Zones Inc. has turned on public wireless LAN (WLAN) service at Toronto’s Exchange Tower, located in the city’s financial district. The company says it plans to roll out 102 Wi-Fi hotspots by the end of 2003; until then users can access its current installations in Toronto and Ottawa for free. Meanwhile, Telus Corp.’s WLAN partner Spotnik Mobile Inc. cranked up Wi-Fi service at First Canadian Place, also in the financial district, and at a number of Westmont Hotels in Toronto. See BWireless online at www.bwireless.ca. Visit Spotnik at www.spotnikmobile.com.