Trilight Zone

[tricore]

If there was a big networking story in 2006, chances are it came through the airwaves rather than over wires. Most of the biggest issues involved wireless technologies or services, and they'll keep radiating out into 2007.


Slow progress for fast Wi-Fi

The year started with a vote on a first draft of IEEE 802.11n, the over-100M bit/sec. standard that caused feuding in 2005. It didn't pass, but vendors got the ball rolling by building to that draft, and then some worked to make their products interoperate.

As impatience grew, the Wi-Fi Alliance announced it would take the rare step of certifying products before the final standard is complete. But 802.11n itself is still far off, currently forecast for sign-off in March 2008. The Wi-Fi Alliance certification, expected around midyear, offers a glimmer of hope for consumers anxious for the technology's better speed and range.

Municipal wireless networks

It seemed like every big city in the U.S., most smaller ones and several overseas started planning their own wireless networks in 2006. Incumbent carriers were alarmed, but AT&T Inc. eventually got into the game itself, winning a contract in Riverside, Calif. San Francisco became the focus of concerns about privacy and city control after it chose EarthLink Inc. and Google Inc. to build its network.

The coming year could be a rough one for municipal Wi-Fi because many networks are set to go live but probably won't meet expectations for coverage at first, according to municipal network consultant Craig Settles. They'll need adjustment before they start delivering the goods later in the year, he said.

A close call for BlackBerry

A patent dispute seemingly almost cut the wireless lifeline for thousands of BlackBerry users before Research in Motion Ltd. settled with NTP Inc. in March. But Visto Corp. also sued the BlackBerry maker and NTP sued Palm Inc., reminding users that the wireless industry is still embroiled in costly intellectual property disputes.

At the same time, mobile giants Qualcomm Inc. and Nokia Corp. appear headed for a confrontation over Nokia's use of Qualcomm technology that's at the core of third-generation (3G) mobile gear.

WiMax makes a powerful friend

Although a standard for mobile WiMax was approved in late 2005, this year saw a lot of speculation about whether the new high-speed technology would find a place amid Wi-Fi, 3G and other wireless systems. In the U.S., its biggest backer was ClearWire Corp., a small service provider with close ties to top WiMax backer Intel.

But in August, Sprint Nextel Corp., one of the biggest U.S. mobile operators and holder of radio licenses around the country that could be used with WiMax, anointed the technology as its next-generation system to complement 3G. The carrier plans to start rolling it out by the fourth quarter of 2007 and offer coverage to 100 million people in 2008, a major endorsement that will help foster an equipment market and economies of scale that will lower prices.

Buyouts everywhere

Consolidation in the carrier infrastructure market mirrored the big mergers among service providers, in a year that began with Verizon Communications Inc. completing its buyout of MCI Inc. and saw Alcatel SA and Lucent Technologies Inc. become Alcatel-Lucent SA by December. Nokia and Siemens AG also agreed to merge their telecommunications infrastructure units. Meanwhile, Cisco Systems Inc. made a play for the video market with Scientific-Atlanta Inc.

The players changed in other areas, too, with Motorola Inc. buying Symbol Technologies Inc. to bolster its enterprise wireless lineup and Brocade Communications Systems Inc. buying storage switch rival McData Corp. But one high-profile deal, AT&T's proposed acquisition of BellSouth Corp., is coming down to the wire and may become the first big networking deal of 2007 -- or not