1/09/01 - Wireless Networking Companies Compete for Customer
Base
Jan 08, 2001 (The Orange County Register - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
via COMTEX) -- A wireless home network connecting computers, telephones and
electronic devices is so new that Intel Corp., Compaq Computer and 3Com Corp.
haven't figured out which of the three standards to support. So they're backing
all three.
They're not the only companies investing in the competing Wi-Fi (also called IEEE
802.11b), HomeRF and Bluetooth wireless networks. Many others are backing all
three so they'll be able to offer customers every choice, said Kevin Negus,
chairman of HomeRF Working Group.
"Most of the members of (HomeRF) are members of 802.11 and Bluetooth, and
vice versa. A lot of the companies involved in this business want to build them
all," said Negus, also vice president of business development at Proxim Inc., a
member of all three groups.
Negus reasons that the three standards don't really compete. Bluetooth focuses
on short distances, Wi-Fi targets large office users and large areas, while
HomeRF is geared toward the home.
"They're all going to argue and fight with each other, but at the end of the day,
they're all going to have their own base market," he said.
Houston-based Compaq Computer, which has its business-services division in
Irvine, sells HomeRF and Wi-Fi desktops but to different markets. Business users
veer toward Wi-Fi for faster speeds, and home users prefer the more affordable
HomeRF, said Ted Clark, Compaq's vice president of wireless Internet solutions.
"What we're really about is delivering the solution our customers are looking for,"
Clark said.
Critics have scoffed at wireless networking, saying it's too slow and too
expensive, especially in comparison to the 100 megabit-per-second Ethernet
network that's the basic standard for most area networking today. But
high-speed Ethernet requires ripping out walls, ceilings or floors to lay fiber-optic
cables -- not an economical option for most.
Then, last August, HomeRF got the go-ahead from the Federal Communications
Commission to bump its speed from 1.6 Mbps to 10 Mbps by next summer. Wi-Fi,
already at 11 Mbps, could hit 20 Mpbs next year. Wi-Fi plans to integrate
Bluetooth into its standard so the two will be compatible.
"People have been hungry for it for a number of years," said Chris Chapman, a
product engineer at Linksys in Irvine. Linksys, which supports 802.11b, Home
Phoneline Networking and the proposed HomePlug power line standard, makes
networking equipment and just released a wireless 802.11b router.
Faster speeds and lower prices are helping wireless networks gain acceptance
among home and small-business users, Chapman said.
Wired networks will probably always be preferable because you have a secure,
reliable and very high-speed way to connect, said Matt Swanston, manager of
wireless communications for the Consumer Electronics Association.
"But most people can't do that because it's very expensive to add a (wired)
network once the home is built," Swanston said. With faster connections and
support from dozens of manufacturers, wireless networking beats rewiring your
house, he said.
While the three standards continue to bicker over which will reign supreme,
Swanston advises that in the interim, check appliances and electronic gadgets
for networking capability.
By Tamara Chuang
To see more of The Orange County Register, or to subscribe to the newspaper,
go to ocregister.com
(c) 2001, The Orange County Register, Calif. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune
Business News.
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