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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Moderated Thread - please read rules before posting -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: foundation who wrote (30245)	12/20/2002 9:25:58 AM
From: foundation	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 196627

The Pentagon pulls the reins of Wi-Fi December 20 Who does the frequency 2.4 gigahertz belong to? It is the frequency which is destined for civil use on the USA. It is the frequency which garage openers use, or Bluetooth devices. And what’s more, it is not necessary to possess specific authorisation to be able to transmit over these frequencies. When the ether was regulated, a part of the frequencies were reserved, available for short wave devices, just like the devices we use every day. A portion of this spectrum has notoriously been used by the United States army for some communications systems, for example, for missile guidance or aeroplane radar. Despite this, no one has ever seriously thought that the use of technologies on these “free” frequencies would bother its older brother, the military. At least until now. However, one of these technologies, the protocol 802.11b, also known as Wi-Fi, has become too powerful. Invented as a simple system for creating wireless Ethernet networks in offices, little by little it has grown into a serious threat for the third generation of mobile telephony. Its range of action can reach kilometres, depending on the relative amplification and natural obstacles. A project of IBM, Intel, and AT&T is already being planned to create a Wi-Fi network which would cover the main U.S. cities. Much of the technological industry has put its hopes in Wi-Fi. But its bright star could be put out. According to what The New York Times published this week, the United States Department of Defense wants to reduce the maximum power of Wi-Fi, so that these networks would not be able to provoke interference with their radar systems. This newspaper states that representatives of Intel and Microsoft have already tried to reach an agreement on the subject before the government is forced to take a decision. If the army’s arguments win out, access points for Wi-Fi networks will be limited and their transmission power will be reduced. This would leave only a shadow of a memory of what this technology could still become. A terrorist weapon In any case, some technicians have doubts that this technology is really able to create problems for the army. According to the declarations of The New York Times, Mr. Edmond Thomas, of the FCC (Federal Communications Commission, the organisation which regulates telecommunications in the US), up to now there have been no registered cases of interference of any Wi-Fi device with any military radar. On the Internet discussion forums, such as Slashdot, many are saying that this move by the Pentagon has a second motive. A few weeks ago the FBI attacked this technology, affirming that the security holes present in Wi-Fi systems would permit maintaining a certain degree of anonymity. This would make it a weapon in the hands of potential terrorists. However, what probably frightens the American investigative services the most is the possibility to create a citizens’ Wi-Fi network. This would be a free and uncontrollable Internet, at the margins of any operator. And this would be difficult to cover by control systems of information and telecommunications which the government of George W. Bush has been trying to impose since the attacks of 11 September. Ignacio Escolar (translated by Miranda Drew) uk.gsmbox.com