Companies work to link Wi-Fi, cell phones ..
SAN FRANCISCO ??? In an attempt to make the wireless Internet easier to find, technology companies are linking Wi-Fi and cell phone technologies.
Wi-Fi sends Web pages through the air as radio waves. It's quickly winning over laptop users because it allows fast access to the Internet without being hooked into a phone line.
But it only works if you're within about 1,000 feet of a Wi-Fi antenna. Connecting to the Internet via cell phone ??? or laptop with a cellular antenna ??? is slow. But cell phone coverage is much broader than Wi-Fi coverage.
A device with both technologies could take advantage of both. A laptop, for example, could use Wi-Fi when in Wi-Fi range and cell technology when out of Wi-Fi range.
The cellular service would still be slow, but at least there would be a connection.
Truly integrated devices are at least a year away. But companies are working on products that tackle the technological hurdles:
Cisco Systems, one of Wi-Fi's biggest corporate backers, is expected to announce Monday its first portable Wi-Fi phone. For now, most people access Wi-Fi networks via laptops equipped with special cards. The portable Wi-Fi phone will have the ability to connect to Wi-Fi networks anywhere, just as a PC does.
Research firm Gartner expects there to be more than 24,000 public Wi-Fi networks ??? including hundreds at Starbucks stores ??? worldwide by year's end.
While the Cisco phone won't use cell phone technology, it's a step toward a Wi-Fi/cell phone combination, says Aberdeen Group analyst Isaac Ro. Cisco says it is collaborating with cell phone companies on future ideas. SpectraLink, an office telephone maker, already markets a Wi-Fi phone to hospitals, where cell phone signals can interfere with medical equipment.
No. 1 cell phone maker Nokia is designing a laptop adaptor that includes both Wi-Fi and cell phone technology for the USA. It already sells the cards overseas. They're expensive ??? around $400 ??? so they're slow sellers, Nokia says. But they're a hit with people who really need connectivity, spokesman Keith Nowak says.
Symbol Technologies last year released a Wi-Fi/cell phone communications system marketed toward truck drivers. Drivers transmit data via cell phone when on the road, such as how many deliveries they've made. When they pull into a Wi-Fi-equipped dock, they can upload and download more detailed data.
One obstacle to Wi-Fi/cell phone combinations is who gets paid, Ro says. Wi-Fi networks are run by a hodgepodge of companies, agencies and individuals. cell phone networks are usually run by telephone companies. To allow switching from one network to another, companies will have to work out billing and service kinks.
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