The Next Phase Of Wirelessness

(Via IHT) Canary Wharf ecosystem in London will soon have ubiquitous, wireless broadband Internet access, powered by The Cloud, the British Wi-Fi network provider. This kind of "site" coverage is the next phase of wirelessness. Rather than just a corner of an airport, café or pub, an entire collection of buildings will be a hot spot. Despite the fact that Wi-Fi - or wireless fidelity - technology dates back to the early 1990s, you still cannot assume today that a signal is available where you need it. Whether a regular office worker or a visitor, you would in theory be able to get a wireless signal in office lobbies, restaurants, shopping malls, indoors, outdoors and underground - in just about any public space in the 39-hectare, or 96-acre, complex. A Nokia white paper on mobile work forces, issued last week, concluded that employees are rapidly adopting wireless technologies but that company decision makers are not yet convinced of their value. This disparity "has been responsible for slower deployment within some businesses." The cloud is especially encouraged by the surge in the number of devices for sale that have Wi-Fi built into them - not just virtually every laptop computer on the market today, but also cellphones, hand-held organizers and even portable game consoles like the PlayStation Portable from Sony. Skype and some GSM cellphones shall begin to integrate WiFi within themselves, already showing early success. These devices are said to be fostering a community . The goal of various initiatives is still Wi-Fi ubiquity.