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Ethernet, the technology that currently dominates the desktop, is the most popular local area network, is prevalent in the data center and used in home networking, is now making inroads in the Wide Area Network (WAN). After an initial foray that failed for a number of reasons, carriers are using Ethernet to deliver high-speed connections, often dubbed Metropolitan Ethernet, to enterprises...

Cellular carriers have spent more than a decade and billions of dollars building out their networks so customers can use their services wherever they may roam. Coverage has improved along and on many city streets, but in-building reception has remained spotty in many cases ...

Mobile phones are supposed to make it easy for individuals to move from place to place while staying connected to important people and information. Sometimes, however, cellular networks do not deliver on that promise, especially when a user walks inside a building ...

Increasingly, individuals work with cell phones rather than landlines, and businesses and consumers are reducing their telecommunications costs by installing Voice over IP (VoIP) links. The transformation from the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to next generation (wireless and Internet) services is well underway; however, while the new technologies offer many benefits, they also have one limitation: They may not work with 911 services...

Authentication has become a principal concern for IT managers. With identity theft becoming a popular crime, and hackers constantly honing their attack mechanisms, companies are constantly looking for ways to ensure that only authorized users access important data. The Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS) has been an authentication mechanism available to companies since the Internet started to become popular a decade ago. Even though RADIUS can be helpful, inertia and shortcomings with its authentication mechanism has limited its use...

In the telecommunications market, convergence is evident everywhere. Carriers are trying to consolidate their data, video, and voice networks to offer a wider range of services. They are working to meld their wireline, wireless, and cable television services and to present users with one bill for a variety of services ...

Corporations have typically relied on color laser printers for large, complex printing jobs, but the cost of these devices has tended to be too high to deploy them in small departments. That has been changing: Pricing for these devices have been falling and as a result more and more organizations are beginning to deploy them in small workgroups ...

A battle reminiscent of the titanic Athens versus Sparta wars continues to play itself out in the consumer electronics space. Dating back to the 1970s, industry giants Sony and NEC have developed competing standards for recoding information on a variety of media from VCR tapes to CDs. Their latest skirmish centers on next-generation DVDs, which should start arriving near the end of the year but a clear victor may not emerge for a few years more, say industry watchers...

At one time, AT&T and MCI were the telecommunications industry's most influential service providers. As part of a recent period rife with dramatic market changes, the former is in the process of being acquired by SBC Communications and the latter by Verizon Communications ...

Wireless LANs are sprouting up in corporations large and small. While companies understand the possible benefits from these systems, IT departments often struggle with one vexing issue: where to place WiFi access points. Firms like AirMagnet, AirWave, Aruba Wireless, AutoCell Laboratories, Cisco, Cognio, Trapeze Networks, Wavelink, and Wireless Valley Communications are trying to make it easier for companies to deal with potential pitfalls, such as dead spots or insufficient bandwidth...

In the highly competitive cellular marketplace, carriers are always on the lookout for an edge, a way to differentiate their services from their competitors' offerings. Somewhat surprisingly, for more than a decade, Nextel has been able to use one enhanced service, Push-to-Talk (PTT), not only as a differentiator but also as a way to prop up its revenue and margins. That may soon change, however, as other carriers are now poised to deliver similar services...

In the highly competitive cellular marketplace, carriers are always on the lookout for an edge, a way to differentiate their services from their competitors' offerings. Somewhat surprisingly, for more than a decade, Nextel has been able to use one enhanced service, Push-to-Talk (PTT), not only as a differentiator but also as a way to prop up its revenue and margins. That may soon change, however, as other carriers are now poised to deliver similar services...

The adolescent crowd is especially enamored with two items: music and cell phones. Naturally, therefore, handset manufacturers and carriers have begun to find ways to integrate the two. A few devices that integrate static music selections or FM radio signals into cell phones have already started to make their way from research and development laboratories to store shelves, and a slew of others are expected to follow...

The adolescent crowd is especially enamored with two items: music and cell phones. Naturally, therefore, handset manufacturers and carriers have begun to find ways to integrate the two. A few devices that integrate static music selections or FM radio signals into cell phones have already started to make their way from research and development laboratories to store shelves, and a slew of others are expected to follow...

The move to wireless technology is evident just about everywhere today. Users now carry laptops from meeting to meeting, executives pull out their cell phones to make quick calls while on the road, and one can even access the Internet at a local coffee shop. While there has been a lot of progress in inter-computer wireless communications, that has not been the case for intra-computer communications...

They are the bane of many consumers' existence, but the boon to many corporate executives' business plans: Speech recognition systems can make consumers' blood boil as they unsuccessfully try to respond to prompts, such as "Please enter your account number," but the technology can also help executives reduce customer service costs, even more effectively than transferring a call center from Des Moines, Iowa, to Calcutta, India...

Little by little, the traditional barriers that have hindered video transmissions over the Internet are beginning to fall. Inexpensive, quality Web cameras and microphones have been integrated into desktop systems, laptops, and even handheld devices; LAN and WAN bandwidth has increased so networks can support video transmissions; and vendors developed a wide variety of techniques to ensure that video transmissions receive the bandwidth necessary so video exchanges are crisp and clear rather than garbled...

Corporate IT staffs are being put in a bind: They are providing users with cell phones that cost at most a few hundred dollars, yet employees rely on the devices to access corporate data that can be worth millions. Strong security checks are crucial to make sure that enterprise information is protected whenever users access it, but the reality is that many cellular networks offer only rudimentary security features...

Wireless Wide Area Networks (WANs) have so far garnered only niche acceptance: They are used in rural areas where wired telecommunications services are not available and in select instances where companies deem them less expensive than other options, like T1 lines ...

At an airport, one often sees busy executives talking on cell phones and banging away at their laptop keyboards in desperate attempts to finish up a few key items before the flight crew locks the plane door behind them. Airplanes have been an area where cell phone and wireless networks are not allowed, but that may soon change in what would be welcome news for mobile executives...