No Strings Attached

By Mike von Wahlde
Associate Editor, INTERNET TELEPHONY

The iPAQlet's face it, it is the PDA to have. It's sleek, stylishly silver, has all the right ergonomics, and pretty faux-chromed buttons. They look good in a leather or carbon fiber-styled case, and all the cool kids have them. So do the techies. So do my friends. And, so do many, many high-ranking executives. There are a lot of good reasons for the iPAQ trend, and I am not going to be one to discount the wonders this little device has brought to many people's organized, disorganized, and mobile lives. I am merely a messenger, and I carry this message -- if you own one of Compaq's gems, there is some new broadband access that may change the way you use your iPAQ.

Navini Networks, Inc. has announced it is teaming with Compaq Computer Corporation to deliver wireless broadband access in a WAN (Wide Area Network). Navini has developed a custom expansion pack for the Compaq iPAQ Pocket PC that contains Navini's Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) technology. The new sleeve will give iPAQ users broadband capabilities at speeds of 512 Kbps. Applications such as streaming video can become a realitya new boon for video aficionados, and a great application in the WAN. Applications in the enterprise, campus, and health field should really benefit from this type of technology, too.

Navini was founded by Wu-Fu Chen and industry expert Dr. Guanghan Xu, and they are targeting the 2.4 GHz ISM (GigaHertZ Industrial Scientific and Medical band) and 2.6 GHz MMDS (GigaHertZ Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service) spectrums of wireless broadband ; providing nomadic, zero-install, non-line-of-sight wireless infrastructure to allow for Web and network access. Navini Networks' flagship product line, Ripwave, consist of a base station, CPE, and Element Management System (EMS) and run in the 2.4 GHz ISM and 2.6 GHz MMDS spectrums.

Navini has developed a complete "nomadic" broadband access infrastructure portfolio consisting of base stations, antenna systems, customer premise equipment, and an element management system. The interesting thing is that unlike fixed wireless options, their solutions deliver broadband capability without having to install anything at the customer premise. Navini's technology is derived from the TD-SCDMA (Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access) standards. In fact, one of Navini's founders, Dr. Xu, wrote the initial draft for TD-SCDMA.

The iPAQ offering is a new twist on Navini's strong grasp of the wireless arena. "Navini's vision is to provide ubiquitous nomadic broadband access to the marketplace. Our relationship with Compaq is evidence of our commitment to deliver on this vision, " said Alastair Westgarth, chief executive officer at Navini Networks. "We chose the Compaq iPAQ Pocket PC for this first wireless broadband handheld deployment because of its industry-leading expansion pack design."

This is a big move for wireless broadband for iPAQ users, and I'm sure that those lucky enough to be in a WAN slated for customer trials will have plenty to say about yet another benefit of the iPAQ.

Mike von Wahlde welcomes your comments at mvonwahlde@tmcnet.com.