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Wi-Fi Technologies Flourish in Wales Wireless transmissions had their earliest successes in Wales so it is fitting that the country today is home to leading suppliers of wireless technology and the site of one of the broadest Wi-Fi installations in the UK.This summer Cardiff, the capital of Wales, will become the first city in the UK to have Wi-Fi coverage throughout its central areas under a partnership between BT and the Cardiff City Council. BT and the Council are creating 50 Wi-Fi hotspots in telephone kiosks, commercial and Council premises in the commercial and café center of the city, and Cardiff Bay, its rapidly developing waterfront. The service will be a subscription and pay-as-you-go offering with the Council sharing in revenue for its investment in the project. "What Cardiff has done today, any other local authority can do tomorrow. We now have a partnership model that works and are ready to team up with other councils, " said Chris Clark, chief executive of BT wireless broadband, in announcing the partnership recently. "This forward looking deal demonstrates how BT is seeking to make public Wi-Fi accessible to all across the UK, either through partnerships like this with Cardiff County Council or roaming agreements." This is the first time that a local authority has become involved in providing Wi-Fi Internet access services. Wi-Fi was introduced to Cardiff and surrounding regions last year by Arwain, a non-profit organization that still administers its own network with hotspots in a number of cafes, hotels and other spots. Arwain was unveiled on the same location in Flat Holme, an island off the Welsh coast, where Marconi made his first radio transmissions in 1897 to Lavernock Point on the Welsh mainland. The Internet and wireless communications are becoming increasingly interlocked. An important technology for delivering Internet based data, voice and video traffic to cell phones, PDAs, computer and game consoles is session internet protocol (SIP) software. Ubiquity Software of Newport, Wales is a fast growing supplier of SIP software. For example, Siemens Mobile and Ubiquity recently announced a strategic partnership for the integration of the Ubiquity SIP Application Server into IMS@vantage, Siemens' IP Multimedia Subsystem, a platform for telecommunications operators to quickly develop and deploy multimedia services for 2.5G and 3G mobile networks. Another Welsh software firm active in the mobile telecommunications area is Gamma Projects, Monmouthshire. Carriers in South Africa, Sweden, the UK and other countries use Gamma's product to plan, implement and operate mobile networks, and to identify faults within those networks. Secure digital radio networks are being developed for the British armed forces by General Dynamics Corp. at its facilities outside Cardiff under a multi-billion contract with the UK Ministry of Defense, and Cogent Defense and Security Networks supplies secure wireless network for police, ambulence and other public service sectors at its R&D Center near Newport. The communications industry in general and mobile communications in particular is supported by an academic and research infrastructure that includes The Centre for Communications and Software Technologies (CAST) at the University of Wales, Swansea. Companies such at BT and NASA, BT, Microsoft and Orange have all worked with CAST to solve technology issues. The University is also the site of the Technium and Digital Technium, high tech incubators sponsored by the Welsh Development Agency to promote the knowledge industry in Wales. |