Siemens AG, one of the world's leading suppliers of
cellphone networks, has thrown its weight behind a new kind of wireless
technology for laptop users that is designed to compete with Wi-Fi and
cellular alternatives touted by Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) and others.
Siemens, of Munich, Germany, plans to license a
wireless technology called Flash-OFDM from Flarion Technologies Inc., of
Bedminster, N.J., and to begin offering network infrastructure to
service providers in Europe in the second quarter of next year. Martin
Sanne, vice president of portfolio management at Siemens, said the
technology initially will be aimed at laptop users in Europe. Mobile
phones and other hand-held devices will be available later, he added.
Siemens and Flarion claim Flash-OFDM will allow
users to download content from the Internet at an average speed of more
than one megabit per second, far faster than the speeds currently
offered by cellphone providers and comparable to fixed broadband
connections.
Several cellphone-service providers are in trials
with Flarion's technology, including Vodafone Group PLC (VOD), of
Newbury, England; Nextel Communications Inc. (NXTL), of Reston, Va.; and
Deutsche Telekom AG (DT) unit T-Mobile in Germany. Nextel has been
offering service commercially using the technology since April in
Raleigh and Durham, N.C.
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