RoW International Short Takes

Home networking dominated by 802.11 and Ethernet According to In-Stat/MDR, the home networking market continues to be dominated by wireless LAN (various iterations of 802.11) and Ethernet technologies. The technology market research firm reports that the current market is focused primarily on data sharing. According to its data, Ethernet has taken the lion's share of total units shipped with 60%. Wireless LANs take in about 38% of the total, while the remaining 2% is shared between HomePlug and HPNA. In-Stat/MDR's data also shows that Linksys is leading in market share in the first half of 2002 with Netgear and D-Link following.Good wins round 1 in battle with Research in Motion Good Technology has won a legal battle against a temporary restraining order requested by Waterloo ON-based Research in Motion Ltd. Good, of Sunnyvale CA, is fighting RIM on four legal fronts as it tries to legally go to market with a wireless handheld device with similar functionality to that of the BlackBerry. Orange County Superior Court Judge Raymond Ikola presided over the case. RIM has sued Good four times over a variety of issues ranging from patent infringement to unfair trade practices and antitrust crimes. However, in a release following the judgement, RIM officials noted that it is satisfied with the court's ruling shortening the normal pretrial period and that Good still has to answer some evidentiary questions before November 4.FCC unanimously denies Echostar-Hughes merger The Federal Communications Commission has unanimously rejected the proposed merger of Echostar Communications Corp. and Hughes Electronics Corp. that would have created the largest satellite TV service in the United States. Combined, both companies offer service to approximately 18 million subscribers. The proposed merger was estimated at approximately US$26 billion. The two companies tried to save the deal last week in a last-ditch attempt. While they wouldn't reveal specifics of the newest proposals, it was believed new provisions included selling enough transmission capacity to create a new competitor. They indicated the new proposals would be submitted by October 28. However, the FCC wasn't swayed in rendering its decision. It voted 4-0 against approving the merger. The FCC ruled that it wasn't in the public's interest for the merger to go ahead. Opponents argued that the combined entity would have gained a monopoly in certain areas of the country where access to cable TV wasn't available. In defending the proposed merger, the two companies touted a nation-wide uniform pricing plan to ease concerns over price gouging. They also indicated that they would offer high-speed Internet access in areas where it currently isn't available.U.S. gov't issues warning against wireless LANs The U.S. government has released a report warning federal agencies to take extra care when using wireless local area networks. Many in the industry believe that these types of networks are prone to security breaches and hackers. Last month, the office of the Secretary of Defense issued a memorandum prohibiting the use of many wireless technologies in the Pentagon, the Army, Navy and Air Force until the military can develop a wireless security strategy. President George Bush's recent Secure Cyberspace report said: "Federal departments and agencies must be especially mindful of security risks when using wireless technologies."Court questions FCC's motives in NextWave case In hearings last week, some of the U.S. Supreme Court's justices appeared to be skeptical of the Federal Communications Commission's motives surrounding its revocation of 200 spectrum licences won by NextWave Telecom in an auction in 1996. The government's position is that the bankruptcy law against revoking spectrum licences doesn't apply in this case because the FCC was acting not as a creditor, but as a regulator. Supreme Court judges questioned this rationale in making an economic correlation to the value of the licences. "You're just making up a regulatory purpose. This is a classic case that the bankruptcy code is directed to," said Justice Antonin Scalia.

RoW International Short Takes

News | October 15, 2002

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