AT&T, Intel and IBM, and global investment concerns Apax Partners and 3i today announced they are creating a new company, Cometa Networks, that will provide broadband, wholesale, wireless Internet access nationwide.
Cometa Networks plans to provide this service to telecommunications companies, Internet Service providers (ISPs), cable operators and wireless carriers, who then can offer their customers wireless Internet access, using wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) technology, also called 802.11.
Cometa will also offer wireless Internet access to enterprise customers through the participating carriers.
The company will work with major national and regional retail chains, hotels, universities and real estate firms to deploy the broadband wireless access service in "hot spots" throughout the top 50 U.S. metropolitan areas.
Cometa's service will make it possible for users to keep existing sign-on procedures, email addresses, IDs, passwords and payment methods - regardless of whether they are accessing the Internet via an ISP, corporate virtual private network, telecommunications provider or cable operator, according to the companies.
"Wi-Fi will bring distributed computing into the general public environment leading to increased business productivity and new consumer applications," said Lawrence B. Brilliant, chief executive officer, Cometa Networks, in a released statement.
Cometa Networks' 802.11 network access is targeted to begin roll out during 2003 in top 50 U.S. urban markets. The company is in talks with customers and additional partners.
AT&T plans to provide network infrastructure and management. IBM plans to provide wireless site installations and back-office systems.
Cometa Networks will have offices in San Francisco and New York. The initial Board will consist of Lawrence B. Brilliant, Cometa's CEO; Ted Schell, General Partner of Apax Partners; and Robin Murray, General Partner at 3i. Financial details were not disclosed.
RSS
Digital
HDD roadmap:
The hard disk drive (HDD) industry finds its lifeblood in a technology roadmap. The areal density roadmap describes the number of magnetic bits per unit area on the disk platter--thereby defining the storage capacity.
10 CEOs out in 2009:
It's been a tough year for the global electronics industry and CEOs. We survey the dismissal of 10 industry CEOs during the first three quarters of 2009 and what's ahead for the rest of the year.
Top 10 IC vendors with cash:
The world's biggest IC companies by revenue rank not only among the best in their respective industry segments but are also more likely to have huge piles of cash that can be used to fund acquisitions, R&D and product development
10 companies in trouble (revisited):
What follows is an updated version of 10 companies in trouble. Some companies have been removed since the last version, others remain. Still others have been added to the mix.
MIPS to go after the cellphone?:
ARM dominates the global cell phone market, and many industry observers scoff at MIPS as a viable player in mobile phone designs. But MIPS disclosed that over the next one or two years' time, there will be MIPS-based handsets shipped.
Hot technologies to watch for in 2009:
Every technologist, marketer, industry analyst and reporter on a hunt for the next big thing is bracing for the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show scheduled less than a month away.
Notable women in microelectronics
EE Times has compiled an international list that celebrates women who are business and technology leaders in microelectronics.
EE Times updates Silicon 60
Seventeen companies have been added to the lastest version of our Silicon 60 list of emerging startups. Forty-three companies survived as emerging companies that are still worth watching.
RSS| 
Digital| 
Mobile
