Japanese chip maker Rohm announced yesterday that they had cracked the 1.5 gigabits per second wireless data transmission speed with their new 2cm long chip. The chip uses terrahertz wave transmission to achieve such incredible speeds, which utilizes the portion of the spectrum between infrared and microwave. Amazingly, these super fast transmitters may actually be cheaper to build than current models.

Perhaps more enticing is that the company believes that they can not only bring the chips to market in three to four years, but that 30 Gbps speeds are in our future.

It’s a frequently quoted truism that despite a huge market for consumer electronics and an insatiable appetite for the Internet, the U.S. has lagged behind other countries in adopting super-fast data connections. However, a recent blogpost from Pyramid Research suggests that could be changing. According to their study, by the end of 2011 the bulk of  worldwide LTE connections will be handled by U.S. companies accounting for 47% of worldwide LTE traffic. Additionally, 71% of LTE handset sales will be in the U.S..

Most of these LTE connections will be handled by MetroPCS, AT&T, and Verizon. The last of these is particularly significant, since Verizon launched its LTE network in late 2010 and now provides the most coverage across the country with the standard — some 60% of the nation. Verizon expects to have 185 million LTE users by year’s end. AT&T, though only recently entering the LTE fray, expects to add 70 million users of their own users to the standard by the end of 2011.

AT&T CFO John Stephens announced that the company will launch LTE data service in five major cities this Sunday, September 18. The company aims to have 70 million people covered by the data standard by the end of the year. According to a report from Fierce Wireless, AT&T had previously identified the cities as Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Though this will be the first rollout of LTE for the company, AT&T has already been selling devices that can take advantage of the network.

The wireless standard, which is incompatible with 2G and 3G because it operates on a separate section of the wireless spectrum, is known for its high upload and download speeds; ability to handle many users; and is designed to deal with devices moving quickly from one section of the network to another. LTE has also been closely associated with other wireless companies in the U.S., namely Verizon which launched LTE service last year. It’s worth noting that while AT&T’s year-end goals for coverage are certainly worthy, it lags behinds Verizon’s projected of 185 million users by the end of the same time frame. Clearly, they have some catching up to do.

(via Fierce Wireless)

The computer mouse can take on a variety of shapes and sizes while retaining functionality, including looking like impossibly adorable robot pod creatures. Artist Aaron Ristau has created these unique computer mice, which use a micro USB transmitter for wireless capability and use repurposed typewriter keys for the mouse buttons. Each mouse is different, and can be customized with specific character keys, colors, and other features.

(Gizmodo via Boing Boing)

The 4G wireless Internet service provider Clearwire is now the focus of a lawsuit alleging that the company inaccurately portrayed their coverage area in order to deceive customers into buying the service.

Email evidence submitted with the suit seems to show that Gabe Suarez, the Director of Engineering at Clearwire, instructed employees to watch for connection issues after changes were made to the coverage map. The email states that the coverage area was expanded by one mile in order to allow more users to sign up for the service.

Yesterday’s State of the Union address had a heavy dose of geek as President Obama expressed America’s need for further technological innovation. There was a strong focus on “rebuilding for the 21st century” and making sure America keeps pace with other countries — from both an industrial and scientific standpoint. Most excitingly was Obama’s plan for 98 percent of Americans to be covered with wireless high-speed internet in the next five years.

We’re the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook. In America, innovation doesn’t just change our lives. It is how we make our living.

Within the next five years, we’ll make it possible for businesses to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98 percent of all Americans. This isn’t just about faster Internet or fewer dropped calls. It’s about connecting every part of America to the digital age. It’s about a rural community in Iowa or Alabama where farmers and small business owners will be able to sell their products all over the world. It’s about a firefighter who can download the design of a burning building onto a handheld device; a student who can take classes with a digital textbook; or a patient who can have face-to-face video chats with her doctor.

The White House as a whole has become increasingly up-to-date: following the President’s speech, government officials monitored Twitter and Facebook for a Q&A session with we the people, and on Thursday, Obama will be answering user-submitted questions live via YouTube (and we fully hope Obama responds in kind to YouTube’s regular demographic).

Over the next 10 years, the White House said it will be nearly doubling the federal and commercial wireless spectrum in order to keep up with the explosive demand for smartphone and other wireless Internet device communications. President Barack Obama is expected to sign a memorandum today committing the federal government to auction off 500MHz of federal and commercial spectrum.

National Economic Council director Lawrence H. Summers, who is to give a speech outlining the policy later today at Washington think tank New America Foundation, said: “This initiative will catalyze private sector investment, contribute to economic growth and help to create hundreds of thousands of jobs.”

Recently, a number of cable companies have been dropping hints about offering cellphone / wireless Internet service. So far they’ve just been baby steps, with a small test rollout here, or a limited test deployment there. But thus far, none of the CableCos really have much to show for all their talk.

But the cable companies need to think bigger, much bigger: If they do, both you and they will end up winners. Here’s why: