Never the Bluetooth, it works with WiFi

"NEVER MIND whether it handles Bluetooth signals or not," Zinwave's general manager told the INQ. "This things works with regular Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) as well as cellular signals." The INQ had previously chastised Zinwave for ignoring Bluetooth.

Cassidy was talking ahead of the Zinwave hub's first ever, appearance at the forthcoming London Wireless LAN event. "Being British we've actually waited until the product really works before showing it off," Cassidy added.

Zinwave's secret is that it has found a means of shoving radio signals down fibre optic cables. The signal then 'pops out' wherever an antenna is installed. "You can even choose what signal comes out of which antenna," Cassidy boasted.

The INQ thinks Zinwave's gear is ideal for installation on London's Underground network - especially since it can handle TETRA - Europe's favoured digital radio system for emergency services.

However, Cassidy revealed that the company's first customers are going to be those with large sites - such as airports, railway stations, shopping malls and sports stadia.

One surprising customer is enterprises based in very tall buildings. "What happens is that the cellular signal works well in the middle of the building but badly at the bottom and very top," Cassidy explained.

Apparently, on the top floors of skyscrapers you can get so many signals the handset doesn't know which cell site to pick, according to Cassidy. With Zinwave's system, just one particular network operator's signal can be pumped to the upper floors.

Conversely, if an enterprise wants dual mode handsets to work only via a WiFi and VoIP connexion, then the system can be set only to pump out 8021.11 signals - not cellular.

Sadly, Cassidy had no pricing for its first ever hub model but he did claim that it looks slim and sexy rather than being housed in a horrible big, black box. µ

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