Iria

SAN FRANCISCO - Two West Coast start-up companies have built new wireless technologies that take to heart Benjamin Franklin's exhortation to hang together rather than hang separately.

Mushroom Networks, which was started at the University of California at San Diego, and WiBoost, based in Seattle, have built prototypes of simple wireless systems that make it possible for groups of neighbors to share their DSL or cable Internet connections.

Both companies said that sharing high-speed lines might enable users in small neighborhood clusters to download files and Web pages up to 10 times faster.

The two companies, which developed their technologies separately, are taking slightly different approaches. But in both cases, neighbors would be able to connect relatively standard wireless routers that would permit their computers to receive data in parallel from multiple DSL or cable network connections. The idea is similar to adding lanes to a freeway to improve traffic flow.
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Read More / Source: International Herald Tribune