The long-needed integration of competing hot-spot networks has really picked up steam in recent weeks:

• T-Mobile and iPass have agreed on common user-connection software, which will let customers access T-Mobile HotSpot network and the iPass virtual Wi-Fi network using one setup for both networks, as well as permit roaming between them. This interoperability affects about 10,000 hot-spot locations.
• At the same time, MCI and Boingo Wireless have agreed to let MCI customers who access MCI hot spots via PDAs to be able to access Boingo hot spots as well, essentially tripling MCI's hot-spot reach to about 2,600 locations. MCI says it will add 3,000 new locations this year to its hot-spot network.
• Boingo has also added 200 locations via an interoperability agreement with Arescom Hospitality, which has a hotel-based hot-spot network.

Aligo is offering a hosted, subscription-based service to track field employees. Its WorkTrack service costs $15 per month and has employees use a GPS-enabled cell phone for attendance and job reporting.

Trapeze Networks has updated its Mobility System product line. The Mobility Points can now connect to either existing Ethernet switches or to the Trapeze Mobility Exchange wireless LAN switch, as well as support the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) in hardware and the 802.11g 54Mbps standard. The company has also extended the Mobility System's support for voice services by integrating SpectraLink Voice Priority for SpectraLink voice-over-wireless IP (VoWIP) telephones. It also adds continuous rogue detection and other security enhancements.

Cranite Systems has released its WirelessWall Client for Mac OS X, which brings FIPS 140-2 encryption to Macintosh users. Speaking of the Mac, O'Reilly Publishing has released Mac OS X Unwired, a book that explains how to set up the Mac's built-in wireless capabilities.

OTC Wireless has released its WiJet Video hardware, which creates a high-speed wireless link using the 802.11g standard so users can now wirelessly transmit full-motion video, animated rich media, and very large presentations from their laptop, desktop PC, or mobile computing device.

Among product-related odds and ends:

• Certicom has made its MovianVPN software available for the Pocket PC 2003 operating system. The software runs on a variety of operating systems and is claimed to provide one common VPN configuration for IT to manage on a variety of gateways and devices.
• Colligo has upgraded its Workgroup Edition software to version 3.3, which lets users quickly set up custom, ad-hoc wireless networks with your own SSID (service set identifier) and WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) key. It also has several security-related enhancements.
• CommHub is deploying in-building wireless networks for the building tenants using Trapeze Networks' Mobility System. CommHub works under contract to building owners to provide communications services.
• Corsoft has upgraded its Aileron wireless email client for the Palm OS. The new version adds support for PDF files and for checking multiple email accounts.
• Airespace's 1200 Access Point has been certified fully compatible with all standards categories of the Wi-Fi Alliance. This means it is certified for 802.11a, b, and g, as well as for the Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) encryption standard.
• The Web site www.wi-firates.com lets you compare different providers' fees for 802.11 access throughout the U.S.

On the technology front, Rutgers University has won a $5.5 million, four-year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to construct and operate a facility for researchers around the nation to test the next generation of wireless and mobile networks. This wireless networking test bed will include both a large-scale radio grid emulator laboratory and a field trial system in and around the Rutgers campus and nearby central New Jersey communities. Within the next year or so, local residents that have the appropriate equipment will be able to sample conventional and advanced wireless Internet access for free at wireless Internet "hot spots" around the Rutgers-New Brunswick campus.