Lucent looks to provide mobile Wi-Fi

Lucent is working to develop a product that would provide users with wireless Internet access on trains, buses and automobiles.

Lucent is working with In Motion Technology in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Top Global in Beijing to develop a product that links 3G mobile networks and Wi-Fi technologies, according to Lucent spokesman Ichiro Kawasaki.

Called Wi-Fi on the Move, the product would augment Lucent's evolution data optimized (EV-DO) 3G wireless technology, which provides high-speed capabilities of about 300K to 500K bit/sec., Kawasaki said.

Kawasaki said the product would use EV-DO networks to provide backhaul for Wi-Fi access points.

Lucent just received $525 million from Verizon Wireless to deploy its EV-DO network in major cities in the U.S., Kawasaki said.

"The idea behind Wi-Fi on the Move is to take advantage of the large base of Wi-Fi devices out there and provide them with Wi-Fi access where they might not otherwise have it, like on trains and buses, where it might be difficult to run a DSL or cable connection to provide the Wi-Fi access," Kawasaki said.

"So anywhere your cell phone would work, this technology would work as well."

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