Craig Mathias
Principal
Craig J. Mathias is a principal with Farpoint Group, an advisory firm specializing in wireless networking and mobile computing. Founded in 1991, Farpoint Group works with technology developers, manufacturers, carriers and operators, enterprises, and the financial community. Craig is an internationally-recognized industry and technology analyst, consultant, conference speaker, author, columnist, and blogger. He regularly writes for Network World, CIO.com, and TechTarget. Craig holds an Sc.B. degree in Computer Science from Brown University, and is a member of the Society of Sigma Xi and the IEEE.
Test: Can Mu-Mimo really boost Wi-Fi capacity?
MU-MIMO is a feature of the 802.11ac Wave 2 standard that can boost Wi-Fi capacity, this test finds.
The future of Wi-Fi: The best is yet to come
This article will describe the current major activities in Wi-Fi technologies and products, and explore the key issues and challenges that remain.
Mist CTO Bob Friday: 'Beacons are reaching critical mass'
With a wealth of experience in the field, Friday explains how his company is inventing and bringing to market virtual BLE beacons.
Virtual beacons challenge Wi-Fi for in-building, location-based supremacy
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons from Mist Systems and Cisco could revolutionize the consumer experience in retail, healthcare, hospitality.
3D Gestures for Mobile Devices: IK Multimedia’s iRing
Here’s an inexpensive new product that promises hours of fun for musicians of all types – but it might also point the way to 3D interfaces for mobile devices.
802.11ac Wave 2: Sooner Than You Think, Part 2
Xirrus’ recent almost-announcement is a further indication that Wave 2 is going to get started in the market this year.
Meru's new WLAN controller is perfect for SMBs
The MC1550 is big on functionality, with a small form factor and low price tag.
Motorola’s MPact: A Hybrid Indoor Positioning Platform
I've been involved in a good number of projects recently involving location and tracking (a common term for the combination of these two is now positioning, not to be confused with positioning in a marketing sense or any other), and...
IEEE's Rock Stars of Mobile Cloud: No Rock, But a Few Stars
I spent Tuesday last week at the IEEE Rock Stars of Mobile Cloud event in Boston. The IEEE is of course best known for its soporific standards and conferences of interest to few beyond geeks and nerds. This event, however, was...
Deploying 802.11ac: Notes from the Field
We just wrapped up the first four stops on the Wireless Infrastructure 2014 tour, just a few of the hundreds of events, by the way, that Network World produces every year. We've been concluding each of these with a workshop segment,...
Credit-Card Fraud has Met Its Match: Ondot Systems New CardControl Solution
My recent column on minimizing credit-card fraud suggested getting retailers out of the loop via a proxy relationship with credit-card processors. This at least minimizes the number of entities with access to sensitive information...
The Camera That Killed the Jeep – Part 2
So you may recall from my last posting on this subject that I have a Wi-Fi camera that can drain the battery in Donna Diamond's brand new Jeep Cherokee simply by being powered up nearby the car. All I have to do it turn the camera on...
WLAN Testing and Benchmarking: Notes from Syracuse University
My old friend and colleague David Molta invited me to speak in a couple of his classes at Syracuse University. Dave, whom I first met when he was spending his time at Network Computing, is one of truly great professionals in the...
IDC’s Directions 14: Some Interesting Observations on Mobility – and Beyond
I recently attended IDC's annual Directions conference in Boston, and this information-packed event is always worth a visit. IDC is, of course, the original analyst firm, today with over 1,000 analysts and always a fairly...
M2M, IoT – and Broadband
I recent spoke with a senior executive from FreeWave a Boulder (CO)-based company that has been designing and building wireless products, using mostly proprietary radio designs, for two decades. The firm specializes in such...
Enterprise WLANs 2014: A Few More Announcements
Who was it that said that anything in print is out of date? I think such may be true for anything published on the Web as well - as I received notice of two more announcements just after I posted my note on this subject last...
What’s Next for Enterprise Wireless LANs?
I've had several interesting conversations with attendees at recent Network World Wireless Infrastructure events regarding the future of enterprise-class wireless LAN systems. I've been theorizing that the advent (really a landslide...
AirMagnet breaks new ground in wireless spectrum analysis
Everyone needs a Wi-Fi spectrum analyzer, but there are times when analyzing cellular spectrum is also essential. Fluke Networks' new AirMagnet Spectrum ES provides a broad range of capability at a very attractive price. Spectral...
RF Interference Like You’ve Never Seen Before
OK, this one is so weird that you're likely not going to believe what follows. Notice, however, that this is not the April Fools column, and, in fact, the following is 100% true.Farpoint Group's erstwhile Operations Manager, Donna...