Narrowband Goes Broad

Seems LoRa is really taking off. Citing data from research firm Analysys Mason, Chris Donkin writes that 85 new networks were announced as live, in a trial phase or in development in 2016 compared with 29 in 2015. While early LPWA deployments were concentrated in the US and Western Europe, Analysys Mason found interest in the technology spread … Read more

2017 Predictions

This piece was written for the BBC World Service’s Business Daily. This year is going to be an interesting one, but in technology it’s going to be particularly so. Social media is going to see some reverses, as users start to wake up to the compromises they make in sharing information with companies, governments and … Read more

PCs with Wireless Charging?

PCWorld reports of a Dell laptop with wireless charging, but it seems a low-key affair without much conviction: At CES last week, Dell showed a wireless charging PC called the Latitude 7285, a 2-in-1 with a detachable screen attached to a keyboard base. It’s the first wireless charging laptop based on the AirFuel Alliance’s emerging … Read more

Dog fight: Start-ups take aim at errant drones

Here’s a piece I wrote with Reuters colleague Swati Pandey about the rise of anti-drone technologies. Buckle up. A boom in consumer drone sales has spawned a counter-industry of start-ups aiming to stop drones flying where they shouldn’t, by disabling them or knocking them out of the sky. Dozens of start-up firms are developing techniques … Read more