Wireless innovations

Lucent Technologies Inc., Murray Hill, N.J., is developing an appliance that provides multiple wireless fidelity, or WiFi, connections from a single third-generation, mobile phone connection. Lucent spokesman Roger Derringer said the company had first assembled a unit using off-the-shelf parts to show off the possible uses of 3G at a trade show. But the reaction was so positive, the company is now building a prototype.

Such a gateway might be useful for ambulances, Derringer said. Multiple on-board devices, such as blood pressure monitors, could communicate patient information back to hospitals. This unit would be cheaper and simpler to deploy than establishing dedicated access to each component separately.