Wi-Fi promises to let you surf the Internet on your PDA while sitting at an outdoor café or transfer a phone number from your laptop to your mobile phone--all without wired connections.

But the U.S. Defense Department says services that use the Wireless Fidelity standard may interfere with military radar, so it's asking for restrictions on its use. That worries some industry heavyweights, which have a lot riding on the technology.

Some in the Department of Defense say Wi-Fi can interfere with military radar.

A compromise could be on the way. Tech execs and Defense Department officials have met in Geneva, at the World Administrative Radio Conference, to discuss issues such as this one surrounding Wi-Fi technology.

Information Week