Curious convergence

Convergence has all sorts of appearances, but look at these two. It's fixed/mobile, in a way.

• Nethercomm's broadband-in-gas (BiG) technology combines a fixed network infrastructure (gas pipes) with a wireless technology (UWB). I wrote about it before, after Forbes picked it up. Now ZDNet writes about it. The sad thing is, there is no venture backing and there are no licensing deals, even after Nethercomm ran a BiG conference in August and a seminar in September. Still, EarthLink apparently is taking a look.
• Amperion uses a fixed network (power lines) technology (BPL) for backhaul and a wireless technology (WiFi) for last mile connections. Reminds of the WiMAX (backhaul)/WiFi combination for muninetworks, which comprises fiber as well, for that matter.