Technology Briefs - Oct. 1-Oct. 7

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The Latest Headlines:


DOT Releases New Freight Analysis Tool

The Department of Transportation Wednesday released the Freight Analysis Framework, a database and analytical tool which can be used in planning freight movements.

The framework, said Transportion Secretary Norman Y. Mineta, is a collaborative effort by the Department's Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, the Federal Maritime Administration, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, and the Secretary's Office of Intermodalism.

It examines four key transportation modes: highway, railroad, water, and air, and includes economic forecasts for 2010 and 2020, translating the data into transportation demand, then assigning the demand to the networks. Transport Topics



(Click here for the press release.)


TMC Meeting Cards Lost in Mail Snafu

Many business reply cards requesting information for the fall meeting of the Technology and Maintenance Council may have been lost in the mail because of a postal coding error, according to TMC.

The council asked all those who responded with the cards that appeared in the Aug. 26 and Sept. 16 issues of Transport Topics to contact TMC directly. This also applies to anyone who is still seeking information or wanting to register.

TMC's fall meeting is scheduled for Oct. 14-17 at the Adam’s Mark Hotel in Charlotte, N.C., and is to feature a special presentation by Ryder President Gregory Swienton as well as panels on transportation asset management and fleet improvements with software, in addition to the multifaceted equipment maintenance track.

To register or get information, contact TMC at 703-838-1763; fax 703-684-4328; or by e-mail: tieney@trucking.org. Transport Topics

This article appears in the Oct. 7 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.


Cingular Stops e911 Equipment Shipments

Cingular Wireless told its suppliers to stop shipments of equipment related to enhanced 911 call-location, fueling speculation that it may be changing the technology it is going to use to implement it, ZDNet News reported Oct. 4.

Enhanced 911, or e911, is a system that allows emergency operators to find where a call to 911 from a wireless phone originated. Currently, wireless phones to not permit this type of location, while calls made from landlines can be traced to their source.

Citing two unnamed sources, ZDNet reported that Cingular was looking to make a change because is had become dissatisfied with the system it was currently installing.

In 1996, the Federal Communications Commission said that all U.S. wireless carriers must implement e911 service before 2004. Transport Topics

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