Trucking Technology Alert - Aug. 7
 |  |
Both the online report and e-mail are sponsored by @Track Communications, a supplier of wireless communications and dispatch services.
Today's Technology Headlines:
- FCC Seeks High Court Ruling on NextWave
- City Seeks to Extend Wireless Signals
- Mobile Internet Access, Services Remain a Growing Market
- Up Implements Weather System
- Shippers Not Sure About Rail Technology
FCC Seeks High Court Ruling on NextWave
The FCC announced yesterday that it would ask the U.S. Supreme Court to determine the fate of $16 billion in wireless licenses.The FCC is hoping that the Supreme Court will overturn a lower court ruling that gave NextWave Telecom the licenses despite the fact that the company had gone bankrupt and was unable to pay for them. NextWave had won the licenses in 1996, but subsequently defaulted on the $4.3 billion it owed for them when it filed for bankruptcy protection in 1998.
City Seeks to Extend Wireless Signals
In Chicago, city agencies are examining proposals to create infrastructure that would bring mobile phone signals to locations where it is now almost impossible to get service.Chicago's aviation department, for example, is considering proposals from two companies to wire Midway and O'Hare airports by installing numerous small antennas through the airports, which should boost signal capacity and clarity by a significant amount. While there are currently a number of mobile phone antennas at O'Hare, the majority of wireless phone carriers have to rely on antennas placed on top of a nearby Hilton hotel and other sites on the outskirts of the airport to provide service.
Aviation officials are currently examining offers from two companies, Orlando Park, Ill.-based Andrew Corp., and New York-based Concourse Communications Group, to construct airport systems that would provide strong cellular communications coverage at both Midway and O'Hare. Andrew Corp. is also competing with a number of other companies for a contract from the CTA to place antennas in Chicago subway stations and tunnels. For Andrew Corp., which manufacturers antennas, cables, and other equipment for the wireless industry, providing inside infrastructure would represent a new area of business. Andrew Corp. has previously been awarded contracts to supply antenna infrastructure to San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit system, the Boston transit system, and a number of other transit systems. The company has also created infrastructure at Midway Airport that allows wireless communications to be used by some workers. Chicago Tribune (08/06/01); Van, Jon
A NAME="story3">
Mobile Internet Access, Services Remain a Growing Market
Mobile Internet access carriers are nearly set to reap the rewards of the significant investments they have made in licenses and wireless data infrastructure.Frost & Sullivan projects that 136 million people will be using wireless Internet services by 2007, up from just 2.9 million active users in 2000. That number will equate to $25.89 billion in revenues, up from $417.6 million in 2000. However, some steps are still needed in order to realize this growth, such as a new model for pricing traffic delivered in data packets and the full rollout of the next generation of wireless Internet infrastructure.
Web-Feet Research expects 2.5G services to precede 3G services, with 51% of the mobile phone market 2.5G-capable by 2006. At that time, Web-Feet says that 3G should be in its third year and comprise 29% of the mobile phone market. CyberAtlas (08/06/01); Pastore, Michael
Using information from the National Weather Service, the system locates any weather conditions that could be of concern to the railroad, overlays the information on a map and sends this along to the dispatcher. If the dispatcher does not respond within three minutes, the alert is forwarded to Service Center Interruption; the alerts are also archived for use by accident investigators. Traffic World (08/06/01) Vol. 265, No. 32, P. 21; Hickey, Kathleen
One concern is the fact that most railroads are developing proprietary technology rather than working together to create uniform technology; another problem is that while all the information available to shippers has certainly improved, railroads' replacement of people with technology can be a problem.
Shippers also complain that they now have to do some tasks that the railroads themselves used to do--or charging shippers for services that were once available at no extra charge--and frequent computer- and Internet-related problems can cause big difficulties for shippers as well. Traffic World (08/06/01) Vol. 265, No. 32, P. 23; Hickey, Kathleen
Up Implements Weather System
Keeping track of the weather all over its system is an important concern for Union Pacific, which has implemented the DTN Weather Alert advisory system to automatically keep it informed of possible weather issues. Operating on two servers--one in Minneapolis and one in Omaha--the system delivers information all over the UP network through a fiber-optic LAN.Shippers Not Sure About Rail Technology
Shippers have mixed feelings about the advancing technology employed by railroads--while the shippers' businesses are improved by many of the advances, other issues have them concerned.
© copyright 2001 INFORMATION, INC. Terms of Service
| ||||
7652
