Trucking Technology Alert - July 17
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Both the online report and e-mail are sponsored by @Track Communications, a supplier of wireless communications and dispatch services.
Today's Technology Headlines:
- Handset Firms to Publish Radiation Data
- DoCoMo to Delay Europe Mobile Net Service
- Rapid Wireless Growth Predicted
- XML Standards Require Cooperation
Handset Firms to Publish Radiation Data
Key wireless handset manufacturers announced that they would soon start publishing data concerning the amount of radiation given off by their handsets.Ericsson, Motorola, and Nokia agreed recently with the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization, a European standards-setting group, on a way to measure radiation that handsets emit. The move comes after years of lobbying by consumer and other groups, and is intended to allay consumer fears about radiation. Wall Street Journal (07/17/01) P. A12
DoCoMo to Delay Europe Mobile Net Service
Technical glitches at local operators are forcing Japan's NTT DoCoMo to postpone the introduction of wireless Internet services in Europe.DoCoMo Global Business Department managing director Kiyoyuki Tsujimura said European operators had fallen behind schedule with upgrading their systems to handle i-mode technology, according to the report. I-mode provides cell phone users with Internet access.
The Japanese company had originally intended to launch a version of i-mode in Europe by the end of March 2002. The delay in launching i-mode marks the latest in a long line of problems and delays experienced by DoCoMo in its effort to provide I-mode service outside of Japan. Reuters (07/17/01)
Rapid Wireless Growth Predicted
The Yankee Group is upbeat about the future of wireless technology, predicting that wireless penetration will reach 21% of the global population by 2006--1.3 billion subscribers in all.Most of that growth is expected to occur in Latin America and Asia, where wireless will be the first form of telephony for many, the Yankee Group reports. Consequently, the firm predicts that wireless subscribers will outnumber wire-access lines within five years.
The Yankee Group also predicts that the Asia-Pacific region will have 575 million subscribers by 2005, according to data released earlier this month, which would make the region the biggest wireless market, surpassing Europe. By 2005, wireless penetration in Asia-Pacific is expected to be 15.6%. Wireless NewsFactor (07/16/01); McDonough Jr., Dan
XML is the emerging Internet technology that promises to eliminate the language barriers between different breeds of computers, business-process software, and database formats. The coding protocol computerizes the translation process involving product specs--model number, price, and other words and numbers used for identification--so that business can occur between Web sites automatically, at about a fraction of the time that humans need to perform such tasks.
Some observers see XML as second to the Internet in importance, and others add that it could save industry some $90 billion a year. Some companies have invested in the technology by creating their own I.D. tags--however, their investment will amount to XML "dialects" if they do not agree on a coding protocol that all computer systems of industry players can share. Organizations such as RosettaNet are trying to get entire industries to agree on precise definition for I.D. tags.
Although it can take years for a single company to agree on an XML project, and companies are unwilling to work with competitors because they do not trust each other, such groups will have to get industries to realize that standard tags are necessary if companies want their businesses to run more efficiently.BusinessWeek (07/23/01) No. 3742, P. 76;Kerstetter, Jim
XML Standards Require Cooperation
RosettaNet has taken the lead among organizations attempting to set XML standards for various industries. So far, RosettaNet, which is targeting consumer electronics and other tech companies in the electronics industry, has attracted 105 members, and at least 87 members have an XML program in operation.
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