Trucking Technology Alert - Sept. 13
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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:
- Enhanced Technology Could Have Helped Victims
- Phone Cos. Scramble to Fix Services
- 'N11' Numbers Springing Up
- Smart Phones Too Far Ahead
Enhanced Technology Could Have Helped Victims
According to a number of experts, the attack on the World Trade Center underlines the need for a controversial new 911 technology called Enhanced 911 that might have assisted emergency personnel find victims in the ruins of the building.Enhanced 911 could enable emergency personnel to identify the location of wireless users to within 150 feet to 300 feet. Wireless phone carriers were supposed to start deploying the system by the beginning of next month, but a number of the carriers, including AT&T Wireless and Verizon Wireless, have requested delays of up to 12 months, citing the system's complexity.
In the meantime, a number of wireless phone carriers are saying that cell phone users might have had an easier time making phone calls after the attack, if they had had more radio spectrum. Carriers are currently facing a serious shortage of radio spectrum, with approximately $16 billion worth of wireless licenses currently tied up in legal battles, and other suitable airwaves being used by the Defense Department. USA Today (09/13/01) P. 3B; Davidson, Paul; Backover, Andrew
Phone Cos. Scramble to Fix Services
In New York, Verizon is working hard to restore service to lower Manhattan businesses and the New York Stock Exchange, with callers continuing to overwhelm phone networks in the city.Verizon stated that it was working to restore phone service to millions of private lines serving lower Manhattan as well as half a million public switched lines. Of these, 3 million private lines and 200,000 switched lines are served from a Verizon office that had its electricity supply cut off. Verizon has also added extra lines to Manhattan emergency response centers, hospitals, and police stations.
Wireless carriers have also experienced problems in New York. Sprint PCS stated that a number of sites across Manhattan are out of service because of power outages, while four cell sites situated near the World Trade Center are still out of service. The company says that damage to land-line networks has also seriously affected its ability to provide service. Cingular Wireless, the second largest wireless carrier in the United States, lost use of eight cell sites in lower Manhattan, but the company says problems have been minimal, mainly because of help from nearby sites and lower usage in that area. USA Today (09/13/01) P. 3B; Davidson, Paul; Backover, Andrew
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'N11' Numbers Springing Up
States are rapidly adopting three-digit numbers that provide everything from bingo-night schedules to traffic reports.So-called "N11" numbers--referred to as national assets because of their potential for public benefit and their ease of use--can be found throughout the United States. A dozen cities ranging in size from tiny Bethel, Alaska, to Chicago have adopted 311 for nonemergency police matters.
Last year, the Federal Communications Commission approved 211 as an easy way to gain access to local social services. Parts of Louisiana, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and Connecticut, for example, have it online, and seven other states intend to make it available by the end of 2001. The FCC also approved the three-digit number 511, which according to the Department of Transportation allows drivers to access a menu containing everything from future paving schedules to current road conditions in an area. Christian Science Monitor (09/13/01) P. 4; Savoye, Craig
Smart Phones Too Far Ahead
The mobile phone industry is about to bring out a wave of new phones that may be too smart for their own good. In theory these new phones combination personal digital assistants/mobile phones will be capable of carrying out such tasks as music and video streaming, as well as email retrieval.The Nokia Communicator, for example, which is scheduled to come on the market next year, will allow users to wirelessly download video emails. Microsoft's Stinger-based phones will debut in March 2002 with a way to obtain corporate emails on the go and a specially designed Web browser. Nevertheless, people who purchase these new phones -- some costing up to $500 -- may have to wait for a long time to use all the features in the ways the cell phone industry intended. According to analysts, current wireless networks are simply too slow to provide the speed necessary to exploit the so-called smart phones' new features, such as playing graphic-rich games, downloading music, viewing a Web site's graphics, and reading email with attachments.
These limitations could seriously dampen sales at a time when the mobile phone industry is depending on the new phones to provide new revenue streams. CNet (09/12/01); Charny, Ben
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