Trucking Technology Report - April 5
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Today's Technology Headlines:
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SBC Plans Long-Distance Service in Missouri
Regional Bell SBC Communications announced Wednesday that it submitted an application with federal regulators to become a long-distance service provider in Missouri.The FCC will have to decide whether SBC's local networks are open to rivals in the state before it can clear the application. Regional Bells must prove their local networks are open to competition in order for them to win permission to enter a long distance market. SBC has already been granted approval to provide long-distance telephony in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas. New York Times
Cell Phone Fights Puts Customers on Hold
Canadian consumers using FP Telecom's wireless calling plan have been left without service.FP Telecom is engaged in a feud with Rogers AT&T Wireless, which provides airtime for FP's services via its national network. Rogers cut off wireless coverage to FP's customers with little or no warning a few days ago.
According to letters sent to some FP subscribers, Rogers AT&T Wireless alleges that service is being terminated because FP violated the contract between the two companies. Heather Armstrong, Rogers AT&T Wireless vice president of communications, reports that FP's debt with her company has grown during the last few months. Many FP customers have poor credit, which would disqualify them from using traditional wireless calling plans. Calgary Sun; Boychuk, Regan
Alcatel Not Fully Committed to Handsets
Alcatel Chairman Serge Tchuruk reported today that his company is not totally dedicated to its cell phone business. He added that Alcatel does not produce a large number of handsets like its rivals, such as Motorola or Nokia.Alcatel is currently the world's seventh leading producer of cell phones. An increasing number of equipment makers are choosing to outsource their cell phone production operations amid slower market growth and higher competition.
While the cell phone market expanded by close to 50% last year, market growth this year is expected to reach less than half of last year's rate. Reuters
United Cargo Upgrades Web Site
United Cargo, a unit of United Airlines, is launching new online features and enhancements for its Web site, www.unitedcargo.com.Customers can obtain notification via pager, e-mail or Web enabled phone, in the event of a changed flight arrival or departure. Additionally, United's TD.Guaranteed premium international service can now be tacked online. Journal of Commerce Online
FirstLease Selects Enrich Leasing Management System
FirstLease has acquired a license to install the Enrich Leasing Management System from Richer Systems Group, Inc.Enrich is a specialized software application designed for the transportation industry offering solutions for truck leasing and rental operations. Enrich offers products for all aspects of the truck rental and leasing business, with all modules coming pre-programmed with the Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards codes as defined by the American Trucking Associations. Enrich News Release
FedEx Will Offer Enhanced Tracking
FedEx Corp. reports it will offer an enhanced new service called FedEx InSight, for shipment tracking on the Web.The service will give clients more real-time status information on inbound, outbound, or third-party shipments, without the client needing to enter a package-tracking number. A general release of the service is expected to take place sometime next year. Journal of Commerce Online
Scientists Seeking Ways to Ship Freight on Tubes
People are shipped everyday in containers that ride down long shoots call subways, so why not freight? With the disappearance of our natural resources, and the environmental concerns of late, scientists and engineers are looking into different ways of transporting freight from point to point.Professor Henry Liu, director of the Capsule Pipeline Research Center (CPRC) at the University of Missouri, has devoted more than 20 years to pipeline technology systems designed to carry freight inside capsules through underground tubes. Currently Liu is researching two different types of tube propulsion systems: pneumatic and hydraulic. Of the two, the pneumatic system is faster, as capsules could fly through the tubes at speeds up to 50 feet per second propelled by air pressure in comparison to the hydraulic method, which would be slower at about 10 feet per second.
Daryl Oster, an inventor from Florida has developed the Evacuated Tube Transport-a system he claims at speeds of 2,000 miles per hour can transport goods from Miami to New York in less than 30 minutes and from New York to China in a few hours. Freight lines like these are not too far off the mark though. Japan has been operating an old pneumatic system called the Sumitomo Capsule Liner for years, transporting lime from the mine in Tochigi Prefecture to a plant at least 188 miles away. Currently, Netherlands officials are discussing plans to build a freight pipeline linking Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport to the Aalsmeer flower market.
Other new transportation ideas include above ground vehicles moving on guide ways above city streets using pneumatic tires or steel on steel rails. As exciting and smart as these ideas sound, the United States Government has demonstrated a lack of regard for any of it.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) is not in fact, undertaking any research in any of these modes of transportation. According to industry analyst John Fontanella of AMR, the government's lack of interest in the programs stems from their opinion that none of the ideas is truly viable. ComputerWorld; Rosencrance, Linda
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