Trucking Technology Report - Dec. 12
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Today's Technology Headlines:
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VerticalNet, VeriSign in Pact for Online Transactions
On Monday, VeriSign (VRSN) and VerticalNet (VERT) announced a partnership to provided secure B2B Internet transactions.
VeriticalNet will provide its members access to VeriSign's online payment gateway services, and both companies will market the other to their respective customer bases. Reuters (12/11/00)
FedEx Execs Say Integration Is Key to Survival
FedEx (FDX) executives say that the next move for companies is integration - customers, suppliers, and fulfillment companies joining online in a collaborative supply chain to reduce costs and stay competitive. FedEx is pursuing customers and integrating them into its own network, and so far roughly 20,000 customer Web sites are connected to the FedEx site. Vice President Henry Maier notes that integrated customers are very loyal because they like the benefits of integration and the company's self-service tools. FedEx is hunting small and midsized businesses with its E-Commerce Builder integrated shipping services.
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter analysts say that the company has nearly 50% market share in the U.S. express parcel business, along with one of the best and biggest fully integrated global freight franchises - all of which, explains analyst Kevin Murphy, positions FedEx to garner incremental business from e-commerce. The company has recently expanded into home delivery, using route optimization software to determine routes. CRN (12/04/00) No. 923, P. 95; Cruz, Mike
Global Effort to Make Machines That Make Chips
Cooperation among different companies and different countries is essential to develop the next generation of computer chips, observers say. This is a far cry from the 1980s, when a Japanese bid to enter the U.S. semiconductor market was considered a national-security threat. However, today the U.S. government has largely left that market to the influence of the global economy, a decision that has led to new partnerships, new technology, and new industry leaders.The semiconductor market has seen a tremendous shift over the past decade, as firms in Asia and Europe grow. Indeed, those two areas now have more citizens who use mobile phones than the United States does, which has increased pressure on firms in Taiwan, Korea, Germany, the Netherlands, and other countries to build the new technology necessary to meet consumer demand. Across the world, semiconductor sales continue to boom, with total sales of chips worldwide last year reaching $149 billion.
The next step in semiconductor technology is under development in several different laboratories, but many observers are watching with the most excitement the efforts underway at several California sites, where Intel (INTC), AMD (AMD), and Motorola (MOT) are working with German and Dutch firms to build chips with new extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) technology.
EUV technology uses light beams from lasers at very short wavelengths to create a chip that can process data as much as 100 times faster than today's best chips. The technology likely will not be available for another five years, but observers say it will mark the next great change in computers and technology. New York Times (12/12/00) P. A1; Markoff, John
NTT's i-mode Wireless Internet Service: Lost in the Translation
NTT DoCoMo plans to offer its i-mode service in markets throughout the world. The company, in collaboration with KPN Mobile, will introduce the service in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany sometime next year.Meanwhile, DoCoMo hopes to use its new partnership with AT&T Wireless (AWE) to bring i-mode to the United States. But industry observers are concerned that networks in Europe will not allow DoCoMo to offer the same services available to Japanese consumers. Still, even a simplified version of i-mode could threaten European operators.
While European mobile users have had to use painfully slow WAP technology, Japanese users have been downloading 300 to 400 Internet pages per month with i-mode. I-mode, unlike WAP, gives users a constant connection to the wireless Web, eliminating the need to dial-up before using the service. In addition, i-mode phones can display color graphics, which the majority of WAP technologies are unable to do.
Despite the advantages, there is a political problem in persuading the European wireless market to adopt i-mode. Since operators, cell phone makers, and Web sites have invested in WAP, they are reluctant to back away from the technology, at least for now. Even KPN Mobile says it will continue to provide WAP services while offering i-mode.
Both DoCoMo and KPN continue to negotiate with cell phone makers to create devices with i-mode browsers. Microsoft (MSFT) plans to introduce an i-mode browser next year. But within several years, both WAP and i-mode will probably use extended HTML, which is being developed by the World Wide Web Consortium. Extended HTML will enable WAP to catch up with i-mode's capabilities.
Part of the reason i-mode has become so popular in Japan is because DoCoMo has marketed the technology as being fun. DoCoMo reports that the majority of i-mode pages viewed are for entertainment value. Wall Street Journal (12/11/00) P. R24; Pringle, David
Another TDMA Defector?
Cingular Wireless is expected to seriously consider following in AT&T Wireless' (AWE) footsteps by deploying a nationwide GSM network, according to industry observers.Cingular currently operates GSM networks in California, Nevada, and the Carolinas, but is mainly a TDMA operator. The company is also testing GPRS technology. AT&T Wireless decided to construct a 2.5G GPRS network to broaden its hold on the wireless data market. The company currently operates a national TDMA network, but intends to provide full GSM coverage by the conclusion of 2002.
AT&T also plans to offer GSM evolution (EDGE) technology during the latter part of 2003. However, some analysts wonder if many vendors will develop technology for EDGE. Telephony (12/04/00) Vol. 239, No. 23, P. 11; Luna, Lynnette
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