Trucking Technology Report - Oct. 5
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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:
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E-Logistics Not Priority With Supply Chain Execs: Study
A study conducted by AMR Research has found that senior logistics and supply chain managers do not rank e-business as one of their top five priorities. The study, held at The Logistics Forum, which included 250 senior-level logistics professionals, was given aboard the Queen Elizabeth II.
Sprint Brings Broadband Wireless Access to Houston
Sprint (FON) has begun offering its Broadband Direct service in Houston. The service provides wireless transmission speeds of 1 Mbps to 1.5 Mbps, according to Sprint. In comparison, dial-up services offer a maximum speed of 56 Kbps. The company had planned to launch the service in August, but was delayed. The system requires the customer to install a dish that uses line-of-sight transmission techniques to receive transmissions from the tower. For its Houston service, Sprint has chosen to place the tower on the Wells Fargo building, which is in the city's downtown area. The tower's transmission can reach customers within 35 miles. But transmission can be disrupted by atmospheric disturbances, such as rainstorms.
The company charges $199.95 for business customers plus $299 for equipment installation. Customers who order the service can expect to have the system running within two weeks, says Sprint's general manager of its Houston wireless broadband group, John Romano. Houston Chronicle (10/04/00) P. 5C; Fowler, Tom
Bell Canada Said to be Moving on Telus Turf
Industry experts expect Bell Canada (BCICF) and Manitoba Telecom Services (MB9-BER) to continue developing a jointly-held wireless venture to compete with Telus. The venture, which has been temporarily named Wireless West, is expected to bid in a Canadian government auction of wireless spectrum in the latter part of the year. But the firm must receive approval from Industry Canada first.The move to create Wireless West was motivated by Telus' acquisition of Clearnet Communications (CLNT), which is Canada's second leading telephone company. The purchase gives Telus a nationwide cell phone network with a large number of customers in Ontario and Quebec. Currently, Bell Mobility is leasing cellular network space from Telus.
Information about the venture was first revealed by MTS CEO Bill Fraser during an analyst conference. Fraser did not talk about how much of a stake each company held in Wireless West. Meanwhile, Bell Mobility's vice-president of corporate development, Ted Maksimowski, said his company has not yet decided to what extent it wants to invest in the new company. Toronto Star (10/05/00); Hamilton, Tyler
AirLoom Service 'Adapts' HTML to Wireless
Aether Systems (AETH) and AlterEgo Networks have collaborated to create a new service called AirLoom for reformatting HTML pages to be viewed on wireless devices.AirLoom is designed to be used on a variety of wireless devices, including Web phones, PDAs, and pagers. By using the service, customers can access various data contained on a corporate intranet. Aether's network operations center handles the initial part of the customer's request, which it then sends to AlterEgo's nationwide network. AlterEgo then processes the requested information before subsequently sending it to a Web server on the corporate intranet. The company also handles data modification for the particular type of device being used by the subscriber.
Aether hopes to provide additional services for AirLoom via its enterprise and service provider customers, says the firm's vice president of wireless web services, Evan Deoul. Enterprise customers pay a fee of $35 per month to access the service, while service providers and portals are charged $2,500 each month for access. Network World (09/18/00) Vol. 17, No. 38, P. 35; Cox, John
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