Trucking Technology Report - Sept. 12
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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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Nokia, Compaq in Wireless Internet Product Deal
Nokia has formed an agreement with Compaq, the leading manufacturer of personal computers, for the co-development and marketing of Internet and intranet solutions.
The solutions will employ Nokia's WAP server and Compaq's ProLiant server, which supports Windows NT, according to Compaq's Finnish unit. WAP enables mobile device users to access Web content that has been reformatted for their handsets. Reuters (09/12/00)Vendors Race to Put Cameras in Cell Phones
Developers of CMOS technology are introducing tiny cameras to be installed in cell phones. The cameras will be roughly the size of a sugar cube and consist of three parts - a lens, sensor, and processor.Leaders in the telecom market anticipate that camera-equipped cell phones will represent 20% to 50% of mobile phones sold worldwide by 2004. Handset makers are partnering with companies that make electronic sensors to develop the cameras. The first camera-equipped cell phones are expected to be introduced during the next nine months. Toshiba, which is partnering with Sharp Industries, and Motorola, teaming with Kodak, are among the companies that will be entering the market for installing cameras in mobile phones. TechWeb (09/11/00); Yoshida, Junko
AT&T Solutions Offers Managed Storage Service
AT&T Solutions is unveiling a managed storage service intended for enterprises that cannot afford any packet loss. AT&T Solutions is collaborating with EMC to provide big companies with its Ultravailable Data service, which is tailored to the individual user's needs, according to Jo-Ann Mendles, an AT&T Solutions vice president. The service allows users to turn over their business and data storage requirements to AT&T, which develops, manages, and monitors an EMC Enterprise Storage System for each user. The partnership between AT&T Solutions and EMC calls for marketing and revenue sharing to support the service over three years. Ultravailable Data is offered to those who want largely available storage networks, according to Current Analysis analyst Jilani Zeribi.
EMC storage servers may be installed at the customer premise, an AT&T Solutions data center, or a third-party location for geographic redundancy. AT&T's Global Enterprise Management System handles monitoring and server management. Although other carriers provide storage services, they may not provide the kind of resources and expertise found with AT&T, according to Zeribi. Network World (08/28/00) Vol. 17, No. 35, P. 27; Pappalardo, Denise
New VPNs for a Global Economy
International business operations currently require a variety of long-distance services, toll-free dial-up links, wide area networks, and private leased lines that often mean the employment of multiple providers. However, telecom carriers are now introducing upgraded international virtual private networks that are intended to provide a single service that can plug widespread offices into one network. Other features include greater coverage and the integration of dial-up access and always-on connections.International VPNs are being offered by service providers including Global One, Sprint, WorldCom, and AT&T. New international VPN services provide a variety of data-transmission technologies on the IP-over-Internet model, which was discovered a few years ago as a more adaptable, less-expensive option compared to circuit-based VPNs. However, the majority of IT managers are not yet confident in an IP-based VPN, which transmits encrypted data over the Internet via TCP/IP. Service providers admit that most customers continue to use frame relay and ATM VPNs.
The Internet is still viewed as a new technology, making it difficult for companies to depend on it for transmitting important data, according to Tim Brotherton, product-marketing vice president for Concert Communications. WorldCom will begin offering its Business Class IP service by the end of the year, supporting frame relay, ATM, or IP traffic over a single access connection. AT&T introduced its IP ATM service in July.
While the market for VPN services is not very big, Yankee Group analyst Todd Miller and others believe significant growth will occur during the next five years. InformationWeek (08/28/00) No. 801, P. 57; Turek, Norbert
Fiber Optics: The Future Is Clear as Glass
Experts believe record demand for broadband fiber-optic connections and VoIP will continue, but also contend that fiber and VoIP will be only two components of what is expected to be both the integration and separation of technologies. Internet transmissions will be conducted through copper wire, fiber, fixed and mobile wireless, and the power grid.Consumers and businesses will not be as concerned about the mode of transmission, according to Angus Telemanagement Group President Ian Angus. Regardless, there is huge demand for fiber-optic gear, spurred by network traffic that is increasing 100% annually, Angus says. Fiber infrastructure in North America will continue to grow because of business enterprises, and will reach residences by 2004, according to experts. In areas where it is economically feasible, fiber will connect 2.5G and 3G networks. Such networks, supported by lasers sending information through strands of glass, will be significantly faster than current copper-based infrastructure.
Companies taking advantage of fiber include Nortel Networks, which has started a $1.9 billion widening of its fiber-optic business. Alcatel Optics President Christina Reinaudo believes an all-optical network will be introduced in upcoming years. Lucent Technologies' Microelectronics Group unveiled in July three new, low-power integrated circuits for the transmission of voice, video and broadband Internet access to residences and enterprises via passive optical networks.
Carriers view PONs as a low-cost, dependable solution for providing digital programming and broadband Internet access to residences and offices, according to Bell Labs' Al Dunlop. But it is doubtful that fiber will become economical enough to reach most residences and offices by 2004, notes Joe Greene, IDC Canada's vice president of Internet and telecom research. Interactive Week (08/28/00) Vol. 7, No. 34, P. 72; Lowey, Mark
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