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HEADLINES AT A GLANCE"Beaming Data Holds Promise, With Limits, for
Networking" "Beaming Data Holds Promise, With Limits,
for Networking" Scientists are working on high-speed information networks comprised of infrared beams that connect machines to one another and a transmitter/receiver. The technology could be applied to videoconferencing because infrared frequencies are unregulated and the beams' inability to penetrate walls acts as a secure barrier against outside interference. Dr. Moshen Kavehrad and Dr. Svetla Jivoka of Pennsylvania State University have conceived of a system of omnidirectional receivers facilitated by beams that are bounced off the ceiling. The system suffers from limited speed and data loss triggered by an "echo" effect as a result of the scattered beams, but Kavehrad and Jivoka use a holographic filter that arrays the reflected beams in a grid. They say that the technology could transmit two gigabits of data per second, a thousand-fold increase over cable modems. Meanwhile, researchers at Germany's University of Siegen and University of Kassel are approaching their own solution to the echo problem by enhancing the signal separation of receivers. However, infrared technology's commercial applications may be limited by a number of factors. Professor Joseph M. Kahn of the University of California at Berkeley notes that radio networking already has a customer base and is the subject of numerous corporate investments; furthermore, the technology's impenetrability requires receivers and transmitters to be installed in every room in order to maintain connectivity. (Network Operations, Management and Control) "E-Mail's Next Rival: Multimedia Mobile
Messages" Experts are saying that new multimedia mobile messages (MMS) could supplant email in some markets just as instant messaging has replaced email in some contexts. Using MMS, people can send pictures, small animations, and longer messages than with normal text messaging. With the future deployment of 3G mobile services, users will also be able to send video clips and other media available for download. And new General Packet Radio Service mobile technologies will allow even better Internet access so people can easily use their hotmail account, for example. The UMTS Forum, which represents many companies involved in 3G, estimates that revenues from MMS services will total $5 billion by 2004. UBS Warburg analyst Matt Hocker says that, although text messaging companies have a head start in the new MMS market, the open Internet standards the services are based upon give any new entry a fair chance. Ericsson is ready to launch the first MMS-equipped phone that comes with a color screen and Bluetooth chip. (Multimedia Communications and Digital Media) "Bluetooth Wireless Stumbles at the Starting
Gate" Bluetooth technology, which enables wireless connections between electronic devices, has failed to generate profound interest from electronics manufacturers and consumers despite forecasts that a wide range of Bluetooth-enabled products would hit the commercial market last year. Bluetooth's lackluster debut can be attributed to a number of factors, including the high costs of manufacturing Bluetooth chips, the growing acceptance of rival technology IEEE 802.11b (Wi-Fi), the high price of current Bluetooth devices, technical glitches, and falling cell phone and handheld computer sales, which Bluetooth is relying on to establish a significant market presence. However, Bluetooth supporters are hopeful that improvements to the platform and technical specifications will allow Bluetooth to make an impact next year. Perhaps the biggest threat to Bluetooth's future is the growing acceptance of Wi-Fi technology, which allows consumers to connect wirelessly to the Internet via connection points installed in public venues, such as airports, hotel lounges, and college campuses. Wi-Fi provides speeds comparable to high-speed cable modems and offers a range up to 300 feet, while Bluetooth offers slower speeds with a range of only 30 feet. Industry observers believe that Wi-Fi could render Bluetooth obsolete if designers are able to make breakthroughs to lower the technology's power consumption and decrease its cost. Meanwhile, Bluetooth supporters are hoping the advent of more advanced 2.5G and 3 G wireless networks in the United States next year will help their efforts to market the technology. (Communications Standards; Wireless Communications) "Racing to Create Internet2" Academics across the country have another online network for collaborating on research in the Internet2, a consortium of about 187 universities in the United States. The original Internet served their needs from about the mid 1980s through 1994, until the explosion of the commercial Web produced traffic levels that slowed the transfer of data. With Internet2, research scholars have a network that is much faster and more reliable than the Internet, and removes the barriers for bandwidth often associated with the commercial Internet. Internet2 will help make streaming audio and video commonplace as new and old computers are given the ability to adapt to Internet2 technology in the next two to three years. The Internet2 consortium will play a key role in improving the Internet as a whole, now that Internet-based companies no longer have deep pockets of cash to conduct research. The consortium has about 60 corporate sponsors that are expected to eventually transfer Internet2's breakthroughs to the commercial Internet. (Internet Architecture, Technology and Applications) "The Next Wave of Wireless" The wireless industry is in the middle of a revolution that will lead to a substantial increase in cell phone functions. According to Roger van der Lee, Rogers AT&T Wireless general manager for British Columbia, Canada, the products on the market today will be completely outdated in six months. Asia and Europe are currently far ahead of North America when it comes to the delivery of wireless data, but companies in North America are starting to catch up. Microcell Telecommunications has launched a GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) network. GPRS is a packet-switching technology for Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) networks. Of the 700 million people around the world who are currently using digital phones, approximately 500 million are using GSM networks, and both Microcell and Rogers AT&T are betting their business on the standard. Rogers AT&T recently finished building its own GSM/GPRS network, and the service will go commercial in Canada's top 25 urban markets in September. Telus Corp., which acquired Clearnet Communications in 2000, is basing its digital PCS network on code-division multiple access (CDMA) technology. Although Telus' current data transmission speeds are only around 14.4 kbps, the company will implement third-generation wireless through 1XRTT early next year for data delivery at 144 kbps. (Wireless Communications) "Study Suggests Enterprise Overspending for
Web Applications Study Suggests Enterprise Overspending for Web
Applications" Most companies spend too much on Web-based infrastructures, according to a study by Peakstone, a Web capacity management firm. Some 43 percent of firms participating in the survey said they have more capacity than necessary. A further 21 percent said their capacity is sufficient. And 13 percent of firms said they lack capacity. Thirty-six percent of respondents said they use monitoring tools, external load testing devices, and isolated metrics to manage capacity. A further 32 percent said they use a single method, and 28 percent said they use only monitoring tools. Most firms overspend because of the Internet's unpredictability for business transactions, according to Peakstone's Tom Buiocchi. But over-capacity produces problems in quality and cost, he adds. (Enterprise Networking; Internet Architecture, Technology and Applications) "As 3G Awaits, Need for 2G Gear
Arises" The European telecommunications sector is gearing up for 3G, even though the wireless network technology will likely not enter the market until next year and profits are not expected to be generated until late 2002. Telecom experts say 2G product demand is likely to increase even with all the hype over 3G. In the meantime, the use of 2G is expected to rise, as Ericsson predicts the number of worldwide wireless subscribers will increase between 25 percent and 35 percent this year alone. However, as the number of subscribers jump, telecom providers will need to prevent 2G networks from becoming congested, say some industry officials. Unfortunately, many providers have heavily invested in the future of 3G services, which is limiting their purchases of 2G networks. Nokia and Ericsson stand to do especially well from the projected growth in 2G equipment demand. (Wireless Communications) "Peer-to-Peer Looks for Its Killer
App" eXtended Relationship Management (XRM)-based applications could play a huge role in generating demand for peer-to-peer technology in the business world. Although advocates have high hopes for peer-to-peer, the technology has gained little momentum in corporate use because there are no real business needs for p-to-p. So far, p-to-p technology has attracted some usage as a tool that can offer people-to-people collaboration. But with XRM technology, the environment would extend collaboration capabilities to the level of business systems, allowing companies to establish multiple tiers of supply and distribution from a single location. Such collaboration with suppliers and partners would improve upon the point-to-point interaction that companies currently have in a value supply chain, suggests Forrester Research analyst Navi Radjou. In order to take advantage of XRM-based technologies, it appears that the business world will have to abandon their client-server architectures because XRM companies are designing products for p-to-p and distributed computing instead. XRM could become p-to-p's killer app. And some analysts still believe that p-to-p could have a similar affect on the Internet. (Enterprise Networking) "Wireless Industry Is Ready to Connect With
3G Gee-Whiz" U.S. wireless carriers will start selling new Web-enabled cell phones this fall that allow users in some regions of the country to transfer online data at speeds ten times faster than current devices while providing always-on Internet connection. With 4 out of every 10 U.S. consumers owning a cell phone, the cell phone industry hopes the launch of advanced 3G networks will generate substantial profits. However, the large investments needed to construct the networks may necessitate carriers charging high service rates, at least initially. Gary Hoffman, a partner at venture capital firm TL Ventures, notes that the industry has yet to develop an effective business plan for generating profits from their services. In addition, carriers may not be able to offer affordable services if they have to spend exorbitant amounts at spectrum auctions. Worried about potential bidding wars for spectrum, some carriers are looking at methods to more effectively use the spectrum they already have. For example, Sprint plans to offer faster data and voice transfer speeds by 2004 over its T1 lines, which provide always-on internet connection in numerous office buildings. Another factor that could shape the future of the industry is the failure of cell phone makers, including Nokia, Ericsson, and Motorola, to agree to use a single wireless standard. (Wireless Communications) "Not a Very Pretty Picture" Uncertainty continues to surround the viability of streaming video over wireless networks. Service providers are not only questioning whether they will be able to offer TV-quality video over next-generation networks, but whether it is even worth doing so. Data rates at about 60 kilobits per second of bandwidth will be needed to provide a video experience that consumers expect, which means that 1XRTT would provide a solution to the bandwidth problem. However, next-generation wireless services based on GPRS (general packet radio service) are more popular than the 1XRTT. At the same time, wireless handsets will need processors that can handle much more than the current limit of about 5 frames per second to 7 fps. And even if consumers come to embrace video, the industry will have to consider to what degree demand will affect network capacity. Offering less demanding applications such as basic person-to-person video messaging is also an option. Ultimately, carriers may be willing to invest in video, even if it is a loss leader, to prepare consumers for more expensive next-generation networks. (Multimedia Communications and Digital Media) "The Do-It-Yourself
Supercomputer" The cluster concept is enabling researchers with little funding to turn a network of inexpensive PCs into a powerful machine that can handle the kinds of problems that are fed to the fastest computers on the face of the earth. Supercomputers cost tens of millions of dollars and can perform billions of calculations in a second. When researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee needed to draw a map of the nation's environmental conditions, the scientists built the Stone SouperComputer, a computing cluster based on parallel processing, the system of ultrafast microprocessors working together to solve complex problems in use in most conventional supercomputers. ORNL based the Stone SouperComputer on the Beowulf approach, which is the first cluster of PCs built in 1994 by NASA researchers for about $40,000. Of the 500 fastest computers in the world as of last November, 28 were clusters of PCs, workstations, or servers. The computer cluster is now seen as the concept that will bring high-level computing to research groups, colleges, high schools, and small businesses. What is more, projects such as SETI@home, by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley, are bringing millions of PCs and their processing power together to analyze radio signals for signs of intelligent life. One day computer users will be able to access a "computational grid" for processing power, experts say. (Computer Communications, Systems and Protocols) "Assembling Nanocircuits From the Bottom
Up" Researchers are probing into molecular electronics, in which self-assembling, nanometer-sized circuits are fashioned from the bottom up, as a way to create devices with greater computing power and lower fabrication costs. Molecular assembly became possible with the advent of the scanning probe microscope, which Rice University's Jim Tour used to construct organic molecules with electrical conductivity. Since then, there have been numerous advances toward working nanoelectronics, including circuits with nanotube transistors; a 16-bit memory cell made from a crossbar array of nanowires; and hybrid technologies that combine molecular electronics with conventional silicon electronics. This last approach is the most likely way molecular electronics will be applied, according to experts. Several research teams are competing to build the first integrated circuit to be based on molecular electronics. (Computer Communications, Systems and Protocols) "'4G' Wireless Voice-to-Text Technology
Enters Test Phase" One Voice Technologies has initiated beta testing of MobileVoice Messaging, a fourth-generation voice-to-text messaging platform that enables wireless users to send messages and conduct other online activities by voice alone. Based on a combination of artificial intelligence, natural language processing, free-form large dialogue input, and other technologies, MobileVoice can comprehend words, concepts, and phrases by asking questions and consulting a command archive. One Voice says that this platform can make a significant impact in the markets for TV/Internet appliances, in-vehicle telematics, wireless products, and PCs. The company expects the flexible, user-friendly voice interface to make headway in the Asian and European markets. Short message service will benefit worldwide from the platform, which eliminates internetwork incompatibilities and provides short message service-mobile originate functionality in phones. The beta test will help measure the product's performance and usability. (Wireless Communications) "Advantage ASPs in Technology
Game" A new industry is cropping up in the financial world as companies believe they can provide outsourcing services to banks that have neither the personnel, time, nor resources to maintain them in-house. Application service providers (ASPs) are using the Internet as their basis for undertaking back-office applications for banks that no longer want to use up resources for projects that no longer have to be done by the companies themselves. However, some banks are balking at the prospect, and ASPs have discovered that a few banks are even becoming their competitors in the market, with some analysts noting that there is no way ASPs can provide the same depth and breadth of service to a bank that has been developing its own systems for many years. ASPs reply that their products are perfect for smaller banks: off-the-shelf applications that can be implemented immediately to provide the same services at a much lower cost due to economies of scale, eliminating not only development costs but the risk of internal product failure upon implementation. Electronic trading solutions provider Cognotec chairman Brian Maccaba is aware that ASPs might not provide the same benefits to larger institutions, which already have economies of scale within their own organizations and have the manpower and finances to develop and maintain Internet services from the ground up. (Enterprise Networking) "Messaging Vendors Rally Around SIMPLE
Protocol" Following backing from AOL Time Warner and Microsoft, SIMPLE--or SIP for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions--has emerged as a major in the communications protocol sector. SIMPLE is being touted as the standard method for sharing online presence information and instant messages across the Internet, in turn encouraging the business world to integrate instant messaging into day-to-day practices, according to some industry officials. IETF is currently finishing up on SIMPLE, which is based on the Session Initiation Protocol, a signaling protocol used to establish Internet telephone calls, among other connections. However, IETF was recently surprised by AOL's announcement to use SIMPLE to open up its instant messaging system to other service providers. Microsoft, meanwhile, intends to support SIMPLE as a part of MSN Messenger and Windows XP operating systems, which will be unveiled later this year. Company officials working on the SIMPLE project recently met in London to finish ironing out several technical issues, including the configuration of communications for large messages and multimedia, and they hope to present the finished product to IETF executives for approval prior to the end of the year. In the meantime, IETF is completing development of a common message format to be used in conjunction with applications based on SIMPLE as well as alternative protocols. (Computer Communications, Systems and Protocols) "NASA Flies to Broadband
Rescue" Helios, the world's first unmanned plane to be used as a telecom tower in the sky, was built with help and funding from NASA, and is being touted as a cheaper source for transmission than satellites, as well as more efficient than wireless towers. The new aircraft, which was designed and constructed by AeroVironment subsidiary SkyTower, may be in mass production as early as 2003. Helios is six feet high and can take off at 30 mph, flying on the edge of the planet's atmosphere at 100,000 feet high. The aircraft is intended to stay airborne for six months or longer, due in part to its utilization of fuel cells and 14 electric motors. In the meantime, Angel Technologies plans to use a light airplane designed to fly in the stratosphere even though the company currently has no customers for the innovation dubbed HALO. Meanwhile, Platforms Wireless International plans to use blimps for wireless communications and has already signed up its first customer, Americel of Brazil. (Network Operations, Management and Control) "Wireless Keeps Going" Next-generation mobile services will not achieve ROI for many years, predicts Jupiter Media Matrix. Still, 2.5G efforts using CDMA--especially QUALCOMM's Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless (BREW)-- and GPRS may produce results similar to 3G. Such results are already evident in Japan. Bandwidth is optimized through server/device technology and improved networks. Micro payments are the norm for data services, rather than yearly subscriptions. Teens and young adults are immersed in instant visual communications, an advanced form of instant messaging. Currently, NTT DoCoMo and KDDI are the leading players in Japan. KDDI plans to deploy new-generation CDMA networks soon, without the costs of true 3G. (Wireless Communications) HOW TO SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE You can receive notification of the ComSoc INC as a free service provided by the IEEE Communications Society. The following are the instructions to subscribe/unsubscribe via email 1. Send an email message to INC-request@comsoc.org subscribe The archived back issues can be found on the ComSoc INC site DISCLAIMER: These news write-ups are written by Information Inc. from worldwide sources. For details about disclaimers and limitation of liability please go to http://www.ieee.org/about/documentation/copyright/legal.htm#liability © copyright 1999 INFORMATION, INC. |
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