 April 2000
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By Charles Anthony
As the commercialization of the Internet, primarily through the World Wide Web, continues to gain momentum, steam rolling over traditional media, dominating commercial time slots during the SuperBowl, playing havoc with the Dow and NASDAQ; as AOL continues to inundate the mails and malls with their free 500 hour start up disks and every kind of business under the sun it seems is finally finding a way to spin out intovirtual reality; there is another digital revolution underfoot, one that promises even more opportunities and is guaranteed to be even more exciting than the one that began with Mosaic and Netscape. We are traveling at the speed of Moores Law towards a Wireless Web and nobody's life is ever going to be the same or to paraphrase Hendrix, " you will never go desktop surfing again!" The big buzz at last years Comdex in Las Vegas was how the IT industry has turned the corner completely and is no longer a PC centric industry but a Web centric industry, the buzz was all about the vast array of new gadgets that will allow users Internet access without being tied down to their desktops; Ladies and Gentlemen, Get ready to get WAPed !!!!
The implications are broad and far reaching, the explosion in the use of cell phones for instance far outstrips that of home computer users with over 160 million GSM users throughout the world. The mobile access products are in general "friendlier" and more easily afforded by more people, thus the Wireless revolution should sweep the globe at an even faster pace than what we have seen with the desktop. Also facilitating the rapid growth is the fact that many of the major players: Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia to name a few, have jointly developed the WAP stack so for once, industry is starting out with an agreed upon set of standards that will help streamline development, implementation, interoperability throughout the industry and adoption throughout the public sector. If you are a content provider or an ISP you need to understand how this is going to impact your business in the very near future. And if you use the Internet and/or the World Wide Web for work or for pleasure you need to know what tools you are going to need to get the maximum potential from this exciting, rapidly emerging new business technology. Every major player on the World Wide Web is going to do in WAP what they did in HTML JavaScript and all their progeny. Following are a series of articles from Newsbytes News Services detailing some of the steps and directions that some of these companies are taking to insure their own presence in the wireless web of the very near future. Giving us all a glimpse of the greatness to come and perhaps providing some food for thought about the direction our own companies should be heading in and how we can prepare as a business people and Wireless Netizens in the rapidly changing and expanding digital world, we now live in. High-Speed Wireless Forum Formed By Steve Gold Newsbytes - At the Broadband Wireless Forum taking place in San Francisco this week, a group of information technology (IT) firms have announced the creation of the OFDM forum, an alliance of high-speed wireless companies. OFDM stands for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, a technology that, as the name implies, allow different frequencies to be multiplexed together for high-speed wireless communications. The companies behind the forum - which include CalTrans, Ericsson, Nokia, Philips Semiconductors, Samsung, Sony and Wi-LAN - have enlisted the support of Microsoft in their quest for a common set of standards for high-speed wireless communications. The move towards a common global standard for high-speed wireless communications will, the companies say, make for economies of scale, as well as the ability to source suitable OFDM systems worldwide. The origins of the forum go back to December, 1999, when, at the invitation of Wi-LAN and Philips Semiconductor, 104 representatives from 60 firms from around the world met to discuss the idea of the alliance. The reason for the need for a forum, Wi-LAN says, is that OFDM has become the foundation of the IEEE 802.11 and other wireless standards, meaning that the wireless world is now ready for products based on OFDM technology. Plans call for the OFDM Forum steering committee to act as the executive body of the organization. Dr. Hatom Zaghloul, Wi-LAN's chairman, said that the interest in the creation of the forum was beyond both Wi-LAN's and Philips' expectations. "There is no doubt, with the representation of the companies shown here, the success in driving the market and technology focus of an OFDM technology standard is imminent," he said. At Philips Semiconductors, meanwhile, Phil Pollok, the company's general manager of business line networking, said that forum will be an industry driving force for a multi-standard, high data rate physical layer technology. "The advantages of interoperability, co-existence and lower cost will be a major market enabler for wireless data systems of the future," he said. The forum's Web site is at http://www.ofdm-forum.com/ Sharp Increase Expected In US Wireless Portals By Sherman Fridman 
Newsbytes - There will be a rapid and sharp upturn in the growth of
wireless portals in the United States over the next five years,
according to a new report published by The Strategis Group, an
international telephony and Internet research and consulting firm.
The report, titled "US Wireless Portals: Strategies and Forecasts," estimates that the number of wireless portal users in the US will reach nearly 25 million in the next five years - up from just 300,000 users in 2000. The Strategis Group defines a "wireless portal" as a customized point of entry through which a wireless subscriber can access Internet sites and information, usually in a text-only format. "We are fast becoming the nano-second generation of people who want customized information, ASAP, anywhere, any time," said Jonathan Dorfman, an analyst with the Strategis Group. "Wireless portals will deliver time-sensitive, localized, and customized content to a variety of devices." But Dorfman also made a point that is often overlooked when talking about accessing the Internet through a wireless portal. He said, "Given the mobile environment and limited device screen size, a wireless portal Internet experience will differ markedly from that of the conventional Internet." According to The Strategis Group, Sprint's Wireless Web portal and Palm Computing's Palm.net portal were the first two wireless portals in the marketplace. However, The Strategis Group expects that most major wireless carriers as well as traditional portals will have a wireless portal by the end of 2000. According to the report, the initial target audience for wireless portals will be wireless users with higher than average monthly bills, and "business intensive users." The Strategis Group's report also recognizes that a "host of players" are vying to secure wireless portal dominance. Cynthia Hswe, another analyst with The Strategis Group said, "Big name players such as Sprint, BellSouth, Yahoo, and Excite, as well as startups such as Neopoint, InfoSpace.com, and Phone.com, are all trying to become the dominant player for mobile users accessing the Internet. "As more and more Internet traffic is shifted from fixed computers to wireless devices," Hswe added, "the stakes are huge as to who wins the customer's loyalty." In gathering the data for the report, Dorfman told Newsbytes that approximately 1,000 wireless users were surveyed regarding their interest in accessing the Internet via their wireless phones. The report finds that approximately 34 percent of wireless users expressed an interest in a wireless portal service. In addition, most of the interested users indicated an interest in receiving advertising via their portals in exchange for discounted monthly fees. What's the most desired application via wireless portals? "By far and away, it's e-mail," Dorfman said. According to Elliott Hamilton, senior vice president of The Strategis Group, "Such interest will be crucial for wireless portals that are positioning themselves to drive their business models with alternative revenue streams such as advertising and transactional revenues." While carriers now charge a premium for wireless Internet access, Hamilton said he expected that low-speed wireless Internet service would eventually be free to subscribers as part of a bundled, enhanced service plan. More information about The Strategis Group and its reports can be found at http://www.StrategisGroup.com/ First PC-based Wireless Messaging To Be Unveiled By Sherman Fridman Newsbytes - Anyone who believes that the PC has no place in the world of wireless messaging hasn't talked to the folks at Tribal Voice, Inc., or AtMobile.com, Inc., lately. Tribal Voice, a provider of co-branded instant messaging and interactive communications applications and AtMobile.com, an application service provider (ASP) that develops, hosts, and manages wireless applications and services for Internet content providers (ICPs) and wireless carriers, said today they will unveil what they claim is a "first-ever technology," desktop-to-mobile phone wireless instant messaging service." It will also include online presence detection, they said. The new technology will be demonstrated next week at the Wireless 2000 trade show to be held in New Orleans. The new instant messaging and online detection service couples AtMobile Messenger and Tribal voice's PowWow Mobile, and will be made available for license by wireless carriers and can be co-branded with the carrier's specific logos and other branding information. The wireless instant messaging service is said to be the first that detects the online presence of mobile phone users on a cellular network and lets users know whether their friends, family, and colleagues are online through their cell phone or PC. Tribal Voice and mobile claim that online presence is the critical availability information that distinguishes instant messaging from e- mail. Plus, both companies say that because this technology offers the only service containing a desktop component that can be co- branded for wireless carriers, these carriers will have the ability to extend their brand to subscribers' personal computers. "This is a win-win for consumers and wireless carriers," said Ross Bagully, CEO of Tribal Voice, Inc. "Consumers save time and money by having a complete instant messaging solution at their fingertips, while wireless carriers can add significant value to their service and extend their brand to millions of desktop PCs worldwide." Both Tribal Voice and AtMobile.com say that one of the greatest benefits of wireless instant messaging centers is the ability to reach a number of users quickly. As an example, the companies say that a mobile business user could have a time-critical question and not be sure which colleagues are available to answer it. By using AtMobile Messenger and PowWow Mobile, users could quickly consult their buddy list, whether on PC or handset, and query all coworkers who are online. In such a scenario, the key advantage for users will be knowing exactly whom they can reach before initiating a bunch of unproductive calls. In an interview, Tribal Voice spokesperson, Beth Nagengast, explained how the new service will work. PowWow Mobile software, which is developed by Tribal Voice, is installed on a Windows-based PC. This is in conjunction with a wireless phone component for online presence detection and messaging called AtMobile Messenger, developed by AtMobile.com. When a user's PC or mobile phone-based buddies come online, the user will receive a visual and audio alert that the buddy is online or has changed online status. With that information, the user can decide the most efficient way to contact their buddy, by sending an instant text message or making an actual phone call. Nagengast said that the software is compatible with both AOL and MSN instant messaging services, and that the service works on any WAP- (Wireless Application Protocol) enabled or current-generation digital phone. Availability, according to Nagengast, is expected for before June 2000. More information from Tribal Voice, Inc. is available at http://www.tribal.com/ The Web site for AtMobile is http://www.atmobile.com/ CeBIT - Nokia Shows Off Broadband Wireless Net Access By Steve Gold Newsbytes - As CeBIT got under way for its seven-day run in Germany this morning, Nokia [NASDAQ:NOK] revealed that several of its stands at this, the world's largest IT show, are using the company's broadband wireless Internet service. The telecommunications hardware company, it transpires, has installed broadband base stations in the Hanover area, covering the complete showground and its environs, Hanover airport, and several majors hotels across Hanover. Nokia staffers at the show told Newsbytes that, when traveling through enabled areas, users will experience wireless Internet access at speeds over 50 times faster than normal dial-up connection. Rainer Richter, Nokia Internet's manager for Europe, meanwhile, said that, by giving CeBIT attendees access to this groundbreaking technology, it will demonstrate what can be done with the service. "In Germany, this is just our first step to provide traveling professionals with reliable high-speed access to the Internet and their corporate data when and where they need it," he said. Nokia says it is supporting around 400 "mobile professionals" at the show with broadband wireless Internet. Users need a Windows notebook PC and a Nokia wireless LAN (local area network) card. The service is being provided in cooperation with Lufthansa Systems, part of the Lufthansa IT services group. The companies say they may consider a partnership in a follow-up project. Nokia's Web site is at http://www.nokia.com/ America Online To Go Wireless Soon By Steve Gold Newsbytes - Building on preliminary announcements made late last year and at the CeBIT Computer Faire in Germany late last week, America Online {NYSE:AOL] has fleshed out its plans to launch "AOL Anywhere" services on the BellSouth and Sprint PCS (personal communications services) cellular networks later this year. The launch of the first generation mobile AOL, which will use WAP (Wireless Application Protocol)-enabled handsets, will be a preamble to launching a full service later in the year on most US digital networks. As with the European strategy, the US AOL Anywhere service will initially support the AOL e-mail client and instant messaging services - known as AOL Mobile Messenger - but the "complete" AOL client range of mobile services will be available before the end of the year. AOL is tapping the resources of Arch Communications to develop the instant messaging side of the service, as well as Motorola, Nokia and Research in Motion (RIM), for their WAP, cellular, and two-way paging technology expertise. By the end of the year, the AOL Anywhere service, as it is known, will allow mobile phone and two-way pager users across the US to access AOL e-mail, instant messaging, and a variety of other online services while on the move. Announcing the strategy today, Steve Case, AOL's chairman, said that the move to AOL Anywhere will allow users to be connected to AOL with the same ease with which they have become used to with the regular AOL service. "Whether they use their PC, an Internet-ready phone or a pager, consumers want to find a method that will allow them to easily and conveniently access the information they need," he said. The important thing to remember with the AOL Anywhere service, is that users will not be connected to the AOL network on a continuous basis, as is the case with the desktop/notebook AOL service at present. Instead, users will only be connected to the server from their mobile phone or two-way pager when data is transferring. Using this "offline/online" approach will minimize calling costs, while still allowing users to interactively access their AOL e-mail, check their buddy list, or use the instant messaging facility. Other services available under AOL Anywhere will include gaining access to driving directions and traffic alert checks, as well as interactive maps and personal stock portfolio alert services. AOL's Web site is at http://www.aol.com/ Amazon Launches Wireless Shopping Web Site By Martin Stone Newsbytes - Web retail giant Amazon.com [NASDAQ:AMZN] unveiled a Web site focused on expanded offerings for the growing armies of shoppers using cellular telephones and other wireless Internet devices. Reuters reported that Seattle-based Amazon has created a new Web portal at http://www.amazon.com/phone/, specially designed to minimize the inherent constraints of wireless devices, which contain smaller screens and move at slower Internet speeds than most PCs. The new site also offers an expanded range of services to wireless customers, such as allowing them to monitor the status of purchases, access more in-depth search information and check shipping availability worldwide. "By being able to shop instantly anywhere, you can get things off your to-do list before they're even written down," Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in a statement. The latest move follows an announcement that Amazon plans to create specially designed Web pages to be compatible with new phones to be offered by Motorola Inc. These phones will be access-enabled to Web sites written for wireless devices using the Wireless Application Protocol(WAP) software standard. Winstar Offers Broadband Wireless To NY Stock Exchange By Steve Gold Newsbytes -Winstar Communications [NASDAQ:WCII] is now offering wireless broadband access to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) data network. Kevin Cavenaugh, a spokesperson for the wireless carrier, told Newsbytes that the NYSE wireless connection service is now available at data speeds of up to OC-3 (155 megabits per second - Mbps) per channel. 
"The service is now available in around 60 markets across the US, and, because of the speed of wireless broadband service we're able to offer, we're now finding that many organizations are using our service as their primary means of access to the NYSE," he said. The advantages of wireless broadband over wireline, he went on to say, go beyond the obvious cost savings in terms of deployment. The speed with which wireless broadband can be deployed means that users can be online much faster than with wireline connections. "We're also now getting in the world of point-to-multipoint, where the same data can be transmitted to several locations," he said. Winstar is now the only fixed wireless broadband service provider for the next-generation NYSE Common Access Point (CAP) extranet network, under which the firm will provide the NYSE and its customers with high-bandwidth connectivity, establishing a direct link to the NYSE's business services. Eventually, Winstar says it will support additional network-based broadband service offerings, including frame relay, ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) and Internet services. The NYSE's Web site is at http://www.nyse.com . Winstar's Web site is at http://www.winstar.com/ Yahoo Deploys Second Generation Wireless Svcs By Sylvia Dennis Newsbytes -Yahoo [NASDAQ:YHOO] has souped up its Yahoo Everywhere range of wireless services to include a wider variety of data. Users with WAP (wireless application protocol) -enabled mobile phones and devices can now access Yahoo Auctions, Yahoo Movies, the main Yahoo directory and their user registration options. Perhaps the most useful feature of the new expanded range of services is that users with bids or goods in auction need no longer be tied to their PCs during the bidding processor. The firm says that the wireless Yahoo auctions allow users to bid on items anywhere at anytime and watch auctions in progress. Coupled with the alert functionality of Yahoo Auctions, users can set alerts to be notified on their wireless device when they are at risk of being out-bid. Many of the new features draw on Yahoo's ability to index its site "on the fly" between HTML (hyper text markup language) and HDML (handheld markup language) plus WML (wireless markup language), the firm says. Helena Maus, a spokesperson for the Web portal firm, told Newsbytes that this second generation of services builds on the fact that Yahoo was the industry's first firm to bring wireless Internet services to market in the US last summer. Yahoo originally launched its Yahoo Everywhere initiative in June, 1999, to enable users access their My Yahoo resources via pagers, data phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and an array of other mobile wireless devices. Yahoo's Web site is at http://www.yahoo.com/ Reported by Newsbytes News Network, http://www.newsbytes.com iBiz |
