 June 2000
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Sprint Launches First Broadband Wireless Service By Steven Bonisteel Newsbytes - Sprint Corp. [NYSE:FON] today announced the first commercial launch of its broadband wireless service, offering residential and business customers in Phoenix, Ariz., multi-megabit Internet access at rates comparable to it high-speed dial-up and cable modem competition. The company said its Broadband Direct service, at $39.95 a month for residential customers, provides non-mobile PCs with "always-on" connectivity and potential download (inbound) data-transfer rates as high as five megabits per second (Mbps). More-likely download rates on the shared wireless channels are in the neighborhood of 1Mbps to 2Mbps, the company said. Operating asynchronously to preserve bandwidth, the service's upload rate is capped at 256 kilobits per second (Kbps). Sprint says it plans to make Broadband Direct available in 10 to 15 more cities by the end of 2000. In addition, Sprint says, its planned merger with MCI WorldCom could help make the broadband fixed wireless service available in more than 100 cities by late 2001 and have a footprint large enough to reach nearly 60 percent of US households. Today's launch makes high-speed wireless Internet available to over 85 percent of the homes and offices in the Phoenix metropolitan area. "For years, many people have been wanting a really high-speed connection to the Internet," Tim Sutton, president of Sprint's Broadband Wireless Group (BWG) said in a statement. "While many cable and DSL (digital subscriber line) providers have been promising broadband service for some time now, many consumers still don't have a broadband choice in their neighborhood. "Since our service doesn't depend on wires, we can move quickly into a market and provide coverage to most of the households and businesses right away. We intend to end what we characterize as 'broadband envy.'" The company also claims that its service - which uses multi-channel multi-point distribution service (MMDS) technology for routing data between subscribers and a central transmitters/receivers - is more secure than competing cable-modem technology, which, like a local area network, places data packets from all users on a network segment in a communal data soup. Sprint BWG says its Broadband Direct service requires that subscribers install a digital transceiver on their buildings within line of sight of the service's radio transmission tower. The transceiver, a little over a foot square, can communicate with a tower as far as 35 miles away. Sprint BWG says that technology makes it ideal for both rural and metropolitan areas, including inner-city neighborhoods that it says have been overlooked by wireline broadband providers. Business pricing for Broadband Direct is $89.95 a month and provides unique IP (Internet Protocol) addresses for up to five computers. Additional IP addresses are available for extra fees. Wireless LAN Heading For Boom Time By Steve Gold Newsbytes - Wireless LAN (local area network) technology has been around for several years, but it is now starting to take off. And a report just published predicts that it will shortly hit the big time. The study, titled "Wireless LAN IC Markets: Untethering the Enterprise," from Cahners In-Stat Group, predicted that by the time 2004 rolls around, the wireless LAN (WLAN) market will be worth more than $785 million a year. The research firm said that the market will be will be boosted by increased shipments of WLAN chip-sets and WLAN IC (integrated circuit) components, which will grow at an average yearly rate of 41 and 10 percent, respectively. Against this backdrop, In-Stat predicted that growth in the IC component market will be stinted by an industry-wide consolidation of ICs, resulting in an overall drop in the price of WLAN-enabling network cards and laptop embedded chipsets. The $2,995 study found that lower prices are making WLAN connectivity more accessible to consumers, driving up demand for WLAN devices. In turn, more manufacturers are entering the market, increasing competition and supply, and ultimately causing prices to drop even lower. Allen Nogee, the firm's senior analyst, said that price is not the only factor that will bolster WLAN's appeal to the consumer. The emergence of new standards and competing technologies, he predicts, will allow WLAN devices to transfer data at ever-increasing speeds, allowing the technology to be used for a larger variety of products than before. On top of this, IT personnel will be attracted to the technology and its ability to connect employees without running cables. Nogee added that there is another force that is driving the growth of WLANs that is not easily measured; the desire to break free of the shackles of a wired world and have the freedom to roam about an enterprise without wires. Despite these factors, Nogee believes that there are still some obstacles within the market that need to be overcome as incompatibility between various protocols and interference from other wireless devices are posing significant threats to the growth of the market. "If WLANs are to be a viable option for the enterprise, they must overcome these problems and compete with the growing number of wireless data alternatives such as 3G wireless phones," he said. Cahners In-Stat's Web site is at http://www.instat.com . Self-Serve Audio Threatens Radio Broadcasters By Kevin Featherly Newsbytes - By 2005, a combination of powerful audio tools, home and portable devices and the wireless Internet will turn 41 percent of the US population into "self-serve" audio users - a possibility that traditional broadcasters should find worrisome, new Forrester Research analysis suggests. The report, by analyst Jeremy Schwartz, says that, while Internet consumers currently labor with early versions of Internet-based, personalized, self-served radio tools, easy-to-use tools and increased programming will begin to emerge in the next two years that will make their struggles worth the effort. And within five years, they will be listening to music tracks of their own choosing in any part of their houses, even in their cars, with virtually no effort. Meanwhile, traditional radio broadcasters - while recognizing the opportunities of the appeal of anytime, anywhere radio access - are hamstrung by tiny budgets and lack of Internet focus, the report indicates. Forrester surveyed 3,000 online user to determine how Internet developments in the audio space will affect their online and offline listening habits, according to the 20-page Forrester report, "The Self-serve Audio Evolution." Already, the report says, online audio listening is charging ahead and should not be considered "niche activity." Fifty-six percent of survey respondents listen to online audio on their PCs every week, using players like Real Networks' RealPlayer. "Even the downloading of music files is gaining steam," the report says. "We found that 36 percent download free music at least once a month, while 17 percent do so at least once a week." What are the main benefits, users were asked - multiple responses to the question were accepted. Seventy-one percent said a chief virtue of downloadable music is that it's free. Sixty-seven percent said they like being able to arrange tracks in the order of their own choosing. Fifty-three percent mentioned they liked being able to listen to the music anytime, while another 52 were glad not to be force-fed advertising. Thirty percent were happy not to be forced to hear a disc jockey's voice. They like being able to retrieve the music, respondents indicated, but they don't want to pay for it, at least not much. Asked what they'd be willing to pay for rights to hear a single song, 76 percent said "nothing." Fifteen percent don't want to pay more than a dollar, while 10 percent would be willing to part with between $1 and $5.
A significant number of respondents wouldn't pay for a downloaded album of music or a music compilation either, the survey indicates. Only 13 percent would pay more than $5 for an album by an artist, while only 10 percent would pay more than $5 for a compilation of tracks. But despite these clues, broadcasters are dragging their feet in response to the trends, Schwartz says. The study surveyed 40 radio stations that already stream their content to the Web for their input. "Most said the Net would not severely affect them until Net audio is as ubiquitous as broadcast radio," the report states. "Others see the Net as a channel for new niche programs." Schwartz concedes that as of now, the presence of Internet radio and audio programming isn't affecting the hours consumers spend listening to radio - hours spent with broadcasts outnumber Net radio listening hours by a factor of 10 to 1. And while Net users say they like the control they get with Net radio tools, they aren't yet using them, at least not yet. But the crack in the façade, Schwartz indicates, is the lack of commitment broadcasters show for Internet streaming. Stations don't put much money or planning into sites, and they view the Web mostly as a place to stream what they've already got on the air, or for promotions or to generate additional advertising dollars. "Consumers want choice and control over Internet audio, but broadcasters fail to serve their growing appetite," Schwartz writes. "Why the disconnect? On the one hand a plethora of Net audio formats, tools and delivery options overwhelm and confuse consumers. On the other, habitual radio listening - especially in the car - has insulated radio from the Net. These hurdles will fall." The study predicts a convergence of technologies and devices in the next five years that will create "a new model" for audio listening, making it much less difficult for users to negotiate - which will topple broadcasters' appointment-based listening tradition. The study sees these trends coming in distinct phases over the next few years. It says that between 2000 and 2001, there will be a "PC era," during which easier-to-use tools and increasing content will make users want to push their way into self-served audio technology. Already, Windows Media Player 7, currently in beta testing, consolidates the tasks users must perform to make audio appear on their computers, while allowing for full browsing of 1,500 Internet radio stations from WindowsMedia.com. By 2001, the report says, there will be 58 million users of streaming and downloadable music files. This trend will push record companies to make their premier artists online to capture the migrating audience, the report says. The next period, between 2002 and 2004, will be what Forrester calls "the device era," during which Net-radio device prices will drop below $100 and digital set-top boxes will be used in 27 percent of US homes. Broadband will reach 36 percent of homes, the study predicts. At the same time, devices like Motorola's iRadio will start putting self-serve audio in the places where consumers hear radio most often - in their cars and at home - driving adoption of self-served audio listening to 91 million in the US by 2004. The final stage, predicted for the year 2005, will be the "anytime, anywhere" era, Forrester says. At that point, wireless bandwidth of 144 kilobits per second will be widely available, and digital set-top boxes will have entered 55 percent of US homes. Broadband will be adopted by 40 million US households at that point, the report says, and - perhaps most importantly - 50 percent of new vehicles manufactured in the US will be self-serve-audio-enabled. The trend will create new business models in the audio media industry, including a new subscription based model for business, finance, and ad-free programming, the report says. "Forrester believes that, just as with the Internet, consumers will only subscribe to hear personalized, timely information like stock quotes and business news - or commercial-free audio from services like Sirius Radio or Command Radio," Schwartz writes. It will also pioneer the concept of targeted advertising to radio stations that use the digital technology to create sub-channels within genres - like opera or chamber music sub-channels at a classical music radio station. And e-commerce interactivity will become a new revenue stream, though most stations today are slow to grasp this, the report says. However, even the user-compiled Internet radio-station streams found at Live365.com - go here to find the All Beach Boys station or the Beatles Bootleg channel - are making money by linking users to CD sales, at least for recordings that are legitimately for sale. Schwartz writes that to compete - and perhaps to survive - broadcasters must change their tune, so to speak. They will have to focus on national and niche programming, ceding a great deal of their present turf to self-serve digital Webcasters. For instance, they might have to give up their community image in favor of small, local satellite broadcasters that can inexpensively cover Little League games in their neighborhoods. "Satellite radio's national coverage threatens broadcasters geographic value proposition," Schwartz writes. "In the same way that CBS invested in CBS Sportsline and WebMD, stations must adapt their local focus and move to develop national niche content channels that suit consumer demand for variety and offset satellite's challenge." Finally, the report says, traditional broadcasters need to create new distribution relationships. "Radio companies seeking to protect and expand their turf should cut deals with Kerbango and Sonic Box to ensure that their station are tunable from those devices," the report says. "Additionally, stations should work with car manufacturers like GM to barter ad time in exchange for their station being hard-wired as a radio pre-set." More information is available online at http://www.forrester.com/ Global Net Users To Top 375 Million This Year by Sylvia Dennis Newsbytes - The total number of Internet users surpassed the 276 million in 1999 and will grow nearly 100 million this year, according to a report from IT research firm eTForecasts. In its new global Internet market report, the firm said that much of the growth in Internet users is taking place outside the US, with Asia rapidly catching up on the US on market share terms. The report, which predicts that Internet users will number 375 million later this year, said that by the end of 2000, the US will account for just 36 percent of total Internet users - down from 46 percent in 1998 and 55 percent in 1996. eTForecasts said that the 375 million figure accounts for Internet users in 51 countries around the world. Dr Egil Juliussen, the report's author, said that his research has concluded that PCs will remain the overwhelming Internet access device, but 2000 is the first year that information appliances will make a dent. "By 2006, information appliances will match the number of PCs used for Web access," he said, adding that most Internet users will be accessing the Web from both PCs and information appliances such as Web cellular phones and Web appliances. Further details of the report can be found on the firm's Web site at http://www.etforecasts.com/ Apple To Release Beta Version Of Mac OS X By Martin Stone Newsbytes. Apple Computer Inc. [NASDAQ:AAPL] has reportedly announced it will release the final version of its eagerly awaited next-generation operating system software in January, but will launch a so-called beta version this summer to give developers and customers time to evaluate it. A report by Reuters said Apple executives are stressing the move should not be considered a delay. Apple's chief executive, Steve Jobs, said the company will release the same version of the new Mac OS X as planned, but would instead call it a test version, or public "beta" release and that it will be widely available to customers. Mac OS X is being called more powerful and even easier to use than the existing Mac operating systems. Last January Apple said that "Mac OS X will go on sale as a shrink-wrapped software product this summer," meaning it would be commercially available. Apple also said at the time that OS X would be pre-loaded as the standard operating system on all Macintosh computers in early 2001, Reuters said. But, on Monday, Apple said the final version of Mac OS X 1.0 would be available in January 2001, insisting the release schedule has not changed, only the name and the fact that the software will test the waters with a public beta version. Mac OS X reportedly includes a version of Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer 5.0 developed specifically for the Macintosh, as well as a new user interface, called Aqua, and many new features, according to Reuters, which also said that Apple is slashing the price of its WebObjects applications software to $699 from $50,000 to put the technology in the hands of more software developers. Net Users Eschew TV, Papers, For The Web By Steve Gold Newsbytes - Many media experts say that the Internet runs TV and newspapers a poor second in terms of consumer attraction. A report just published, however, suggests that this assumption is plain wrong, with many Internet users sooner prepared to give up TV and newspapers than the Web. The report, titled "Media Survey on Internet Attitudes and Usage," from ScreamingMediam, said that the Internet has become an indispensable information source for the millions of Americans who trust news and info online just as much as they trust the traditional offerings from newspapers and TV news. ScreamingMedia said that as the volume of Internet content has grown, so has its role as a comprehensive, must-have information source for many Americans. Three-quarters of Internet users (76 percent) say they could get along without television and newspapers for a month, believing that the Internet could provide everything they need to know. In contrast, only 44 percent say they could find out everything they need to know only from newspapers, and only 31 percent say they could learn everything they need only from TV. Kevin Clark, the research firm's CEO, said that the survey findings demonstrate that the Internet is no longer a "new" or "emerging" medium. "It's mainstream, not just in the number of people who use it, but in how much they trust it and depend on it," he said. Details of the survey, which was researched by Princeton Survey Research Associates, will be published at the 2000 mal/Content Conference, which is being presented and hosted by ScreamingMedia in New York later today. The survey found that Internet users say "new media" content is just as reliable as "old media" content. Four out of five Americans who go online (84 percent) say they trust the accuracy of Web sites, exactly the same percentage of Americans overall say they trust TV news programs (84 percent). And, ScreamingMedia said, this is about the same level of trust as the public expresses about newspapers (79 percent). When asked to choose the source they would trust most if conflicting news accounts appeared on TV, in newspapers and online, Internet users are just as likely to say the Internet site would be accurate (28 percent), as TV (29 percent) and as newspapers (25 percent). The survey also found that concern about false or inaccurate online news and information is real. Just over one-third of Internet users (36 percent) say they are "very concerned" about the issue. But that level of concern falls well below worries about online credit card fraud (60 percent), Screamingmedia says. Internet users rate the Internet as far superior to other media on key issues. Interestingly, the survey found that being continuously connected to the Internet with a wireless device is not the preference of most Americans - except those under 30. For example, the survey found, only about a third of online users would want to be able to read and send e-mail everywhere all the time over a wireless device. But nearly half of those under 30 want to be "plugged in" to the Internet continuously. The survey took in responses by phone from 1,232 adults between April 12 and 20, 2000. ScreamingMedia said that the sampling error margin for the findings is plus or minus 3 percentage points for results for all Americans and 4.5 percentage points for results based just on Internet users. ScreamingMedia's Web site is at http://www.screamingmedia.com . If Technology Drives Globalization, Who's Driving? By Brian Krebs Newsbytes - While the US may possess the world's most powerful military and prosperous economy, that edge could be eroded if America fails to strengthen many of its weakest links, including education and information security, government and IT industry officials said Monday. At an IT summit in Washington on the "price of globalization," panelists were asked to submit their ideas as to how countries will measure power in the 21st Century. Former US Secretary of Defense William Perry said, due to the variety of military-grade technologies widely available on the commercial market, "the old idea that we can maintain our secrets is futile." Perry said even though a major portion of America's military might comes from superior training and application of cutting-edge IT, that edge will be erased if the US does not take additional steps to protect its information systems from cyber attack. "A major factor in moving ahead in the global economy is dealing with the vulnerabilities of our computer networks, both in the military and civilian arenas," Perry said. Intel President and CEO Craig Barrett called the educational system the ultimate measure of performance in the global economy, with rank decided by the math and science aptitudes of a country's high school graduates. Barrett noted that US high school grads currently rank at the bottom of that hierarchy. "So while we have these high tech enclaves of very bright people in universities and research institutions, the bulk of the US population will not be able to take advantage" of the burgeoning market for high tech jobs, Barrett said. Nearly all of today's panelists predicted technology ultimately would help solve many of its attendant problems, most notably the so-called "digital divide" and threats posed by digital disasters, such as the recent havoc wrought by the "I Love You" virus. Such problems, they argued, would be resolved as the price of computer equipment and Internet access continues to fall, and as more nations come to rely on information technology to drive their economies. Panelists found it much more enticing to speculate on which issues would be most likely to pester to next president of the United States. Barrett said the US would need to seek some form of national privacy legislation to offset local laws that might be disruptive to electronic commerce. John Gage, chief science officer for Sun Microsystems, called privacy the Number One policy issue facing the next president, arguing that cell phone locators and cameras installed at intersections and ATMs (automatic teller machines) could lead to a somewhat domesticated interpretation of a true Orwellian society. "We're moving toward a world which allows any wife or husband to know the exact location of the other at any given time," Gage said. "That's kinda scary." iBiz
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