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 September 2000
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A Compilation of Newsbytes, Trumpeting the Techno-Innovations that will Change the Way We Live and Do Business, Now and in the Near Future!
IP Telephony Market Ready To Go Mass Market, Says Study By Sylvia Dennis
That is the message from a report from Frost & Sullivan, which notes that the deployment of higher bandwidth connections, coupled with the rising number of partnership initiatives and new entrants to the market, are all conspiring to make VoIP a mass market service. The F&S study paints a bullish picture of the growth prospects displayed in the European, Middle Eastern and African (EMEA) IP services market. Following a sluggish start, the report, which forms part of F&S' "IP Services in Europe, Middle East and Africa" service, says that the IP market will experience rapid growth, with revenues rocketing from $131.3 million in 1999 to $55.41 billion by 2006. This equates to minutes totaling 613.7 million in 1999, leaping to 972.6 billion by 2006. Donald Tait, an F&S research analyst, said that VoIP prices can be driven to a level where they are attractive to customers and still generate robust profit margins. "In some of the EMEA regions, this will also enable businesses to conduct international transactions more effectively and cheaply, consequently introducing competition and increased commerce to their markets," he said. The study says that "toll-by-pass" remains a strong driver behind total market growth, along with the intensification of deregulation across Western Europe. Ian Rowlands, a lead analyst for IP at F&S, said he expects the increasing quality of IP services and "IP voice solutions" generally to stimulate greater market acceptance. "This is due to the increasing optimization of bandwidth, improvements in routing equipment that is being deployed into the core of these networks, and the functionality of the software or device that enables the IP connection," he said. Rowlands went on to say that running voice over cable, DSL (digital subscriber line) and wireless, and connecting to the PSTN (public switched telephone network) at either end of the call has enabled service providers to undercut PSTN rates significantly. This, he said, has created a market driven initially by price competition. And, in response to IP services and to other forms of competition, PSTN prices are falling. As the price advantage of IP telephony decreases, however, the report predicts that competition will move to other important benefits of IP such as value-added features and voice/data integration. Interestingly, F&S' report notes that voice still accounts for the vast majority of revenues in terms of service type, currently representing around 80 percent of service revenues. Fax and data account for the remaining 20 percent, although, during the forecast period, the study says that the proportional importance of voice will diminish, while other service types such as data and video are poised to prosper. The report concludes that Net2Phone, ITXC, iBasis, DeltaThree, and Ursus Telecom now count among the IP services market front-runners in the race to claim a larger share of the overall market. F&S' Web site is at http://www.frost.com/ Compaq Intros New iPaq Devices By Dick Kelsey Newsbytes - Compaq Computer Corp. [NYSE:CPQ] today introduced a four-product extension of its iPaq line of easy-to-use personal Internet devices that compliment the PC, including a Net appliance billed as a "Web in a box" and a pager-sized wireless e-mail device with beltloop wearability. At a Webcast news conference in New York, Compaq Consumer Products Group Vice President Mike Larson said the new iPAQ products will meet demand for new ways to access the Internet without a PC. "Eventually, we'll see every home networked with wireless broadband," Larson said. "We want to offer customers a complete suite of PCs and iPaq devices to use in every room of the house." Larson cited a Forrester Research report predicting that 45 percent of all Internet users will go online using more than one device. The iPaq Home Internet Appliance is a plug-it-in, turn-it-on device that can be used anywhere in the home, running on Microsoft's MSN Companion Service. "It's very non-threatening," says Larson, "it's very simple to use, and is for people that are using CPUs (central processing units) for just e-mail communication or for people who don't have a computer today because they're concerned about using it." The cost is $199, including a $400 rebate for buying a three-year Internet service provider (ISP) subscription to MSN at $21.95 per month. Equipped with Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) software, the BlackBerry Wireless e-mail device allows users to read, compose, forward, reply, delete or file e-mail using one corporate e-mail address. The device - priced at $399 with a minimum one-year airtime service fee of $39.99 - is small enough to clip onto a belt or waistband. The plug-and-play PA-1 audio player, available late this month at $249.99, allows users to download music files from their PCs through a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port and without a memory stick. Its one- button access to the PC links the user to the iCAST music and entertainment Web site, the company said. Compaq, as an extension of its partnership with Watchguard Technologies Inc., also introduced the iPaq Connection Point, a home and small office gateway that provides firewall security, wireless Internet and flexible home networking. It will go on sale in about 60 days at $499. "Every one of these products comes with associated services as well," said Larson, "so clearly, the objective would be to build those lifetime relationships with the customers but also to drive above-the-box revenue streams as well." Larson declined to give Compaq's specific market share goals and would not reveal details of financial aspects of alliances involving iPaq products and services. The new devices join the previously-rolled out iPaq Desktop PC and iPaq Pocket PC. More on the iPaq produce can be found on the Web at http://www.compaq.com/products/ipaq/ Bluetooth Chipsets Set To Soar - Report By Sylvia Dennis Newsbytes - In preparation for the first Bluetooth personal area network (PAN)-enabled mobile devices expected this fall, chip vendors have been busy producing Bluetooth chipsets for the information technology (IT) and telecommunications industries. Now a report just published says that chipsets are set to become highly popular, as consumers begin to realize how powerful and flexible Bluetooth PANs will be. Amazingly, the $3.695 report, entitled ""Bluetooth 2000: To Enable the Star Trek Generation," from Cahners In-Stat, predicts that the manufacture of Bluetooth-enabled equipment worldwide will exceed a billion units by 2005. In-Stat describes Bluetooth as a short-distance wireless technology that spans telecommunications, PC, networking, industrial, automotive and consumer electronic devices, allowing voice and data connections up to 10 meters (30 feet), or to 100 meters with an amplifier. The advantage of Bluetooth, the report says, is that it frees users from having to wrestle with numerous cords and gives the business and consumer worlds access to easy synchronization and mobility during a cordless connection, as well as opening up many possibilities for establishing quick, temporary (ad-hoc) connections with colleagues, friends, or office networks. Joyce Putscher, director of the research firm's consumer and converging markets plus technologies service said that the earliest Bluetooth adopters will be high-end mobile phone and notebook PC business users. This emerging technology, she said, will initially surface in mobile phones, notebook PCs, PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) cards and adapters, and access points. According to In-Stat, consumers are expected to create significant demand for the technology in order to realize benefits such as establishing a wireless connection to the PSTN (public switched telephone network), printing from a different room in the house without a home network, and synchronizing contact information plus calendars among various productivity devices and with family members. Having said this, In-Stat's report says that innovation and research and development will be needed to cut down on the cost of Bluetooth technology, enabling its integration into many more products. The study says that some of the ways to cut down on the cost will include less expensive packaging, one-chip systems that combine radio and baseband functions, and technologies that transfer some of the work to a host processor. In-Stat's Web site is at http://www.instat.com/ Bluetooth Multi-Player Games Coming Soon By Sylvia Dennis Newsbytes - Socket Communications [NASDAQ:SCKT] says it is working with Zio Interactive of Korea to develop multi-player games that will run across Bluetooth-enabled wireless connections. With the first Bluetooth personal area network (PAN)-enabled mobile phones and Pocket PC-based mobile devices expected to ship this fall, Socket says multi-player games are likely to be an early requirement in a variety of consumer devices. Many mobile phones, the firm says, already have single player games in their firmware for playing during "dead time" while commuting or traveling. Extending these games into the multi-player world using Pocket PC-driven PDAs (personal digital assistants) using Bluetooth is, therefore, a logical step. Initially, Zio plans to develop Bluetooth-enabled multi-player games for Windows-powered Pocket PCs. By combining Socket's Bluetooth wireless technology with Zio's three- dimensional interactive game software, the firms plan to offer Pocket PC users "entertainment groupware" that will take advantage of the new Bluetooth standard. The first product expected from the collaboration between the two companies is a Bluetooth-enabled version of ZioGolf, Zio's popular golf emulator that features full-color, real-time three-dimensional graphics, sound, and a library of scenic golf courses. By plugging Socket's Bluetooth personal network card into the CompactFlash slot of a Pocket PC, the firm says that users will be able to compete against other players up to 10 meters (30 feet) away. Kevin Mills, Socket's president, said that the full-color screens and multimedia capability of Pocket PCs, when combined with Bluetooth's on-the-fly wireless networking promise, make multi-player entertainment a serious business opportunity. Bluetooth is a de facto standard for 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) short-range wireless communication for voice and data, that allows fast and secure connections between electronic devices that can be up to 10 meters apart. Bluetooth applications include spontaneous voice/data access points, personal ad-hoc networks, and general-purpose cable replacement. Socket's Web site is at http://www.socketcom.com . Zio's Web site is at http://www.zio.co.kr/english/index.html . Microsoft Still Plans Set-Top Box Shipments In Sept. By Steve Gold Newsbytes - Just because Reuters http://www.reuters.com says that Microsoft's [NASDAQ:MSFT] much publicized cable Internet set-top boxes (STBs) won't be finished in time for the promised September shipment, doesn't mean the boxes won't actually ship to installers, sources close to the software giant said today. Reuters reported this morning that the software delays for the cable Internet STBs could mean that United Pan-Europe Communications (UPC) in the Netherlands, the first customer for the units, may have problems with its STB-based PlusTV system. Microsoft refused comment on the reports this afternoon, but other sources say that the hardware for the STBs is finished, and the software can simply be downloaded across the network. The situation mirrors that of BSkyB's early digital satellite STBs just under two years ago, when some STBs ended up being shipped with only basic software to early customers. This was irrelevant to customers or installers, however, because, as soon as the satellite STB was booted up, it automatically downloaded the latest software across the network. A few minutes later, the box was fully installed, complete with the latest software revision. Reuters, however, says that Microsoft and UPC could be embarrassed by a shortage of STBs in the all-important pre-Christmas runup period, a time when a sizable proportion of high-tech gizmos are normally sold. Microsoft appears unworried by such assertions. Newsbytes sources suggest that the software giant's programmers are working around the clock on developing the STB software, which will be ready for UPC to download across its cable network when the PlusTV boxes are installed. UPC was unavailable for comment as Newsbytes went to press. However, other newswire reports suggest that the company is preparing to make a statement on its PlusTV when it announces its results on Aug. 15. Previously, the company has stated plans to ship around 30,000 STBs by the end of the year. Sources suggest the firm will reach this target, even if the software has to be downloaded across the network. Microsoft's Web site is at http://www.microsoft.com/ Online Users Can Now Communicate Offline By Sylvia Dennis Newsbytes - Internet2Anywhere (IN2A) has teamed with Pacific Internet [NASDAQ:PCNTF] to offer an online-to-offline communication service throughout the Asia Pacific region. Known as WebRinger, the free real-time service allows online users to alert or notify people who are offline using existing telephony networks. Using the PacFusion Web site at http://www.pacfusion.com/econtacts/webringer/index.phtml , Web users can register themselves, download the WebRinger software and install the program on their Windows-driven PCs. Once registered, users of WebRinger who are not connected to the Internet can receive notifications anywhere, anytime, either through a mobile phone or PC. When the user's computer receives a notification, a pop-up window is displayed. If users choose to be notified via mobile phone, a customized pre-recorded message is played. Larry Ang, PacFusion.com's president, said that the Internet provides valuable communications and e-commerce opportunities 24 hours a day, seven days a week - often when users are not online. Plans call for the WebRinger technology to be developed to support e-commerce applications such as auctions, closeout sales, flight confirmations and so on. In the upcoming version of WebRinger, which should be available in the coming weeks, the firms said, users can pre-select prices of time-sensitive product offerings that they would be interested in purchasing, and then receive real-time offline alerts on their desktop or wireless device when price/product combinations occur. These alerts will include offline hyperlinks that connect directly to Web pages that would have all the information necessary to complete transactions with the single click of a button. Internet2Anywhere's Web site is at http://www.in2a.com/ New Microsoft Browser Will Issue Cookie Alert By Martin Stone Newsbytes. The latest version of the Microsoft Corp. [NASDAQ:MSFT] Internet Explorer browser will reportedly feature the ability to warn users when Web sites attempt to implant "cookies," which can track consumer Web surfing. A Wall Street Journal report today said the warning will appear as a pop-up, on-screen box, and will allow users of Explorer to reject attempts by third-party Web sites, such as advertising companies, to plant cookies. The addition to the software answers concerns voiced by privacy experts who have long complained about the practice, which can record the types of information people seek on the Web site that implanted the cookies. The upgrade will be offered as a "patch" to the Internet Explorer 5.5 release, expected to be unveiled Thursday. It will first be issued as a test to about 2,000 software developers and should become widely available as a download within four weeks, the report said, adding that later, a form of the patch will be bundled into Web browsers shipped with future versions of Windows. The warning function is intended to expose and stop commercial surveillance by ad networks. Microsoft said it is making the change after hearing concerns raised by consumers and other parties, including 10 state attorneys general. Those officials, led by Connecticut's Richard Blumenthal, said that cookies raise "serious privacy concerns," even though they "can lead to a more personalized and therefore more rewarding Internet experience," the report cited them as saying. Reported by Newsbytes.com, http://www.newsbytes.com © Post-Newsweek Business Information, 2000. All rights reserved. |
