-- Southern LINC to Launch Wireless Data and Internet Services; Informance --
Solutions to Enhance Productivity of
Businesses Across Industries
Business/Technology Editors
PCS 99
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 20, 1999--Southern LINC(R), the
integrated digital wireless communications service from Southern
Company (NYSE: SO), today announces plans for an October 1999 launch
of Informance Solutions(SM), a suite of wireless data and Internet
services. In preparation for offering these services, Southern LINC
has signed agreements with eDispatch.com Wireless Data, Inc. (VSE:
EWD), Data on Air, Inc., Phone.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: PHCM) and Cerulean
Technology, Inc.
Informance Solutions, offered in conjunction with Southern LINC's
integrated Instant LINC(SM) (two-way radio), digital phone and paging
services, will provide mobile businesses access to information
throughout Southern LINC's 127,000-square-mile coverage area. Designed
to help businesses maximize efficiency and improve productivity, these
services will enable users to send and receive e-mail; view and update
contact information; send and redirect job orders to the field; track
the location of vehicles; access databases; and log on to the Internet
for weather reports, news headlines, stock quotes and more.
"Do you remember business before the fax machine?" asks Bob
Dawson, president and CEO of Southern LINC. "Informance Solutions will
help mobile businesses enhance their productivity as dramatically as
the fax machine did."
Services will be available through three Motorola Internet-ready
handsets - the i1000plus(TM), i500plus(TM) and the new rugged
i700plus(TM) multi-service devices, which are equipped with the
UP.Browser(TM) Internet microbrowser from Phone.com. In addition, two
new wireless modems, the Motorola iO1000(TM) and iM1000(TM), and a
mobile communications platform, Diplomat(TM), from Darby Corporate
Solutions, Inc. will be available.
Wireless Internet Dispatching Services:
Southern LINC has signed a licensing agreement with eDispatch.com
Wireless Data Inc. to provide access to eDispatch, a wireless Internet
dispatch system.
Using eDispatch through Southern LINC's Informance Solutions,
businesses with mobile fleets will be able to manage work orders and
track job flow more efficiently. Job details can be sent directly to a
worker's Internet-ready iDEN(R) handset and, using the handset's
keypad, the worker can enter and send status updates and job
completion reports from the field. This allows the worker to know job
details and inventory before he enters a job site, reducing confusion
and multiple calls back to the office for clarification. In addition,
the worker can file paperwork and billing information through his
handset, eliminating the need to return to the office and allowing for
more productive use of time.
With eDispatch.com, users will have access to the benefits of a
managed and connected mobile workforce at a fraction of the cost of
traditional CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) systems.
Vehicle Location Services:
Southern LINC has signed a licensing agreement with Data on Air,
Inc. to offer Web-based Vehicle Location Services (VLS) to businesses
with large and small fleets, such as trucking and delivery companies.
Using VLS, dispatchers will be able to monitor the location, speed and
direction of their company vehicles through the combined power of
Southern LINC service, economical GPS (Global Positioning System)
transceivers, the Internet and their desktop computers.
VLS consists of a device called Diplomat(TM) that records GPS
data at regular intervals throughout the day and transmits it through
the iO1000 or iM1000 modem or a Motorola Internet-ready handset to the
Southern LINC network. The data is then sent through the Southern LINC
network to a high-availability Web server, which Data On Air will
operate as part of the agreement.
The Web servers and software provide periodic real-time map
displays of vehicles as they move throughout Southern LINC's coverage
area. By viewing the location of vehicles on a map posted to the
business' private VLS Web page, provided as part of VLS service,
dispatchers will be able to ensure drivers are on route to designated
locations and easily identify vehicles closest to new jobs as they
arise. Since the dispatcher uses a standard Web browser to view
vehicle location information, fleet operators do not need to install
special hardware or software at their dispatch centers.
Benefits include on-time efficiency, on-route compliance,
periodic real-time tracking, post-route analysis, improved security
and driver safety, and improved stolen vehicle recovery.
Business Information Services:
Southern LINC has signed a licensing agreement with Phone.com,
Inc. to leverage the MyPhone mobile portal platform. This agreement
will enable Southern LINC to offer a wireless Internet portal to
access Informance Solutions. The portal allows users to access
Internet information services such as news headlines, weather reports
and stock quotes; view and update their address book; and send and
receive e-mail using any Internet-ready computer or Motorola
Internet-ready handset.
The MyPhone mobile portal platform from Phone.com provides a
framework for aggregation, presentation, personalization and delivery
of Internet based content and wireless-network integrated applications
to microbrowser-enabled wireless phones.
Public Safety/Law Enforcement Services:
Southern LINC has signed a joint marketing agreement with
Cerulean Technology, Inc. to offer PacketCluster(R) Patrol(TM), a
wireless information solution created for the public safety market. As
a result, officers will have direct, wireless access to information
stored in national, state and local databases such as NCIC, NLETS and
DMV. This access will help to increase officer safety, lighten
dispatcher workload and improve efficiency.
By using a laptop connected to a Southern LINC-powered Motorola
iM1000 modem or a Motorola Internet-ready handset, officers will be
able to initiate their own inquiries from laptop computers in their
patrol cars or emergency vehicles. With rapid access to key elements
of vehicle and owner information, officers will be better equipped in
the field and empowered to be more productive in day-to-day
operations.
PacketCluster Patrol supports silent and encrypted data
transmission for fast, reliable and secure data exchange. To help meet
strict public safety audit and report requirements, PacketCluster
Patrol time-stamps and records all information sent from the mobile
computer to the headquarters server, making it easy to generate
detailed reports.
About Southern LINC
Southern LINC, which stands for Long-range Integrated Network
Communications, covers 127,000 square miles in the Southeast,
including both major metro and rural areas in Alabama, Georgia,
southeastern Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle. Using Motorola's
iDEN technology, Southern LINC combines multiple communication
services into one handheld or installed device including Instant LINC
(two-way radio), phone service, numeric and text paging and mobile
data. More information about Southern LINC can be obtained by calling
1-800-818-LINC (5462) or visiting the Southern LINC Web site at
www.southernlinc.com.
Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an international energy company
with more than $35 billion in assets through regional utilities and
operations around the world. It is the largest producer of electricity
in the United States and one of the world's leading independent power
producers. Based in Atlanta, Southern Company is the parent firm of
Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, Mississippi Power and
Savannah Electric. Through its Southern Energy Inc. subsidiary,
Southern Company supplies electricity in 10 countries on four
continents and has a growing presence in North America with assets in
the Northeast, the Midwest, California and Texas. Southern Company
also provides energy-related marketing, trading and technical services
in the United States and Europe and offers Southern LINC wireless
telecommunications.
Photos Available Upon Request
Southern LINC, Informance Solutions and Instant LINC are salesmarks or
registered trademarks of Southern LINC.
Motorola, iDEN, i1000plus, i500plus, i700plus, iO1000 and iM1000 are
trademarks or registered trademarks of Motorola, Inc.
Data on Air is a registered trademark of Data on Air, Inc.
The Diplomat is a trademark of Darby Corporate Solutions, Inc.
The Phone.com name and logo and the family of terms carrying the "UP."
prefix are trademarks of Phone.com, Inc.
Cerulean and PacketCluster are registered trademarks of Cerulean
Technology Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
--30--jl/ny*
CONTACT: The Headline Group
Jennifer Ahner, 404/262-3000
jahner@headlinegroup.com
or
Southern LINC
Julie Pigott, 678/443-1520
jtpigott@southernco.com
KEYWORD: GEORGIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS COMED TELECOMMUNICATIONS
INTERACTIVE/MULTIMEDIA/INTERNET PRODUCT TRADESHOW
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