Hi Mikey,
Not anything of great relevance although this first article refers
to many more players than listed but one would think that Compaq would
be a good reference. I did find some interesting things though that
I will post. i think there is a possibility that they could eventually
tie with Compaq as Compaq is trying to corner many aspects of wireless.
--
January 10, 2000, Issue: 1601
Section: Technology
Wireless in Y2K -- Wireless Falls Into E-Business Niche
Jan Stafford
This is the year all the pieces of the wireless picture-mobile devices, standards
support, numerous wireless data-capable networks and easy access via the
Internet to corporate information-will come together, analysts and vendors
say.
"Wireless hasn't been adopted by businesses very quickly because of high
cost, limited coverage, lack of turnkey and application-integrated solutions,
and slow transmission speeds," says Charles Brown, marketing vice president
for WaveRider, a wireless LAN/WAN vendor. "All of those barriers are
falling."
While wireless solutions have been used in vertical markets for two decades,
wireless did not catch the eye of businesses in general until cell phones and
voicemail came along. Now, e-mail is putting wireless on the front burner.
"Today's mobile workers cannot be certain that their most important messages
will arrive via their voicemail," says Andrew Seybold, an analyst for Seybold's
Outlook, Boulder Creek, Colo. "Wireless data provides the same type of
remote access to e-mail as cellular phones provide to voicemail." Wireless
data will be the final enabler of e-mail, the e-facto e-business application.
A Spec With Teeth
The most high-profile wireless movement of the moment is the
one-and-a-half-year-old Bluetooth Special Interest Group
(www.bluetooth.com). More than 1,200 members strong, the Bluetooth SIG
is led by Ericsson, IBM Corp., Intel Corp., Lucent Technologies, Microsoft
Corp., Motorola Corp., Nokia, 3Com Corp. and Toshiba Corp. Bluetooth is
a wireless specification-a low-power, short-range, affordable radio-link
technology for small form factor devices. Vendors supporting the competitive
802.11B high-speed and HomeRF low-speed wireless standards have vowed
to support Bluetooth, too.
"There's been a lot of discussion about what is the right platform," says John
Harris, vice president of marketing for wireless mobile PC vendor Panasonic
Personal Computer Co. "Bluetooth won't be used in all solutions, but it's part
of a standards movement that will open up the possibilities of wireless."
Bluetooth will link and sync office devices without cabling, "creating new ways
to use printers, faxes, pagers, notebook PCs, cell phones and more," says Tim
Scannell, an analyst for Mobile Insights Inc., Mountain View, Calif. Right
now, Bluetooth's 10-meter range and $30-per-connection price tag will limit
market acceptance, but as its range increases and costs decrease, Bluetooth's
bite will live up to its bark. Dataquest Inc., San Jose, predicts that
Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones will account for a whopping 79 percent of
U.S. shipments in 2002, up from 6 percent last year.
The first Bluetooth-enabled devices other than phones will hit the market at
the end of this quarter. Wireless notebooks from such companies as Intel and
Panasonic will be the early arrivals, followed by PC peripherals and handheld
PCs. One of the first products on the market will be a module called
Blue-Connect, which gives Handspring Visor PDAs wireless connectivity with
other Bluetooth-enabled devices. It will be jointly marketed by Acer NeWeb,
a division of Acer Group, and Widcomm Inc., a developer of turnkey wireless
data solutions.
But Bluetooth's bite won't truly be felt until there are many RF-chip devices on
the market communicating with each other. The wait, however, won't be long.
By 2005, more than 670 million Bluetooth-enabled devices will be on the
market, according to Cahners In-Stat Group, Newton, Mass.
No More Cable Guy
While Bluetooth is fueling future solution releases, radio frequency-enabled
wireless networking solutions are bringing a compelling cost- and time-savings
story for businesses right now. ISPs, too, are using new high-speed,
high-reliability wireless systems that provide Internet access without cables or
services hired from phone and cable companies.
This year, wireless networking is going to be "really hot in the SOHO market,"
says Felix Chen, Acer NeWeb marketing manager. "Networking
before-particularly laying cables-has been difficult and time-consuming.
Wireless networking technologies offer an inexpensive way to network an
office."
The Acer NeWeb WorkLink connects multiple PCs using wireless technology
for as little as $100 per card/per PC. Although WorkLink's range of 10
meters and a data rate of 1 MBps seems pretty puny compared with wired
networks' capabilities, Chen says it's sufficient for a small business, and 10
MB is too expensive. As for the range, WorkLink is designed to "have people
in the same building share files, printers and Internet access," he says.
Still, there are wireless networks with faster speeds and wider ranges that fit
the budgets of small to large businesses. "You can get high-speed wireless
LAN and Internet connectivity at 11 MBps for $2,600 today," says
WaveRider's Brown. "Two years ago, it was $20,000."
"Internet-based, wireless wide area networks bypass installation complexities
typical of ISDN or cable solutions," says Brown. "Wireless networking
running on the unlicensed 2.4-GHz band provides an economical alternative to
leasing phone lines or running cables."
More than 40 VARs have signed up to sell WaveRider's year-old WaveRider
NCL series of high-capacity, 1-MBps to 11-MBps wireless bridges and
routers for LAN-to-LAN and LAN-to-Internet connectivity. "VARs see an
opportunity to make margins on hardware and sell services such as network
design and deployment," says Brown.
Intell-Comm LLC, a WaveRider VAR in Salt Lake City, crafts both indoor
and outdoor wireless networks. Indoors, Intell-Com links LANs for
businesses that don't want to do construction to put in cabling for a new or
expanded network. Outside solutions link Ethernet networks in different sites.
A recent project involved a multipoint wireless network that joined several
warehouses and one corporate office into one wireless network. Skeptical
prospects become wireless networking converts "once we explain the
technology and show return on investment vs. a T-1 line's installation and
monthly fee," says Craig Mecham, Intell-Com manager. "Wireless will pay for
itself in less than a year."
For local ISPs and corporate campuses, Lucent Technologies has created
WaveAccess, an 11-MBps, 10-mile-radius point-to-point and
point-to-multipoint outdoor wireless networking system. Unveiled at the end
of 1999, WaveAccess offers IP routing, which connects multiple LANs using
different IP subnets. With IP routing, secure, separate and interconnected
wireless networks can be set up and connected. WaveAccess' bandwidth
management tools let managers allocate bandwidth to certain networks. So,
for instance, large offices with many users could get more bandwidth.
The Bird In the Hand
Wireless networks offer VARs a ready-to-market wireless solution-a real
value in a year that will be rife with "announcements" of future wireless
products. With all the excitement, VARs' biggest challenge will be "choosing
technologies that are right to sell today vs. those that are very attractive but
not ready for prime time," says Mobile Insights' Scannell. The safe bets for
VARs making their first entry into wireless will be networking, data access,
e-mail and messaging solutions.
"The good thing for VARs about wireless is that each app has been designed
to a particular business," says Scannell. "The opportunity for customization
opens the door to lot of VARs who didn't traditionally play in vertical
markets."
Quick Scan
Acer NeWeb Corp. San Jose, Calif. (408) 383-2789, www.acerneweb.com
Lucent Technologies Murray Hill, N.J. (877) 602-4499, www.lucent.com
WaveRider Toronto, Canada (416) 502-3200, www.waverider.com
Widcomm Inc. San Diego, Calif. (858) 453-8400, www.widcomm.com
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