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To: djane who wrote (3156)	2/26/1999 10:25:00 PM
From: djane	Respond to of 29987

UC Wireless Center Begins Fourth-generation Research [Maurice, this looks right up your alley...] wirelessweek.com From the Feb. 15, 1999 issue of Wireless Week By Peggy Albright A new research center that opened at the University of California at Berkeley last month is looking into the future by conducting research into what it calls fourth-generation technologies. The Berkeley Wireless Research Center, which opened last month, is developing universal radios as well as "wireless systems on a chip," envisioning technologies that it thinks could be commercialized in eight to 10 years. The center's work spans all aspects of the technology development, including system-level design, specific applications and the circuits required to build advanced wireless systems. Center researchers aim to design and test prototypes of such technologies for subsequent fabrication by industry sponsors. Between 40 to 60 researchers will work at the center, including seven faculty members from the university's electrical engineering and computer sciences departments. Industry members supporting the center include Cadence Design Systems Inc., Intel Corp., Texas Instruments Inc. and STMicroelectronics, as well as Ericsson Inc., Lucent Technologies Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. Each company contributes more than $.5 million annually in funding and equipment. The center also is supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which will contribute about $2 million a year. "[Our member companies] see the benefit of being able to work with research staff in a pre-competitive mode with other companies," said Gary Kelson, technical director of the center. Pre-competitive mode is the center's theme, where companies that often compete with each other team up. Certainly, participation in this center is considered a valuable approach to future business development, said Bob Hewes, TI vice president and director of its DSP research and development center. "As a suppliers of components, we feel we have to know a lot more than just the component-level technology." The BWRC announced a list of research objectives. The first is to develop universal radios that allow many users on the same frequency bands without interference. Mobile terminals would be many orders of magnitude more powerful than platforms available today and smart enough to figure out what the network infrastructure is and adapt to it. Another focus is to develop pico-radiosradios that will be deeply embedded in small devices and appliances for home and office applications. The radios will reside on a single chip and consume 10 to 100 times less power than today's technologies. Please send comments and suggestions on this Web site to jcollins@chilton.net Wireless Week, 600 S. Cherry St., #400, Denver, CO 80246 Voice: 303-393-7449, Fax: 303-399-2034 Published by Cahners Business Information © Copyright 1999. All rights reserved.

To: djane who wrote (3156)	2/26/1999 10:28:00 PM
From: djane	Respond to of 29987

Guest Opinion: Let's Avoid Misleading Messages [Well, G* will help service providers avoid such problems...] wirelessweek.com From the March 1, 1999 issue of Wireless Week By Roni Jackson Less than 15 years ago, few consumers had even heard of the term "cellular phone." Not two decades later, millions of consumers nationwide depend on wireless service to make business deals, schedule carpools, check movie schedules and traffic patterns, and as an important adjunct to their home and business communications systems. This tre-mendous consumer acceptance of a technology that was virtually unknown in the recent past is a testament to the outstanding success of the wireless industry's marketing efforts. However, in today's highly competitive market, wireless providers must reach significantly higher penetration levels than ever before to become and remain profitable. This challenge is made increasingly more difficult by the increased likelihood of churn in a multi-carrier environment. One of the key reasons for subscriber churn--dissatisfaction with the service provided by the "churned-from provider"--can be successfully combated by effectively managing consumers' expectations. This can be accomplished in part by the use of clear and creative advertising messages. When consumer expectations are realistic, not only is churn reduced, but so is the incidence of consumer complaints, governmental investigations and class action lawsuits. How, then, can advertising messages be tailored to effectively manage consumer expectations? Some wireless companies describe their coverage as "nationwide" to spark consumer interest. While industry insiders and certain "in the know" consumers may understand this description to mean that the service provider owns wireless licenses throughout the nation, many consumers expect that service described as "nationwide" will be seamlessly available across the United States. Accordingly, they are shocked (even angered) when they realize that little or no coverage is currently available in major cities like Chicago or Dallas, or that significant roaming charges apply when traveling in Topeka, Kan. Without intending to do so, wireless companies also can easily violate state laws prohibiting unfair, deceptive, untrue or misleading advertising in their marketing efforts. Many states have a very strict definition of "misleading." For example, an advertisement is misleading in California if it is simply likely to confuse or deceive the public. Actual confusion or deception need not be demonstrated. Similarly, in many states, advertisers are required to assume that persons in the targeted audience are unsophisticated, ignorant individuals who will take the words and concepts presented in an advertisement at face value, without stopping to analyze how the concepts might affect their personal circumstances. Given these restrictive standards, it is clear that wireless marketers face a challenge in presenting their message to the public. Practices that may be particularly susceptible to consumer confusion and an attendant legal or regulatory challenge include comparison claims (particularly, technology comparisons) and advertising low per-minute rates that only apply in certain circumstances. As the industry moves into the 21st century, it faces new challenges as it introduces consumers to an increasing variety of wireless technologies and services (including a vast new array of data services) that can further enhance their lives and businesses. If past performance is a key indicator of future performance, it is clear that the industry will successfully meet these challenges while exceeding customer expectations. Roni Jackson is a principal of Jackson Downes LLP, a San Diego-based provider of telecom consulting and legal services. Please send comments and suggestions on this Web site to jcollins@chilton.net Wireless Week, 600 S. Cherry St., #400, Denver, CO 80246 Voice: 303-393-7449, Fax: 303-399-2034 Published by Cahners Business Information © Copyright 1999. All rights reserved.