From ptownson Wed Mar 22 03:02:08 2000 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) id DAA29461 for \ptownson; Wed, 22 Mar 2000 03:02:08 -0500 (EST) Received: from xuxa.iecc.com (N123-104@xuxa.iecc.com [208.31.42.42]) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id DAA29452 for ; Wed, 22 Mar 2000 03:02:06 -0500 (EST) Received: (qmail 3064 invoked by uid 166); 22 Mar 2000 03:02:14 -0500 Delivered-To: virtual-db-editor@telecom-digest.org Received: (qmail 2981 invoked from network); 22 Mar 2000 03:00:23 -0500 Received: from delcluster1.vsnl.net.in (202.54.96.1) by mail2.iecc.com with SMTP; 22 Mar 2000 03:00:23 -0500 Received: from localhost ([203.197.212.211]) by delcluster1.vsnl.net.in (8.9.2/8.9.2) with ESMTP id NAA21748 for ; Wed, 22 Mar 2000 13:31:28 -0500 (GMT) Message-Id: <200003221831.NAA21748@delcluster1.vsnl.net.in> From: "telcomine" To: "editor@telecom-digest.org" Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 13:31:34 +0550 Subject: Telcomine: Trends in Telecom Technology Reply-To: telcomine@infozech.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 Status: RO =======================TELCOMINE=============================== TELCOMINE - The monthly newsletter that brings the latest trends and developments in frontline IT Technologies. To subscribe mail to: nl@infozech.com To advertise mail to: telcomine@infozech.com To unsubscribe mail to: telcomine@infozech.com ================================================================ **You may forward TELCOMINE to your friends and colleagues** ================================================================ Trends in Telecom Technology Volume 3, No 3, March 2000 Visit: http://www.infozech.com/telcomine.html ================================================================ ======= IN THIS ISSUE=========================================== 1. IN INDIA "DOT COM" CHAUFFEURS ARE MILLIONAIRES: TOPIC FOR CLINTON'S VISIT MURDOCH IN BANGALORE UK, IRELAND IN THE RACE The inflated "dot com" stock market epidemic has spread to India too. Many car drivers and electricians in Infosys have become millionaires. Azim Hashmi Premji, owner of another software company, Wipro, is now rated as one of the world's five richest men with personal assets of $38 billion. America is interested. Indo-US memorandum of understanding in Information Technology is expected to be signed during President Clinton's India visit in the third week of March. http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar100.shtml 2. THREE -YEAR OLD COMPUTER KID TO PRESENT ROSE TO CLINTON IN INDIA When President Clinton visits Hyderabad, India, on March 23, he is to be presented a rose by the world's youngest Microsoft whiz-kid, Hyderabad-born, three-year old Ajay Puri. http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar200.shtml 3. MOBILE PHONES MAY DAMAGE MEMORY CELLS: STUDY Latest study on rats has shown that exposure to mobile phone radiation severely affects memory cells. Henry Lai of the University of Washington in a study found that cell phone type microwaves affect learning and memory in rats. http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar300.shtml 4. IBM's FEELING COMPUTER RESPONDS TO LOOKS IBM has released a "feeling" robot -- PONG, equipped with the BlueEyes Technology that enables it to perceive human feelings. It smiles when the person calls his name and expresses loneliness when it loses sight of the person. It is expected that in future ordinary household devices- such as refrigerators, TVs and ovens- will do their jobs when we speak to them or merely look at them. http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar400.shtml 5. BEZOS SAYS ALL COMPUTERS WILL BE WIRELESS IN 10 YEARS Internet based services dominated the annual conference of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association held in New Orleans this month. Among the speakers were luminaries Bill Gates, Steve case, Jeff Bezos and they all were optimistic over the marriage of the Internet and the wireless world. http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar500.shtml 6. IT IS MOBILE ALL THE WAY AT CEBIT FAIR IN HANOVER Taking the mobile- wireless revolution a step further the CeBIT fair at Hanover this month exhibited the latest high capacity GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) phones and Internet based GPS (Global Positioning system) products , Digital Angel. Billed as the largest Trade Fair CeBIT had 7,802 exhibitors and more than 700,000 visitors this year. Starting from 24th February to March 1st it used more than 4.5 million square feet of exhibition space. http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar600.shtml 7. I-MODE EXCELS WAP IN MOBILE INTERNET RACE IN JAPAN WAP RULES MOBILES IN THE WEST While WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) sustains the mobile Internet for some specific web based services in Europe and America, it is really the Japanese new comer 'I-mode' that gives unrestricted power to the mobile phone user to roam the worldwide web in any manner and for any service. http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar700.shtml 8. STAFF PUNISHED FOR MASS ABUSE OF OFFICE TIME ON INTERNET A recent study by NielsenNet Ratings has revealed mass abuse of office time over Internet by employees. As many as 36% of the companies had punished their workers for misusing the Internet and 11% had fired workers for Internet abuses. http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar800.shtml 9. PEN THAT PERFORMS PDA's FUNCTION C-Technologies introduced a C-Pen that can perform various PDA functions including reading printed text, writing and storing critical information. http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar900.shtml 10. INTERNET ALLOWS DISTANT MOURNERS A CHANCE TO VIEW FUNERALS Net has not only wired our life but will follow us unto death through a unique service, believed to be the first in the world, which will broadcast live video coverage of funeral rites over the Internet. http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar1000.shtml 11. HOTMAIL TOO LETS YOU BAR JUNK E-MAIL MENACE Hotmail has now joined Yahoo to provide its users the facility to shut out the unwanted junk e-mail nuisance from their mail-boxes. This could be a body blow to online propagandists and online e-commerce enthusiasts. But everyone seems to agree that if allowed unchecked it could choke off Internet and make it unusable. http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar1100.shtml 12. GLOBALNETXCHANGE TO HANDLE SEAR'S AND CARREFOUR'S $80 BILLION ONLINE TRADE Sears and Carrefour's combined $80 billion supply chain purchase from 50,000 suppliers, partners and distributors will now be put on the first global business-to-business online exchange which will ultimately serve the entire retail industry. http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar1200.shtml 13. BLUETOOTH - A GLOBAL SPECIFICATION FOR WIRELESS- TO - WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY Bluetooth is a global specification for wireless connectivity that would allow phones, palmtops, televisions, DVD players, burglar alarms etc to connect to each other and transmit voice and data by way of radio frequencies rather than cables. The gross data rate is 1 megabits per second. http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar1300.shtml 14. ANDERSON CONSULTING TO INVEST $1.2 BILLION IN INTERNET START-UP COMPANIES Anderson Consulting plans to open 17 "dot-com launch centers" worldwide as part of plans to invest $1.2 billion in Internet startups over the next three years. http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar1400.shtml 15. COMPLEX MOBILE SERVICES NEED NEW BILLING SYSTEMS SAYS VODAFONE AIRTOUCH CEO The introduction of the third generation mobile technology will change the face of telecommunications and also billing for its diverse services. As new technologies are evolving billing the users is becoming all the more complicated. http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar1500.shtml 16. INTEGRATED INFOZECH- ARRAY TEL PACKAGE TO SUPPORT ISPS' BILLING Infozech and Array Telecom have successfully achieved interoperability between -- eBill, Infozech's telecom billing solution, and Array's Series 3000 VoIP gateway. http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar1600.shtml 17. SPORTS EXCHANGE PRESIDENT CONVICTED FOR ONLINE GAMBLING $20 BILLIONS AT STAKE In a unique case 33 year old Jay Cohen, president of World Sports Exchange in Antigua, was convicted by a federal jury for betting over the net. http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar1700.shtml 18. MOUSE THAT CAN ESTABLISH USER'S IDENTITY In an effort to make online banking and e-commerce transaction more secure and reliable, a standard computer mouse has been developed which, with the help of an embedded fingerprint-scanning device can establish the true identity of the user. http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar1800.shtml 19. AMAZON OPENS WEB PORTAL FOR MOBILE USERS Amazon.com has opened up a web portal specially designed to resolve for the constraints of wireless devices, which have much smaller screens and slower Internet connections than a PC. http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar1900.shtml 20. GSM WORLD CONGRESS The GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) World Congress in Cannes, France this year was a huge success with 72% increase in visitors. Attended by all the major players in the GSM industry the focus remained on Bluetooth technology. http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar2000.shtml 21. FCC CHAIRMAN PROPOSES WIRELESS BANDWIDTH EXCHANGE Bandwidth demand is creating bottlenecks for Internet and e-commerce. According to Mr. William Kennard, Chairman, FCC, USA, "the biggest challenge facing the industry today is the need for more spectrum. The demand for spectrum is simply outstripping supply". http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar2100.shtml 22. AUTO INDUSTRY CREATES ITS OWN INTERNET Recognizing the vast potential of Internet, giant auto makers, Ford, General Motors and DiamlerChrysler have teamed up to create the largest Internet marketplace that will be open to all auto manufacturers and suppliers. It is expected that up to $800 billion annual transactions might take place over the new auto exchange - the $250 billion that auto makers spend plus the $500 billion that their suppliers spend. http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar2200.shtml 23. MAILBOX NEW IDEA ON OPTICAL SWITCHING http://www.infozech.com/articles/mar2300.shtml ================================================================ IN INDIA "DOT COM" CHAUFFEURS ARE MILLIONAIRES: TOPIC FOR CLINTON'S VISIT The inflated "dot com" stock market epidemic has spread to India too. Many car drivers and electricians in Infosys have become millionaires. Azim Hashmi Premji, owner of another software company, Wipro, is now rated as one of the world's five richest men with personal assets of $38 billion. America is interested. Indo-US memorandum of understanding in Information Technology is expected to be signed during President Clinton's India visit in the third week of March. Infosys is unique among Indian companies where the lowest paid employees hold stocks. Attenders, cleaners, plumbers, electricians and chauffeurs become owners of company shares worth several million rupees, more than a whole life time's earning of a salaried employee. Thanks to the egalitarian philosophy of its scholar turned entrepreneur owner,N.R. Narayan Murthy. Infosys now has about 2000 millionaires and 100 billionaires (in rupees). Behind this boom is the sudden explosion in values of software shares in the stock markets. Wipro's two rupees share has shot up to almost Rs 10,000 and that of Infosys from its original base of Rs 10 to over Rs 22,000. Scores of other dot com shares have been shooting through the ceiling, in contrast to other non-software holdings. Murdoch in Bangalore Almost every big business house in the country is opening a software arm or planning to do so. Venture Capitalists, Indian and foreign, have sprung up overnight and are looking for start up firms they can support or buy. But there are not yet too many of them around. Rupert Murdoch, the International Media tycoon, arrived in Bangalore (India's Silicon Valley) on March 12 and announced his plans to acquire or invest in Indian Internet companies. UK, Ireland in the Race Among those eyeing the Indian talent mart are Bill Gates who visited India two years ago to launch Microsoft's active presence in the country. President Clinton will visit Hyderabad, India's new cyber city, during his visit to India this month. Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister Ms Mary Harney, is bringing a delegation of her country's top IT and telecom businessmen to India next month. Ireland exported $3.2 billion worth software product in 1998 against America's $2.9 billion. Britain has tried to take a short cut to the top class Indian professionals. The UK Ambassador in Washington this month hosted a high profile dinner to the cream of successful Indian software geniuses in America to attract them to his country. Germany too has entered the fray and is looking for collaborators in India. ================================================================ THREE -YEAR OLD COMPUTER KID TO PRESENT ROSE TO CLINTON IN INDIA When President Clinton visits Hyderabad, India, on March 23, he is to be presented a rose by the world's youngest Microsoft whiz-kid, Hyderabad-born, three-year old Ajay Puri. Indian kids in large numbers have gone computer crazy but none so startlingly crazy as Ajay, who has dazzled celebrities worldwide with his expert handling of the web and the PC. Microsoft which has already honored several Indian children has registered for him a site http://www.microsoftkid.com. Among those who have feted and greeted Ajay for his exceptional abilities are India's Prime Minister A B Vajpayee, top Industrialist KK Birla and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu. Ajay lives with his parents in Bangkok and communicates through voice mail with his grandparents in New Delhi. He is very comfortable with software such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Internet Explorer. He can himself send out e-mail and recognizes all the alphabets on the keyboard. "A lot of people have already come forward to set up links to sell kid stuff through his new web page even before it is launched" said the whizkid's father Ravi Puri, an export manager at Birla Group's Century textiles in Bangkok. ================================================================ MOBILE PHONES MAY DAMAGE MEMORY CELLS: STUDY Latest study on rats has showed that exposure to mobile phone radiation severely affects memory cells. Henry Lai of the University of Washington in a study found that cell phone type microwaves affect learning and memory in rats. In the experiment two sets of rats were put in a water maze. First category had rats which Had been exposed to microwave radiation equal to that emitted by cell phones and the other category had normal rats. When both categories were put in the maze, it was discovered that rats exposed for an hour to the pulsed microwaves were slower to learn the location of a platform in a water maze than the unexposed ones. Moreover, they seemed to lose their memory of the location of the underwater platform on later tests. ================================================================ IBM's FEELING COMPUTER RESPONDS TO LOOKS IBM has released a "feeling" robot -- PONG, equipped with the BlueEyes Technology that enables it to perceive human feelings. It smiles when the person calls his name and expresses loneliness when it loses sight of the person. It is expected that in future ordinary household devices- such as refrigerators, TVs and ovens- will do their jobs when we speak to them or merely look at them. The researchers have been working on this futuristic technology -- Blue Eyes Technology - for quite some time at its Almaden Research Center. The primary objective is to give a computer the ability of the human mind to assess a situation by using the senses of sight. The applications of BlueEyes technology are claimed to be limitless -- from designing cars and developing presentations, to interactive entertainment and advertising. BlueEyes uses non-obtrusive sensing technology. With the help of video cameras and microphones, it identifies and observes a user's actions and then extracts key information, such as where the user is looking and what the user is saying verbally and by gestures. Analyzing these cues the users physical, emotional or informational state is determined, which in turn can be used to help make the user more productive by performing expected actions or by providing expected information. Visit: http://www.almaden.ibm.com ================================================================ BEZOS SAYS ALL COMPUTERS WILL BE WIRELESS IN 10 YEARS Internet based services dominated the annual conference of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association held in New Orleans this month. Among the speakers were luminaries Bill Gates, Steve case, Jeff Bezos and they all were optimistic over the marriage of the Internet and the wireless world. Amazon's CEO, Jeff Bezos, said: "I believe that all computers will be wireless 10 years from now." The craze of consumers could be assessed by the fact that by 2003 around 62 million people will use wireless devices to connect to the net. By effectively making Internet access a standard feature of phones, the manufacturers and carriers hope to spark consumer interest in mobile Web services. Companies are working in this direction and are competing hard. A Cupertino based company Pixo has developed a software that enables users to go to any Web site, not just ones specially formatted for wireless phones. Pixo has focussed on supporting e-commerce services based on the user's location, such as enabling users to buy tickets for nearby theatres in unfamiliar cities. Bill Gates, Chief Software Architect, Microsoft, said that the challenge is to bring together the Internet, corporate data, devices and users in an intelligent, manageable way. ================================================================ IT IS MOBILE ALL THE WAY AT CEBIT FAIR IN HANOVER Taking the mobile- wireless revolution a step further the CeBIT fair at Hanover this month exhibited the latest high capacity GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) phones and Internet based GPS (Global Positioning system) products , Digital Angel. Billed as the largest Trade Fair CeBIT had 7,802 exhibitors and more than 700,000 visitors this year. Starting from 24th February to March 1st it used more than 4.5 million square feet of exhibition space. GPRS is an emerging technology that adds high speed Internet access and e-mail services to GSM cellular phones. Mobile and Data Communications took the center stage this year's, 14th annual, CeBIT fair. Every company was competing to make an impact and umpteen products were displayed. The focal point was on WAP- Wireless Application Protocol -, General Packet Radio Services - GPRS, Third-Generation Wireless Services and Bluetooth. Samsung's mobile TV phone, Internet keyphone for office along with the first GPRS phone. Swedish Satsafe introduced Internet based GPS (Global Positioning System) Technology. German company Solarc showed Scotty- a solar charger for mobile devices. C-Technologies introduced a C-Pen that can perform various PDA functions including reading printed text, writing and storing critical information. The fair had exhibitors from all walks of the telecom arena. Information technology (1,500); Office Automation (300); Software (2,700); Telecommunications (900) and Network Computing (400). Samsung introduced the first GPRS phone supports up to 56kbps although ultimately, the GPRS service will allow data connection at speeds of up to 115kbps. It offers voice dialing, voice memo, Predictive Text Input, Personal Information Management (scheduler, diary) and has a built-in IrDA (Infra red Data Access) port to allow wireless connection to PDAs and laptop computers. Samsung also introduced the first commercial watch phone, a small wrist watch which includes a mobile phone. The watch will be available by early summer in the US. It uses Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology and weighs 1.3 ounces (1.7 ounces with battery) and measures 2.7 inches by 2.3 inches by 0.8 inches. German company Solarc showed Scotty- a solar charger for mobile devices. Scotty can also recharge cells of any battery system. It measures only 100 x 60 x 20 mm and weighs 125 gms. The cost is Euro 61.30 ( USD 62 approx.). ================================================================ I-MODE EXCELS WAP IN MOBILE INTERNET RACE IN JAPAN While WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) sustains the mobile Internet for some specific web based services in Europe and America, it is really the Japanese new comer 'I-mode' that gives unrestricted power to the mobile phone user to roam the worldwide web in any manner and for any service. Within a short period i-mode has caught the imagination of millions of Japanese mobile fans, especially teenagers . The latest models have full-color displays, recognize spoken commands and have plug-in-keyboards for writing longer e-mails. The company expects to introduce a 'Third Generation' network based on the latest W-CDMA technology, which will increase the data transfer rate up to 40 times and will also allow high-quality streamed video and audio. i-mode is gaining customers at the rate of 25000 a day and is expected to pass the 5m mark subscriber base this month. i-mode's developer NTTDoCoMo is the world's largest telecom company billed at $370 billion. WAP RULES MOBILES IN THE WEST Meanwhile in Europe and America WAP is going ahead with its 3G plans which will allow wireless access to Internet contents, access to email, data, news, e-commerce transactions, banking services. WAP is the Universal standard for applications over wireless networks, is a key technology that enables users to easily access Web Based information services and applications from the screens of their mobile phones or other wireless devices. Carriers can also offer their personal and other customer related information located in the carrier customer configuration, billing and other databases in the intelligent network. Presently WAP is in a nascent stage. However its huge potential allows intelligent and sensitive data exchange between two devices. By 2005, the wireless connection speed will reach 1Mbps as against 14.4 Kilobits per second today. Its widespread use would lead to a convergent wallet less society. You would carry "cash" on your WAP based phone and also your business cards. You can beam your card to any other wireless phone instantly. At home the same device will open your house or work as TV remote. The difference between an ordinary mobile phone and its WAP enabled counterpart is that WAP provides a standard for designing Internet content for mobile phones with a special small-format WAP browser. WAP's basic function is to configure content from the net in a manner appropriate to the smaller screens and keypads of mobile phones. ================================================================ STAFF PUNISHED FOR MASS ABUSE OF OFFICE TIME ON INTERNET A recent study by NielsenNet Ratings has revealed mass abuse of office time over Internet by employees. As many as 36% of the companies had punished their workers for misusing the Internet and 11% had fired workers for Internet abuses. An average employee with Internet access spent 21 hours a week online, more than double the time spent by Internet users at home. News, financial news and general information sites are visited more often by work users. About 32.7 million US adults have internet access at work while 122.7 million have home internet access according to Nielsen/ Net ratings. The study discovered that at work, the number of Internet users was less than half as many as at home, but they spent twice the time there and logged on twice as many times. There are roughly 30.6 million wired employees as opposed to some 77 million at home, according to the study. ================================================================ PEN THAT PERFORMS PDAS FUNCTION C-Technologies introduced a C-Pen that can perform various PDA functions including reading printed text, writing and storing critical information. The pen has a storage for up to 2000 pages of printed text and 500 addresses,. It also has a sharper four line display in a signature pen-shaped device. C-Pen's exciting feature includes its dictionary that allows translating text to Spanish, French, Italian, German and Swedish from English and vice versa. ================================================================ INTERNET ALLOWS DISTANT MOURNERS A CHANCE TO VIEW FUNERALS Net has not only wired our life but will follow us unto death through a unique service, Believed to be the first in the world, which will broadcast live video coverage of funeral rites over the Internet. The site www.fergersonfuneralhome.com is offered by Fred Fergerson. It offers a video page where visitors can click on gallery and see the front entrance to the funeral home and traffic passing by in the distance. The idea struck him when his high school friend could not attend his father's funeral and thus he decided to set up a system. According to the website, the system is compatible with anyone's Internet connection. No software is needed to receive the program content. Fergerson can control the number of people who are allowed to view the program , the time each viewer is allowed to stay connected and can limit access by passwords. Families have to give written permission to have any portion of the funeral service transmitted on the Internet. The funeral home is offering this service free. ================================================================ HOTMAIL TOO LETS YOU BAR JUNK E-MAIL MENACE Hotmail has now joined Yahoo to provide its users the facility to shut out the unwanted junk e-mail nuisance from their mail-boxes. This could be a body blow to online propagandists and online e-commerce enthusiasts. But everyone seems to agree that if allowed unchecked it could choke off Internet and make it unusable. Hotmail's new 'bulk mail' option will allow users to sift unsolicited e-mail, or spam, to a folder that automatically deletes it in 30 days. "It's one of the biggest nuisances and sources of friction of e-mail users," said Barry Par, Director of Consumer e-commerce research at International Data Corp. in Mountain View, California. "The longer you have an e-mail address the more valuable it is but more likely you are to be on many spam lists." ================================================================ GLOBALNETXCHANGE TO HANDLE SEAR'S AND CARREFOUR'S $80 BILLION ONLINE TRADE Sears and Carrefour's combined $80 billion supply chain purchase from 50,000 suppliers, partners and distributors will now be put on the first global business-to-business online exchange which will ultimately serve the entire retail industry. The exchange will allow network members to buy, sell, trade or auction goods and services over the Internet using standard web browser. GlobalNetXchange as the exchange is known is expected to significantly reduce their purchasing expenses and greatly improve efficiencies of their trading partners. Revenues for the online purchasing sitewill be generated by fees charged to retailers and suppliers using the network. The exchange is based on Oracle's e-business marketplace platform. ================================================================ BLUETOOTH - A GLOBAL SPECIFICATION FOR WIRELESS- TO - WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY Bluetooth is a global specification for wireless connectivity that would allow phones, palmtops, televisions, DVD players, burglar alarms etc to connect to each other and transmit voice and data by way of radio frequencies rather than cables. The gross data rate is 1 megabits per second. This technology will do away with cables and connect one device to another with one universal short range radio link. It has a range of around ten meters and appliances only have to be in close proximity to work . It also facilitates real-time voice and data transmissions making it possible to connect any portable and stationary communication device as easily as switching on the lights. Once in place this technology could allow you to make adjustments to your stereo or check the oil in your car via mobile phones. The small Bluetooth radio transceiver component can be fit into any device -- existing or emerging ones. Blue-tooth ready devices and appliances are expected to hit the streets by the end of 2000 and become ubiquitous by 2005. It is estimated that before 2002, Bluetooth will be a built-in feature in more than 100 million mobile phones and in several million communication devices, ranging from headsets and portable PC's to desktop computers and notebooks. Bluetooth's fast frequency hopping technique promises a secure network. Due to this the frequency is varied 1600 times a second in a pseudo -random manner during transmission. ================================================================ ANDERSON CONSULTING TO INVEST $1.2 BILLION IN INTERNET START-UP COMPANIES Anderson Consulting plans to open 17 "dot-com launch centers" worldwide as part of plans to invest $1.2 billion in Internet startups over the next three years. According to the company , it is rounding up marketing, strategy and technology talent to help the young Internet firms avoid the pitfalls of fast-growing companies. In exchange, it will get minority stakes in the startups, as well as its standard fees. ================================================================ COMPLEX MOBILE SERVICES NEED NEW BILLING SYSTEMS SAYS VODAFONE AIRTOUCH CEO The introduction of the third generation mobile technology will change the face of telecommunications and also billing for its diverse services. As new technologies are evolving billing the users is becoming all the more complicated. Vodafone AirTouch, now the world's largest mobile network operator is uncertain of the impact the third generation mobile technology (3G) will have on billing. "Although we are concentrating on developing a global platform for mobile data services, we are still unsure how we will bill for them," comments Chris Gent, Chief Executive office of Vodafone AirTouch. There were number of possibilities, all of which needed to be explored", he said. Sholomo Baleli, President of R&D, Amdocs, believes that there will be large difference between billing consumers and businesses . There will be different billing charges based on value-added services. For example browsing, e-commerce and downloading videos will all be billed at different rates." He added that in the interconnect market, supporting invoicing between telecom carriers, expect the more traditional parameters ( billing by volume and type of data) to dominate. The move to billing for 3G mobile services has the potential to make it a lot easier use of current billing systems as a platform for future evolution. The billing criterion has to be service or application specific. It could be time-on-line (minutes/ peak/off, time of day, day of week etc). ================================================================ INTEGRATED INFOZECH- ARRAY TEL PACKAGE TO SUPPORT ISPS' BILLING Infozech and Array Telecom have successfully achieved interoperability between -- eBill, Infozech's telecom billing solution, and Array's Series 3000 VoIP gateway. This new partnership offers Internet service providers (ISP's) a fully-integrated operations support package incorporating order management, customer management, billing, accounts receivable and switch management on a common platform. eBill is Infozech's flagship product to meet the diverse requirements of telecommunication services such as Internet Telephony, Store and Forward Fax over Internet, Long Distance, Calling Cards and other CDR based service. Array Telecom Corp, a Comdial company, is a provider of carrier-class and enterprise IP telephony gateway products. Both eBill and Array's Series 3000 are scalable and suitable for small, medium, and large-sized users. "Billing and back-office management are an important part of a carriers' operation. Infozech's commitment to customer service is demonstrated not only by integrating eBill with our gateway products, but by working with us, and our customers, to add new and unique capabilities," said Row Zadeh, President of Array Telecom. Ankur Lal, Chief Executive Officer of Infozech, commented, "We are confident that by integrating with Array's Series 3000 we can provide ISP's, corporate customers and commercial carriers a complete solution for their IP telephony businesses. We believe that with eBill, we have attained a level of expertise which can satisfy billing requirements in any IP telephony environment." Infozech provides software solutions for telecom services like IP telephony, Fax over IP, callback, long distance, calling card, toll-free numbers or any other flat rate or CDR based service. For details visit: http://www.infozech.com/solution.html ================================================================ SPORTS EXCHANGE PRESIDENT CONVICTED FOR ONLINE GAMBLING In a unique case 33 year old Jay Cohen, president of World Sports Exchange in Antigua, was convicted by a federal jury for betting over the net. Jay Cohen was among 22 defendants charged in March 1998 with operating offshore companies that took bets from America via Internet or toll-free telephone numbers. Federal law prohibits the use of the Internet for sports betting. A Bill that passed the Senate last year would make it illegal to bet it on casino- style games online. The number of online casinos has increased from 15 in 1996 to more than 700 at present, according to industry research. Revenue to the roughly 200 companies that operate these sites is estimated to reach nearly $1.5 billion this year and $3 billion by 2002, said Sebastian Sinclair, an analyst who performs market research for the online gambling industry. $20 BILLIONS AT STAKE According to the American Gambling Association, the nation's 450 commercial casinos took in $20 billion in 1998, while 160 American Indian Casinos had $7.2 billion. The 4 million Americans who are expected to gamble online this year account for about 50 percent of the industry's revenue, analysts said. However , with the number of Asian and European bettors rising, some Internet casino operators said they aren't concerned about a US ban. Fines starting at $20,000 and prison sentences for operators are only on paper because many of the companies are located outside the United States. In a case of its own a jury in US District Court in Manhattan concluded that Jay Cohen broke a federal law by accepting bets and wagers on sports over the Internet and Telephone. ================================================================ MOUSE THAT CAN ESTABLISH USER'S IDENTITY In an effort to make online banking and e-commerce transaction more secure and reliable, a standard computer mouse has been developed which, with the help of an embedded fingerprint-scanning device can establish the true identity of the user. Compulink Research Inc. (CLR), a leader in biometrics products and services, has introduced this unique U.Match Biolink Mouse. The mouse ensures that only authorized users gain access to computers and websites. It is a standard two-button mouse that has a small built-in fingerprint scanner. Positioned on the side where your thumb naturally rests, the Biolink Mouse's manufacturer claims it provides a 100% positive verification of the user. As U-Match can distinguish fingerprints between a live person and a moulage, or a corpse, it can easily determine whether the received data is a current scanned fingerprint or it is forgery. Most importantly, the user's fingerprint is never captured and important privacy rights are not violated. Biolink Mouse creates a 500 byte, secure template that can not be replicated into a user fingerprint. It costs approximately $120. Visit: www.biolinkusa.com ================================================================ AMAZON OPENS WEB PORTAL FOR MOBILE USERS Amazon.com has opened up a web portal specially designed to resolve for the constraints of wireless devices, which have much smaller screens and slower Internet connections than a PC. The portal will allow customers to monitor the status of purchases, access more in-depth search information and check shipping availability worldwide. ================================================================ GSM WORLD CONGRESS The GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) World Congress in Cannes, France this year was a huge success with 72% increase in visitors. Attended by all the major players in the GSM industry the focus remained on Bluetooth technology. It was held between 2nd - 4th February 2000. Its major attraction was a dedicated Bluetooth pavilion along with the 276 exhibitors who had displayed their latest products. Nortel Networks and France Telecom Mobiles demonstrated the Nortel Networks PicoNode - including features like SMS (Short Message Service), Intelligent Call Routing, Integrated PBX functionality, multi-site LAN connectivity and IP. ================================================================ FCC CHAIRMAN PROPOSES WIRELESS BANDWIDTH EXCHANGE Bandwidth demand is creating bottlenecks for Internet and e-commerce. According to Mr. William Kennard, Chairman, FCC, USA, "the biggest challenge facing the industry today is the need for more spectrum. The demand for spectrum is simply outstripping supply". He suggested that the wireless industry should follow the example of fiber optic industry and create a wireless exchange combining the resources of whatever spare capacity is available with different wireless networks into a composite "Wireless Exchange". The wireless spectrum is the 'airwaves' that carry TV, radio and wireless phone signals. A limited amount is available in any given area for carrying digital signals strong enough to use for wireless Internet access. According to Bank of America Securities, about 450 million subscribers had signed up for wireless phone accounts in 1999- with about 6.6 million wirelesses Net accounts. By 2003, billion people will be using wireless phones worldwide, with 400 million of these using the mobile web. He added that the bandwidth exchange model is just kicking off in the fiber-optic world, where companies like Qwest and Level 3 have built huge networks over the past few years. ================================================================ AUTO INDUSTRY CREATES ITS OWN INTERNET Recognizing the vast potential of Internet, giant auto makers, Ford, General Motors and DiamlerChrysler have teamed up to create the largest Internet marketplace that will be open to all auto manufacturers and suppliers. It is expected that up to $800 billion annual transactions might take place over the new auto exchange - the $250 billion that auto makers spend plus the $500 billion that their suppliers spend. This exchange will provide great opportunity to small suppliers who will get equal exposure to potential customers and the chance to bid on more contracts through the auctions. According to Brad Fox , an analyst with AutoPacific in Detroit, "the presumed savings from a more efficient supply chain could result in cheaper cars and trucks for buyers or more profits for car companies and their shareholders, or a combination of both". Ford, GM and DiamlerChrysler expect to reach a definitive agreement for the venture in the first quarter, subject to appropriate governmental and other approvals. Until then all services currently associated with the current exchanges will continue to be offered. These include catalogue purchasing, bidding and pricing quotes, on-line sourcing and auctions. In addition, supply chain management functions such as capacity planning, demand forecasting, production planning, supply chain transaction automation, financial services, payment and logistics will continue and will be expanded. The technology support is provided by Oracle and Commerce One and they are expected to have financial stakes in the venture.The new online auto exchange will be a separate company jointly owned by the five partners and will be open to all auto makers and suppliers. Analysts estimate that the auto makers and their suppliers will save 5 percent and 15 percent respectively from their cost by using the new exchange and some of the savings could trickle down to consumers in the form of lower car prices. ================================================================ MAILBOX NEW IDEA ON OPTICAL SWITCHING I have a very original idea about a solution (a theory) to this problem (optical switching). 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