Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Polaris Wireless Launches Hybrid Location Solution

Polaris Wireless, which specializes in software-based location systems, introduced a new Hybrid Location Solution within its Wireless Location Signatures product family. The solution works with A-GPS systems to provide high accuracy across all environments, especially dense urban and indoor environments, where standalone A-GPS mobile location solutions experience severe accuracy, yield and latency challenges.


Polaris said its Advanced Hybrid Solution can now locate callers in urban environments with accuracy improvements ranging from 40 to 70 percent, at the 67th and 95th percentiles respectively, as compared to standalone A-GPS. Polaris has developed unique algorithms, based on extensive testing in challenging environments that combine information from WLS and A-GPS. They also improve time-to-fix to support location applications that require immediate accuracy location information; that is, within 3-4 seconds, rather than over 20 seconds with a stand-alone A-GPS solution.


Polaris also leverages handset signature technology . Like a fingerprint's pattern of lines and swirls, a location can be identified by a unique set of values including measurements of neighboring cell signal strengths, time delay and other network parameters. The system mines network measurement information and determine accurate locations to within tens of meters.


The Polaris Wireless Advanced Hybrid Solution is available as a commercial, Tier 1 carrier grade, LBS-ready platform supported on fully redundant and scalable off-the-shelf server hardware.http://www.polariswireless.com

Proximion Introduces Smallest Tunable Dispersion Compensation Module

Proximion Fiber Systems announced the industry's smallest Tunable Dispersion Compensation Module (TDCM).
The device can tune any wavelength across the entire C-band, with wide symmetrical dispersion tunability. Proximion said its TDCM is suitable for DWDM 40 Gbps applications and above. At these bit rates, dispersion management is crucial. The TDCM solution tightly controls the dispersion with continuous tunability reaching from -700 to +700 ps/nm. Moreover, the colorless operation enables one product for all channels. The TDCM can also be used as an in-line dispersion compensator in 10 Gbps systems, where the TDCM simultaneously compensates for all ITU channels, replacing a number of different fixed dispersion compensation modules.http://www.proximion.com

Bookham Launches Ultra-Compact Amplifier for 40 Gbps

Bookham introduced an ultra-compact small form factor amplifier gainblock that represents a 72 percent volume reduction compared to the MSA standard amplifier gainblock. The device is primarily targeted at 40 Gbps transport systems in which low-noise optical amplification is required for each channel before the 40 Gbps receiver, and space is at a premium. It could also be used to integrate optical amplifiers into the standard transponder footprint. The product is enabled by Bookham's Mini-DIL un-cooled 980nm pump module. Sampling is underway.
http://www.bookham.com

YouTube Draws 5 Billion U.S. Online Video Views in July 2008

In July, Google Sites once again ranked as the top U.S. video property with more than 5 billion videos viewed (representing a 44 percent share of the online video market), according to comScore. In total, more than 11.4 billion videos were viewed in the U.S., for a total duration of 558 million hours during the month.


Fox Interactive Media ranked second with 446 million videos (3.9 percent), followed by Microsoft Sites with 282 million (2.5 percent) and Yahoo! Sites with 269 million (2.4 percent). Hulu ranked eighth with 119 million videos, representing 1 percent of all videos viewed.


Some other key points from comScore:

  • More than 142 million U.S. Internet users watched an average of 80 videos per viewer in July.


  • Google Sites attracted the most viewers (92.1 million), who watched an average of 55 videos per person.


  • Fox Interactive attracted the second most viewers (54.9 million), followed by Yahoo! Sites (37.6 million) and Microsoft Sites (32.6 million).
http://www.comscore.com

U.S. Research Networks Prepare for Massive Data Flows from Europe's Particle Collider

The newly activated Large Hadron Collider (LHC) spanning the French-Swiss border is expected to begin generating multiple terabytes of data per second. Significant volumes of this data will flow out of Europe via fiber optic cables to thousands of researchers spread across the globe, including over 1,700 researchers in the United States.


The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Energy Sciences Network (ESnet), Internet2, and USLHCNet, which provides transatlantic network connectivity from the LHC facility to the United States, said they are prepared for moving the massive amounts of data using multiple 10 Gbps links. The LHC will be the first experiment to fully utilize the advanced capabilities of these networks, which will connect DOE national laboratories and university researchers across the country to the LHC data.


Initially, the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN), which manages the LHC, will store the experiments' data. The information will then traverse the GEANT2 network and migrate across the Atlantic Ocean via fiber optics, on a network called USLHCNet, which was developed and deployed by the researchers at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. The LHC will generate many petabytes of data during each year of operation, and will accumulate an exabyte of real and simulated data within the first decade of its estimated 20 years of operation. The data will be distributed for processing among 150 computing and data storage facilities around the world, and will be analyzed intensively and repeatedly as physicists and students refine their analysis methods and respond to any emerging discoveries.


Two high-performance exchange points, MAN LAN in New York City and Starlight in Chicago, will be the U.S. entry points for LHC data. From there, ESnet will deliver data from the LHC's ATLAS detector to The Brookhaven National Laboratory, in Upton, New York where it will be processed and stored. Meanwhile, data from the LHC's CMS detector will go to the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, for processing and storage. From these laboratories, ESnet and Internet2 together with its regional network partners will distribute the data among 1,700 U.S. scientists at 94 institutions throughout the country participating in this massive project, many of whom are supported by the DOE's Office of Science and the National Science Foundation. Internet2 and ESnet officially launched a partnership in 2006 to develop and deploy the next-generation ESnet4 just in time for the LHC.http://www.es.net/http://www.internet2.edu/

Alcatel-Lucent Debuts Location-Driven Mobile Services Platform

Alcatel-Lucent introduced its 5130 Geographic Messaging Services Platform (GMSP), a location-driven services platform that supports the delivery of finely targeted "push" messaging, advertising and social networking services to mobile users based on their location.


The 5130 GMSP leverages algorithms developed at Bell Labs to create a "geo-fence" around a particular mobile user or physical location. This enables messages, promotions and ads to reach subscribers at the most appropriate time and place. When a mobile phone user crosses a given "fence," it triggers the delivery of an SMS text message or multimedia message that is relevant to that individual and that location, such as a promotion for a particular store, or the presence of a friend or associate in the area.


The GMSP is in trial with both mobile network operators and enterprises, including the Indianapolis Colts of the U.S. National Football League, which is currently testing the 5130 GMSP and its Geopepper social networking application as a way to extend the MyColts.net social networking community.


The 5130 GMSP Platform and application suite includes:

  • 5130 GMSP Geofencing Engine


  • Geopepper Mobile Marketing Application, a white label service offering location-driven, mobile marketing capabilities to deliver timely information about retail businesses and promotions based on location and pre-defined end user interests


  • Geopepper Social Networking Application for carriers, a white label service that offers location-driven social networking capabilities for mobile devices, delivering targeted content and buddy alerts based on end-user location


Potential applications include:

  • Mobile marketing and advertising, (e.g., sports arenas/stadiums)

  • Social networking

  • Geo-blogging

  • Retail affinity

  • Child safety

  • Travel guides

  • Restaurant guides

  • Gaming

  • Corporate productivity and asset tracking


"Location-based services have long been seen as an important potential source of revenue for service providers, advertisers and retailers alike, but to date the technology simply hasn't been available to make these services truly compelling -- as a result uptake has been slow," said Gani Nayak, vice president of Alcatel-Lucent's Messaging activities. "The 5130 GMSP brings location-based services to an entirely new level, enabling the delivery of multimedia content that is personalized, timely and relevant, enriching the mobile Web 2.0 experience."
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/GMSP

Alcatel-Lucent and Penn State to Develop Video Social Networking App

Alcatel-Lucent and Penn State University have agreed to jointly develop a mobile video social networking application. The joint work will focus on the development of a mobile phone interface that provides users with the ability to view their video files as a collage or multiple simultaneous video feeds similar to a wall of monitors seen in a TV studio, situation or control room.


Penn State will be the newest member of the Alcatel-Lucent University Innovations Program, which supports development of high-bandwidth applications for wireless (4G) and wireline broadband networks. Through this program, Alcatel-Lucent will support the development of new communications services that bring value to society: consumers, educational and non-profit institutions, and business. These applications and services will be based on creating innovations utilizing key emerging technologies and trends such as convergence, mobility, broadband and ultra-high bandwidth applications.http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

AT&T Deploys A-GPS to Bolster Location Based Services

AT&T has deployed assisted GPS technology (A-GPS) within its wireless network to enhance existing and planned location-based services (LBS) used with A-GPS capable devices. At this week's CTIA show in San Francisco, AT&T also announced plans to launch two new navigation applications in the coming weeks -- MapQuest Navigator and AAA Mobile navigator.



A-GPS technology gives capable devices a significant jump-start on identifying the user's initial location. GPS devices search satellites each time they are turned on to determine starting latitude and longitude, a process that previously took as long as several minutes. With A-GPS, AT&T's network speeds up that query by identifying nearby cell sites, helping the device more quickly hone in on the appropriate satellites. Assisted in this way, A-GPS capable devices can identify a user's initial location in fewer than 20 seconds, delivering greater convenience to customers using LBS.


"Using a mobile phone for navigation is affordable, convenient and intuitive because it eliminates the need for consumers to buy or carry yet another gadget," said Mark Collins, vice president of Consumer Products for AT&T's wireless unit. "And unlike traditional navigation devices, which can be hard to transport from car to car or difficult to use while walking or riding a bike, a mobile phone is always on hand or in hand."


AAA Mobile navigator, powered by Networks In Motion (NIM), gives AT&T customers access to audible turn-by-turn directions, AAA TourBook travel guide information including Diamond Ratings for restaurants and lodgings, gas prices, movie reviews and show times, traffic alerts with alternate routes and more.


MapQuest Navigator, powered by Telmap, gives AT&T customers access to turn-by-turn, voice-guided driving and walking directions, 3-D moving maps, 16 million points of interest from MapQuest's database, quick route recalculation for missed turns, real-time traffic alerts, gas prices, gas station locations and AOL's City's Best restaurant and venue ratings.http://www.att.comhttp://wireless.mapquest.com/mapquest-navigator-att

Garmin Selects NAVTEQ for First Advertising Supported Real-Time Traffic

Garmin has selected NAVTEQ Traffic's RDS delivery service and the NAVTEQ interactive advertising service for the nuvi 755T, 765T and 775T and nuvi 2x5 family. The companies said they will be the first to bring an advertising supported, real-time traffic service to market in North America.


NAVTEQ Traffic RDS delivers data via FM radio to power Garmin's lifetime traffic alerts allowing drivers to steer clear of traffic accidents, road closures and construction. The Garmin nuvi 755T, 765T and 775T and nuvi 2x5 family come standard with a traffic receiver that will provide alerts in traffic covered areas with no subscription fee required.


NAVTEQ delivers advertising, along with the traffic content, over its RDS network. The advertising is designed to complement the drivers' experience and is contextually relevant. For example, a driver can click on an ad to view specific restaurant information and route to the restaurant's location.
http://www.navteq.comttp://www.garmin.com/

AT&T Certifies Qualcomm's Gobi Global Mobile Technology

Qualcomm's Gobi global mobile Internet technology has been certified for use on the AT&T mobile broadband network.


The Gobi technology includes Qualcomm's MDM1000 chipset, associated software and APIs, and a reference design for a software-defined configurable data modem supporting HSPA--with full backward compatibility to GPRS/EDGE--and other 3G wireless technologies. The solution is designed for embedding into notebooks and other portable devices.


The companies also announced certification for notebooks from two leading brands -- Panasonic and HP. Two of Panasonic's Gobi-enabled, fully rugged notebooks--the convertible tablet Toughbook 19 and flagship Toughbook 30 notebook--are now certified on AT&T's HSPA (High Speed Packet Access)-based BroadbandConnect 3G network. In addition, AT&T, Qualcomm and HP announced today that HP's refreshed line of notebooks featuring built-in AT&T and Gobi technology has been certified by AT&T.http://www.qualcomm.comhttp://www.att.com

Verizon to Integrate NAVTEQ Traffic into FiOS TV Service

NAVTEQ has been selected to provide data for Verizon's FiOS TV traffic widget, a free interactive feature that provides local traffic information on customers' TV screens. FiOS TV subscribers have 24/7, in-home access to NAVTEQ Traffic real-time updates for local roadways.http://www.navteq.com