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Archive Category: IT

Technology will enable safer air travel

By Charles Sander | Unisys Corporation

Airports, airlines, passengers, communities and governments worldwide have felt the effects of the financial decompression of the aviation sector as a result of terrorist attacks, SARS, and airline failures. Failing or bankrupt airlines, loss of industry and support-service jobs -- even tourism and entertainment communities have been hit -- contributed to global financial losses.

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Traveldoo offers tools to control travel expenses

PARIS -- Traveldoo, a French company with a global business plan to provide systems for companies to control travel expenses, has released a new product called Traveldoo Enterprise. The company says this product proposes a new set of capabilities to help large organisations improve the performance of their travel procurement processes and optimise their European travel spend.

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Opodo CEO sees more consolidation in online travel

LONDON -- There will be further consolidation of the online travel industry and it is inevitable in Europe the Pan-European companies will be the winners, said Opodo.com CEO David Scowsill in a keynote address at EyeforTravel's European Travel Distribution Summit. "Pure nationals will operate in niches, but cannot play globally," Scowsill said.

"Consolidation, for both the leisure and corporate travel players, has been the name of the game over the last 12 months, as we have seen a spate of acquisitions and mergers and the US," he said.

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Hong Kong group picks Wificom wireless server

SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS, France -- Hong Kong-based Systech Telecom has chosen Wificom’s flagship SAB Server as the backend service management platform for the company’s rapidly expanding wireless local area network (WLAN) services in the Asia-Pacific region. Systech Telecom provides high-speed and secure wireless broadband Internet access services to public users in hotels, airports and shopping malls throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Systech said the SAB Server would serve as the software solution for managing all current and future WLAN services.

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Wireless LANs picking up speed in Asia/Pacific

SINGAPORE -- Public wireless LAN (WLAN) services are finally picking up speed in Asia/Pacific after two years of struggling to get off the ground, according to a new report by Dataquest, a unit of Gartner Inc. In at least six major markets, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, there is a wider choice of operators, service coverage is improving rapidly, and pricing has come down to realistic levels. The service is currently led by incumbent carriers, even though most of them are not first movers in this sector.

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Enterprise-level wireless certified at 400 hotels

LOS ANGELES -- STSN, a major provider of wired and wireless high-speed data communications to hotels and conference centers worldwide, has tested and verified the Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) of over 50 major corporations. The company said this assures enterprise-level security for over 280,000 business travelers at more than 400 STSN-installed hotel properties worldwide.

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Senate bill would jumpstart broadband access

WASHINGTON -- Senators George Allen (Virginia) and Barbara Boxer (California) have co-authored legislation to expand access to Internet broadband technology, with the goal increasing development in the telecommunications industry. Broadband increases the capacity of Internet connections, which means information can be transmitted much faster.

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New business model seen for WLAN hotspots

LONDON -- The United Kingdom will see in 2003 an acceleration in the development of software platforms for local wireless networks, predicts Ann-Louise Palm, CEO of Appear Networks. Further, there will be a growing influence of the "workspot" model.

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Intel launches Centrino Mobile Technology brand

LAS VEGAS -- Intel Corporation said today Centrino mobile technology is the new brand name for its upcoming wireless mobile computing technology. Intel said the new brand signifies Intel's best technology for notebook computers, based on a new mobile processor microarchitecture and wireless capability as well as features designed to enable extended battery life, thinner and lighter form factors, and outstanding mobile performance.

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Big gains seen for wireless and handhelds in Asia

SINGAPORE -- Continuing its yearly tradition, IDC has released its top 10 predictions for the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) market in the Asia/Pacific region for 2003.

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IDC predicts good 2003 for wireless LANs

FRAMINGHAM, Massachusetts -- Wireless LANs, Linux, and messaging are all poised to make important gains in the year ahead. Meanwhile, project-based IT services and 64-bit computing will face ongoing challenges in 2003. These are just a few of the predictions from IDC’s sixth annual Predictions telebriefing.

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100 top speakers at travel technology conference

HELSINKI -- More than 100 of the world's leading travel, tourism and information technology experts are scheduled to speak at next January's ENTER 2003 conference in Helsinki. At the tenth annual ENTER conference, to be held 29-31 January, the sessions will be divided into three tracks focusing on research, industry issues and destinations.

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Wificom, Radionet to provide city-wide WLANs

HELSINKI -- Wificom, a pan-European software provider for WLAN service management products, and Radionet, provider of city-wide wireless broadband networks, have formed a partnership to produce and sell intelligent city-wide WLAN networks that allow any visitor to have an instant Internet access within the network coverage area.

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Despite criticism, wireless market progressing

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -- Although the wireless data/Internet market has had to bear the brunt of some tough public criticism, it is steadily progressing, according to In-Stat/MDR. The high-tech market research firm reports that there are some very bright spots in the wireless data market. 

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Agere and Ericsson plan public wireless network

ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania -- Agere Systems and Ericsson have announced plans to develop technology intended to significantly expand service providers' ability to provide laptops and handheld devices with access to the Internet and corporate networks from public spaces. The two companies plan to provide complementary 802.11/Wi-Fi systems that connect to service providers' network hubs to enable user authentication and billing, a key step toward offering mobile users the freedom of roaming network access.

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Intel invests $150 million in wireless technology

WASHINGTON -- Intel Corporation has announced plans to invest $150 million in companies developing Wi-Fi technology. The investment is another step in the company's efforts to accelerate wireless network deployment and proliferate the Wi-Fi standard worldwide.

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SITA's terminals increase at American airports

ATLANTA -- SITA's latest IP-enabled and Java based version of its Common Use Terminal Equipment (CUTE) has been embraced by major airports across the Americas, with a claim of helping reduce the cost of running check-in desks by around 15 percent and speeding passenger handling by up to 25 percent.

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Deep Blue, Pronto partner for wireless hot spots

EMERYVILLE, California -- Pronto Networks, a developer of secure wireless infrastructure solutions, and Deep Blue Wireless, a wireless Internet service provider, have formed a partnership to help build out the Deep Blue Wireless Wi-Fi network. Pronto Networks will provide key wireless infrastructure solutions through its core technology, Hotspot Networking System, for Deep Blue's hot spot locations, which include top tier hotels and popular local cafes.

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Microsoft and AT&T form wireless alliance

SEATTLE -- Microsoft and AT&T Wireless have formed a strategic alliance intended to dramatically simplify the way companies provide integrated wireless data services to their employees. The marketing theme of the two companies is that this new, comprehensive alliance was created to keep North American companies, and the mobile professionals who work for them, connected to valuable corporate information while on the go.

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HP offers mobile workers wireless 'hot spot' access

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- HP has launched a worldwide initiative aimed at providing public wireless LAN "hot spots" in public areas such as airports, hotels, restaurants and other locales. This offers mobile professionals affordable, secure high-speed access to email and other business applications using virtually any wireless local area network and mobile access device.

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Luxury ship claims world's largest wireless network

LONDON -- As the world's first ocean-going luxury resort, The World of ResidenSea is a ship like no other. The dining rooms have Wedgwood china, Christofle flatware and Frette linens. There are 110 spacious, fully furnished residences, priced between US$2.25 million and US$7.5 million, and 88 guest suites starting at US$2,100 per day. The World began circumnavigating the globe in March with stops at the Cannes Film Festival, the Grand Prix of Monaco, and the British Open in Scotland.

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Sabre selects Siebel eBusiness application

SAN MATEO, Calif -- Sabre has selected the Siebel eBusiness Applications to synchronize and speed up the coordination of customer interactions across multiple channels. Sabre announced that it plans to use Siebel Sales 7 to enable its sales organizations to identify and pursue top opportunities that will improve visibility into the sales pipeline. 

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GSM, WLAN integrator gets $6 million in funding

SOUTHLAKE, Texas -- Transat Technologies, a provider of software to integrate WLANs with GSM networks and 3G networks, has completed a $6 million Series A investment funding round. The round was led by Bay Partners, with other investors being Acorn Campus, Genesis Campus and Intel Capital. 

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Mobile Intel Pentium 4 processor launched

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Intel today introduced three new mobile processors for laptop computers that provide consumers the performance to take advantage of the latest computing trends -- such as digital music, wireless gaming, photography, movies, and graphic-intensive applications.

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Nokia and IBM push public wireless LANs

Nokia and IBM are joining forces to expedite public wireless local area networks (LANs). Announced today, IBM Global Services will act as a system integrator of Nokia's wireless LAN infrastructure products in order to provide public wireless LAN solutions worldwide. At the same time, Nokia will continue sales of its Operator Wireless LAN solution through its existing sales channels. 

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Helsinki to host travel technology conference

HELSINKI -- One of the world's largest conferences on information technology in the travel and tourism industries, ENTER 2003 has selected Helsinki as the location for its next annual event, which will focus on the future of mobile technology in the travel industry. The conference, with the theme of "Travel on the Move," will be held 27 January through 1 February 2003.

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Intel outlines 'any time, any place' wireless future

SEATTLE -- Intel President and Chief Operating Officer Paul Otellini today outlined Intel's plans to drive the convergence of computing and communications and create new classes of devices through technology integration. "Our ultimate goal is to bring computing to everyone -- any time and any place in the world," Otellini said.

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The vision of a mobile Europe

Erkki Liikanen delivered a major address this week at the Mobile Europe 2002 Conference in Bremen, Germany. The full text of his presentation, entitled "The vision of a mobile Europe," is below. In his talk, Liikanen sees a mobile future that will have 'info-mobility services', including travel and tourist information. He also sees much growth in m-commerce with micro-payments for goods and services, mobile ticketing, and mobile banking.

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Motorola adopts Centerpost alerting technology

CHICAGO -- Centerpost will provide Motorola with an enterprise alerting solution to deliver real-time, mission-critical information to employees on any wired or wireless device. Centerpost already provides alerting systems to United Airlines and Travelocity. 

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FCC approves Ultra-Wideband despite airline protests

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission two weeks ago approved commercial use of the Ultra-Wideband (UWB) over the strong objections of the Air Transport Association of America (ATA), the nation's leading airline trade association. But, the wireless industry continues to praise the FCC's decision as a healthy boost for the development of high speed wireless networks.

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vVault and Genient team for Europe growth

vVault, a US-based provider of mobile productivity applications and software infrastructure, and Genient, a UK-based provider of a Web services integration platform, have announced the integration of their products to allow service providers to quickly launch high value data services for mobile professionals. 

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IDC offers top 10 IT predictions for 2002

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- An increase in demand for wireless Internet access is among the top 10 predictions for the global IT market for 2002, the global IT market intelligence firm IDC said this week.

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Top companies support open mobile architecture

DALLAS -- Six leading IT infrastructure and application server vendors have have announced their support for the open mobile architecture initiative. The companies said this reflects growing endorsement of an open standards based mobile architecture that will drive the adoption of mobile software and services. 

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Cendant, IBM sign $1.4 billion outsourcing deal

NEW YORK -- In one of the travel industry's widest ranging outsourcing engagements, Cendant and IBM have formed a ten-year, $1.4 billion IT services relationship. The agreement covers Cendant's 40-plus business units, including Galileo International, whose GDS unit is among the largest systems of its kind, connecting approximately 44,000 travel agency locations to 500 airlines, 40 car rental companies, 47,000 hotel properties, 370 tour operators, and all major cruise lines throughout the world. 

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SITA launches intelligent aviation security platform

Global air transport information technology services provider SITA is launching an intelligent aviation security solution that provides a robust platform to allow governmental authorities and air transport operators (airlines, airports and cargo agents) to enhance the security of civil aviation worldwide. This will be presented to the industry by SITA at the Third International Aviation Security Technology Symposium this week in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

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Cisco and IBM promote wireless mobile office

LAS VEGAS -- Focusing on the growth of the mobile workforce, Cisco and IBM announced at Comdex this week that they are teaming up to enable enterprises and public venues, such as hotels and convention centers, to set up secure, high-speed, business-class Internet access and other connectivity services. 

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Airslide puts wireless industry veterans on board

NORTHBROOK, Illinois -- Airslide Systems, a developer of IP-based solutions for cellular communications networks, has announced the expansion of its board of directors, naming Michael J. McDonough, former president of GTE Wireless, and Steve Korn, former vice president, Strategic Marketing and Business Development for the Metro Optical Networking Group of Lucent Technologies, to its board.

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Speedcom Wireless chosen for FAA network

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Speedcom Wireless's Wave Wireless Networking division has been selected by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to provide secure, broadband wireless connectivity between FAA buildings at airports across the nation.

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Wireless transport systems are major new market

LONDON -- The market for information technology and wireless solutions in the public transport and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) sector is set to create a major new market worth $8 billion in the US and $5 billion in Europe, for technology vendors within five years.

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Oracle embraces voice technology on all products

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. -- Oracle Corp. has announced comprehensive support for the creation and deployment of voice-enabled services across its technology and applications software. As part of this initiative, the company said its Oracle9i Application Server (Oracle9iAS) Wireless will become the industry's first application server to offer integrated voice support, which will enable mainstream developers to create and deploy applications just once for use with any interface -- Web, wireless or voice.

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WAP Forum releases 2.0 specifications for review

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- The WAP Forum, the industry association that develops and fosters the growth of the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), today announced the release of WAP 2.0 for public review. This next generation of the WAP specification helps content developers deliver a richer and more secure experience to mobile Internet service subscribers.

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