Beleaguered MCI has at least one supporter as the company fights efforts to have it debarred by the federal government due to its financial and legal troubles.
Lucent Technologies Inc., Murray Hill, N.J., is developing an appliance that provides multiple wireless fidelity, or WiFi, connections from a single third-generation, mobile phone connection. Lucent spokesman Roger Derringer said the company had first assembled a unit using off-the-shelf parts to show off the possible uses of 3G at a trade show. But the reaction was so positive, the company is now building a prototype.
Embedded encryption hardware provider Transcrypt International Inc. has introduced a box that allows first responders to communicate using different types of two-way radios. The Tactical Interoperability Kit operates as a repeater. Up to three different types of radios can be attached to the unit, including those operating in the UHF, VHF and 800-megahertz ranges most heavily used by police, medical and fire units.
WorldSpace Corp., a provider of direct satellite delivery for digital radio and multimedia services, launched a government sales unit to take advantage of growing public-sector demand for satellite communications.
Northrop Grumman Corp., Los Angeles, has asked the Federal Communications Commission for a rule that would allow an additional 10 MHz of broadband spectrum for advanced wireless applications that first responders need.
Big, name-brand companies are seen as more credible than small firms, so getting government customers to accept newfangled solutions from a small company can be hard, Ray Muslimani said. His firm, 4-year-old Global Computer Enterprises Inc., employs about 100 people.
One of the first things Michael Barbee did after joining WAM!NET Government Services in 2001 was move the unit of Eagan, Minn.-based WAM!NET Inc. to Herndon, Va.
Web services are heralded as a revolutionary new concept in computing that will gain huge competitive advantages for their users and reinvent the Internet as we know it.
AT&T's chairman predicts another two years of turbulence, shakeouts and consolidation before the telecom industry gets back on an even keel. Government is a growing customer.
Northrop Grumman Corp. has asked the FCC for a rule that would allow additional broadband spectrum for advanced wireless applications needed by first responders.
The Food and Drug Administration is conducting a survey to learn if small businesses can support the Office of the Chief Information Officer IT Infrastructure Consolidation project. In fiscal 2004, FDA will consolidate its IT infrastructure into a single, shared-services organization under one provider. The agency will award a performance-based contract for one year with four one-year options. The contract is likely to include fixed price and IDIQ portions.
Whenever I'm in California, colleagues there inquire about the Washington situation ? as if I can spout exceptional political insights and diplomatic gossip. Invariably, they are disappointed when I explain that the perpetual Beltway talk is about traffic chaos, which has been exacerbated in recent months by rain delays, security roadblocks and unexpected transportation inconveniences.
As the price of videoconferencing technologies has dropped, Craig Reichenbach has seen their use rise in the federal government. The technology has improved so much that now the U.S. military is using secure videoconferencing units in the field.
Grid networking solution provider United Devices Inc., Austin, Texas, has released three new services to help organizations adapt grid networks. Grid Discovery is an assessment tool that can determine how a group can best harness its existing IT resources to a grid framework. The Grid Explorer partner program will help a vendor grid-enable an application. Grid Navigator is a training and referral partnership program for small to mid-sized consultants and systems integrators. For more information see http://www.ud.com/<BR>
Not long ago, tape storage technology seemed to be on its way out. The growing demands of electronic storage ? for imaging, multimedia, streaming video and other data-intensive applications ? led people to question whether older generations of tape drives and libraries could compete with fast-growing optical technologies. But recent technological developments have helped tape libraries regain their status in large enterprises.
When Harris Corp. won the Federal Aviation Administration Telecommunications Infrastructure contract last July, it was another sign of how the systems integration and telecommunications markets are converging. And it appears, at least for now, the systems integrators are gaining the upper hand.
