Emergency Response and Wireless Location Systems
by Manlio Allegra
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Cisco to Acquire Arch Rock for Wireless Energy Sensors
Cisco agreed to acquire privately-held Arch Rock Corporation, a start-up based in San Francisco that develops IP wireless network sensors for smart-grid applications. Financial terms were not disclosed.Arch Rock's PhyNet architecture is a foundation for turning wireless sensing or metering points into IP- and web-enabled devices. The technology is designed to enable utilities to connect smart meters and other distributed intelligent devices over a scalable, highly secure, multi-way wireless mesh network based on IP standards. The company has been a lead contributor to the IETF 6LoWPAN (now RFC 4944) working group, which addresses wireless IPv6 communication over IEEE 802.15.4 low-power radios. Arch Rock was also the first company to launch the first product based on the standard.
Cisco said the deal will enable it to offer a highly secure advanced metering infrastructure solution based completely on IP standards.
"The acquisition of Arch Rock enhances Cisco's end-to-end smart-grid offerings and further positions Cisco as a strategic partner to utilities that want to better manage power supply and demand, improve the security and reliability of energy delivery, and optimize operational costs," said Laura Ipsen, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco's Smart Grid business unit. "Cisco's solutions, incorporating the Arch Rock technology, will help enable a more efficient and sustainable energy future that is based on an open, highly secure and reliable smart-grid infrastructure."
Arch Rock will become part of Cisco's industry-leading Smart Grid business unit.... > More
Alcatel-Lucent Acquires OpenPlug, Extending its Application Enablement Strategy
Alcatel-Lucent has acquired OpenPlug,a software developer specializing in tools for mobile applications, for an undisclosed sum. The deal extends Alcatel-Lucent's Application Enablement strategy, which is focused on combining the trusted and secure network capabilities of service providers with the speed and innovation of the Web to provide a richer end-user experience. By building a robust application-enablement system, Alcatel-Lucent said it is aiming to transform service provider infrastructure by unlocking network resources and functionality and thereby creating new revenue share models. OpenPlug, which is based in Sophia Antipolis, France, provides tools for converting application code into software that runs natively on any leading mobile device operating system, including Apple's iOS, Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile, and Linux. The company's ELIPS Studio is essentially an open software environment that lets developers create an application once and then deploy to multiple mobile phone OSes.
Alcatel-Lucent plans to integrate the OpenPlug toolset into its own Developer Platform and Open API Service, thus broadening the functionality available to service providers, enterprises and developers for the exposure of network assets and the rapid introduction of new services across mobile and Web domains.
"Being able to provide more applications across multiple devices helps service providers significantly broaden their app store content to create more value for consumers," said Laura Merling, vice president of Alcatel-Lucent's global developer strategy. "As service providers typically offer multiple mobile devices to their subscriber base, the OpenPlug software can help them get to market five times faster by allowing them to easily port an application to all of their devices. And this isn't purely a mobile play -- the software can be extended to support application development for IPTV set top boxes, game consoles, even the ng Connect LTE Connected Car."
"Deploying valuable web and mobile services requires assembling many different pieces from many horizons," said Eric Baissus, CEO of OpenPlug. "By combining OpenPlug's ELIPS Suite and ELIPS Studio technologies with Alcatel-Lucent's platforms and API services, we enable developers and service providers to gather all these pieces in a very efficient and consistent way. This will dramatically facilitate the deployment and the monetization of the new generation of applications that the market is expecting."
NSN Partners with Telefónica on Smartphone Experience Lab
The future lies in "smart networks for smart devices" said Rajeev Suri, CEO of Nokia Siemens Networks, speaking at the 24th annual Spanish telecoms summit in Santander, Spain. To help chard this future, NSN will create a "Smartphone Experience Lab" based in Telefónica premises in Madrid. The lab is investigating ideal configurations between mobile handsets, applications and networks to minimize any negative network impact from smart devices, improve resource consumption as well as better handset and application performance, and to ultimately provide people with the best possible user experience. The outcomes from the Lab's activities will include guidelines on the optimum network and handset configurations and application development."Networks need to transform - now - to cope with the huge amounts of signalling and data traffic smart devices generate. Our approach is the only one that can cope with this explosion, while preparing operators for the fast-approaching roll-out of Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks," said Rajeev Suri.
Suri also confirmed that private equity firms have expressed interest investing in the company. Suri said reflects a turnaround underway at the company.
Intel Confirms Acquisition of Infineon Wireless
Intel announced its intention to acquire Infineon's Wireless Solutions Business, called WLS, in a cash transaction valued at approximately $1.4 billion. The deal expands Intel's current Wi-Fi and 4G WiMAX portfolio to include Infineon's 3G capabilities. Intel said the acquisition also accelerates its entry into LTE.
Intel plans to integrate the Infineon's wireless technology in its Intel Core processor-based laptops and Intel Atom processor-based devices, including smartphones, netbooks, tablets and embedded computers.
"The global demand for wireless solutions continues to grow at an extraordinary rate," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. "The acquisition of Infineon's WLS business strengthens the second pillar of our computing strategy -- Internet connectivity -- and enables us to offer a portfolio of products that covers the full range of wireless options from Wi-Fi and 3G to WiMAX and LTE."
Infineon said the deal enables it to concentrate its resources towards growth in its core segments Automotive (ATV), Industrial & Multimarket (IMM) and Chip Card & Security (CCS). The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2011.
Cisco to Acquire ExtendMedia for Video Content Management
Cisco agreed to acquire ExtendMedia, a privately-held company based outside of Boston with the majority of its employee base in Toronto, for its software-based Content Management Systems (CMS). Financial terms were not disclosed.ExtendMedia's "OpenCASE" CMS is designed to manage the entire lifecycle of video content through monetization for pay media and ad-supported business models. Cisco said the technology will help service providers deliver multi-screen offerings as the market transitions to IP video.
"As the video market transitions and consumers expect multi-screen engagement, service providers are enhancing their infrastructure to manage and deliver video to any device while providing a rich user experience," said Enrique Rodriguez, senior vice president and general manager, Cisco's Service Provider Video Technology Group. "ExtendMedia will strengthen Cisco's position in the delivery of IP video services by enabling service providers to provide a more interactive and personal experience and to optimize quality for consumer viewing devices."
"With the anonymity of the Internet and the evolving threat landscape, people and organizations are struggling to maintain confidence in the security of their interactions, information and identities online. At the same time, people’s personal and professional lives have converged and they want to use their various digital devices to access information wherever they are without jeopardizing their privacy. At the same time, IT is faced with the challenge of giving users the appropriate access, while ensuring that corporate data is not at risk. We believe the solution to this dilemma lies in the ubiquity of identity-based security."
Enrique Salem, President and CEO, Symantec 19-May-10
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Emergency Response and Wireless Location Systems
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