To the Plate
The collapse of DSL provider NorthPoint Communications is giving last-mile service providers a chance to prove their mettle. Optical Internet Protocol network provider Yipes Communications says it got Houston management consultants King Capman & Broussard and Chicago-based LETCO hooked up within three days. LETCO signed on with Yipes after learning their local phone companies would need several weeks to provision high-speed connections after NorthPoints network went dark.
Taking Flight
Broadwing Communications lit the worlds first intelligent, all-optical switched network. The company claims the new nationwide network is so fat that 4 million MP3 files could be simultaneously downloaded in just one minute. The 18,500-mile networks “liquid bandwidth” can be provisioned with a few keyboard strokes, and users are billed only for the capacity they use.
Bluetooth Pulled
Microsoft, one of the lead members of the group developing the Bluetooth wireless networking standard, says the next version of the Windows operating system, XP, wont support the technology. The company says promised high-quality hardware and software for Bluetooth never materialized. Analysts say the death knell isnt ringing just yet, but without Microsofts device drivers to ease incorporation of the technology in devices, future development will be slow.
Handset Hang-Ups
Nokia admits that some of its wireless phones now in service in the U.S. wont work on high-speed networks that Sprint PCS and Verizon Wireless expect to unveil this year. But the Finnish phone maker says the problem is a software glitch that is easy to fix and is testing a software patch that should be installed in the carriers networks within a few weeks. In the meantime, Verizon is mulling whether it should continue to sell the Nokia handsets.