Lucent Forms Wireless Data Alliance

Looking to boost businesses’ adoption of wireless data services, Lucent
Technologies announced it had formed a group of wireless
providers to offer companies an integrated suite of mobile services.

The Murray Hill, N.J., telecom-equipment maker has partnered with Agere
Systems, HP, iPass, ipUnplugged, and Sierra Network to form the Secure
Mobile Data Services for Enterprises initiative. The group will target the
enterprise market with services that include a virtual private network (VPN)
for 3G networks and a seamless integration of 3G networks with wireless
local area networks. (LANs).

“Lucent has conducted extensive primary research with a wide variety of
enterprises worldwide and determined that there is significant pent-up
demand among enterprise customers for secure mobile high-speed data
solutions, and a strong willingness to pay for such services, due to the
workforce productivity gains that can be realized,” said John Marinho, vice
president of offer management for Lucent’s mobility solutions unit, in a
statement.

While endless delays have deflated much of the early enthusiasm for 3G
networks, the market is expected to grow intensely. According to the
Strategis Group, the mobile data market will increase from 5 million
subscribers last year to 172 million in 2007. Meanwhile, 802.11 networks
continue to proliferate, with the Gartner Group reporting that 50 percent of
enterprises have plans for wireless LANs.

Lucent will offer the network architecture, while its partners will fill in
the rest. The first offering of the initiative is a VPN for 3G networks
using CDMA2000, allowing secure high-speed mobile access to corporate
applications from laptops. Lucent said it would soon make the service
available for PDAs.

Later this year, Lucent said the group would roll out its 3G-802.11
integration application, which is based on technology developed by Lucent’s
Bell Laboratories. With the application, corporate users would be handed off
between CDMA2000 networks, which offer data speeds of 153 kbps, and 802.11b
networks, with data speeds reaching 11 mbps.

Also in the works are applications for CDMA2000 1xEV-DO and UMTS networks,
with the expectation that the Lucent group will offer add-on services, such
as network-hosted VPNs.

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