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TSM Interviews Baker’s Dozen at CTIA 2004 for Telecommunications and Microwave Journal

ATLANTA - The CTIA 2004 show at the Georgia World Congress Center two weeks ago was the busiest show we’ve attended in years. Wireless is coming of age. WIFI, Bluetooth and others are cutting the Internet’s tethers as application developers vie for attention.

So many new consumer applications, accessories, bangles and baubles were debuted at CTIA that we couldn’t hope to keep track of them. Not to be outdone, data applications were also plentiful with a lot of talk about “M to M” bantered about.

Technologies for implementing and managing these applications were offered in a number of different configurations, confirming that there are still a lot of different ways to skin a cat.

But don’t take if from us – tune in to the video’s featured in our sidebar and hear it from the experts themselves as editors and publishers of Telecommunications Magazine and Microwave Journal talk to the movers and shakers.

The urge to merge...economies of scale drive VIP's acquisition of Lexington

CALGARY - Sometimes bigger is just better. For reservations services company VIP International Corp, the acquisition of Lexington Services moves it to the number two spot in the sector. This means it will have greater leverage in the distribution channel. Greater leverage means it will be able to provide greater value to its customers. According to CEO Kelly Blake, that's what VIP is all about.

In a recent interview, Blake reaffirmed VIP's strategy of global market coverage coupled with revenue optimization. In the vernacular, they strive to do more than put heads-in-beds by ensuring that pricing and distribution strategies keep their customers profitable, not just busy.

If you've ever wondered what goes on inside a CEO's head as he contemplates an acquisition, you'll want to listen to this session with Kelly Blake.

"Power" surfing the Internet with power line communications

ANNAPOLIS - If you've ever faced the prospect of pulling cable to retrofit an ante-Internet building you'll be interested in Telkonet. This Maryland company has developed technology that uses a building's existing powerlines to carry Internet data signals.

The appeal of this system is the speed and ease with which a facility can be Internet enabled. Traditional hardwire systems take planning, time to implement, make a mess, and require significant up-front investment. Wireless networks must be carefully engineered, transceivers must be carefully mounted in various locations, and there is also considerable cost.

In contrast, Telkonet's system consists of a single gateway/coupler combination installed near the building's main power panel. The company says it takes about one day to install, with the need for a licensed electrician only to make the connection to the power panel. Once the gateway/coupler is installed and connected to your favorite ISP, every power outlet in the facility becomes a network drop.

Each gateway/coupler set will support up to 256 concurrent users, Telkonet says, and if that's not enough, just add another gateway/coupler set for another 256 users.

A special external modem is required between the power outlet and the PC, which connects to the modem via a standard ethernet connection. The beauty for the user is that the system can be used any where there's a power outlet. For a hotel guest, that means they're connected in the room at the desk or on the bed, down in the lobby, in meeting rooms, out by the pool - anywhere there's power.

Since modems can be acquired a unit at a time, the system is highly scalable and can be built up gradually or quickly, as demand warrants. Telkonet says many of its hospitality clients start with as few as 5 or 10 modems which they either deploy in dedicated "high-bandwidth" rooms or check out to guests for use during their stay. As demand for high-speed bandwidth grows, it is a simple thing to add more modems.

Telkonet is targeting the hospitality market, as well as multi-family residences such as apartments and condominiums. The security of the system also makes it appealling to government customers for whom wireless poses an unacceptable risk. To make their solution even more attractive, they've offered a 30-day money back guarantee so it's a low-risk proposition. Compared to the commitment of stringing cable and punching holes in walls, this sounds like a can't-lose kind of deal.

To learn more about this system, listen in to Telkonet COO David Powell's recent conversation with Hotel Online's One-on-One.

Spreadsheet programming - transforming Excel models into enterprise web applications without writing code

EVANSTON - KDCalc is a transformation engine for converting MS-Excel spreadsheets into Java or .Net web-applications.

This is a Big Deal. For years, companies all over the world have used Excel for everything from pricing models to budgeting tools, to standard calculation engines and skads more. The reason is, almost anyone can learn to use Excel.

That's the great part.

The bad part is that Excel really hasn't been efficient as a collaborative tool. Problems with version control, spreadsheet distribution, maintenance, coordination, consolidation inconsistencies, and on and on. Anybody who has ever tried to use a "standard" spreadsheet budgeting model, for instance, knows that no matter how carefully you design it, or how you protect it, once you send it out to more than one department to "fill in the blanks" you are guaranteed to get files that will not combine as designed. There have been a lot of attempts at solutions over time, but the right combination of efficiency, ease of use, control and cost has been elusive. Now though, it looks like KD Calc may have done it.

KD Calc allows users to take existing spreadsheet models, with all the embedded knowledge and experience, and convert them to Web applications for use across the enterprise. Control stays centralized, and there are no issues of version control or incompatibilities to wrestle with. The system is designed to meld into most IT structures seamlessly.

Cost, of course, varies, but the following anecdote might illustrate the possibilities: a major regional bank wanted to use a common spreadsheet model among all its widely dispersed field underwriters in its commercial loan origination department. They wanted to be able to update it quickly as market conditions changed. While they had Excel models in use, control and consistency were major problems.

They initiated a project to determine the cost of coding the spreadsheet model into a web-based application. After careful analysis, it was projected to cost a bit over $1 million for the initial development work, with a continuing cost for ongoing maintenance and development. Then they heard about KDCalc, ran a cost comparison, and determined that they could create the same base application for roughly $50,000. That's powerful.

To learn more about this powerful tool listen as Mike Smialek, KDI's CEO tells BusiCast about the company, KDCalc and their strategy for Excel into an enterprise modelling tool.