Motorola and Cisco Announce the First Centre of Excellence for Wireless Internet Innovation; UK Centre to Drive Development of Anywhere, Anytime Internet Access - UK Invisix Centre - Company Business and Marketing

Cambridge Telcom Report, Dec 6, 1999

Motorola Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc. Wednesday announced the opening of the first centre of excellence for Invisix, a joint venture of Motorola and Cisco systems. Invisix is designed to drive development of the wireless Internet, for access to the Internet's resources from mobile devices.

Motorola predicts that 1.1 billion wireless users will access the Internet on a regular basis by 2004 - with half of these connections enabled via mobile wireless devices. The Invisix centre, by allowing third party network operators, service providers and voice/data solution developers to test their products on the wireless industry's first all-IP platform, will catalyse the market and lead the integration of market-leading applications into the mobile networks of today and tomorrow. Initial activity will include trials of e-commerce, location-based services and voice browsing of Internet content.

The UK Invisix Centre will focus on the GSM digital standard for voice and data communications, driving the integration of innovative applications for the new General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) high-speed data network and providing one of the first test centres for the introduction of third generation network services based on an all-IP framework. Future solution integration will include 3rd generation technologies such as UMTS and WCDMA.

The latest IP network technologies will be demonstrated at the opening day of the UK Invisix Centre. Participants will access Internet content over a Motorola Timeport GPRS phone, test Cisco's IP Unified Messaging Platform, download Internet material by voice and access corporate information on a mobile phone. The Motorola handsets on show include the Motorola Timeport P7389 phone, the world's first tri-band GSM WAP enabled phone, and the feature-rich Motorola Timeport P1088 smartphone, which incorporates a WAP as well as an HTML browser, together with the Motorola Timeport GPRS phone.

With the potential presented by merging the mobile revolution with the power of the Internet, Cisco and Motorola have aligned their expertise to provide mobile network operators and application specialists worldwide with the opportunity to enhance and integrate an almost limitless range of flexible solutions into the mobile marketplace.

The Invisix centre, based at Stockley Park near Heathrow Airport, is the first of four centres around the world and forms part of the $1 billion Motorola-Cisco alliance announced in February this year dedicated to developing the `wireless web'. Further Invisix centres will open in Fort Worth, Texas, San Jose, California, and Tokyo in the coming months.

Massimo Migliuolo, Director of Mobile & Wireless Service Providers, Cisco Systems EMEA, said: "As the leader in networking for the Internet, Cisco perceives the impact of the Internet on all forms of communications. The increasing trends of personal mobility, portable computing and the growth of the Internet are having a dramatic effect on the future of mobile communications. Cisco's mobile strategy will deliver market driven solutions that will allow operators to create the effective link between the Internet and mobile. By combining Cisco's networking expertise with strategic partners such as Motorola, customers will be able to deploy scaleable, manageable and cost effective solutions worldwide."

"Invisix is integrating the platforms necessary to bring the creativity of the Internet to a huge market of wireless users", said Woody Ritchey, president and general manager of Invisix. "By combining the undisputed networking leadership of Cisco with Motorola's unrivalled expertise in wireless communications, we're building a New World framework for the mobile Internet. The Invisix centres of excellence will allow the industry to share in our vision and drive the delivery of new products and services for end-users."

Notes:

- Revenue from Internet sales in Europe will be $288 billion this year and $2 trillion by the year 2002 (KPMG Consulting, 1999)

- Europe's online market could top $64 billion in the next six years, or 1 percent of its gross domestic product (Forrester Research)

- In three years time, while the number of online users will rise 61 percent to 95 million in the U.S., they will more than double to 88 million in Europe and quadruple to 118 million in the rest of the world (Datamonitor)

- Global business-to-business e-commerce will be worth $251 billion next year, consumer $41 billion (Forrester Research)

- The Internet economy will be worth $507 billion by the end of this year (Center for Research on Electronic Commerce at the University of Texas, Austin) FMI: http://www.cisco.com.