Alcatel-Lucent's future broadband application initiative gathers momentum

Stuart Corner
Monday, 12 October 2009 05:56

IT Industry - Strategy

In February, Alcatel-Lucent launched, ng Connect, an ambitious initiative to create a community of industry players dedicated to developing applications for future broadband networks, like Australia's NBN. It is starting to gain traction, with the opening of two test labs and the addition of five new members taking the total to 26.

The new members are sound card developer, Creative Labs; digital security specialist, Gemalto, children's entertainment company, Kabillon, mobile software developer R360 and BV-Gate – a new division of Scientific Computers that offers two key products: metaport for transmitting 3D content in real time to mobile devices, and caribo, a mobile location-based service that allows users to find a rideshare or another mode of transportation via their mobile handsets.

ng Connect - which has its own web site - has also launched two new next generation service proofs of concept (PoC): for secure access to mobile networks and for interactive digital signage. These are available in two new labs in the Paris area for demonstration to European operators and bring the number of completed PoCs to eight. Alcatel-Lucent - now offers access to R&D and proof-of-concept demonstration facilities in six locations around the world: Ottawa; Dallas, Murray Hill, NJ; Stuttgart; Paris and Villaceaux.

The new PoCs demonstrate "an advanced approach to secure and cost-effective mobile access to corporate and cloud applications for telcos through hardware-based authentication and single sign-on with Gemalto" and The first 'HumanKiosk' prototype – a digital signage product developed by MediaTile in collaboration with Alcatel-Lucent, which "integrates 4GVideoPresence technology to support real time, interactive video sessions between consumers in-store with product questions and the brand representative."

Alcatel-Lucent announced ng Connect, in February 2009 saying it was "dedicated to establishing a rich and diverse ecosystem of infrastructure, devices, content and applications for both mobile and fixed broadband networks including 4G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), GPON and other ultra high bandwidth technologies... [to] bring the benefits of a seamless broadband experience to mobile phones, computers, cars, gaming systems and more, enabling consumers to stream more content, run more sophisticated applications on-the-go, and communicate in the most popular formats of today, and tomorrow."

The aim of ng Connect is that it will help bring new applications and services to market more quickly, thus enabling a more rapid expansion of the revenue base of network operators and others in the broadband service value chain.

At launch, Alcatel Lucent named seven initial members: Samsung;, telematics middleware developer QNX Software Systems; 4DK Technologies; Connect2Media; digital signage technlology developer dimedis and its service provider partner, SIGNEXX; and 3D game developer Fishlabs.