Every month, WIP will choose a theme - a technology, vertical market or a combination of both. WIP members who reflect that theme will be featured, (based on key words they have chosen for their WIPConnector profile.)

This month we feature ITS, in part due to the World Congress for ITS in London, October 8-12, 2006, and also because of the vast opportunities for our wireless sector. Estimates for annual market size by 2010 are 18 billion ECU. I attended the ITS conference last year and was able to try a number of different applications soon to be coming our way including: buses that require no driver, cars that parallel park for you, in-car collision avoidance warnings, traffic congestion information based on cell signal clustering.

Intelligent transportation systems or ITS, encompass a broad range of wireless and wire-line communications-based information, control and electronics technologies. When integrated into the transportation system infrastructure, and in vehicles themselves, these technologies help monitor and manage traffic flow, reduce congestion, provide alternate routes to travelers, enhance productivity, and save lives, time and money. It includes the following technology areas:

• Traveller Information
• Traffic Management
• Public Transport
• Electronic Payment
• Commercial Vehicle Operations
• Emergency Management
• Vehicle Safety and Control Systems
• Information Warehousing

WIP partners with wireless organizations around the world. Every month we will feature one of their members online and in the newsletter. Ask your organization to partner with WIP today!

Featured Partner Members for September:

MX Alliance features Island Communications
A leading supplier of Mobile, Telematics (M2M) and Satellite based solutions.

Ottawa Wireless Cluster features Technical Magic.
Developer of MovementMobile, an intelligent wireless system designed for the courier industry.

WINBC features EQO.
EQO has developed a service platform that extends online social networks and IM communities to mobile phones.

NOTE: The date has changed to November 26 - December 1, 2006.
Find out more about one of the hottest and most innovative mobile markets. The Korea Technology Tour (KTT) is a 1-week guided tour for western executives, consisting of over 15 meetings, on-site visits and product demos with leading Korean mobile operators, content and solutions providers.

WIP Members can save 15% on the cost.

Find out more about the tour in this pdf.

WIP Members to Date: 180

Countries represented: Canada, US, Scotland, England, Ukraine, India, Spain, Germany, Russia, Singapore and Korea.

You?ve got to have one ? your 30 second sell, elevator pitch, one-sentence stinger. So the story goes; you meet someone in an elevator, they ask you what you do and you have 30 seconds to explain it. No question, it?s tough. But if you only have 30 seconds, it has to count, so it?s worth spending time to make it great, succinct, memorable and give your audience that aha moment, ?Aha ? I get what you do, tell me more?

The various components of WIP membership have been crafted for you to sell the story of your company or organization ? including the 30 second sell. Every member during signup submits a short sentence that explains their company and every member gets profiled with this sentence on the WIP?s home page under Featured Member which is showcased in rotation. Just for fun - visit the WIP homepage and click the refresh button and review some member pitches.

Here are some excellent examples from WIP members of their elevator pitch:

• Your UWF and USB Design Centre - Wireless 2000
• Healthcare software applications for the Home market - VaaSah
• Lead Generation into EMEA Mobile Operators - eContact Services
• Developer, Publisher and Distributor for Smart Mobile Games - Astraware Games
• World leaders in mobile barcode solutions - Mobiqa

MIMITS or Mobile IP and Mobility for ITS is an organization dedicated to enhancing the proliferation of Mobile IP and Mobile Networks in Intelligent Transportation Systems.

One of the fastest growing segments in Information Technology is Mobile Wireless, and in particular, Mobile IP. This is expected to be a top priority due to the growth of wireless networks and mobile devices and the need for today's professional to be mobile 24x7 while connected to their mode of transportation, be it via air, rail, road, water.

However, the objective of being Always-On with seamless high speed connectivity while roaming is a technical hurdle. Mobile IP allows entire networks and their subnets to be mobile and maintain all IP connectivity that is transparent to the IP hosts connecting through the network. Wi-Fi and the emerging Wi-Max communications together with the Mobile IP protocol can improve safety, security and efficiency during transit. Travel Time can improved and new platforms and services will emerge to provide all of the benefits needed as you travel away from home.

Learn more about MIMITS at: www.mimits.org

So, what happened to Mobile Web 1.0? For those who missed this experience, it felt a bit like how the first TV viewers saw ?radio with pictures?. Despite a number of creative attempts to break the model - of wireless companies pushing a new service to their captive base - the underwhelming take-up rates for mobile web reflected a missed target. For many reasons, good and bad, the creative jungle of the web that had thrown up blogging, contextual search, various ?my spaces? and a host of other compelling user propositions, had failed to transfer to the mobile arena.

In a new book, Mobile Web 2.0, authors Tony Fish and Ajit Jaoker, assert that ?mobile? can be a major factor in the changing balance of power in the converging digital world. They assert that broadcast content as we know it is losing it?s appeal, that the walled gardens set up to protect revenue streams from the free for all (in every sense) of the web are collapsing. This is principally being brought about by the impact of user generated content, captured in context as only a mobile device can do. Mobile Web 2.0 is focused on the user as the creator and consumer of content ?at the point of inspiration? and the mobile device as the means to harness collective intelligence.

Mobile Web 2.0 (the book) is not about repeating the hype of Mobile Web 1.0. It is about stimulating debate and explaining the possible scenarios that the inevitable change will bring. The underlying technology is clearly presented, and the concepts explained creatively. The most heated debate will probably be around the potential impact the mobile web may have on the worlds of mobile, media and the web.

Building on the underlying belief that a mobile device will bring about significant change to the communications, media, and web industries as their business models move from supply-demand into create-consume, Mobile Web 2.0 re-defines success factors for executives, VC?s or developers seeking to take advantage of this shift. To thrive, many companies must master the art of the ?ring master? rather than that of the ?director? of their sectors, skillfully adapting to the performances of a growing and potentially huge range of performers.

These capabilities are related but very different - those who seek to create rules without reason to govern this circus will likely be the losers. Many of the old rules will still apply ? timing of your own moves as the critical factor being foremost amongst them. Some readers may struggle with the concepts put forward, as many will find it hard to struggle with innovation outside their own companies. Nonetheless, the authors have set out a clear case for change, and that alone should bring about more informed discussion and a raised awareness of a rapidly changing industry structure. Let the mobile web 2.0 debate begin!

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