Another Look at ng Connect
LTE has arrived, and while it is still in a very nascent stage and will take several years to reach most markets, companies are pushing hard to come up with innovative ways to attract customers, provide the best user experience possible, and monetize their investments as soon as services come online.
Given the breadth of industries required to create the networks, devices and content that create an end-to-end LTE ecosystem, no single company has all the resources or expertise at hand to develop the types of services users will want. Partnerships will be necessary, especially if companies expect to give customers the best user experience possible and monetize their investments in the technology immediately.
The ng Connect Program, which Alcatel-Lucent formed to help infrastructure, device, application and content companies accelerate LTE product development, now has 48 member companies working in collaborative fashion to demonstrate the art-of-the-possible on LTE networks.
Since its introduction two years ago, ng Connect members have demonstrated an array of LTE solutions, including a connected-car platform that includes entertainment as well as telematics capabilities; secure sign-on procedures that will streamline user access across networks, devices and applications; and personalized digital signage solutions for the retail environment.
The innovations are conceptualized and developed in entrepreneurial fashion by members who meet frequently at think-tank style meetings to brainstorm and share ideas about potential products and services and recruit partners for product development. Projects selected for development are pursued at state-of-the research facilities used for market research, proof-of-concept demonstrations, product testing and validation on real-world networks.
The program has identified three themes that it believes will drive innovation in 2011, according to Chris Carfagnini, executive director of the emerging technology and media group at Alcatel-Lucent.
One theme is to develop ways to transform the retail experience by using a variety of technologies, such as LTE-connected kiosks, cloud services, and video chat to facilitate conversations between consumers and brand personnel. These types of applications, some demonstrated by ng Connect partners in 2010, are expected to enter commercial use in 2011, and when they do so they will push the notion of digital signage into new realms.
"There is high interest in this next generation of signage," Carfagnini said. "It is not a digital billboard. It is a two-way interactive portal. And because of LTE, you can place it anywhere there is a power plug."
A second focus area for 2011 will be to develop universal media creation and consumption applications that companies can offer to promote connectivity on the network and drive revenues. To give an example of the types of applications ng Connect members are pursuing, Carfagnini described a LTE-connected camera that will be able to quickly upload photos or stream video to the cloud in real time as the user takes pictures. The camera could also be used with an adaptor to give users an option to connect to Wi-Fi networks when desired.
The third area of development for 2011 is to develop intelligent applications for machine-to-machine services that can work automatically, without user involvement. A blood pressure monitor that can automatically notify a doctor if a patient's condition exceeds certain parameters is one example of the type of intelligent machine applications ng Connect members are pursuing. Members are also developing smart meter and smart grid applications for the utility industry and home automation applications to help consumers with child care and housecleaning activities.
Carfagnini attributes the ng Connect program's growth and success so far to its unique partnership formula, which considers technology, business as well as consumer perspectives in all of its work.
"This model is so overarching that it attaches itself to multiple industries," he said. "The whole idea is to make things happen.
