If data is the center of gravity for future networks, Tahoe Networks thinks it has found the missing link in the wireless industry that can propel it to success.
Tahoe Networks, a startup with $38 million of seed money in its first round of financing, said it will move away from the pack and take advantage of data networks by building an infrastructure that ties radio access technologies, new mobile terminals as well as new applications and services.
“What we are doing is building a new mobile Internet infrastructure,” said Keerti Melkote, senior director of product management for the company. It calls that infrastructure Mobile Internet Edge.
The company is working on the premise that most Internet protocols are built to suit the wired networks, so it is anticipating the future by developing the right equipment to make mobile Internet business a more viable model.
While admitting that the Internet is “only one,” whether wired or wireless, Melkote said the mobile Internet will broaden the range of services available, some of which will not fit into the wired world, especially location-based services.
Tahoe says mobile and Internet still belong to different worlds since mobile is still predominantly voice-centric with circuit switched technology. The Internet is data centric and packet-switched.
The key, explained Melkote, is breaking the mobility barrier by moving from mobility to Internet Protocol.
The company believes that the two challenges are to build a scalable network and link it with a business model.
If differentiation is what businesses pine for, service providers want to ensure that their customers are able to manage scarce resources, secure integrated billing, bundle services and personalize services. MIE, he says, is designed to make these goals easy.
In order to create the right environment to make a profit, the MIE will create a more open network for applications, compared with walled gardens, which close networks and make it difficult for users to access all information.
Citing the imperfections of WAP and i-mode technologies, Melkote said MIE will enable diverse applications and content to flourish. Those apps and content will target the mass market, mobile virtual network operators, enterprise connectivity and mobile commerce, as well as the end-user experience, network services and seamless mobility.
With mass-market deployment, MIE’s infrastructure will help aggregate subscribers and make addresses scalable. MVNOs will take advantage of this to target specific demographics, noting that Blackberry is one of such MVNOs, with its following among executives. Once networks are virtual, services will follow.
With enterprise connectivity and m-commerce, MIE will open the way for virtual private networks that will help workers on the go to access company’s networks on their mobile devices. Tahoe wishes to set all the goals in motion by 2002.
“The problem with that is security,” said Melkote.
He said MIE would create an environment for encryption.
Billing, which is an unresolved issue in the United States for the mobile Internet when it materializes, will be unified, said Melkote. Just like mobile-phone usage is more expensive than landline phone use, so will be mobile Internet usage. MIE, he believes, will enable a consistent formula for billing.
The company will start operation in the fourth quarter of this year and is located in Silicon Valley and Finland. Its investors are Accel Partners and Redback Networks.
