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IPv6 WIRELESS INTERNET INITIATIVE (6WINIT) PROJECT FORGED BY STRATEGIC EUROPEAN CONSORTIUM
"Third Generation Internet" Begins to Emerge
LONDON, March 14, 2001 - 6WINIT, an initiative co-ordinated by major European Telecom companies, equipment manufacturers, solutions/software providers, research laboratories and end-user hospitals - are being supported by the European Commission to develop and demonstrate future internet technologies. The 6 M€ project also includes partners from North America and the Pacific Rim. It intends to lead to the provision of a production IPv6-2.5/3G transit service that facilitates high-quality, high-performance, operationally robust and secure Mobile Wireless 2.5/3G-IPv6 networks to facilitate the wider deployment of European M/E-commerce and convergence. It should enable advanced mobile wireless technology to identify the main problems associated with connecting in a seamless way through wireless mobile and fixed IPv6 infrastructures.
"The objectives of the 6WINIT project are to validate the introduction of the new mobile wireless internet in Europe - based on a combination of the new Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) and the new wireless protocols (GPRS and UMTS/3GPP). Such an offering will solve the current problems of the dual scarcity in the IP and wireless world of the following: IP address limitation, quality of service and security from the IP side and lack of bandwidth from the wireless side. By piloting some important mobile applications in both healthcare and business environments, we expect to take a major step towards the eEurope vision" emphasised Prof. Peter Kirstein, project co-ordinator at University College London (UCL).
"The promise of the New Internet is communications ubiquity," stresses Latif Ladid, President of the IPv6 Forum and VP of Ericsson Telebit, adding further "Ericsson is very keen to provide its research skills in next generation wireless technologies to make this project a success".
The 6WINIT project will investigate and validate the set-up of one of the first European operational IPv6-2.5/3G Mobile Internet. This will provide the 6WINIT project customers with native IPv6 access points and native IPv6 services in a 3G environment. Combining the two technologies will generate the best value possible for the European end-user. The project will concentrate on the problems raised by the mobile dimension; it will build on the existence of an experimental fixed IPv6 environment from other initiatives, and will link into such existing infrastructures.
"The eEurope initiative has been initiated to help ensure that the people and businesses of Europe remain competitive. Both IPv6 and mobile technologies are key building blocks of the infrastructure that will be needed. The 6WINIT project will be one of the first to demonstrate the potential of new wireless and internet technologies working together. International and commercial support should help ensure that the project is a major success and that its results are rapidly made available to Europe", says Frans de Bruïne Director in the IST Programme of the European Commission.
Further information, including a full list of the participants and an overview of the programme, is available from the Project Web Site: http://www.6winit.org/ or from:
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Prof. PT Kirstein |
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Dr AV Stokes |