[Other Papers] [Briefing Package]
Title: Push Technologies in Low Bandwidth and Highly Mobile Environments Speaker: Amjad Umar, Bellcore Abstract: The conceptual model that underlies the push technologies appeals to many application areas that transcend the typical Internet model based on the assumption of high bandwidth client/server exchanges. For example, push technologies can be very useful in the highly mobile, low bandwidth application domains where the users do not have the time to issue complicated queries. An example is the battlefield situations where the soldiers need to be fed vital information periodically (the soldiers are simply too busy to conjure up queries). Other examples exist in nomadic exploration undertakings and "mobile groupwares" where the users are constantly on the move but need to be kept informed. The key question governing this short presentation is: can the extant Internet-based push technologies be used and/or extended to fit the low bandwidth and highly mobile situations? The presentation will discuss the key findings of an evaluation of the Internet push technologies to determine their effectiveness in distributing information in low and intermittent bandwidth environments. So far we have found that the said technologies use many assumptions that are easily violated in such environments. In particular, the bulk of todays Internet push products are bandwidth hogs. The presentation will conclude by suggesting several changes to the push technology and introduce new areas for investigation to broaden its scope and applicability. Amjad Umar, Ph.D. Principal Systems Engineer Bellcore 444 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ, 08854 Phone: 732-699-6790, email: aumar@notes.cc.bellcore.com