January 31st, 2007
Demo 07: Remote mobile management via 3G
Alcatel-Lucent showed a prototype of its Mobile Endpoint Management System (which the company called the Evros Project for some reason), a 3G wireless platform for managing remote mobile computers. The 3G-based PCMCIA card includes a processor, operating system, battery, memory, GPS, a VPN client and two-factor authentication.
Connected via the card, a missing laptop can be located (somewhere around 600,000 are stolen yearly), data can be destroyed or backed up and support and maintenance services delivered over the air, even if the machine is turned off.
The technology, developed by Bell Labs (the Lucent part of the combined company) researchers, has been cooking within Alcatel-Lucent and is expected to be available through carriers by the end of the year, with a likely pricing of $10 per month, according to Dor Skuler, general manager of the product.
Dan Farber, editor-in-chief of CNET News.com, has more than 20 years of experience as an editor and journalist covering technology. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
