Digital Equipment Corp Japan has announced that it will be selling and providing maintenance for AT&T Global Information Solutions’s wireless local network product, which include the WaveLAN Network Interface Card and the WavePoint local network bridge. DEC Japan says that wireless local networks are the ideal solution for communications from the type of rented offices where the use of modems is impossible or prohibited, or in other places where wiring cannot be installed such as trade shows or new buildings. It emphasises that a wireless licence is not required to operate a wireless local network – indicating the lack of knowledge and familiarity with this new technology in Japan. WaveLAN, which consists of the Network Interface Card, a small external antenna and the associated driver software, will be sold for about $1,800 while the WavePoint wireless access point for connection to a backbone network will go from $4,285, with shipment from this month. DEC Japan also announced that it had completed the installation of the first phase of a Market Information System for the Assets Operation Department of Tokyo Fire & Marine Insurance Co under a systems integration contract. The system brings together Unix workstations and several tens of personal computers running Windows, and DEC completed installation and operation testing within four months, co-ordinating the efforts of various vendors. This is the first phase of an Investment Analysis system due for delivery over the next few years, and one of DEC’s first system integration wins in the Japanese financial market.
