Calit2 & UCSD To Unveil CyberShuttle

For Coverage on April 1, 2002

UCSD To Unveil World’s First Bus With Mobile, High-Speed Internet Access

San Diego--On Monday, April 1, reporters can peek into the future, when UCSD and the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology [Calit²] unveil the world’s first bus that enables its passengers to surf the Internet and download files at a speed equivalent to several CD-ROMs per second--even while the bus is moving!

The broadband wireless, dubbed the CyberShuttle, is built around the most advanced third-generation (3G) wireless technology deployed anywhere in the United States, supplied by QUALCOMM. The service is open to students, faculty and visitors aboard a weekday bus service between the UCSD campus and a nearby train station, including travel on I-5.

WHEN & WHERE:
An informal news conference will take place at 11 a.m. at the Bus Terminal in front of the Price Center on the UCSD campus (see directions below). It will be followed immediately by a 30-minute round-trip bus ride to display the technology under normal operating conditions. Students and staffers will demonstrate the system’s ease of use while using assorted wireless devices including laptops, handhelds and personal digital assistants (PDAs).

WHO:
Among the experts on hand for one-on-one interviews:
Dr. Elazar Harel, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Administrative Computer and Technology at UCSD
Dr. Ramesh Rao, UCSD division director, California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology [Calit²]
Dr. Roberto Padovani, Chief Technology Officer, QUALCOMM Inc.
Dr. Greg Hidley, director of Engineering Services, Calit² and Jacobs School of Engineering

DIRECTIONS:
The Bus Terminal for the Price Center is located at the end of the cul-de-sac on Matthews Lane. Coming from north or south on I-5, get off at the La Jolla Village Drive exit going west. At first light, turn right on Villa La Jolla Drive, and when it dead-ends, turn right onto Gilman Drive. Stay on Gilman until it dead-ends and turn left onto Voigt Drive, and take the second left onto Matthews Lane until it ends at cul-de-sac.

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Media Contacts

Doug Ramsey (858) 822-5825 dramsey@ucsd.edu