IBM And Carrier Team to Launch First Web-Enabled Air Conditioner

Carrier Chooses IBM as Primary Provider of Technology and Services for Remote Control and Monitoring of HVAC Systems from Mobile Devices, Anytime Anywhere

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SAN FRANCISCO - 09 Apr 2001: IBM and Carrier, the world leader in air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration systems, today announced a new wireless remote monitoring, and control service called "Myappliance.com.'' The new service will be built on an e-infrastructure supported by IBM services, software, and hardware.

Myappliance is the industry's first Web-enabled air conditioner that wirelessly communicates in real time with other devices, such as mobile phones and PCs. With the new remote control service, Carrier's Web-enabled air conditioner owners will be able to set temperatures or switch the units on or off wirelessly using the secure Myappliance.com Web site. Carrier dealers, installers, and engineers will have individual unit control and be able to access key customer data. Myappliance will also send fault codes and other diagnostic alerts instantaneously to mobile phones, e-mail or fax. Carrier dealers can differentiate themselves from the competition with faster service response times, improved first-time fix, and improved services scheduling. Unit performance and maintenance information over time can be gathered and recorded to anticipate and address potential problems.

Carrier chose IBM as the primary provider of services, software, and hardware for this solution because IBM supports industry standards across a wide range of wireless technologies and devices. IBM will design the end-to-end architecture from the embedded Java running inside air conditioner units to the backend web servers to the Web browsers in mobile phones and perform the systems integration for the solution. IBM will also provide the software (WebSphere Everyplace Suite Enterprise Edition, WebSphere Application Server, and Visual Age Micro Edition J9 Virtual Machine) and hardware (IBM eServers running AIX) for this solution.

"This engagement is a great example of how a complete IT infrastructure -- including software, hardware, and services -- can speed up time to market of innovative, wireless solutions,'' said Michel Mayer, General Manager of Pervasive Computing for IBM. "Having had more than 500 customer engagements in the wireless e-business space this past year, IBM is strongly positioned to help top appliance manufacturers such as Carrier provide new services that increase customer satisfaction.''

"Carrier has been focused on providing more value-added benefits to our customers to increase their appreciation of the air conditioning units they buy,'' said Alceste Murada, Carrier Vice President, Residential Light Commercial Products and General Manager, Southern Europe. "Working with a company such as IBM, which supports open standards across multiple wireless technologies and devices, allows us to eventually extend this new remote control and diagnostic service around the world, catering to the device preferences of customers in each region.''

Carrier plans to launch the service from WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) phones this summer to several hundred commercial and residential customers in primary European countries, as part of its new range of Night and Day console split system air conditioners. The program may then be extended throughout Europe and North America and will eventually support other devices, such as PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants).

About IBM
IBM is the world's leading e-business company offering a wide range of services, solutions and technologies that help businesses take full advantage of emerging innovation. IBM's pervasive computing and mobile Internet strategy is to extend e-business applications to the new class of connected client devices. This involves building, deploying and developing mobile applications by partnering with key players like Intel, Motorola, Cisco, Nokia and Palm; developing groundbreaking initiatives to set open industry standards; and deploying a Business Innovation Services team with hundreds of wireless consultants. IBM can be found on the Web at www.ibm.com.

About Carrier
Carrier Corporation is the world's largest manufacturer of heating, air conditioning and refrigeration systems and equipment. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation, provider of a broad range of high-technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems industries.

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Note to Editors:

IBM's WebSphere Everyplace Suite Enterprise Edition is highly scalable server software for connecting millions of wireless and other Internet-ready devices to the Web. It allows businesses to deliver content and applications to a full range of devices, regardless of whether they connect over wireless or wired networks.

IBM's WebSphere Application Server is software that enables businesses to establish their presence on the Internet -- from simple Web publishing to managing complex transactions.

VisualAge Micro Edition provides advanced embedded Java application development tools and IBM's implementation of runtime Java technology, the J9 Virtual Machine and class libraries. IBM offers both Java compatible platforms and compact custom versions of this technology.

IBM's eServer line is a new generation of servers that feature mainframe-class reliability and scalability, broad support of open standards, and capacity on demand for managing the unprecedented demands of e-business.