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PRODUCTREVIEWNOKIA7650PAGE 18Texting • LBS • 4G • Smart Phones • POS • Wi-Fi • i-mode • 3GOCTOBER 2002 | VOLUME 2 ISSUE 8GOING FROME-businessto M-businesspage 20THE UNWIREDSoldierpage 30NEXTEL STEPS UPWirelessBusiness Solutionspage 42IS 3G-TDDpage 16the Futureof the WLAN?page 48of the WLAN?DISPLAY UNTIL NOVEMBER 30, 200234WIRELESS IN ACTIONPepsiAmericas LAUNCHESNEXTGENERATIONMOBILE WORKFORCE 46EVERYDAY WIRELESSA SMALL-BUSINESS OWNERTELLS HOWMOBILE APPLICATIONSWILL SAVE HIM$750,000Y O U R U N W I R E D R E S O U R C E W W W . W B T 2 . C O M

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Xerox Goes Wirelessin the FieldIn these stock-unfriendly times,what is it going to take to renew thebusiness community‘s faith in the benefitsof wireless data solutions to theenterprise? Answer: proven success stories.So it is with considerable pleasurethat WBT can report that, after severalmonths of evaluation, development,user testing and pilot, XeroxCorporation has greenlighted deploymentof a large-scale wireless field servicesolution supplied to them byVienna, VA–based wireless solutionscompany, mPortal, Inc.The solution, mPortal spokesmanAzadeh Hardiman tells WBT, is expectedto improve customer service andreduce costs by allowing XeroxCustomer Service Engineers (CSEs) towirelessly access and update customerinformation, including daily workorders.“With this mobile field serviceapplication, we believe Xerox is evenbetter positioned to deliver its efficient,quality customer service,” says D.P.Venkatesh, mPortal‘s CEO, whoexplains that the app was designed anddeveloped by mPortal on top of itsEnterprise Everywhere mobileapplication platform.“The application runsthrough the mPortal server toXerox‘s existing proprietaryback-end systems,” notesWilliam Steenburgh, senior vice presidentof Xerox Services, North AmericanSolutions Group. “It enables us torespond to our customers more quicklyand to make optimal use of our mostimportant asset – our people.”With Xerox, as with any other company,better service and more competitivecosts mean a win for its customersas well as a win for Xerox itself.Accordingly, all Xerox CSEs in NorthAmerica will be using the mPortal solutionby the end of 2002.On a technical level, the mPortalapplication takes advantage of variousJ2ME capabilities such as on and offline processing, allowing Xerox serviceengineers to work efficiently in realtime as well as perform multiple servicecalls without needing to access thenetwork.www.mPortal.comwww.xerox.comOFF THE WIRES >>>>“Wireless Engineering”Enters the Lexicon ofAcademe At LastAuburn University in Alabama hasbecome this Fall semester the firstschool in America to offer a four-yearbachelor‘s degree in the study of wirelesstechnology.As many as 50 of Auburn‘s engineeringstudents signed up during thesummer for Auburn‘s “wireless engineering”program. They are expected tocomplete liberalarts and generalengineering classes the first two years ofschool, before focussing on wireless, ifthey want to, during their last two yearsof study.Courses include such topics as“Wireless Communications Systems,”“Wireless Design Lab,” “Personal AreaNetworks,”“RF Devices and Circuits,”and “3G and 4G Wireless.” Initiated bya $25 million gift to the College ofEngineering by Auburn alumnus and formerVodafone chairman Dr Samuel L.Ginn, the new undergraduate programleads to the Bachelor of WirelessEngineering degree. There are twotracks, one concentrating on the designof hardware and the other on the designof software for wireless devices and networks.www.eng.auburn.eduWearing Levi‘s Jeans CouldMaybe Stop Your CellphoneKilling You: ShockerDockers Defended in CourtThe news agency Reuters has beenreporting what surely must be one of themost peculiar wireless-related stories ofall time. It involves jeans maker LeviStrauss & Co...and the continuingdebate as to whether or not cellphonescan cause cancer.Levi‘s has gone to court in Europe,as Reuters puts it, “to deny that it wasplaying on [wireless] consumer fears bylaunching a line oftrousers fitted with‘anti-radiation‘ pockets for mobilephones.”“We‘re not implying in any way thatmobile phones are dangerous,” theagency quotes Levi‘s European communicationsmanager Cedric Jungpeter assaying. Indeed not, they‘re merely planningto boost sales of pairs of a newline called Icon S-Fit by mentioning thatthey‘re lined in a way that protectsagainst radiation. The connection is allin the mind of the customer. It couldn‘tpossibly be that Levi Strauss & Co has acynical eye on the fact that the youthmarket is the single hottest growth sectorfor wireless phones.Jungpeter protests his company‘sinnocence: “Our intention isn‘t to cashin on consumer fears, but merely toprovide the consumers with what theywant," he says. The debate aboutwhether cellphones cause any kind ofdamage through the radio frequencyradiation that they emit is unresolved tothis day.A Danish study last year of 400,000mobile phone users showed noincreased cancer risk, but an Australianstudy on field mice 5 years ago reachedthe opposite conclusion and directlylinked cellphone use with tumorgrowth. In neither experiment, WBT hasdiscovered, were the mice involvedwearing lead-lined Dockers.www.levistrauss.com$1.8 Billion Shared by182 Wireless FirmsAs the Maptuit third-round financenews confirms, there are still examplesaplenty of impressive numbers beingachieved in the wireless sector, despiteits being so conspicuously a sector thathas taken its share of hits.Now comes a new report –“Investing in Wireless Startups” – thatdocuments in over 60 pages of data,interviews, and metrics how over thepast 12 months, no fewer than 182wireless firms have raised more than$1.8 billion. Available as a PDF file,each report comes with a companionExcel file with all of the data points coveredin the report including amountraised, investors, and the top three toeight executives at all 182 companiesfeatured in the report.The PDF report with the companionExcel spreadsheet costs just $295 toreaders of WBT who mention that sawthis item in Off the Wires and itincludes metrics like “Investing inWireless Startups inMillions,” “StockPerformances of MajorPublic Wireless ServiceProviders for Aug. 2000 toAug. 2002,” and “The TopFive States for WirelessInvesting.” There are exclusiveinterviews with wireless-Location, Location,LocationNo one should think that there isever a complete absence of activityand/or funding in the wireless spacejust because the Dow is down, the S&Pstagnant, and the NYSE shaken. As everin challenging economic times, there arealways niche players who steadily takeforward steps while the rest of the fieldgets hammered by the markets.One such player is MaptuitCorporation, which WBT has been keepingits weather eye on for a couple of years atleast now, as one of the safest bets in a turbulentcycle: locationawareservices. And sureenough, Maptuit nowannounces that Edison Venture Fund has justled a syndicate making a $6M third roundinvestment in the company, which is based inBurlington, Massachusetts.Led by former Lotus CEO Jeff Papows,Maptuit’s successful new funding round willallow it to accelerate deployment of theindustry’s first “truck-to-door” routing anddirections service. As befits the world’s foremostpioneer in the automated routing andscheduling of transport trucks, Maptuit is ableto calculate easy to follow, truck-friendlyroutes to any destination.“Trucking companies using the service,”Max Stevens-Guille, Maptuit’s VP, Marketing,tells WBT, “reportreduced non-revenuegenerating miles, adecrease in turn-relatedaccidents, lowercellphone costs, anddriver manager timeMax Stevens-Guille,Maptuit’s VP, Marketingsavings.” Maptuit haspatents pending for itslong-distance routingand alternate route generation technology,Stevens-Guille adds.President and CEO Papows sees the latestgood news as a distinct milestone inMaptuit’s history. “Our products are meetingwith good success in the market,” hesays. “Our strong reseller relationships areenabling us to scale our business quicklyand now this capital infusion will accelerateour path to profitability.”No wonder Joe Allegra, a VenturePartner with the Edison Venture Fund, isso happy. “Maptuit represents a greatinvestment,” he asserts. “They have awell defined market opportunity, aunique and well differentiated product,and a strong managementteam.” www.maptuit.comKEEPING AHEAD OF THE W-CURVE>>>based VCs like David Lee of SaturnVenture Partners, company profiles offirms like Boingo Wireless, completedeal coverage from August 2001 toAugust 2002, and full details of mergersand acquisitions from June and July2002.www.venturereporter.netReporting from theHeart of Japan‘sMobile RevolutionAnyone who‘s been enjoying themonthly Dateline Japan column that hehas been writing for the past fewmonths in WBT‘s popular inside backpage slot may be interested in learningmore about what Daniel Scuka, our i-mode Editor, does for his day job.The answer is that Daniel is the brainsbehind the “Wireless Watch” videonewsmagazine, which is the only independent,English-language streamingvideo news program focusing exclusivelyon Japan‘s wireless industry.Each week Daniel acts as host, interviewingthe people in the know about i-mode, 3G, FOMA, J-Phone, DoCoMo,and general keitai craziness. In Octoberfor example there are items on howJapanese carriers have created killer Javaservices; on how DoCoMo is well on itsway to creating something that theEuropeans are still trying to sort out—afunctioning W-CDMA network; and onhow Seoul-based game maker GameVILis coming ashore to leverage made-in-Korea BREW expertise.Try Wireless Watch, and see first-handhow—in Japan, anyway—wireless reallyworks. No wonder his columns for usare so jam-packed with fact and figuresand energy.www.wirelesswatchjapan.comWireless Bio, WirelessNano: Hope and HypeThe only person in all of normallyinnovativeScandinavia to have an actualproduct on the emerging market forcombinations of nanotechnology joinedwith wireless technology is a Swede bythe name of Göran Langstedt.Langstedt is a Swedish entrepreneurwhose startup company is presentlylaunching a wireless sensor network incombination with a microflow system.It‘s the size of a matchbox and containsa number of extremely small and sensitivesensors, which each measures justunder one millimeter. Up to 63 microanalysisinstruments can be attached tothe master unit to either collect measurementdata or for the purposes ofcontrol and regulation. Themeasuring box can initially beused in such places as insidebuildings and in the manufacturingand process industry. When theincoming data deviates, an automaticalarm is transmitted wirelessly to a centralunit.“This makes things so much simpler,”Langstedt tells WBT, “becausetoday, when measurement data forprocess control is transmitted, there‘s atremendous amount of cabling on thepremises.”Not any longer. The wireless sensorbox can be used in the healthcare sector.With a sensor box in the room, analarm can be transmitted if, for instance,a patient falls over. Göran Langstedtregards the sensor box as a ‘micromobile‘in the eldercare sector. Forexample, the box can measure pulseand temperature even if the individual is200 meters away.“A ‘micro-mobile‘ in series productionwould only cost several hundreddollars,” says Langstedt. “And it wouldprovide a lot of security to both theolder person and his or her relatives tohave such a device.”Meantime, in the wireless healthcaresector, two Swedish doctoral studentsare investigating the possibility of carryingout wireless ECGs with the aid ofBluetooth. Their preliminary studyshows that there are certain problemswith the present equipment that causeundesirable interference to the ECG signal.The interference would disappear ifthe equipment attached to the patientcan be made small and lightweight.“We‘re now going on to construct asmall module which the patient can easilywear. A wireless patient can have thebenefits of remaining in his home environment,”says Swedish professor ofeconomics, Ylva Bäcklund. She alsobelieves that people who work alone instressful environments, or people whowork at nuclear power stations can usethe product, which she calculates canbe ready for the market in a year or two.“And just imagine how much usefuture astronauts could make of wirelesshospital treatment,” she adds.www.softcenter.se/english/companies10 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2 www.WBT2.com11

INDUSTRY INSIGHTII TM FT MS SE EW QoS 4G WIA MD EW MA 3G WF DJThe End of TelecomAs We Know It?A nationwide 802.11 network would signify the beginning of the end...Most rainbows are colorful shining heralds that a storm has passed.“Project Rainbow” leaves us in a fog as to what is to come. So do frequentlynamed participants such as IBM, Intel, AT&T, and Verizon bytheir silence. At its vaguest, Project Rainbow is a consortium that looselyties at least the aforementioned companies together. According to a con-Some forecasters portend thatcarriers are in a position to profitfrom WLAN. “Carriers such asAT&T and Verizon are looking fora less costly way to service customers,”says Needles. The premisehere is that the free openspectrum would provide the carrierswith sufficient savings.byDavid GeerDavid Geer, a journalist and computer technician,graduated from Lake Erie College in 1993 with aBA in psychology. He has worked in the computerindustry and in the media since 1998.@d@geercom.comsensus of surrounding industry hearsayers, the purpose is a serious verbalrumination about the plausibility of a nationwide 802.11 networkthat all participants could profit from. The fact that Project Rainbowexists with such certainty while remaining so unidentifiable is part of itsattraction for investigation, reporting, and discussion.project Rainbow seemsto be a loosely knit rallyingpoint for certainknown and unknown tech-sectorgiants to discuss how to takeadvantage of the popularity of802.11 (WLAN) hotspots.Administering 802.11 as a nationwideservice, and reaping profitsis the goal. Building out additionalhotspots, enlisting the cooperationof service providers, andagreeing on profitable billingmodels are certain to be underconsideration by those at theProject Rainbow discussion table.According to Adam Needles,principal at Alescor Group,“Project Rainbow is a loose industryattempt to address a needthat’s really not being filled rightnow.” The need is for wirelessbroadband that truly is broadband.U.S. 3G services have failedto deliver speeds above 56K.Why 802.11?WLAN (802.11) offers broadbandspeeds (up to 11Mbps now,54Mbps with the coming 802.11gstandard), and is highly devicecompatible. Hardware (like theIBM Thinkpads for example) frequentlycomes with 802.11 cards.If you solve the roaming andbilling issues (assuming a modelthat includes carrier participation)and put up hotspots wherebusiness customers linger, you’reopen for business.IBM, Intel and theCarriersIBM and Intel product saleswould soar upon successfulimplementation of nationalWLAN service. Chips, devices,and network cards are but a fewof the hardware categories thatwould see a sales boost parallelingservice expansion. “The companiesalready involved seehealthy sales for wireless LANgear; enabling a broader applicationand infrastructure where youcan use this will encourage furthergrowth,” says Bill Carney,director of business development,Wireless Networking BusinessUnit, Texas Instruments.The DilemmaIt’s difficult to imagine IBMand Intel needing the carriers. Itis even more difficult to see thecarriers favoring a competingdata communications industrythat’s also based on the Internetmodel, and that would allowclear digital voice calls. Thoughsome surmise that IBM is searchingfor a way to bring the carrierson board, it really doesn’t needthem. IBM, Intel, et al, can sellhotspot hardware to businesses,use the free spectrum, and connectto their own backhaul.What’s to stop IBM and Intelfrom circumventing the carrierscompletely? Is a cooperativegesture easier than removingthe mask and moving ahead indirect competition with the telcos?Is this a way to let the fightdie quietly? According to CarlFord, VP of community development,Pulver.com, “Intel andIBM together have a betterunderstanding of all the carriers’troubles than any other systemsintegrators around today.”Will this understanding be usedto bring the carriers on board orto leave them behind?Needles rightly asks thesehard questions: “How do wemake a viable business modelout of this service? Who’s payingfor it? What is the critical massand cost of infrastructure tomake it happen?”Psion Teklogixwww.psionteklogix.com12 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2www.WBT2.com13

INDUSTRY INSIGHTII TM FT MS SE EW QoS 4G WIA MD EW MA 3G WF DJThe obvious reply is that thehardware manufacturersalready have a viable businessmodel and the carriers have littlehope of finding one. All IBMand Intel have to do is sell theequipment and provide theconnection, retaining theoption to allow the service toremain free as long as the frequencyis free, or to institute anattractive, minimal charge. Theywould profit from hardwaresales so they wouldn’t have tolean hard on the service for revenue.At the same time, they’dbe gaining control of the marketand shutting the carriers out.Making the PointNeedles continues, “One ofthe major concerns about thesenetworks was that they just couldnot get enough subscribers, evenin a small area, to make it profitable.I think they need to ask:Who pays for it? Who maintainsit? Who are the customers? Is it anindividual user? Is it an organizationaluser? How do you makethat worthwhile? Because rightnow the way I see it, the only peoplewho are going to win are theequipment manufacturers. That’sexactly why they are pushing it.It’s being pushed more by IBMthan Verizon.”This is exactly the point. Thepopulation of mobile enterpriseusers will continue to grow andby the time that market is largeenough to support a nationwidenetwork, IBM and Intel will havejockeyed to adopt it. Businesseswill pay for it by buying theWLAN hardware. Individual subscriberswill pay for it by purchasingthe devices and LAN cards,perhaps for a nominal fee.As Alex Lightman, CEO ofCharmed Technologies, logicallypredicts, “I’ve been saying foryears that the computer industryand the communications industrywill converge, but whereeverybody thinks it’s sort of niceand everything will be split 50/50,the computer industry willemerge dominant.“Ultimately there won’t be acharge for per-minute communications.It will either be somethingthat’s incorporated in the hardwareand the service contract orsomething that’s done in amonthly fee. So Project Rainbowto me is the beginning of the endof telecom as we know it,” he says.It will be interesting to see ifand when the telecom industry’shousehold names will begin toshow signs of taking an “if youcan’t beat them, join them”stance, and buy in as much aspossible to survive. The telcoswould need to have some controlover the resulting convergenttechnologies to stay in the game.The Internet Is Pullingthe Telcos Away fromTheir FamiliarFrameworkIPv6 (Internet Protocol version6, which allows for a virtually limitlesssource of public IP addresses)will become necessary to supportthe vast number of devicesused for data or voice or both.This will provide the option to billthe IP address owner, which willmake for a much easier, muchmore concrete billing model.Ford comments on IPv6 as abilling solution: “As the Internettakes over our network model, itmakes a lot of sense for [our networkmodel] to work the sameway that the Internet works. It’spossible to own a private addressand have plain connectivity frompeople [for which they are billed,rather than being billed per use],and if you [additionally] buy aroaming agreement [then] youbuy a roaming agreement.”John Harrison, cofounder ofEcutel, stated that in about twoyears, more than 80% of theU.S. workforce will be mobilized.According to Dr. JohnRasmus, VP of business andcorporate development, GRICCommunications, “You’ve gotan inexorable shift towardremote-centric enterprises.”Businesses want employees inthe field, face to face with customers.Teams are getting togetherremotely and need all the utilitiesof a stationary office in themobile environment. Companiessee it coming. IBM knows, Intelknows, so like hungry dogs waitingfor the meat to fall off thetable, perhaps they’re waiting fora certain plateau along the way tothat 80% workforce mobilitybefore jumping in aggressively.While they’re waiting, they haveample time to strategize.Stodginess Losesthe DayCarriers have several issues toovercome. According to Needles,“One of the things carriers havegot to get better at is the accessdevice; they’ve got to be moreagnostic about what that accessmethod is.” Single devices thatconnect to several access protocolsare being and will continueto be developed; Red M out ofLondon is a prime example.U.S. carriers are no more likelyto work with each other thanthey are to work with varyingprotocols. Ford, of Pulver.com,adds, “The wireless carriers don’tshow any signs that they like theidea of cooperating. I mean theU.S. is nothing like Europe,where GSM made it so that youhave multiple choices and everybodyroams together. My ownpersonal experience is thatthere’s a lot of distrust amongcarriers. It’s hard for them to seehow IBM and Intel are going toget the incentives right to getcarriers to work together.”But why would IBM and Inteleven want to try?Nationwide 802.11in Some FormAccording to Carney, of TexasInstruments, “The chances for[nationwide 802.11] success arereally high. It’s very much apatchwork network right now.”We currently see Wi-Fi poppingup at Starbucks, hotelchains, and in airports, andmore business consumerhotspots will become Wi-Fihotspots. We have seen or willsee hotspots on airplanes andtrains, and in malls and metropolitangathering points wherepeople break for lunch.On the HighwaysIf the telematics industry seesvalue in having highways enabledwith Wi-Fi for automobile informationand navigation utilities,this could become a reality. Carscould also be fitted with signalboosters. “OnStar technology isalready doing stuff like that so thequestion would be roamingbetween wide area wireless wherethere are no local hotspots alongthe road, versus connecting to awireless LAN infrastructure ifyou’re in a metropolitan environment,”says Carney.Global MarketplaceAnalysesRasmus says, “The tendencyin North America among serviceproviders is to look at this [market]within North American confines.They really should be lookingat it globally.” To their creditand their benefit, European carrierstake a global perspective. Thebusiness market served is a marketthat is internationally mobile;they want the same experienceeverywhere in the world.Final ThoughtsThere are concerns about thehigh insecurity of the WLAN protocol.However, the service is sopopular and has such greatpotential to fill the wirelessbroadband gap (and the pocketsof hardware manufacturers), thatsecurity issues are likely to beaddressed along the way, unfortunatelyas a secondary concern.There seem to be subtle comparisonsbetween the fall of theRoman empire and the comingand going of entities of masspower. Do the major telcos presumetoo much security in theirlofty position? Are their bureaucraciestoo slow for mobility, tooresistant to change? Is it alreadytoo late for them?QUALCOMMhttp://brew.qualcomm.com/zwbt214 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2 O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2www.WBT2.com15

TELEMATICSMercedes-Benz PioneersTelematicsTechnologyREAL BENEFITS AND EASE OF USEDRIVE MERCEDES-BENZ SAFETYAND CONVENIENCE FEATURESbyRobert DiamondRobert Diamond is editor-in-chief ofWireless Business & Technology as well asSYS-CON Media’s ColdFusion Developer’s Journal.Named one of the “Top thirty magazine industryexecutives of the year under the age of 30”in Folio magazine’s November 2000 issue,Robert holds a BS in information managementand technology from the School of InformationStudies at Syracuse University.@robert@sys-con.comTelematics – the marriage of cellular wirelesstechnology and Global Positioning System (GPS)satellite location – gave birth to a plethora of newservices that provide automobile drivers with addedsafety, security, and convenience. Mercedes-Benzwas an early proponent, and as it continues to takea leading role, the company faces the many challengesof trying to keep pace with rapidly changingtechnologies.Mercedes-Benz was the first automobilemanufacturer to offer an integratedtelematics system – called Tele Aid –in all its vehicles sold in the UnitedStates. For 2003, Tele Aid is standardin eight Mercedes-Benz model lines and optionalin the C-Class.Tele Aid can summon emergency response helpautomatically if a collision deploys any airbag inthe vehicle. The system transmits the precise locationof the vehicle (through GPS tracking) as wellas the model of car and its color, which helps EMSand police identify the vehicle quickly. The customercan also summon emergency help by pushinga button marked “S.O.S.” A crash-secure transmitteruses its own dedicated cellular connectionand does not require the customer to have a cellularphone.Other Tele Aid features include theft-tracking,remote electronic diagnostics, emergency doorunlock, and alarm notification via home telephoneor personal cellphone. Non-emergency featuresinclude the ability to summon Mercedes RoadsideAssistance and to contact the Customer AssistanceCenter with general questions. With the subscriptionconcierge services, a customer can make travel,lodging, and dining arrangements and even geta tee time at over 300 U.S. golf courses.Mercedes-Benz has always emphasized thesafety benefits of Tele Aid first, and the conveniencefeatures second. In the process, the companyhas collected scores of customer testimonialsdescribing how Tele Aid helped in an emergency,including life-or-death situations.Despite the success of Tele Aid, it is probablyfair to say that the euphoria surrounding telematicshas subsided somewhat in the North Americancar market. The benefits of the “Internet onwheels” concept may have been overstated by thegeneral and automotive media – and even by somecar companies. However, it’s clear that Mercedes-Benz USA is focused on useful technology that’suser-friendly as well.Ongoing ChallengesMercedes-Benz is in the automobile business,not the consumer electronics business. Fundamentaldifferences between the two result in some formidable– but not insurmountable – challenges to thegrowth of telematics. In a Mercedes-Benz, the tightintegration of cellular, GPS, and other onboardtechnologies provides benefits that enhance safetyand the ownership experience. When a customerplaces a call using the hands-free phone, for example,the audio system is muted, and a CD will bepaused, resuming normal operation when the callis complete. With control buttons on the steeringwheel, customers never need to take their handsoff the wheel or eyes off the road.Such integration, however, does create challengeswhen choosing a technology platform. Thebiggest challenge – at least in the U.S. market – istrying to accommodate advances in cellular technologywithin a vehicle’s development cycle. Whilethe industry average for a car’s life cycle is about sixyears, the average life cycle of a cellular phone iscloser to six months.Once an auto manufacturer chooses a wirelessplatform, making changes mid-cycle is difficultand expensive enough to consider avoiding untilthe next model changeover. That can be a distinctdisadvantage when a competitor then launches anew model that happens to include next-generationwireless technology.Another challenge is inconsistency in the U.S.cellular network – different providers using a rangeof sometimes incompatible technologies. InEurope, the continent-wide GSM system (in itselfan advantage) allows a phone user to simplyremove a SIM card from one phone and insert it inanother. However, in the U.S., everything is tied toan airtime contract. The Mercedes-Benz cellularphone program has evolved from analog to twodifferent forms of the digital system (TDMA andCDMA), and will transition to an “American” GSMsystem in the next year or two.However, car companies cannot keep askingcustomers to change technology platforms. Theyneed to be able to offer them the ability to upgradecellular technology – and the systems associatedwith it – with “plug-and-play” ease. One ofMercedes-Benz USA’s long-term goals is a universalconnectivity interface that can accommodatemost available cellphones. This universal interfaceis possible in the next few years, and it will go along way toward overcoming challenges posed bythe U.S. cellular network.The auto industry must also address the issuefrom driver distraction. While offering new and usefulservices to the customer, the industry must bemindful of how much attention their use requiresof the driver. Mercedes-Benz began offering handsfreecellular telephones in its cars in 1991. Todaythe Mercedes driver can use voice control for thephone and audio systems. Continuous improvementsin voice-control technology will also impactadvancements in telematics services.The new Tele Trek feature for 2003 provides aglimpse of the future to Tele Aid customers. WithTele Trek, Dallas-based ATX Technologies, Inc., providesMercedes drivers with voice-response, voicedelivered,location-specific traffic reports on themost frequently traveled interstates and major highwaysin 65 major markets. On a home or office computer,the customer accesses a personalized Tele AidWeb account to identify commonly traveled routes.When the customer drives outside an identifiedroute, Tele Trek provides traffic information within afive-mile radius of the vehicle’s location. Subscriberscan also request route assistance to guide themaround the traffic congestion. The feature, whichcosts $75 per year, is currently available on certain2001, 2002, and 2003 Mercedes models, and will beavailable on all models later this year.In general, Mercedes-Benz believes the automobiledashboard should provide the driver withonly the essential information, just when it isneeded, and secondary information should be easilyavailable on demand. They introduced theCOMAND (Cockpit Management and Data) systemwith the current-generation S-Class line formodel-year 2000, and it is now available in mostMercedes models. COMAND integrates operationof the navigation, phone, and audio systems. Thedriver can access many of the functions via buttonson the steering wheel, navigating througheasy-to-read menus on a small display screenwithin the speedometer and in direct line-of-sight.Dealing with ObsolescenceEvery carmaker must deal with how rapidlywireless and navigation technology is advancing. Ifa navigation system does not give customers accuratedirections, they may blame the system. Thereal culprit, of course, is likely to be the map databasethat all navigation systems must carryonboard. When these systems first appeared, someused proprietary data storage technology, but theindustry soon recognized the need to use a standard– the CD-ROM.The drawback with CD-ROM is storage space –it takes nine discs to provide map data for the contiguousUnited States; that’s why the industry istransitioning to DVD. But when technologies areintegrated for the benefit of the customer, changesin the technology platform generally must waituntil the next generation of the vehicle, or at leastuntil a major mid-cycle freshening. The concept of“plug and play” and universal connectivity willhelp eliminate this obstacle.Don’t, however, confuse platform with format.Whether CD or DVD, you still need a disc and adevice to read it. Whether it’s on one disc or nine,map data still becomes outdated. Some customerswho bought the first navigation systems havenever upgraded their original map CDs, and companiescertainly cannot expect them to buyupgrades every year or two. That’s a tough lessonthe computer software industry is learning today.The new-generation Mercedes-Benz E-Classthat debuted last summer will soon offer a DVDbasednavigation system that will be retrofittable tothe new-generation models sold since then. Todayit’s DVD, but someday, this type of continuallyupdated information is likely to be downloaded tothe car via a broadband wireless system.Going forward, Mercedes-Benz is preparing fora growing telematics role. At the same time, thecompany acknowledges that further advances inthe technology must serve the customers’ needs.Customers do not want to pay for something theywon’t use. They demand and deserve real benefitsand ease of use.Tele Aid SOS button forcontacting emergency servicesTele Aid non-emergencybuttons for contactingMercedes-Benz servicesMercedes-Benz was first to offerWeb-based car info servicesMotorola V60 phone,in-car phonebook displayTELEMATICS16 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2www.WBT2.com17

FOCUS ON TECHNOLOGYBill Ray, WBT’s security editor, is technical director of Network 23.PRODUCT REVIEWWhen Is a PhoneNot a Phone?When It’s a Nokia 7650reviewed by Bill RayNokia has a lot resting on the 7650. Despite the almost immediateannouncement of the 3650, the 7650 is in the shopsnow, and represents the first steps away from the coremobile telephone functionality Nokia has provided in the past. The7650 is the first device to use the Series 60 platform, which isowned by Nokia, but available for license, so it provides an opportunityto see how Nokia views the future.Based on the EPOC operating system from Symbian, Series 60specifies a set of interface elements and basic applications in exactlythe same way that Pocket PC sits on top of WinCE, or MicrosoftOffice works on top of Windows. As a key weapon in the forthcomingbattle for control of our pocketbooks, the 7650 demonstratesNokia’s experience and understanding of the needs of themobile user.The phone is controlled through three buttons and anipple on the front, a button on each side (forpower and speakerphone), and a slidingpanel that reveals the numeric pad fordialing. Two of the buttons on thefront are soft, with their functionsindicated on-screen, while thethird always takes you to themain menu. The nipple is usedfor navigation of menus andsome applications (such as thegames).Nokia has a reputation for creatingintuitive interfaces, and it’s interestingto see their skills challenged astheir devices get more complex. TheSeries 60 interface feels more like aPDA than a phone, with tabbed panelsand pop-up menus, but remains very intuitive.The screen is bright and clear with aresolution of 176x208, though not physicallyvery large.Voice calls are a pretty well-known technologynow, and there are no real surprises. Thebuilt-in speakerphone is of a high quality, givingthe impression that the speaker is in an office ratherthan a swimming pool, as is so often the case.Pressing the nipple brings up the address book, allowingvery swift dialing of contacts as long as their namesstart with “A” or “B”; friends with names later in the alphabetmay get less calls, though the keypad can be used tojump to a letter if it is deployed.bill@network23.co.ukMy GPRS connection from a Pocket PC worked without anychanges to the setup, and operated as fast as ever (I’m dreadingwhen someone else starts using GPRS, but for the moment it’sgreat). Setting up WAP access was just a matter of selecting themodel of phone on my network provider’s Web site, and the settingsarrive in an SMS message. The WAP browser seems to workwell, though I’m still looking for a WAP site worth visiting.Of course, no one is going to buy a 7650 just to make phonecalls and access the Internet; it’s the additional features that make itinteresting. Deciding whether they’re actually useful or just flashgadgets is harder. The camera is revealed when you slide the keypaddown. It takes adequate pictures, and can even take nighttimesnaps when the exposure is increased to allow for low light levels,though you’ll need a much steadier hand than mine to make use ofthat.Various resolutions are offered, with the highest quality producing640x480 images. Once taken, the pictures can be sent over themessaging network if your network provider supports MMS(Multimedia Messaging Standard) and you have a friend withanother 7650, or transferred by Bluetooth (or IR) to a printer or PC.I was very pleased to be able to take a snapshot and print it straightto my Bluetooth-enabled printer without any setup or configuration.Predictive text, common enough on SMS-sending applications,has been extended to the other functions of the phone, so enteringshort sequences of text is relatively easy as long as thewords are in the dictionary. To-Do List, Contacts, andCalendar will synchronize with popular PIM applicationsrunning under Windows, though the lack of standardBluetooth API under Windows means that getting synchronizationover Bluetooth will depend on whether yourhardware is supported. I was forced to switch to IR totry out the synchronization, but it seemed to workwell enough, though the contact fields on the phonewere not as comprehensive as those supplied byOutlook.Adding ringtones and background pictures iseasy. I just drag the files into the Bluetoothdevice from my PC, and they arrive as messagesin the phone inbox. Being able to use MIDIand WAV files as ringtones has its advantages,and having Ace of Spades as a ringtone wasfun, but nonpiercing tones can lead tomissed calls if you’re not careful, and thevibration alert is not the most energetic.Overall, the 7650 is a demonstrationof why phone companies have littleto fear from Pocket PC or evenPalm-based devices. Experience andknowledge have produced a robustand functional device you can behappy to be seen with. With the recentprice cut (down to 300 UKP [$467 U.S.]without connection, and around 100 UKP [$157U.S.] with a contract), it even offers good value forthe money.BluetoothDevelopersConferencewww.ibctelecoms.com/bluetoothdevcon18 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2 O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2www.WBT2.com19

M-STRATEGYGoingfromE-businessto M-businessA STRUCTURED APPROACH TO M-BUSINESSTRANSFORMATION OPPORTUNITIES IN THE ENTERPRISEbyAndrew MartynAndrew Martyn is a partner at Mobile Identity(www.mobile-identity.com), a Copenhagen-basedmobile business consultancy, and works as aconsultant with WorldManuals(www.worldmanuals.com). Andrew has workedin telecommunications and Internet businessesin both Europe and Australia. Among these hasbeen Australian market leader Telstra, where heled a number of business change programs.He holds an MBA from Melbourne Business School.@am@mobile-identity.comRather than technology preceding demand (asis often the case), in mobile services, the technologyis trying hard to catch up with demand. Innovativecompanies that have already developed mobileservices based on simple technology such as SMSare taking an early advantage in the huge mobileservices market. There are opportunities within allorganizations to create successes with m-business.Many companies arealready takingadvantage ofmobile Internettechnology, both todeliver services tocustomers and tomobilize theirworkforces. M-businessadds to thebenefits of e-businesstransformation by extending electronicbusiness processes to mobile devices. Globallythere are now more than one billion mobilephone users, and they are hungry for services.From E-business to M-businessFollowing the Internet boom of the late ’90s,we learned that most of the benefits of e-businesseventually accrued to existing organizationsthat centered their business processes aroundthe Internet. E-business transformations involvethe streamlining of processes, changing the waycompanies and whole industries operate.Creating a connected company can deliver payoffssuch as improved operational efficiency,streamlined supply chains, better quality services,and more convenience for customers.M-business is an extension of e-business, anda powerful one. As mobile Internet capabilitiesimprove, it will become the most convenientmode of access to online services, enabling location-sensitiveand always-on capabilities. Themajor opportunities in using mobile centeraround either delivering services/products tocustomers, or mobilizing the enterprise withaccess to information and applications such as e-mail.M-business opportunities will naturally varybetween industries and companies. The timingof m-business investments will also differdepending on business objectives, maturity oftechnology, and customer uptake of mobileInternet. To create value for an enterprise, astructured approach to m-business planning isrequired, encompassing the lessons learned fromthe first wave of e-business transformation.Creating an M-business ProgramUncontrolled implementations of m-business have the potentialto waste money and create confusion for customers. To provide controland transparency, an overarching program structure should beput in place, with accountability at an executive level. If an e-businessprogram already exists it should ideally be managed within thisstructure. Once opportunities have been scoped, individual projectsshould be assessed against set criteria to allow prioritization.Each mutually exclusive project should have a business case (tomeasure return on investment), feasibility analysis (including technologyrequirements), and a risk analysis (to control risk factors). Acentral program structure will also provide an understanding ofthe common requirements of different projects (e.g., an investmentin common mobile middleware, or a requirement for a singlemobile customer identity).Identifying and Assessing M-business OpportunitiesIdentifying, measuring, and prioritizing opportunities requires atransparent and structured approach. An approach that has worked wellfor a number of large companies, including IBM, is viewing e-businesstransformation as a form of business process change – evolving frommanual to electronic processes. Mobile simply adds another platform orchannel for electronic processes. Separating business processes into thethree categories below will help to identify all opportunities, and groupsimilar projects together. The nature of e-business transformation is differentin each of these process categories, as is the degree of control thecompany has over the outcomes, making it sensible to separate them.ILLUSTRATION BY LARS VEGAS NIELSENENTERPRISE TO CUSTOMER PROCESSESEnterprise-to-customer (E2C) processes include activities thatimpact customers, such as sales, marketing, billing, customer support,account management, and payment. Transformation in thiscategory carries a high risk, but often a high potential payoff.Experience has shown that to increase acceptance of E2C processes,customers expect a positive payoff.For example, to reach a critical mass of online banking customers,many banks have had to offer lower fees, even though online bankingoffers greater convenience. Hidden costs encountered in E2C processtransformation include customer education and maintenance of traditionalcustomer-facing processes. While E2C processes may representa large number of m-business opportunities, their businesscases often have highly variable assumptions, as they are based oncustomer behavior and uptake of technology.INTERNAL TO ENTERPRISE PROCESSESInternal-to-enterprise (I2E) processes are largely administrativeprocesses that begin and end within the enterprise (e.g., internalcommunication, enterprise resource planning, logistics management).These processes largely fall within the control of the enterpriseand are therefore often easier to transform. Staff may needtraining to adopt the new ways of working.Mobile creates opportunities to manage mobile workers better –including providing access to information and tools while out of theoffice, or directing field staff based on location. In certain industries,mobile will dramatically change the way an enterprise operates – forexample in logistics management (planning and tracking deliveries).ENTERPRISE TO SUPPLIER PROCESSESEnterprise-to-supplier (E2S) processes focus on the supply chainand include such activities as forecasting and ordering, purchasing,control over inputs, and communication with suppliers. E2S processesmay require agreements on technology and standards with either individualsuppliers, groups of suppliers, or industry organizations(depending on the enterprise’s power). Strong suppliers may dictateplatforms and interfaces, while weak/small suppliers may not have thecapability or capital to invest in connecting with a single customer.Mobile will add to existing e-business efforts in E2S processes whereit extends the benefits already found within e-business transformation.After identifying and mapping the processes within an enterprise,those involved with the e-business transformation will beable to research and identify opportunities for mobile to furtherenhance processes. While it is impossible to provide a complete listof m-business transformation opportunities, Table 1 provides anoverview of some broad opportunities and examples.Designing and Implementing ProjectsOnce opportunities have been identified and prioritized, projectscan be scoped in more detail. M-business projects need to takeinto account technology evolution, including the capabilities ofmobile devices, networks, and applications. E2E projects, such asthe implementation of mobile e-mail, may be easiest to implementfirst, because the entire system can be specified and controlled bythe enterprise: from devices to software and network provider.Start simple and use a phased approach. By starting with simplesolution platforms, such as those based on SMS, it may be possibleto secure early payback and develop learning in project teams.Plans for evolving simple services to take advantage of technologyadvances such as Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) will beimportant. By taking a process-driven approach, this type of evolutioncan be factored into a single project plan and business case.Manage the organizational and customer impacts: some of themost difficult aspects of business change are the human reactions tonew ways of working. Common outcomes of e-business transformationsare downsizing and reskilling of staff, which demand respectand attention. Similarly, customers cannot be expected to simultaneouslyadopt new processes, so maintenance of legacy processesand customer education are critical to maintaining satisfaction.Whatever the opportunities available to your organization in m-business transformation, it pays to start planning now. Chancesare that people in your enterprise are already planning m-businessprojects, and a structured approach will help build momentumand support for the right projects.M-STRATEGY20 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2www.WBT2.com21

m-Business ProcessExamplesBenefitsApplicable IndustriesM-STRATEGYEnhance existing products:Enhancement of existing information/transaction-based servicesoffered on mobile.Sales: Enable existing productsand services to be purchasedfrom mobile devices.Delivery of/access to content andinformation services – news,stock prices, music/video, cityguides, restaurant guides; Evolvetransactional services – pay forparking, ticketing services; onlinefinancial services transactions.Purchase cinema tickets, vendingmachine products;Micropayment using mobile inretail stores; Recharge parkingmeters; Book accommodationsand tickets on the move.Personal channel to customers;Time critical and location sensitiveto improve reach and relevanceof products/services –improving customer satisfaction;Increase impulsivesales/transactions.Mobile payment = conveniencefor customers; Increaseimpulsive transactions;Connect mobile marketingoffers with purchase capability;Instant payment.Media and content owners;Information aggregators anddatabase owners; Financialservices.Retail; Media; Entertainment;Hospitality.Distribute new mobileproducts or services: Provisionof new products and services,including games.Mobile software and applications;Mobile games; Locationbasedservices; Instant messaging;Health-care patient monitoring.Create products relevant tomobile customer needs; Reachpeople when they want to “killtime” – grow market; Offer onlineproducts where time is an issue.Startup industries; Internet portals;Electronic games manufacturers;Health care.E2CMobile alerts: Create a communicationchannel betweenenterprise and customer.Online support systems:Provide customers with accessto online customer support systemsfrom mobile devices.Marketing: Deliver marketingcampaigns and specific offersto customers’ mobile devices.Product support: Monitor productsin real time using sensorsand mobile communications tocompany systems.Proactive provision of informationsuch as bank account balances,parcel delivery notification,notification of late flights;Enable customers to communicatewith support staff usingmobile Internet.Allow customers to access existingWeb applications such asorder tracking, monitoringaccounts, contacting support staff.Location-based product/serviceoffers; Redeemable vouchersfor limited time; SMS competitionsand voting.Monitoring for product faults,product servicing requirements,usage levels, etc. Identify maintenanceopportunities.Reduce need for customers tocontact call centers; Minimizerequirement to mail writtennotices (and eliminate timelag); Increase customer satisfactionby keeping them informed;Reduce impact of fraud.Greater convenience for yourcustomers; More customershave access to your online support(reducing call demand).Highly targeted direct offerswith lower cost and higherresponse rates; More relevantoffers (time, location, or situation);Collect market information;Interactive offers promotestickiness – increasing loyalty.Preventative and proactiveservice (maximize serviceopportunities; reduce productdowntime); Greater customersatisfaction; Reduce need forsite visits; Real-time charging.Banking; Telecom; Airlines;Financial Services; Health care;Logistics/delivery.Virtually any industry usingonline services and whosecustomers use mobile devices.Media; FMCG; Retail; Healthcare.Manufacturing (vehicles, technicalproducts); Utilitiesproviders; Vending.Invest NorthernIrelandwww.investni.com/wirelessE2EManage and provide tools tofield workforce.Provide access to companyintranet to staff in the field.Schedule technicians for fieldjobs using mobile device &based on location; Providetools to field staff such as customerinformation, productinformation, route-planning,mobile POS systems,time/expense tracking.Provide access to corporateintranet, directories, etc., formobile workforce.Higher productivity; Reduceoffice-bound time; Be moreresponsive to customer needs;Update customer informationsystems in real time.More effective workers (moresales calls); More informedstaff; Real-time informationallows better business control.Service industries (real estate,financial services, consulting,insurance); Telecom; Officeequipment suppliers; Utilities,pharmaceutical.Any corporation with a salesforce and staff who travel orwork out of the office.Monitor systems, machinery, orother critical products.Monitoring of remote machineryand alerts sent to maintenancestaff.Identify failures of key systemsor machinery to reduce downtimeand prevent critical events.Manufacturing; most organizationswith operational systems.E2SMonitor supply chain acrossmultiple organizations.Track inventory and shipments;access to supplier stock levelswhen ordering.Control over supply chain managementto reduce cycle timesand improve operating performance;improve productivity;increase shipment accuracy.Dependence on suppliers todevelop mobile capabilities isthe key here.TABLE 1: M-business opportunities grouped by process area22 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2www.WBT2.com23

SECURITYII TM FT MS SE EW QoS 4G WIA MD EW MA 3G WF DJbyBill RayBill Ray, WBT’s security editor,is technical director of Network 23.@bill@network23.co.ukdrug dealers love digitalmobile telephones.It’s not justbeing able to stay in touch withcustomers and suppliers on themove, nor the advantages ofinstantaneous communicationsin a very competitiveindustry. Drug dealers love digitalmobile telephones for thesecurity they offer – securityand anonymity.When we use the WorldWide Web, we often assumethat we’re relatively anonymous.We visit various Websites, knowing that the siteowners are aware that someonehas visited, but we assume thatthey have no way of finding outwho we are.In reality, it’s neither difficultnor expensive to find out. TheIP address (unique numberassigned to your computer) isknown by every site you visit orservice you use, and while thataddress may be allocated tosomeone else later, the fact thatit was allocated to you at thattime will certainly be recordedsomewhere. Local laws differ,but in the UK, an ISP will keeprecords of who had what IPaddress for three months, andmake those records available togovernment offices on request.A recent attempt to expandthe offices that had automaticaccess to this information, toWho’s Calling?‘Anonymous’Regardless of what you may think, most mobile calls and Web sitevisits can be traced to a distinct number and, thus, a name.While locallaws differ, these records can be made available to government agencies.But anonymity is possible and callers who favor privacy most –those with something to hide – have jumped on the opportunity.include local councils andhealth departments, wasblocked only after public outcry,but it’s clear that any governmentagency can requestthis information and generallyget hold of it.Strangely enough, you maybe more anonymous at work,where your Internet access islikely to be routed through aproxy server (or NAT) so thewhole company will share asingle IP address. Of course, thebest way to be anonymous onthe Internet is to walk in to acyber café and pay cash foryour access; it feels less anonymous,but it’s the only way tobe sure.Mobile InsecurityPhone calls are no better.Analog mobiles in the UK wereembarrassingly insecure, a facthighlighted by both PrincessDiana and Prince Charles eachbeing caught (separately) talkingto “significant others” in1989. Listening in to calls wasjust a matter of tuning a radioat the right time and I rememberwarning a client that agroup of kids outside her officewere cloning mobiles from thesignals (collecting the informationisn’t illegal, only using it).With the coming of digitaland GSM, the networks toutedthe new standard as being completelysecure, and criminalseverywhere rejoiced. Theencryption around GSM turnedout not to be as secure as itshould have been, with networksdeploying a badly implementedversion of the standard.The UK police (among others)now have access to scannersthat will listen in to GSM phonecalls with relative ease, butwhen we’re making phone callswe generally rely on securitythrough obscurity.Listening in to trans-Atlanticcalls routed through satellite isvery easy, just a matter of a fewhundred dollars of equipmentand parking in the right place,but it’s not very useful either.Thousands of calls are beingrouted at any one time, andfinding the one you’re interestedin is next to impossible.However, listening in on a call isoften less important thanknowing that the call was made.Making a phone call willoften reveal the number you’redialing from. At the least, thefact that the call was made isstored with the phone companyfor billing purposes. In the UKthe police are now routinelydata-mining telephone records.Once someone is pulled fordealing drugs, or a similarcrime, the police check his orher phone records and noteevery number called, or thathas called them.Then every phone numbercalled, or called to, is checked;each of those numbers is compared.If a large number ofpeople who speak to this dealerhave another number in common,then that might be a dealertoo. Compare records from afew dealers and you might evenpick up another level, a distrib-utor. In these circumstances it’snot the content of the calls thepolice are interested in, just thefact that they exist.Of course, it’s not just drugdealers who have something tohide. The ability to pick upevery number called by an individualhas some potential inindustrial espionage, not tomention cheating spouses anda myriad of other misdemeanorsthat would betterremain private. Once the policeand various governmentdepartments have routineaccess to such information, it’sreasonable to assume that anyonewith the money could gainaccess if they wished. Knowingexactly who a company talks tois valuable information, perhapsas valuable as knowingwhat’s being said.Of course, data mining getsyou only a number; then it’s amatter of looking up the nameand address that match. Earlymobile telephones requiredsigning up for a contract andpaying a monthly bill (with acredit check on name andaddress), but too many potentialcustomers failed the creditcheck. Then there are theunder 18’s who can’t legallytake on credit without parentalbacking (some parents dounderwrite their children’sphone bills, but all the ones Iknow regret it!).Then pay-as-you-go phonescame into usage, paid for inadvance and displaying a tickingdown of money each time acall is made. They’ve provedmassively popular. The networksalso adore them – customerspaying in advance! Notto mention that a percentage ofthose recharge cards are neveractivated – a service paid forand never used. Customers payover-the-odds for the convenienceof being able to run out ofcredit in the middle of a call,and the explosion of SMS usagecan be attributed in part to thefixed cost of each message,making it easier for kids tomanage their funds.The Price ofAnonymityWithout a credit checkthere’s no reason for mobilephone users to register theirname or address with the network.Indeed, it’s perfectly practicalto own a phone completelyanonymously in the UK. Mostcompanies will charge you apremium, around $70, forchoosing to remain anonymous,as they won’t be able tosell your details to advertisers;but this gives you a numberwithout a name.In the U.S., Virgin has justlaunched their mobile system,and is allowing anonymoususage; in fact they are encouragingit! The youth marketVirgin is interested in will beable just to pick up the phoneand use it, not fill in forms andget junk mail. No doubtAmerican drug dealers will alsobe quick to become Virgin customers.Proper anonymous Internetaccess also becomes possible,with a free ISP connected via ananonymous mobile phone. Itbecomes virtually impossible tofind out who is sharing thoseMP3 files, or who posted thatrumor that so affected yourshare price.With only a phone numberto go on, there is little thepolice can do, except phone it.Even the next generation oflocation-based systems isunlikely to be much use in thisrespect. Knowing that there’s adrug dealer in Trafalgar Squarejust isn’t useful, though probablytrue.This leaves the police lookingfor John (as all drugs arebought from a man namedJohn in a pub in East London),and hoping he’s carrying hismobile phone when they findhim.Just some of the many distinguished wirelessmovers and shakers we’re honored to have sitting on WBT’sInternational Advisory Board or Technical Advisory BoardSimon Phipps Chief Software Evangelist, SunMicrosystems, responsible for expounding andexplaining the “big picture” of software development.(www.sun.com)Anita Osterhaug Director of Knowledge Productsfor Brokat AG, headquartered in Stuttgart,Germany, and San Jose, California.(www.brokat.com)James Pearce Director of Encerca, the new namefor AnywhereYouGo.com’s Wireless Internet Lab,which now has its own Web site – an expansionof AYG’s WAP testing, monitoring, and consultancyservices. (www.encerca.com)James Gosling Cocreator of the Java programminglanguage, currently Vice President and Fellow at SunMicrosystems working at Sun Labs where his primaryinterest is software development tools. (www.sun.com)Peter Roxburgh A Mobile Solutions developerwith Secure Trading Ltd., the foremost service forprocessing Internet-based credit card payments inthe United Kingdom. (www.securetrading.com)Larry Mittag VP and Chief Technologist of Stellcom,Inc., he has more than 25 years of technical andstrategic expertise with wireless systemsintegration and embedded systems design anddevelopment. (www.stellcom.com)Rajiv Gupta Worldwide champion of “E-Speak”and Hewlett Packard’s Chief Architect ofE-services. (www.hp.com)Douglas Lamont Visiting professor of marketing atDePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. The author ofConquering the Wireless World: The Age of M-Commerce, and six other international marketingbooks, he holds a PhD in business administration.Ron Dennis Cofounded Livemind, Inc., led the thirdpartydevelopers group at AOL, and created AOL’s WebHosting Service and Software Greenhouse. Ron hasguided several Internet startups. (www.livemind.com)Andrea Hoffman Editor-in-Chief and TechnicalDirector of Mobile Media Japan, an Internet portalfor information on the Japanese wireless industry.(www.MobileMediaJapan.com)24 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2www.WBT2.com25

Tom Dibble, a wireless strategy consultant, is founder of ScreenPilot, a digital media consultancy and also founder of Euro-wireless.org,a forum dedicated to dealing with commercial, strategic, and technicalissues on the evolution of the wireless age in Europe and the U.S.EUROWIRELESS EDITORtdibble@sys-con.com@What’s working, what isn’t…and where it’s all Euro-headed,from the unwired members of the Eurowireless teamThe Moving Image in Motionby Tom DibbleMobile video streaming has been creatinga stir in the industry recently, andseveral venture funds seem to beinvesting heavily in its future. Is it just morehype? Are the commercial realities to be reaped,or is it destined to join the scrap heap of killerwireless applications?In an ongoing bid to create a “must-have”strategy for new data services, operators areconstantly on the lookout for the richer mobileexperience. As MMS has just recently beenlaunched in Europe, it’s far too early to predictits real future. Sadly, initial handset sales aren’tanything to write home about. However, thisshouldn’t be an inference to consumers notwishing to take up new mobile data servicessuch as MMS.Network operator TV advertising has yet toreach critical mass. MMS needs to be promotedmore, and educational marketing needs to bestepped up before consumers can identify withthe service and see where it might fit into theireveryday lives. Of course the text-hungry youthmarket is fast becoming the operators’ key testaudience for new jazzy services such as MMS,but cost inhibits this age range from taking it upin a big way. Product pricing needs to be ironedout as well.That aside, MMS, in one guise or another,seems set to supersede text messaging in theyears to come. Now that it’s here, the industry ison the lookout for the next big thing. Mobilevideo streaming seems to be it.The underlying success of this embryonicindustry is compression. Just as high quality,high compression of Internet video wasrequired, mobile video needs the sameand a whole lot more.Connection speeds and bandwidth-ledtariffs mean consumerswill be paying for what theyreceive. Therefore, a typical consumerwill want the experience,but won’t want to pay a greatdeal for it.From an operator’s perspective,it’s in their interest tobe able to safely deliver a service without tyingup network capacity, and to offer mobile videoen masse, at the right price. It’s really a nextgenerationproduct for a next-generation market.Three years ago, you would have thoughtthat anyone talking about mobile phone videostreaming would have “visionary” somewhere inhis or her job title. Slowly, but surely, playersare creeping in and beginning to make noiseabout achievements that look promising.Technological advance is most certainly there;commercial viability, however, may be somethingelse.Research shows that there’s a huge gap inpublic expectations of new mobile technologies,especially concerning video streaming.Belief is that wireless video will be, at a minimum,VHS quality.Reality will be quite different from the outset.Even when we get to the point wheremobile video streaming becomes a commercialviability, what content will be king, if any?Analysts are predicting news and gaming ridingshotgun on the new platform. We shouldn’t kidourselves. The potential is huge.Bandwidth for multiplayer gaming designedfor the handset is a cry we have heard forawhile now from games houses. News giantslike CNN and CNBC will undoubtedly be workingwith technology companies to get theirbrand across to what arguably is a new audiencefor them. Media owners are chomping atthe bit, waiting for this to happen. The advertisingindustry won’t know what has hit them.But let’s put things into perspective.GPRS as a bearer won’t comfortablydeliver video. Next generation iswhere video streaming will seerealization. That video streamingwill be the savior of operators’next-generation licensesmight be an extreme statement,but there is no doubtthat, because of the technologyit uses, it will be a high revenueearner for them from both directand indirect customers. We waitwith bated breath.Softwiredwww.softwired-inc.com26 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2www.WBT2.com27

QoS/VOICEII TM FT MS SE EW QoS 4G WIA MD EW MA 3G WF DJbyClarke RyanClarke Ryan is senior vice president and generalmanager, Voice Enhancement Systems, at NMSCommunications. He has more than 20 years ofexperience in the telecommunications business,specifically with Lucent/AT&T Bell Labs.@clarke_ryan@nmss.comThe Importanceof Voice QualityWhy network coverage isn’t enough to make callers stay and listenAnytime, anywhere calling sounds great, but until voice qualityis improved, and background noise minimized, mobile users willnot want to stay “on the line.”the promise hasseemed simple:mobile phone subscribersshould be able to makeor take calls anytime, anywhere.That’s the promise wireless serviceproviders have been makingfor years. Unfortunately, they’reonly addressing one part of theequation – network coverage.Meanwhile, they’re losingmoney by the minute for callsthat are shortened because ofpoor voice quality or noise commonin mobile users’ environments– when noise drowns out aconversation, they simply end thecall as quickly as possible.Advanced voice enhancementsystems are needed to ensure thatcustomers enjoy a superior qualitycalling experience, every time.Take Maria for example.Maria is a nanny for a large familyin the Austrian Alps. She hasa wireless phone and constantlyhas difficulty making calls.Despite their image as a peacefulsetting, the Alps are pulsingwith noise. The hills, in fact, arealive with the sound of music.Imagine Maria on that hilltoptrying to make a simple call withseven kids dressed in draperybehind her singing, “Doe a deer,a female deer....” It isn’t easy;either she has to scream into herwireless phone or scream at thekids to quiet down (which is acareer-limiting move for Maria).It’s nearly impossible to have anormal mobile phone conversationwhile in a noisy environmentlike hills alive with thesound of music.Or consider the busy salespersontraveling through loud,bustling airports, or a soccermom driving half a dozen kidsin a minivan with a TV, radio,and GameBoy blaring away.They all have a problem likeMaria’s. Wireless coverage doesn’tmean a thing if people can’thear what’s being said, or haveto constantly apologize for thenoise in the background.The carrier communityshould sit up and take notice.Not only are they losing moneywith shortened calls, butthey’re also missing revenueopportunities for calls nevermade or calls that don’t turnout the way they’re supposedto. It’s fairly obvious that callswill be shorter if the callerscan’t hear each other. Andworse, some wireless callswon’t be made at all – calls thatmean added value and revenuefor the carrier, like conferencecalls. After all, if everyone hasto be in a soundproofbooth–type environment to beon a conference call, they’ll bemaking those calls not from theroad but from their desk – evenif that sacrifices convenience.Voice Gaining inImportanceAnother facet driving voicequality’s importance is thegrowing pervasiveness of voicerecognition. The Kelsey Group,a market research firm, has projectedthat worldwide spendingon voice recognition will reach$41 billion by 2005, and U.S.and European spending ontelematics alone will exceed$6.4 billion by 2006. Thesetelematic services can provideMaria, our friend in sales, or thesoccer mom with driving directions,emergency roadsideassistance, personalized news,sports and weather information,as well as access to e-mailand other productivity toolsthrough voice-enabled devicesin their automobiles. But if thevoice recognition system can’tunderstand the users’ commands,users will not get theinformation they need, and willgive up trying. Wireless carriersunable to minimize backgroundnoise will lose theirpiece of that $41-billionBavarian cream pie.In addition, legislaturesaround the world concernedabout the safety issues causedby distracted drivers are requiringwireless devices to havespeech-driven enhanced services.In North America alone, 70%of all wireless phone calls originatefrom automobiles; 39 U.S.states have pending laws limitinghandheld wireless phoneuse in automobiles; England,Italy, Israel, Japan, and 20 othercountries have already outlawedthe same. So people willhave to make and receive callsusing their voice. But unless thewindows are rolled up, andthere’s no traffic, and the radiois off, the chance of the voicerecognition systems understandingwhat they’re askingthe phone to do is minimal.Obviously, government mandatesare making clear calls anecessity.As wireless phones becomea more constant extension ofpeople’s lives, mobile consumerswill be placing morecalls to and from a wider rangeof environments. Whether froma noisy hilltop in the Alps or astreet corner in New York City,consumers are forced to desperatelyscream above thenoise. And with digital networks,the problem is furthercompounded by vocodingcausing users’ voices to “distort”at times – not a bad qualityfor a singing nanny, but notfor the salesperson wanting tomake a good impression.If you want a technicalexpert’s view of voice quality,electrical engineer DavidNahamoo, manager of HumanLanguage Technologies at IBMResearch, says the most pressingproblem in speech recognitionis noise, which can preventa machine from interpretingspeech.Fortunately, carriers are in aposition today to address theissues of mobile voice quality.They can ensure that their networkhas a voice enhancementsystem with the capabilitiesnecessary to compensate forthe noisiest of mobile call settings– moving automobiles,train stations, subways, crowdedrestaurants, or seven charmingchildren demonstratingtheir talent for making music.With the right system in place,they can offer a mobile phoneexperience as if it’s taking placein a soundproof booth, even iftheir subscriber is in the middleof a construction zone.While some products removenoise by decreasing the overallsignal level, this can unfortunatelyalso reduce speech volume.Advanced VoiceEnhancementThe most advanced voiceenhancement systems on themarket today adapt to the specificcall characteristics byadjusting the speech to appropriatelistening levels, and readjustingdynamically throughoutthe call regardless of backgroundnoise. When the jackhammerstarts, the mobile usercontinues to hear normallythroughout the conversationwithout searching for the handsetvolume buttons or sticking afinger in the other ear.The person on the other enddoesn’t hear the jackhammer,and the mobile phone user’svoice is automatically amplifiedto compensate for the backgroundnoise so that not a wordis lost to the listener. And theright voice enhancement systemdoesn’t stop there – it also distinguishesbetween loud signalsand soft signals to keep conversationaltones smooth andspeech easy to hear, resulting inno yelling and no sudden boomsin sound to alarm the user.Perhaps service providershave focused on only one sideof the voice quality equationbecause they didn’t know thereare solutions for not just makingthe call experience a littlebetter, but for completelychanging the user experience.These voice quality enhancementscan help serviceproviders achieve their majorobjectives – decrease churn,increase revenues per user,maximize their network ROI,and compete with landlineproviders to become the primaryphone source for consumers.While many carriershave focused on increasing networkcoverage, they’ve failed tocapitalize on the value of voicequality enhancements. It is significantlyless expensive toimprove a completely coveredarea’s voice quality than tobuild new network coverage.Better Voice QualityMeans IncreasedRevenuesAccording to ForresterResearch, networks with superiorvoice quality have higheraverage call lengths. Customersincrease their talk time becauseof enhanced voice quality andthat clearly equates toincreased revenues. Satisfiedcustomers are also a lot lesslikely to abandon their presentcarrier, particularly as the marketmatures and price meansless than quality. In fact, arecent UK consumer surveyconfirms that most peoplewould in fact switch providersto be assured of consistentlyhaving superior voice quality.AT&T Voice Quality Labs performeda very telling study. Theycompared two systems in a similarenvironment –– one hadvoice quality enhancements,and one did not. Not surprisingly,voice enhancement usersplaced in a typical noisy streetenvironment tended to talk asmuch as 20% longer than whenthe voice enhancement systemwasn’t in operation.Voice quality enhancementsare immediately obvious to consumers,simple to implement,and they maximize the benefitsof network coverage investments.Increasing network coverageis an expensive, time-consumingprocess with a very longtermreturn on investment,whereas adding echo cancellationand voice quality enhancementsare an inexpensive way torealize nearly immediate returns.If the wireless industrywants to solve a problem likeMaria’s, it will need to look tothe latest voice enhancementtechnology to address a few ofthe customers’ favorite things –such as calls that are clear nomatter where users are or whatthey are doing. Stellar voicequality allows service providersto keep their anytime, anywherepromise.28 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2www.WBT2.com WWW.SYS-CON.COM29

4G BATTLEFIELDII TM FT MS SE EW QoS 4G WIA MD EW MA 3G WF DJThe Unwired Soldier“The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venturea little way past them into the impossible.” – Arthur C. ClarkebyAllen H. KupetzandK.Terrell BrownAllen H. Kupetz is the director of sales andinternational business development forMeshNetworks, Inc., the firm that developed therevolutionary mobile broadband network architecturebased on patented ad hoc peer-to-peer routingtechnology. Allen holds an MA in internationalrelations from the University of Texas at Austin.He is the author of numerous articles on 4G andits implications for various industry sectors,and is the founder of 4Gwireless.org.K. Terrell Brown serves as the markets strategist forMeshNetworks, Inc., a mobile broadband technologydeveloper based in Maitland, Florida. Terry leads themarket and financial analysis for the company,including business development and fundingactivities. He first entered into wireless as aconsultant to CNL Financial Group, determining debtsecuritization models for cellular towers. He receivedhis BSBA in Economics and Finance from LoyolaUniversity, and an MBA in Finance and E-Commercefrom the Crummer Graduate School of Business.He has co-authored several articles on 4G, and isa frequent presenter at technology conferences.@akupetz@meshnetworks.comtbrown@meshnetworks.comEinstein said that while he did not know with which weaponsWorld War III would be fought, he was certain that World War IVwould be fought with sticks and stones. A conventional worldwidewar now seems less likely than in Einstein’s day, but the weapons ofsuch a war remain as unpredictable as ever. One martial developmentthat does seem clear, however, is the notion that the individualsoldier must be wired to a greater degree than he is now. And on thebattlefield, a truly wired soldier must be using wireless technology.the decision tochange the U.S.Army’s nationalrecruiting slogan to “an army ofone” has met with a lot of skepticism.Because military culture isnot likely to give up the hierarchicalnature of its command,control, and communications,the only alternative is to giveeach solider the means to actindependently, while stillallowing him to interact in realtime with fellow soldiers. Thekey to that interaction is communicationstechnology that:requires a minimal amount offixed infrastructure; deliverssecure voice, video, and data inreal time at broadband datarates; is small and highlyportable; and is inexpensiveenough to be standard issue forevery soldier.The Wal-Mart Soldier“If early soldiers idealizedNapoleon or Patton, networkcentricwarriors admire Wal-Mart, where point-of-sale scannersshare information on anear real-time basis with suppliers,and also produce datathat is mined to help leadersdevelop new strategic or tacticalplans. Wal-Mart is an exampleof translating informationsuperiority into competitiveadvantage.” – Thomas A.Stewart, “America’s SecretWeapon,” Business 2.0,December 2001, pgs. 66-67The Defense AdvancedResearch Projects Agency(DARPA) is the central researchand development organizationfor the U.S. Department ofDefense (DoD). Its charter is to“manage and direct selectedbasic and applied research anddevelopment projects for theDoD and pursue research andtechnology where risk and payoffare both very high andwhere success may provide dramaticadvances for traditionalmilitary roles and missions.”The first-generation DARPAdevice was built by ITTIndustries, and named theHandheld Multimedia Terminal(HMT). It built on ITT’s work inthe 1990s on the developmentof the Tactical Internet. TheTactical Internet is a data channelfor routing global positioningsatellite (GPS) informationto identify the position offriendly forces.The HMT technology allowseach wireless terminal to functionas an independent, intelligentrouter and repeater. Its adhoc networking provides for aself-organizing and self-healingnetwork structure. The HMTtechnology was developed tosupport the simultaneous useof voice over IP (VoIP), data,and multimedia at high datarates in battlefield conditionswith no infrastructure. Thistechnology exists today via prototypeHMTs running voice,data, and video applicationsthat have already been demonstratedto the U.S. Army.In “Information Is aWeapon,” Daintry Duffy says,“What a modern military wantsand needs is dependable realtimeintelligence, shared amongnetworked devices that canhelp dispel the fog that warfare’sinevitable chaos generates.… (But) new military technologieshave always outpacedadvances in military tactics. Inthe Civil War, the interiorgrooves of the new rifled musketcaused the bullets to spiralwhen they were fired, makingthem more accurate at longerranges. However, soldiers wereaccustomed to gathering enmasse and charging their opponents,waiting to fire until theywere in close range. Becausethey were never trained tochange their tactics along withtheir weaponry, they couldn’ttake advantage of the new rifle’scapabilities.”The next-generation soldier’scommunication devicehas not yet been chosen. Thereare several DARPA/DoD proj-PrinterOnwww.printeron.net30 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2www.WBT2.com31

4G BATTLEFIELDII TM FT MS SE EW QoS 4G WIA MD EW MA 3G WF DJBecause militaryculture is not likelyto give up thehierarchical natureof its command,control, andcommunications,the only alternativeis to give eachsolider themeans to actindependentlyects operating simultaneously,all of which have a communicationsdevice component. Theseinclude the “WarfighterInformation Network – Tactical”(WIN-T), “Future CombatSystems” (FCS – formerlyknown as Future GroundCombat Systems), “Small UnitOperations/SituationalAwareness System” (SUO/SAS),and the “Joint Tactical RadioSystem – Programmable,Modular CommunicationsSystem” (JTRS-PMCS).Whichever program yieldsthe device that will be in everysoldier’s pocket, it will likely differfrom today’s radios in termsof size (i.e., weight) and cost.The device must be small andinexpensive for distribution anduse by every soldier. Andbecause it is meant for tacticaluse, it must operate with virtuallyno fixed infrastructure. Celltowers cannot be erected on thebattlefield due to obvious timeconstraints and the probabilityof enemy targeting.The JTRS-PCMS program isa new initiative to acquire afamily of radios for all DoDcomponents. The approach willreplace older, hardware intensiveradios with software applicationsfor waveform generationand processing, encryption,signal processing, andother major communicationsfunctions. The approach willsupport military operationsacross a spectrum of environments– from backpacks toships.But what capabilities shouldthe devices have? At a minimum,they will need:• Deployability with little orno fixed infrastructure• Geo-location well beyondthe limitations of GPS• Security, both communicationssecurity (COMSEC)and a way to protect the networkfrom unauthorized useif the device gets captured• Anti-jamming robustness• High-mobility connectivity,even at speeds in excess of100mph• Virtual undetectability byhostile forcesThe 4G Battlefield’sNetwork“Wire telegraph is a kind of avery, very long cat. You pull histail in New York and his head ismeowing in Los Angeles. Andradio operates exactly the sameway: you send signals here, theyreceive them there. The onlydifference is that there is nocat.” – Albert EinsteinWhether or not every soldieris an army of one, every soldier’scommunication devicewill be an individual networkelement with a unique IPaddress. All the network deviceson the battlefield – includingthose embedded in tanks orother vehicles – will instantlyform, heal, and update the networkas users come and go.That is, they will associate in anad hoc manner.Moreover, the devices willcontinuously optimize the connectionsbetween everyone inthe network, automatically. Thismeans that users merge in andout of the network at will. Andas intelligent elements, alldevices constantly reconfigurerouting tables to determinewhich nodes are available totake advantage of the best networkroutes.But unlike cell-based solutions,network coverage andservice levels will improvewhen soldier density increases.Network resources are also betterutilized because networksare self-balancing as well. Thesoldier’s subscriber device canhop to distant network accesspoints, away from points ofcongestion, shifting networkcapacity to where the demandis.This network will also greatlyenhance the current locationmethods. GPS, the best-knowngeo-positioning technology, is asatellite-based system maintainedby the DoD. But satellitetransmissions do not penetrateinto indoor spaces well; so GPSoften cannot find soldiersinside buildings or bunkers.The 4G battlefield network willalso provide accuracy morequickly, because the soldierwon’t have to wait for multiplesatellites to get a fixed reading.Network deployment will befast and easy because it is towerless.Whereas commercialversions will have some fixedinfrastructure mounted onstreetlights, billboards, andbuildings, the 4G battlefield willbe entirely mobile, with satellitesor other communicationssystems providing the backhaul.And the network will disappearas fast as it was formed,once soldiers leave the area.Finally, this technology willfunction as a PAN (personalarea network), a LAN (local areanetwork), and a WAN (wide areanetwork), simultaneously. Thismeans that the same networkcan connect a soldier to thesquad/platoon, to the battalion,and to a fully mobile division.This is critical to meeting thefunctionality requirements ofthe FCS program. It is theequivalent of Bluetooth, 802.11,and 3G converging, but in a singlenetwork, with a singledevice.“When, in 1940, PresidentRoosevelt called for the productionof 50,000 airplanes a yearby 1944, the leaders of the Axispowers sneered. But Americaresponded, building 104,000airplanes that year, 40 times thenumber of planes the Luftwaffeflew over London at the heightof the Blitz. The marshalling ofvast resources, the developmentof new technologies, andthe mastery of complex systemsare things America does verywell.” – Philip E. Ross, “FeelingSafe,” Red Herring, November2001, p. 50Cutting EdgeSoftwarewww.quickoffice.com32 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2 O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2www.WBT2.com33

WIRELESS IN ACTIONPepsiAmericas significantlychanged the way it doesbusiness by moving from adirect store delivery to a pre-sellmodel for its sales and deliveryfunctions. Wireless handheldcomputers made the transitionsuccessful.PepsiAmericasLaunchesNext-GenerationWhen you walk into your local conveniencestore, do you take it forgranted that your favorite beverageis going to be on the shelf? Asyou make your way to the refrigeratedsection, do you ever stopto think about the technology that helped get itthere? Yes, technology, particularly wireless handheldcomputers, plays a large role in assuringthat your favorite drink is always in stock.PepsiAmericas, the second largest anchor bottlerof Pepsi-Cola in the U.S., has been usingruggedized handheld computers for more thanten years to make sure that shelves are keptstocked with Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew,and other Pepsi products. Recently, the companyupgraded its mobile computing technology to anext-generation wireless handheld computingselling and delivery solution that will streamlineprocesses, increase efficiencies, decrease errors,and grow with them into the future.From Direct StoreDelivery to Pre-SellPepsiAmericas, headquartered outsideChicago in Rolling Meadows, IL, is responsiblefor manufacturing, selling, and delivering manyMobile WorkforceWIRELESS HANDHELD DEVICES MAXIMIZE ORDEREFFICIENCY AND MINIMIZE DELIVERY COSTSpopular beverage brands to food retailersthroughout the central U.S., as well as PuertoRico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Barbados, Trinidadand Tobago, Poland, Hungary, the CzechRepublic, and the Republic of Slovakia. Thehandheld computing solution that the companyused in the past ran in an offline batch mode thatsupported a direct store delivery (DSD) model.Under this business model, field agents wereresponsible for selling, delivering, and merchandisingthe products to retailers.Earlier this year, PepsiAmericas made a significantchange in its operations. The companyswitched from the conventional DSD model toone that separated the delivery and merchandisingfunctions. This new way of doing business iscalled a pre-sell model. PepsiAmericas’ businessis now driven by the change to the pre-sell environmentbecause order efficiency is the key togetting accurate orders on the right trucks so thecorrect products can be delivered.For PepsiAmericas to reap the benefits of thepre-sell environment, it needed to outfit its salesagents with technology that would effectively sellproduct and transmit orders throughout the day.Today, its agents are armed with the tools andinformation to do business more effectively –such as pre-selling a growing array of productsand inputting more timely, accurate data intoback-end billing systems in the company’s 123U.S. distribution centers.PepsiAmericas decided to fundamentallychange the way it does business for several reasons.First, there was much inefficiency in the oldmodel. PepsiAmericas’ route sales delivery systemwas based on route agents having a set numberof accounts. They often departed for theirdaily routes with full truckloads, and only someinsight into what quantity of products would beunloaded during the day. With trucks returning30–35% full at day’s end to each ofPepsiAmericas’ warehouse locations, rising fueland labor costs, as well as damaged goods,became a major problem that needed to beresolved.With stiff competition for retail shelf spaceincreasing with every new beverage introduced,PepsiAmericas needed technology that wouldreduce transportation and labor costs, grow thenumber of different SKUs, and get the right productat the right time, to better service its customerbase.Finally, PepsiAmericas has grown over thepast five years through acquisition. With multipleback-end and reporting systems fully integrated,the company was ready to integrate the sales systems.Streamlining the sales process is makingthis integration smoother.The Right Tool for Sales andDeliveryTo upgrade its field service technology to thenext generation, PepsiAmericas began a quest forthe right tool for the sales and delivery functionscreated during the shift from DSD to the pre-sellenvironment. With pre-sell territory accountmanagers specially trained for selling, and deliveryagents trained for delivery, the companyneeded a device that could support both applications,and that was designed for the rigors offieldwork.Today, PepsiAmericas is rolling out a mobilefield sales and delivery automation solutionbased on handheld computing and wireless networkingtechnology. The company is equippingits mobile workforce of more than 5,000 with thePDT (portable data terminal) 8046 handheldcomputer from Symbol Technologies, Inc., ofHoltsville, NY. With the latest Intel XScale technology–basedmicroprocessors (designed to optimizewireless handheld mobile computing functionalityand performance) and Microsoft’sPocket PC 2002 operating system, PepsiAmericasfound the PDT 8046 handheld computer to beideally suited to its mobile workforce.PepsiAmericas is also outfitting its distributioncenters with the Symbol Spectrum24 highrate 802.11b wireless local area networking(WLAN) communications equipment.Making the SaleFor the pre-sell model to be successful, salesorders need to be taken accurately and transmittedefficiently so the proper delivery truck can beloaded with the correct amount of products forthe next day’s deliveries. PepsiAmericas foundthat the Symbol PDT 8046 series handheld computernot only helps record and transmit thesales, but also helps to make them.One of the powerful advantages thatPepsiAmericas’ pre-sell territory account managerscan utilize from this new next-generationmobile computing solution is the ability to collectand quickly process data. This providesimportant decision-making information thathelps the account managers pre-sell to customers.Instead of waiting to make a sales callbased on the next delivery date, account managersnow have access to information that letsthem identify sales history and forecasting, andprovide accurate pricing.Using the new mobile computing solution,account sales managers can maximize the onsiteordering process. Instead of taking orders byhand, which is slow and laborious and holdspotential for errors, the information is enteredinto the Symbol PDT 8046 Pocket PC series handheldcomputer. Once the order is entered intothe handheld, the data is transmitted wirelesslyto PepsiAmericas’ PeopleSoft-based back-endorder management and delivery systems over aCDMA network operated by Verizon Wireless ofBedminster, NJ.The hardware capabilities of the Symbol PDT8046 play a supporting role to the applicationsthat sit on top of it. With a bright 3.9" VGA reflectivecolor screen that can be read clearly bothindoors and outdoors, and a rugged form factorbuilt to withstand real-world treatment andweather conditions, orders can be placed anywhere,anytime. The device also has a built-inbar-code scanner that will be instrumental inimproving order-taking accuracy and efficiency.PepsiAmericas recognizes that effective orderprocessing is just one aspect of successfully utilizingmobile computing in its field force.Growing the size of the order is important too. Todo this, its territory account managers are usingthe Symbol PDT 8046 to provide customers withthe information they need to make smarterordering decisions. At each customer visit, territoryaccount managers can access historicaltrend information that is uploaded the same dayover the distribution center WLAN. This informationcan be used to identify buying and purchasingpatterns, recommend strategies so the customercan sell more merchandise, and comparesales of other stores in the area.Delivering the Right ProductsOnce the sales orders are taken and transmittedon the handheld computers, it’s the deliverybyRobert Puric andBob SchreibRobert Puric is a senior product manager forSymbol Technologies, Inc., Holtsville, NY, and isresponsible for the company’s PDT 8100 andPDT 8000 handheld computer families.Bob Schreib is a director of mobilecomputing products for Symbol.@puricr@symbol.combschreib@symbol.comWIRELESS IN ACTION34 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2www.WBT2.com35

WIRELESS IN ACTIONMobile computingdevices have avery high return oninvestment (ROI)for enterprise fieldservice operations– Kevin Burden, senior analyst,smart handheld devices,at industry analyst firm, IDCagent’s turn to benefit from this next-generationtechnology. In the past, an agent would begin theday huddled in a room with the other agents tryingto dock computers and print out routes.Today, an agent’s day is much different.At the beginning of a delivery agent’s shift, thehandheld computer downloads vital informationvia the Symbol Spectrum24 high-rate 11Mbpswireless LAN – the correct product mix for eachstore, the route he or she will follow, latest pricingmodels, accurate trend information for eachstore on the route, and invoicing data. Symbol’sAirBEAM Manager software is also used tostreamline the entire wireless device managementprocess including updating files, applications,and operating systems wirelessly and fromremote locations.When drivers arrive at customer sites to makea delivery, they use the Symbol PDT 8046 handheldcomputer to ensure that the correct deliveryis made. The Symbol PDT 8046 Pocket PC is thensnapped into the Symbol RP 1000 portable printerand an invoice is generated.When a driver returns to the distribution center,the handheld computer starts downloadingthe data, which is relayed by a WLAN accesspoint to back-end systems for route settlement.This process assists in load balancing the truckbased on palette count. The driver then reconcilesall receipts via downloading from the PDT8046 and RP 1000 printer.On the Leading Edge of a TrendEmpowering a mobile workforce with a technologysolution that provides anywhere, anytimeinformation is a growing trend among U.S. companies.PepsiAmericas’ commitment to provideits mobile workforce with wireless handheldcomputing tools puts them at the leading edge,and in a strong position to reap the benefits.Information at the point of activity – whereverthat may be – allows its agents to make better,more informed decisions. As a result, the servicethe company provides to customers, along withits strength in the marketplace, is greatlyenhanced.“Mobile computing devices have a very highreturn on investment (ROI) for enterprise fieldservice operations,” says Kevin Burden, senioranalyst, smart handheld devices, at industry analystfirm International Data Corporation (IDC).IDC put the number of U.S. field force serviceworkers at 5.2 million in 2001. IDC expects theU.S. smart handheld device market to grow to 8.7million units valued at $1.7 billion, by 2003.Powerful Functionalityfor the FutureWhen PepsiAmericas decided to invest inSymbol’s next-generation technology, it needed asolution that could help with an organizationalswitch from DSD to pre-sell, and one that wouldoffer functionality in the future. PepsiAmericasinvested in the Symbol mobile computing solutionbecause the technology has the bandwidthand the characteristics to grow with the companyinto the future. So what does PepsiAmericas havein store for the next generation?The PDT 8046 provides video and audio capabilities,which PepsiAmericas sees as a requirementfor next-generation transportation andlogistics systems. The video and audio capabilitiescan be used for training salespeople anddrivers on how to use the device and the applications.Another possibility is using these featuresfor customer presentations. The large colorscreen allows for playback of new Pepsi promotionalmaterials and a medium to show off newstore displays based on the time and season.Agents can also use the large color screen toshow customers promotional materials right onthe handheld. Having access to visual and soundfeatures makes it easier for customers to understandthe marketing support for particular products,and helps them to make more informedpurchasing decisions. The same functionality canalso be used for dynamic training; road warriorscan get the latest product information and educationalmaterials in an audio-visual modalitywithout having to report to a training center.The PDT 8046 also incorporates the latesttechnology for scanning bar codes; the captureddata can be used for historical trend analysis,and to increase sales. Signature capture is anotherfeature, which can be used for proof ofacceptance and delivery. Finally, since all ofthese devices are equipped with an 802.11bwireless LAN, wireless printing can also be anoption to expedite the delivery and downloadprocess.In addition to powerful features and functionality,the solution includes a 24/7 help deskand wireless network management support toensure that the technology is always runningcorrectly.PepsiAmericas also foresees deploying handhelddevices that are outfitted with wireless widearea network (WWAN) cards to its U.S-basedfield workforce. WWAN connectivity will allowemployees to upload and download informationanywhere, anytime. This instant access will allowPepsiAmericas to react to changes and solveproblems more quickly and efficiently.Technology Aids ChangeThis solution is the component that will makethe change from DSD to pre-sell successful. Inutilizing this new handheld technology,PepsiAmericas has become empowered to sellmore proactively, deliver the products efficiently,and compete successfully with other brands forpremium shelf space.It is also technology that helps bring the tasteof new products to the shelves and into yourhands so that you can enjoy your favorite beverageswhen you want to.EnterpriseWireless Forumwww.enterprisewirelessforum.com36 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2www.WBT2.com37

INDUSTRY INSIGHTII TM FT MS SE EW QoS 4G WIA MD EW MA 3G WF DJbySteven BorneSteven Borne is senior marketing managerwithin Comverse’s Americas Marketing Group.His responsibilities include defining the strategicmarketing activities and overall product launch ofComverse’s branded Instant Messaging offeringin the North and Latin American markets.@information@comverse.comWho Will Own InstantCommunications?With billions of dollars at stake, the smart money says the telcos should“Instant Communications” will change communication habitsand drive the communications revolution – with new revenues andnew market positions for the communication suppliers.someday, businessschools will look backat the beginning ofthe communications revolutionand evaluate how the decisiveactions of the telcos, Internetportals, and other competitivecommunication suppliers led totheir post-revolution positions.Soon wireline and wireless networkswill offer a suite of instanttext, voice, and multimediamessaging services on mainstreamdevices.Powered by a presenceenabledaddress book, they willbring a “see before you communicate”element to communications– what we call “InstantCommunications.” A remarkableimprovement on our currenteveryday communicationexperience, it will change communicationhabits and drivethe communications revolution– with new revenues and newmarket positions for the communicationsuppliers.Portals Are LeveragingIM Toward MoreCommunicationServicesInstant Messaging (IM), thesmaller, albeit better-knownsubset of InstantCommunications, has becomea massive Internet success.Even without aggressive promotionor interoperabilitybetween providers, the mainportals (AOL, MSN, and Yahoo!)have all been successful inusing IM to promote servicesand solidify brand recognition.That said, running a large IMnetwork is expensive, andadvertising and marketing dollarshave not offset the hugecosts that the portals incur tomaintain their free service andlarge private IM communities.In response, the portals havechosen to leverage theirstrength in having large, capturedaudiences to find revenuein related areas. Naturally, theportals view wireless messagingas an untapped revenue source,especially in light of the successof SMS. Internet portals havestarted to realize some revenuefrom their initial SMS partnershipswith the wireless carriers,and both are benefiting from an1 Presents informationfor contact listsincrease in SMS traffic.However, the long-term positioningof who will be the communicationssupplier to consumersis at stake.As portals move beyondtheir role as Internet InstantMessaging suppliers, the threatof their devouring more oftomorrow’s real-time communicationspie becomes ominous.AOL, for example, hasbeen very direct with its AOLAnywhere strategy. When AOLtells you that it plans to be“anywhere,” that strategyincludes network, handset, andall other communicationdevices.Keep in mind that AOL’splatform is not an open andevolving project; its latest FCCfiling states that it no longerplans to invest in IM interoperability,citing complexities andsecurity concerns associatedwith achieving server-to-serverinteroperability.Arguably a greater competitiverisk to communicationservice suppliers, Microsoft isadding voice features to itsMSN Messenger (VoIP agreementwith PrimusTelecommunications Group),which is now de facto on allWindows XP desktops.Microsoft is developing anenterprise-grade real-timecommunications (RTC) serverto handle the entire suite ofvoice and text communicationservices. Regardless of theongoing debate over the ultimatevalue to the consumerfrom Microsoft’s position on thedesktop, the addition of voicefeatures to its MSN Messengerand the introduction of the RTCserver may dramatically altertomorrow’s communicationlandscape.The strategy for AOL andMSN is clear: by establishingownership of the end userthrough a dependence on IM,they are positioning themselvesto capture a large slice of therevenue that will come fromInstant Communications services.The CommunicationsRevolutionPresence-based real-timecommunication promises to bethe next evolutionary developmentin smart telecommunications.Historically, network anduser information have played apivotal role in how we use thephone – dating back to the firstappearance of the dial tone,busy signal, call waiting, andvoice mail.Continuing that trend, userinformation is one of the corereasons for the massive adoptionof IM on the Internet.Seeing that a contact is availableprovides the impulse andthe permission for the end userto communicate. Other contributingfactors to IM’s successinclude the ability to group thecontacts by relationship (family,friends, or work), the ability tomeet new friends in a no-hassleenvironment, and the convenienceand ease of sending/receiving messages.The IM concept of “presence”has already evolved fromthe simplistic “Hey, I’m aroundif you want to talk with me,” toinclude comprehensive portraitsof availability (away, busy,do not disturb, etc.), physicalreachability, device type, andlocation information. Each ofthese elements provides differentand valuable informationthat stimulates communicationand, more importantly, guidesLENGTH OF MESSAGEPhone CallVoice ConferencePush 2 TalkMMSInstant MessagingSMSCarrier Provided ServicePortal Provided ServiceRESPONSE TIMEVoice MailE-mail2 Today the telcos control the majority of real-time communicationservices. However, the portals are being positioned to provide thenext generation of smart services for real-time and asynchronousvoice and text communication.end users to make intelligentdecisions when choosing themost appropriate device andmedium for communication.For the next wave of communications,the most favorableposition will belong to theInstant Communications supplier.Instant Communicationsleverages a centrally stored,presence-enabled contact list toprovide a content-centriclaunch pad for one-to-one orgroup voice or data (includingmultimedia) communication.Whoever maintains the enduser’s centrally stored contactlist can then present it to allend-user communicationdevices (mobile phones,Internet devices, PDAs, etc.).The Instant Communicationssupplier will offer enhancedpackages associated with newservices built on a server-based,presence-enabled contact list,and will charge premium feesfor providing on-demand voiceconferencing, instant voicemessages, voice chats, groupmessaging, interactive agents,and other voice, text, or multimodal(hybridized text andvoice) services.The greatest accidental successfor the European, Asian,and Latin American telcos hasbeen SMS messaging. Usersembraced the medium, andadoption far surpassedprovider expectations. Helpedby interoperability betweenoperators and a greater initialavailability than the Internet,the primary success of SMS isnevertheless based on the factthat it is an alternative and, attimes, more efficient way tocommunicate. Carriers reportthat an overwhelming proportionof SMS traffic (about 80%,according to one Europeanoperator) is dedicated to thisnew person-to-person communication.Similarly, more than 400 millionconsumers use presence,the customizable contact list,and personal chatting. The IMappearance in the workplaceindicates that IM is truly a successfuland adopted mode ofcommunication. InstantCommunications expands on38 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2www.WBT2.com WWW.SYS-CON.COM39

INDUSTRY INSIGHTII TM FT MS SE EW QoS 4G WIA MD EW MA 3G WF DJOwning the wholeinstant communicationstriumvirate –pipe, service,and customer –ensures greaterrevenues than beinga transmission agentcompeting on pricefor portal servicesIM’s attributes by integratingvoice services, expanding messagingacross all devices andcommunication networks, andopening the environment fornew features and customerfocusedservices.Owning the InstantCommunicationsCustomerWho will usher in this newworld of communication andbecome the focal point of thecommunications revolution?One possibility is that theInternet portals will lead thetransformation of IM towardInstant Communications byharnessing carriers as bit-pipeand dial tone providers. Theindustry has seen movement inthis direction to date, as severalcarriers have chosen to integrateportal instant messagingservices.While these partnershipsprovide little investment risk forthe carrier and large user accessibilitywith the established IMcommunities, this also limitsthe leveragability of the carriersand places them at a lowerposition in the revenue-generatingInstant Communicationsvalue chain. Furthermore, theportal retains ownership of thecustomer, so there is no switchingcost to the consumerbetween carriers. The portalsestablish customer loyalty andbecome the communicationsupplier, threatening the verycore of the carriers’ offering tothe end user.If the portal is the primarycommunication supplier, thecarrier is relegated to the role ofan exchangeable entity to theend user (consumer and business)– competing only onprice. For example, if an AOLIM (AIM) customer wants tohop between VoiceStream,AT&T Wireless, or VerizonWireless, there’s no impact onAOL, since they retain theirsubscriber, and the end users’communication community isportable.At risk is not only customerloyalty but also one of the mostvaluable assets for a carrier – itscustomer base. Without thisownership, the revenues associatedwith new services, entertainment,marketing promotions,and more will be forfeitedto the portals for all of theirservices. Additionally, it is thecustomer base that the leaguesof third-party developers covet.Carriers can, and should,own the Instant Communicationsmarket: the service, the customer,and the pipe. Carrierscan leverage their inherentstrengths in voice services:dependability, trust, service,quality, location information,and unrivaled access to theircustomers to become the centralizedcommunications suppliers.True, the portals currentlyhave a fragmented monopoly onInstant Messaging – but not onInstant Communications.Countless precedents illustratehow once-seeminglyinsurmountable market positionswere replaced by new,more valuable alternatives(turntables to CD players, rollerskates to roller blades, portableradios to the Walkman, hairdryersto blow-dryers). Already, theWireless Village consortium iscompleting the protocol, standardization,and open environmentthat will allow carriers toprovide unencumbered communicationto their hundredsof millions of customers – amuch larger customer base andcommunity than that found inthe portals’ walled gardens.Time, customer demand, orthe FCC will eventually bringdown the walls between the portalsthrough SIMPLE (SIP for IMin short) or Wireless Village. Ifthe carriers do not provide theirown Instant Communicationsalternative, end users will haveno choice but to remain loyalcustomers of the portals. Whilethere will always be a symbioticrelationship for contentbetween portals and carriers,customer ownership (loyaltyand the ability provide new revenuegenerating services) is atstake.Leveraging Strengthsin Turbulent TimesA convergence of factors –including communicationtrends, telco successes and failures,communication cannibalizationby the Web portals, thepost-boom economy, high debt,and the need for new revenuestreams – has presented amoment of truth for thetelecommunications industry.As carriers with dwindling capitalbudgets struggle to justifyexpenses for new endeavors,they need to ensure that thenew Instant Communicationsservices galvanize a core strategicpositioning, leveraging all oftheir current assets and buildingthe path for end users to theirnew infrastructure. By focusingon communications and buildingon their inherent advantages(voice, access, dependability,trust, etc.), carriers canbe the giants of InstantCommunications, creating therevenues that may help powerthem through turbulent times.Hopefully, tomorrow’s businessschool students will betaught how the telecommunicationsindustry, under duress,leveraged its inherent strengths,and in doing so, ushered in theevolutionary and revolutionaryinnovations of the early 21stcentury. The lessons wouldhighlight how carriers realizedthat in enabling and improvingcommunications, they own themost natural and powerfulgrowth engine.Owning the whole instantcommunications triumvirate –pipe, service, and customer –ensures greater revenues thanbeing a transmission agentcompeting on price for portalservices. The opportunity fortelcos is here; it is now up to thecarriers to determine how thecommunications revolutionunfolds and what their futurerole in shaping it will be.40 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2Don’t Delay!SubscribeforFREE!at www.sys-con.comFREE E-NewslettersSIGN UP TODAY!Go to www.SYS-CON.comThe most innovative products, new releases, interviews,industry developments, and plenty of solid i-technologynews can be found in SYS-CON Media’s Industry Newsletters.Targeted to meet your professional needs, each e-mail isinformative, insightful, and to the point. They’re free, and yoursubscription is just a mouse-click away at www.sys-con.com.SELECT THE INDUSTRY NEWSLETTERS THAT MATCH YOUR NEEDS!CHOOSE ONE – OR TRY THEM ALL!Exclusively from the World’s Leading i-Technology Publisher

MOBILE DATANextel Steps UpWireless BusinessSolutionsWITH JAVA APPLICATIONS GALORE,NEXTEL IS PROVIDING CONVERGENCETODAY, NOT TOMORROWbyDavid GeerDavid Geer, a journalist and computer technician,graduated from Lake Erie College in 1993 with aBA in psychology. He has worked in the computerindustry and in the media since 1998.@d@geercom.comNextel is building on its industrial voice servicesuccess with a broad professional data service thatfeatures 30 new J2ME applications, with 20 morein the works. Starting with several choice partnershipsand customers old and new, it is now set upto deliver tailored mobile data solutions.ApplicationsThe available applications bring more thanaccess to corporate databases, and e-mail andInternet access to the table. The various developerofferings provide a range of utilities from fleetmanagement services, such as GPS, to packageshipping automation that interfaces with currentpackage delivery systems. Whether a businesshas its own Java applications or any of the 30from Nextel or Nextel partners, they need todeploy and update them. Nextel’s WirelessBusiness Solutions include its Mobile ApplicationManager, which does just that.“Businesses end up with a collection of applications,but now they need to distribute thoseapplications to their end users,” says ErnieCormier, VP, Enterprise Solutions, NextelCommunications, Inc. “They need to maintainuser lists and applications.“Along with our partner Motorola and a partnercalled Fourthpass, we developed a hosted servicethat we deliver to our customers that gives them aplace to store those applications. We maintain distributionlists and make it easy for that list to begenerated. We populate it from our own database.“Then we give them a means to select a groupof applications and send that group to a list ofusers. You never have to tether your phone; younever have to connect it to a PC. This service[Mobile Application Manager] goes out over theair and downloads those applications into theuser’s phone,” he explains.Data Network As Good Asthe Apps That Cross ItThe iDEN network built by Nextel (licensedfrom Motorola) provides reliability and sufficientspeed for the new Java applications, which are, bynature, quick and light. The iDEN network, orIntegrated Digital Enhanced Network, is an alwaysonnetwork that accepts any applications or trafficthat the Internet or any other IP network does. “Itruns at up to 19.2Kbps. We have customers like ABF,FedEx, Airborne, and many others who are runningapplications on our network today that are missioncritical to their businesses” says Cormier.Device FriendlyAs logic would lead you to believe, this combinationof an IP network and J2ME applicationsdoes not limit you to just one device type.Nextel’s primary device is its phone (equippedwith Java for almost two years now, with 2 millionowners and counting). With Nextel’s iM1100type 2 card modem (PCMCIA), you can connectto the iDEN network with a laptop or handheld.Nextel’s BlackBerry device (see WBT v.2 n.3), dueout soon, also uses iDEN.“Developed with partners Research-In-Motionand Motorola, our BlackBerry device has everythingthat’s on a BlackBerry advanced e-maildevice plus everything that’s on a Nextel phone,including Direct Connect, which is our long-range,Walkie Talkie feature, plus Java”, says Cormier.Supportive IndeedBut Nextel isn’t serving up a bare-bones network,devices, and Java with a laissez-faireapproach. Rather, a full complement of maintenanceand support can be assumed. With a legacyof serving an 85% business customer base,Nextel has firsthand awareness of the necessarycomponents of delivering quality data and voicenetwork services for mission-critical businessinitiatives. “It’s all oriented around deliveringquality, necessary uptime, and managementcapability to our customers,” says Cormier.The Money Bodes WellDespite the accounting shenanigans othershave been caught in of late, slow and steadygrowth toward profitability is still a reliablebarometer of future success. “We had a great lastquarter. We were profitable for the first time. Wehave been able to consistently meet our numbers,”says Cormier.Scott Ellison, program director, Wireless andMobile Communications, IDC, agrees: “They’vemade their numbers; they’ve been doing quitewell from a financial…perspective.”How will Wireless Business Solutions affectNextel’s bottom line? “From an analyst perspectiveit should only help,” says Ellison.Nextel is making the most logical movetoward growth. By leveraging several consistentlygood quarters (which overall exceeded analystexpectations in terms of customer additions), itintends to successfully enter new markets, buildingon its strong foundation. Nextel has beenable to affirm and reaffirm its ability to deliver inthe face of record economic and technology sectorlows. By organizing its sales force around verticals,growing and enhancing the sales forceitself, attracting experts who can create new solutions,and developing top industry partnershipswhere appropriate (to be able to deliver what thecustomer needs), Nextel has positioned itself tomeet future numbers.Speaking of PartnersCurrent partners include SUN, Motorola, IBM,EDS, and RIM. Many more are expected in theweeks and months ahead. What’s interesting isNextel’s approach to collaborating. While assertingits strengths in its platform, and the numeroussolutions it will give birth to in just the nextyear alone, Nextel maintains and proffers an attitudethat it will seek and establish any number ofpartnerships to meet its customers demands forspecific solutions.Where they are not hardware providers fornew handhelds or laptops, or systems integratorsor software providers, they will find partners thatare the best names in the business. “It’s importantfor our potential customers to realize thatwe are probably the best of breed in the businessin that we can deliver the solution they need,each partner bringing its own strengths to thetable,” says Cormier.NEXTEL’S HELPING HAND – THE AAA STORYIndependent AAA (Automobile Association of America) clubs have been using Nextel phones andservices for some time. AAA has now developed D/2000, an internal computer-aided dispatch system,and is developing D2ME, which are J2ME data applications, as an extension of D/2000. Because theD/2000 platform uses the Internet protocol and J2ME firmware, AAA chose Nextel to complement thesystem with their new Wireless Business Solutions initiative.“Nextel’s network supports Internet protocol and it has several handsets that have J2ME firmware forthe data communications, and Direct Connect,” says Gary Ruark, Emergency Road Service NetworkCommunications Manager, AAA National Office.AAA and Nextel set up a preferred supplier agreement to provide AAA with all of Nextel’s services(optional to individual AAA clubs). By using Nextel phones with Java operating systems, the NextelMobile Application Manager and the Nextel data network, AAA can send D2ME applications to any oftheir phones to extend the new dispatch system to its clubs. AAA’s D2ME developers will continue towork closely with Nextel’s data technology team on the project.AAA predicts the new solution, aided by Nextel hardware, software, and services, should lower itscosts as compared to its current solution. As a bonus, AAA gets a mobile solution that attaches Nextelcommunications devices directly onto field personnel. Quicker communications are expected, whichwill speed service times. The new system is also expected to reduce call-center overhead.We had a great lastquarter.We wereprofitable for the firsttime.We have beenable to consistentlymeet our numbers– Ernie Cormier, NextelErnie CormierVice PresidentEnterprise SolutionsNextel Communications, Inc.MOBILE DATA42 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2www.WBT2.com43

FOCUS ON TECHNOLOGYBob Hendry is a freelance technology writer living in Wayne, IL. He alsoteaches wireless engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology.Visit www.sys-con.com for more informationPRODUCT REVIEWThe SamsungSPH-I300A digital convergence device thatcombines your PDA and cellphonereviewed by Bob HendryThe SPH-1300 is a powerful pocketful produced by Samsungand made available by Sprint. Bringing together the benefitsof both a PDA and a wireless phone, the SPH-1300 lets youconnect wirelessly to the Internet and check e-mail. Like any Palmdevice, it has easy text input, providing writing recognition, while aspeakerphone provides hands-free conversation. Other PDA featuresinclude an address book, scheduler, to-do list, memo pad,calculator, and clock. It is completely compatible with PalmOSbasedapplication software. It features a 256-color display and asmall top viewer for calling information such as caller ID, time androaming, and power indicator.UsabilityBeing a gadget guy, I’m always impressed by how many featurescan be packed into a product. What I sometimes forget is that mostpeople never use half of the capability of any device. Don’t believeme? Well, when was the last time you used the “sleep” feature onyour television? Enough said. With that in mind, I like to focus onthe basic usability of a product.Without prior experience I was able to quickly master virtuallyall the facets of this full-featured device. This bodes well for thoseof us who also hate to wade through product documentation. Thatis, you’ll probably need very little access to the manual (which isincluded only on a CD).I did, however, find one significant usability problem. Whiletalking on the phone it is possible to hang up on someone becausesome portion of your face is always touching the “End” softkey. Inturn, my wife noted that it is “easy to get makeup on the screen.”I’m glad it was hers.PhoneThe Samsung 1300 Palm phone makes it easy to dial a numberwithout using the stylus, and it can store up to 20 names for voicedialing. The large keys on the phone keypad screen are easy to useand impressively accurate, especially for a touch-screen interface.The four shortcut buttons on the phone also make it easy to accessyour favorite Palm applications without the stylus. A display atopthe phone shows caller ID, power, signal strength, voice-mail status,date and time, and the PDA/dial-pad screen.ScreenThe screen, while not as stunning as that of the Visor Prism, stillbeats the socks off monochrome screens for extended use. Colormakes the small screen feel larger and more usable. Unfortunately,the bright backlit feature needed for color is not dimmable, so batterylife is difficult to extend.Web BrowsingAlthough functionally limited, the Sprint Web WAP browser ispreinstalled, and easy to use. The browser does not have many features,and displays only up to 12 lines of text. Sprint has this browseron other Samsung phones I have tested, and really does not dojustice when a large color display is available – like here. TheBlazer browser (by Handspring) is included, and should be usedover the one provided by Sprint.In any case, the maximum connection speed is 14.4Kbps, sofull-blown Web browsing is really a pipe dream. If a page is notoptimized for wireless devices, pages load painfully slow – up tofive minutes per page. And remember the time you spend surfing isdeducted from your voice minutes. Surfing to sites that are optimizedfor wireless devices is your only real option.Other features include sending an AOL Instant Message, a shortmail, a Sprint PCS mail, chat, or Juno or Yahoo mail. If you’re intochatting, Sprint has a number of chat rooms that you can visit. Inany case, remember that you do not have a traditional keyboard.So any message you type will be short.Hone up on your graffiti because the 1300 does not have apopup keyboard like most other Palm devices. I usually send prewrittenmessages like “I am on my wireless devices. I will contactyou later,” which, of course, is incredibly useful information. I startedto wonder why anyone would spend a great length of timescrawling a long message to someone when they had a phone intheir hand. I guess that’s progress.E-MailIf your primary Internet connection is now broadband asopposed to dial-up, you may discover, as I did, that you’re a bit atsea for wireless e-mail with the 1300. This is because althoughSprint does include Internet connectivity with most plans, they donot support POP3 or SMTP e-mail protocol, or act as an ISP as faras e-mail support is concerned.I used the browser that wasincluded (a branded version ofHandspring’s Blazer) to sendand retrieve e-mail throughSMTP/POP3 Web accounts; thiswas a bit tedious, especially formultiple accounts. I was sendingand receiving e-mail inabout an hour.BatteryBattery life usually isn’tgreat with convergence—continued on page 54bobh@envisionsoft.comCompany Info:Samsung Japan Headquarters2-31-1, Nihonbashi-Hamacho,Chuo-Ku,Tokyo 103-8488, JapanPhone: 81-3-5641-9812E-mail: oyayoi@samsung.co.jpOS provided: Palm 3.5Processor: Motorola DragonBallVZ MC68VZ328 33 MHzDisplay/color: 8-bit (256 colors)Max resolution: 160x240Talk time: Up to 4 hoursIdle time: About 100 hoursInternet speed: 14K44 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2Web Services Edge 2003THE NEXTFRONTIER:BEYOND THE FIREWALLOWNED BYPRODUCED BYO C T O B E R 2 0 0 2Focus on Web ServicesCompanies that get an early jump on Web Services will be winners in today’s challenging landscape.Get ready to take your early pilot projects to the next level!Focus on Java, XML, and .NETHear from the leading minds in Java how this essential technology offers robust solutions to i-technology.Make the right choices. Explore the evolving world of standards, interoperability, application integration, security,and more as you build a collaborative enterprise.Focus on the Knowledge You NeedImmerse yourself in information-packed conference sessions. Meet today’s i-technology leaders,and gather resources in an action-packed Expo!Boston03New YorkThe Largest LondonWeb Services,BerlinJava, XML, and .NETConference and Expo! Hong KongCall for Papers OpensOctober 15, 2002201 802-3069www.WBT2.com45

EVERYDAY WIRELESSbyAndy RodenhiserAndy Rodenhiser is founder and owner ofRodenhiser Heating and Plumbing, in Holliston,Massachusetts. Rodenhiser was the recipient of the2001 Excellence Alliance award, an industry awardfor exemplary customer service.@arody@earthlink.comFleet ServiceManagement SolutionPays Off Bigfor Plumbing CompanyA SMALL-BUSINESS OWNER TELLS HOW MOBILE APPLICATIONSWILL SAVE HIM $750,000 IN THE FIRST YEAR OF OPERATIONSManaging a fleet of service technicians can bea challenging task. But with the help of reliabletechnology and recent innovations in wirelesscommunications, I’ve learned that everydayprocesses can be refined and improved to eliminatecertain inefficiencies.As the owner of Rodenhiser Plumbingand Heating, I faced the problems ofstaying connected to my service techniciansand maximizing their productivityin the field. For years, we used acombination of scheduling software,paperwork, two-way radios, and cellphones tomanage our 17 plumbing and HVAC technicians.Beyond that, we had a significant problemgetting technicians to turn in their paperwork ontime and accurately, an issue that affected thewhole system – from billing to keeping customerrecords updated for future jobs. As a result, timeand money was wasted due to paperwork overloadand inefficient communications, and customerservice sometimes suffered when myworkers arrived at jobs without sufficient customerbackground information.Fed up with lost documents, broken cellphonesignals, and files upon files of paper fillingour office, I began searching for a mobile solution.I knew that mobile productivity softwareand a wireless system could provide a better wayof managing our fleet.Selecting an Effective WirelessSolutionThere were several things we looked for duringour search and evaluation of a wireless solution,starting with finding the right software. Ihad been looking for a number of years but hadn’tfound a solution that made sense for my business.We wanted something that could be easilycustomized to fit our current business processesand workflow, as well as provide the flexibility tochange with our evolving business needs. Thiswas especially important to us because of ourprotocol of interviewing customers after jobs arecompleted – what we call “total quality management”assessments – and then making necessaryadjustments to our processes.It was also imperative that the software benetwork independent, so that as different wirelessnetworks make upgrades and pricingchanges, we have the freedom and flexibility tochange service providers.Gearworks and its flagship etrace applicationended up providing the perfect solution. etraceconsists of a wireless application that runs onstandard handheld devices, a Web-based systemthat provides dispatchers with a centralized dataand communication tool, and a real-time connectionback to enterprise systems. We selectedetrace in large part because of its strong featureset and adaptability.In addition, we wanted handhelds that wouldbe rugged and durable enough for technicians –devices that wouldn’t break if dropped or throwninto the back of a truck. Through consultationwith Gearworks, we selected SymbolTechnologies’ wireless 2833. The devices run theindustry-standard Pocket PC operating system,and connect to Global Positioning System (GPS)receivers from Garmin International Inc. whenresting in the vehicle cradle between servicestops. The Symbol handheld has a built-in wirelessmodem and operates on a Verizon Wirelesscellular digital packet data (CDPD) network.Another important factor was selecting a systemthat could talk to our back-end software soour technicians would be able to communicatewith our customer service representatives at theoffice. We have been running software from KRSEnterprises, Inc., developed specifically for theplumbing and HVAC industry. It allows customerservice representatives to easily accesscustomer records, and with etrace configured toexchange information with the KRS system, wewere set.Ensuring a SmoothImplementationLike most companies facing a technologyimplementation, we had a clear vision of how wewanted it to go – as quickly and painlessly aspossible. As a starting point, we mapped out ourbusiness processes for Gearworks to ensure thewireless system minimized data entry for ourtechnicians. etrace’s flexibility enabled us toquickly configure forms within the application toalign with our workflow.Our up-front planning and the software’sadaptability were key to quickly getting the projectoff the ground and enabling us to customizethe entire wireless system to meet our specificneeds. Moving forward, this adaptability willallow us to easily make updates and changeswhen needed.Gearworks completed the implementationwithin only a few weeks, and after installing cradlesfor the units in our trucks, the wireless solutionwas quickly rolled out to our service teamleaders.How Our Workers Use WirelessUsing the wireless solution, my techniciansare able to easily complete a variety of businesstransactions on their handheld devices while visitingcustomer sites. In addition to viewing theirdaily schedules and receiving update alerts forunscheduled customer visits, our technicians canaccess updated and accurate customer informationat the touch of a button, arming them withall of the repair records they need before arrivingat a customer site. It was important to me thatwe found a solution with a simple and intuitiveinterface because if my service techs don’t find iteasy, they won’t use it.On the way to new locations, technicians utilizeetrace’s GPS-driven point-to-point drivingdirections, eliminating their past dependency oncumbersome map books. The GPS system alsoprovides fleet-mapping capabilities for my dispatchers,so when a customer is waiting on atechnician’s call, a customer service representativecan pinpoint the exact location of the technicianand provide an estimated time of arrival.With etrace connecting the handhelds to ourback-end software, our customer service representativescan access customer records in theKRS system, then use the solution’s mappingcapabilities to instantly find the nearest technicianand communicate what parts and servicesare needed. The information – including customeraddress, past records, and services needed– is automatically updated in the technicians’handheld devices.After jobs are completed, the solution allowsmy technicians to securely and automaticallyupload all repair and billing information to backofficesystems, ensuring that clear and accuraterecords for each customer are saved. We are thenable to match all customer payments with thedigital information gathered by technicians. Inthe near future, we plan to institute credit cardswiping capabilities and printing with the solution,so my technicians will be able to providereceipts to customers on site in real time.Benefits of Going MobileThe benefits of implementing a wireless solutionhave been significant. In addition toimproved customer service and a reduction inpaperwork, the system is on track to save us$750,000 in its first year of operation. By electronicallyupdating, storing, and providing technicianseasy access to customer records, thesolution has enabled us to lower the number ofcustomer call-backs.For example, our technicians are now armedwith customer background that shows what partshave been changed in the past, allowing them toprovide better quality to customers the first timeout. Instead of multiple attempts at fixing theproblem, our customers are satisfied faster.In addition, the software’s ability to transmitall customer and billing information electronicallyto my enterprise systems has eliminated timeintensivepaperwork and allowed my techniciansto complete more jobs throughout the day. Wehave reduced our time spent on each service callby 20–30 minutes by simply eliminating thepaperwork associated with each job – an efficiencythat is helping us increase sales.Finally, and maybe most important, our techniciansare really excited about this new way ofdoing things. They like working for a companythat is taking advantage of leading edge technology,and in turn, they feel more professional.That attitude translates directly into better customerservice.FIELD-WORKERMOBILIZATION TIPSHere are the features I recommendto look for whenselecting a wireless solutionfor field-workers:• Intuitive and easy to usefor field techs• Easily configurable software• Network-agnostic solution• Durable, ruggedized handhelds• Real-time connection toback-end systems—Andy Rodenhiser1 A Rodenhiser field-servicetechnician uses etrace toobtain instant customerinformationEVERYDAY WIRELESS46 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2www.WBT2.com47

3GIs 3G-TDDthe Future of the Wireless LAN?TIME DIVISION DUPLEXING OFFERS LONG-TERM ADVANTAGES FOR OPERATORS AND USERSbyDr. PrabhakarChitrapuPrabhakar Chitrapu, PhD, is principal engineer atInterDigital Communications Corp. He is also anadjunct professor at Villanova and Drexel Universities,where he teaches courses on wirelesscommunications, signal processing, andcommunication networks. Prabhakar receivedhis B.Tech. from IIT, Madras, India, an MS fromPhilips International Institute, Eindhoven, theNetherlands, and a PhD from Delft University,Delft, the Netherlands.@prabhakar.chitrapu@interdigital.comTDD technology is rapidly evolving as wirelessdata services become more popular and thepricing models less expensive and less confusing.Born in the mobile telecom arena, TDD is stillin development, but is considered to be a viableoption to WLANs for public hotspot high-speeddata applications.Consumer and business demand formobile data services and applicationshas emerged as a primary driver in thenext generation (3G) of wireless communications.In the current bridgingperiod between 3G and existing services,several technology alternatives are beingdeployed to address short-term demands fordata-centric communications, including wirelessLANs.The next phase of growth for WLANs – and themost lucrative – will be in the public domain.Whether in an airport, shopping mall, or coffeeshop, anyone with a device equipped with awireless LAN card will soon be able to access theInternet. Analysys Research in its report, “PublicWireless LAN Access: U.S. Market Forecasts2002–2007,” predicts that more than 21 millionAmericans will be using public wireless LANs in2007. It also forecasts an increase in the numberof hotspot locations, from 3,700 this year to41,000 by 2007. Similarly, Cahners-Instat Groupforecasts that the industry will grow from $1.1billion in 2000 to $5.2 billion by 2005.With significant growth predicted into thefuture, it’s no surprise that many serviceproviders/network operators are closely watchingthe public wireless hotspot market. Beforeany decisions are made on what technology todeploy to capitalize on this rapidly growing sector,operators should be careful to evaluate allpotential solutions. One option receiving considerableinterest as an alternative to computercentricWLAN technology is 3G-TDD (TimeDivision Duplexing) technology, a solution bornin the mobile telecom arena.The Basics of 3G-TDDTwo-way communication systems requireseparate channels – one for each direction oftraffic. Creating these directional channels in thisfashion is called duplexing. Frequency DivisionDuplexing (FDD) separates the channels intoseparate frequencies; Time Division Duplexing(TDD) separates the channels in time.Consequently, FDD requires paired spectrum,whereas TDD requires unpaired spectrum.Both FDD and TDD have been standardizedas third-generation or 3G mobile communicationstandards under the auspices of 3GPP (3rdGeneration Partnership Program), an interna-tional partnership of standards development organizations. ManyEuropean and Asian operators have acquired 3G spectrum, whichincludes both paired FDD and unpaired TDD bands. Generally, thepaired FDD spectrum is planned for providing wide area coverageand, in most cases, the unpaired TDD spectrum, a revenue-generatingasset, has not yet been leveraged.Comparing WLANs and 3G-TDDSo what characteristics make 3G-TDD a viable alternative toWLANs for public hotspot high-speed data applications? Let’s compareand contrast 3G-TDD with WLANs in the key areas of primaryconcern to service providers/network operators and end users:SPECTRUMWLANs operate in the unlicensed spectrum. As a result, otherproducts that transmit energy in the same frequency range – such as aBluetooth-enabled device – can potentially cause some degree ofinterference. This often has a detrimental effect on performance andthe user experience. In contrast, 3G-TDD is designed to operate in thelicensed spectrum, which is a controlled environment where operatorscan guarantee a certain level of service.The downside of course is that the availability of licensed spectrumis limited. However, as mentioned previously, many providersthat have purchased 3G licenses already possess paired (FDD) andunpaired (TDD) bands.MOBILITYComputer-centric WLANs offer “islands” of coverage. Problemscan arise when the user moves from one “island” to another. Whileindustry bodies are working to address the hand-off issue betweenthese “islands,” there is currently no standardized solution toenable comprehensive service roaming without any degradation inperformance.Coming from the mobile telecom environment, 3G-TDD hasbeen designed from the outset to accommodate the needs of themobile user through standards-based handoffs and tight synchronizationwith 3G-FDD. The synergistic relationship between thewide coverage area provided by 3G-FDD and the hotspot coverageof 3G-TDD provides a key advantage. Due to the seamless handoffsthat are possible between 3G-TDD and 3G-FDD systems, a userthat leaves a 3G-TDD coverage area and enters a 3G-FDD coveragearea will not experience any interruption in service, althoughthroughput will be reduced.NETWORK INTEGRATIONIn the public access arena, network integration is a fundamentalrequirement. To provide public access to a WLAN, the variousislands of coverage have to be tightly integrated into a back-endnetwork for common authentication, billing, and other basic functions.Another key driver for integration is the ability to provideseamless access to “always on” position-based multimedia services.While industry bodies are currently defining an industry standardfor integrating WLANs into the core network, it does not existtoday. In contrast, 3G-TDD, due in part to its mobile telecom heritage,has been designed from the outset to be tightly integratedwith a much larger core network. Indeed, this is part of the original3G-TDD specification. 3G-TDD can be used not only in conjunctionwith 3G-FDD, but also as a standalone technology to provideDSL-like service.MULTIMEDIA CAPABILITIESAs an IP-based, computer-centric solution, WLANs are optimizedfor data services, not real-time services such as voice. Workis progressing to address this by adding a radio resource managementsystem. In contrast, 3G-TDD has been designed to deliverboth voice and data dynamically. By establishing simultaneous circuit-switchedand packet-switched connections over the air interface,a user could talk and surf the Web at the same time with thesame device.Due to its mobile telephony heritage, 3G-TDD can also provideaccess to a wide range of high-revenue (for the service provider)and high-value (for the user) data-intensive services such as multimediamessaging services (MMS), synchronization of personal digitalassistants (PDAs), Internet chat, as well as picture, video, andmusic downloads. In addition, 3G-TDD can also provide continuousaccess to location-based services. Delivering these types ofservices is a much more difficult proposition for IP-based WLANsolutions.SECURITYIt is widely known that the current WLAN technology is far fromsecure – not only for demanding m-commerce applications, butalso for simple privacy of user data. In fact the common practicetoday is to disable the inbuilt WLAN security feature and relyentirely on application-level methods to ensure security. Whilestandardizations are currently under way to fix and improve WLANsecurity, industry acceptance and product availability will takemore time. 3G-TDD provides a high level of security to users aswell as network operators with proven techniques that have beenused in GSM systems all over the world.POWER CONSUMPTIONThe power requirements for WLAN devices are high per individualdevice, often reaching 100 milliwatts. This can be attributed totheir roots in a corporate computer-based environment wherepower restrictions were not an issue. Because 3G-TDD wasdesigned to be deployed in mobile handheld devices, great carewas taken to optimize power consumption. To reduce power consumption,3G-TDD devices can leverage “idle mode” or “sleepmode.” Currently, WLAN PCMCIA cards do not offer this option inan optimal standardized way.SCALABILITYAs a consequence of their limited mobility, WLANs are not particularlyscalable. As more and more cells are added, handoffsbecome an issue. And as more and more users are added, performance(throughput) is compromised. By comparison, 3G-TDD isvery scalable and delivers consistent performance over a widerange of coverage scenarios: in building (pico cell), urban (microcell), and suburban (macro cell, when used in conjunction with3G-FDD) settings.QUALITY OF SERVICE (QoS)QoS is determined by the consistency of the user experienceand throughput. The user experience with WLANs can bedescribed as unpredictable, especially when an individual movesin and out of coverage areas. In doing so, the user will see a significantshift in service quality and throughput, depending on the distancefrom the access point. As a result, it is virtually impossiblefor service operators to provide QoS guarantees.Because of the inherent power control of 3G-TDD and intelligencethat will be built into 3G-TDD devices, performance andthe user experience will not vary. As part of its standard, 3G-TDDincludes continuous and real-time data rate services overreserved connections. This enables service operators to guaranteeQoS.3G48 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2www.WBT2.com49

3GPERFORMANCE AND THE USER EXPERIENCEWLAN3G-TDDRange 70-100 meters 1-3 kilometersTheoretical Throughput Max. 5Mbps using Max. 2Mbps using20MHz bandwidth5MHz bandwidthReal-Life Throughput Rapid linear decline over Slow gradual decline overrange with aggregate users range with aggregate users1 A direct comparison of theoretical and real-life throughput for WLANs and 3G-TDD.TDD can deliver continuity of user experience and consistent QoS.CHARACTERISTIC WLAN 3G-TDDSpectrum Unlicensed LicensedMobilityDesigned for single smallcells for very low mobilityand nomadic useDesigned for fullyscalable,high-mobility networks withseamless roaming and QoSNetwork Integration Ad-hoc network Integrated with the coreextensionnetwork for profile management,authentication, billing, etc.Multimedia Data optimized, Dynamically supportsCapabilities less efficient for voice voice and dataSecurityLimitedHighProduct Cost Low, add-on to Lower, integrated withmultimode terminalsmultimode terminalsPower Consumption High LowScalabilityLimitedHighQuality of Service Uncontrolled ControlledAvailabilityNowUnder development2 3G-TDD’s fundamental attributes create significant advantages for wireless networkoperators, equipment manufacturers, and application developers.An argument often made against 3G-TDDconcerns the significant data rates associatedwith WLANs. At first glance, the WLAN peak datarate of 11Mbs/second (based on the 802.11bstandard) is significantly faster than the2Mbs/second maximum offered by 3G-TDD.However, these numbers bear further analysis.The WLAN signals occupy approximately fourtimes more bandwidth (20MHz) than 3G-TDDsignals(5MHz). So ideally, in 20MHz, 3G-TDDcan support 4x2=8Mbps compared to 11Mbps.Once the user moves away from the accesspoint, the WLAN data rates are lowered to 5.5 and2Mbps, with 2Mbps being typical at around 200feet. In contrast, the 3G-TDD data rates are notlowered, but maintained irrespective of the userlocation in the cell due to power control. In otherwords, in the same 20MHz bandwidth, at cellboundaries, WLANs support 2Mbps whereas 3G-TDD supports the full 4x2=8 Mbps!The actual data rates experienced by the WLANusers (referred to as throughput) are even lower dueto three reasons: signaling/overhead bits, idle guardtimes, and collisions between data from multipleusers. To illustrate these points, the 11Mbps datarate supported at locations close to the WLANaccess points decreases to 6Mbps for one user, andto 2.5Mbps for 50 users (shared!). At the WLAN cellboundary, these rates fall to 2Mbps and 1Mbpsrespectively. In 3G-TDD, the stated data rates arenot decreased because signaling/overhead bits andidle guard times are already taken into account andbecause data from multiple users is multiplexed insuch a way that there will never be collisions. Figure1 depicts these ideas.AVAILABILITYWLANs are available now, while 3G-TDD isstill under development. However, solutions formany of the shortfalls of WLANs are also currentlyunder development. Technology trials for 3G-TDD systems should be under way in the secondhalf of 2003. 3G-TDD – because it has beendesigned from the ground up to operate in amobile environment – has the potential to providea more future-proof solution than WLANs.PRODUCT COSTIt is clear that 3G-TDD will be less expensiveand cleaner to integrate into a multimode handsetbecause of the high degree of harmonizationbetween 3G-FDD and 3G-TDD. For example,radios, bandwidths and, most important, the protocolstack, can all be shared between 3G-FDD and3G-TDD. Providing add-on multimode capabilitiesfor WLAN devices will be more cumbersome due tothe many disparate elements required. While technicallyfeasible, in the cutthroat business of providinglow-cost terminals, this could be important.ConclusionFor operators currently evaluating WLANs orwatching the public hotspot high-speed datamarket, 3G-TDD is clearly a future-proofed solutionthat is gaining recognition. Its mobile telecomheritage may in fact be superior for manyapplications in the emerging 3G wireless environment.Because billing, authentication, location-basedservices, and other valuable featuresare built into the 3G specification that 3G-TDDleverages and is built on, it has the potential togrow into a ubiquitous service that has long-termfinancial and operational advantages for serviceoperators and users alike.50 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2$195FOR SYS-CONSUBSCRIBERSBEST EDUCATIONAL VALUEOF THE YEAR!TO REGISTER: www.sys-con.com or Call 201 802-3069Take Your Careerto the Next Level!“““SHARPEN YOURPROFESSIONAL SKILLS.KEEP UP WITH THETECHNOLOGYEVOLUTION!Presented an excellent overview of Webservices. Great inside knowledge of both thenew and old protocols. Great insight into thecode piece.”– Rodrigo FrontecillaVery articulate on the Web services SOAP topicand well-prepared for many questions. I'velearned a lot from this seminar and Iappreciate this seminar for my job. 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MOBILE APPSII TM FT MS SE EW QoS 4G WIA MD EW MA 3G WF DJIN THENEXTbyRob VeitchRob Veitch is director of business development foriAnywhere Solutions, Inc., a subsidiary of Sybase,Inc. iAnywhere Solutions is a leading provider ofmobile and wireless e-business (m-business)products and services that extend the reach ofenterprise information to anywhere businesstransactions occur.@veitch@ianywhere.comThe Truth About Mobileand Wireless ComputingHow to implement the right solution for your companyThere’s a lot of talk today about the potential of mobile andwireless technology. Somewhere between the hype and the naysayinglies the truth. While you cannot yet watch a movie on yourmobile phone, many companies are harnessing the power of mobiletechnology to reap significant rewards. Don’t let the mobile applicationrevolution pass you by.you probably neverbelieved the hype tobegin with, but arealistic appraisal of thestrengths of mobile technologywill likely surprise even a skeptic.And once the limitations arehonestly addressed, the realpossibilities of mobile technologyare more apparent.Uncertainty in the face ofrevolutionary enterprise computingtechnology is not withoutprecedent. Over the lastdecade, desktop applicationsfor customer relationship management,enterprise resourceplanning, and supply-chainmanagement brought about arevolution in corporate productivityby distributing key enterpriseinformation throughoutan entire organization. This revolutionsaw its share of hypeand naysaying, but its truepotential is now standard businesspractice. The goal of newmobile and wireless technologiesis both to extend thesegains to workers who cannotaccess a desktop computer, aswell as to develop entirely newapplications not previouslypossible.The real question is notwhether mobile and wirelesstechnology can increase workerproductivity, but rather how todesign and implement the rightsolution for your organization.The optimal combination ofdevice, network, and applicationdesign will make or breakyour mobile implementation.Following are four guidelines tokeep in mind when your organizationis interested in developingand deploying successfulmobile and wireless solutions:1. Think Mobile – NotNecessarily WirelessDon’t confuse mobile withwireless. A mobile solutionextends enterprise informationto workers who do not haveaccess to a desktop computer,while wireless technology issimply one of many methods ofdata transmission. It is true thatbetter wireless technology isstill to come – faster transmissionof larger data files over abroader geographic area – but itis important to recognize itsopportunities as well as its limitationsin your up-front applicationdevelopment planning.• Leverage an “always available”model. Given thatworkers need to be productiveanywhere, anytime –even when a wired or wirelessnetwork is unavailable –it is critical to develop yourapplication on an alwaysavailablemodel. This architectureleverages local datastorage so that workers canaccess important informationoffline and synchronizewhen convenient or whenthe network is available. Thismodel increases battery lifeand application performance,while saving on connectioncosts.• Weigh the costs and benefitsof real-time access.Depending on your users’needs for timely data collectionand retrieval, continuouswireless connectivitymight not be required at all.While a financial tradingapplication likely wouldrequire real-time wirelessaccess, most applicationssuch as sales and field-forceautomation don’t require aninstant exchange of information.Hourly updates or evennightly updates througheither a wireless connectionor wireline option, such as adocked PDA, would be sufficient.For example, Jose Cuervowanted to leverage mobiletechnology to gain moretimely competitive informationfrom market researchersvisiting sales locations. Afteranalyzing the type of infor-mation that would be gathered,the executives decidedthat a nightly synchronizationusing a docking stationwould provide market analystsplenty of time to reviewthe data. By architecting asolution that fits their organization’sexact needs, JoseCuervo has saved on connectioncosts and increasedapplication performanceand battery life while enjoyinga 30% increase in sales.• Don’t get caught “waiting for3G.” The truth is that widespreadrollout of the muchhyped 3G wireless network isstill years away.Even if it were availabletoday, the same challengesfor wireless mobile computingwould remain: bandwidthconstraints, unreliablecoverage, high cost, and thepresence of numerous competingnetwork standardswith varying coverage areas,costs, and business viability.Your organization can besuccessful today by developingalways-available mobileapplications that balance thebenefits and limitations ofcurrent mobile technology.2. Match the Device tothe ApplicationA number of mobile hardwarevendors offer a range ofdevices that are suited to differentuses. There are laptops,PDAs, bar-code scanners,point-of-sale devices, wearablecomputers, and smart phonesavailable with specific capabilitiesand varying degrees of networkconnectivity and water orimpact resistance. Buy the rightdevice and you will improveproductivity with a low totalcost of ownership (TCO); buythe wrong device and constantrepairs, user frustration, andpoor ROI could be the result.• Choose the right device forthe job. For example, deliverydrivers for MillstoneCoffee, a division of Procterand Gamble, use specializedhandhelds to enter relativelysimple inventory and salesinformation, saving twohours per day, per driver.Mobile representatives ofForemost Insurance Group,on the other hand, use thelarger screens and memorycapacity of laptops to runmore sophisticated sales andmarketing applications, savingthe company $1.2 millionin the first year ofdeployment.• Tough jobs require toughdevices. Where and how youremployees work will alsodetermine the type of deviceyou need. If they work outdoors,in a lab, or in a restaurant,chances are the devicewill get dropped andsplashed with liquids. Payingmore for a rugged device willreduce your TCO by decreasingdevice malfunctions,downtime, and support costs.• Evaluate wireless roamingcapabilities. Most mobiledevices are designed to supportonly one wireless networkingstandard or wirelesscarrier, and require add-onhardware to do so. This is animportant consideration formany companies, especiallywhen field workers such asdelivery personnel travelwidely, crossing multiplepublic wireless networks.• Stay powered up. Battery lifefor most mobile devices isbarely as long as the averageworkday – much less if amodem is attached and constantlyin use. Look for waysto maximize battery life,such as by not maintaining acontinuous connection to awireless network.3. Understand YourGoals to MaximizeROIThe decision to create amobile application for yourISSUE OF WBT...MasterCard International’sof Wireless SecuritySecretsMasterCard, the leader in creative secure wirelessapplications, has focused on developing secure wirelesspayment solutions that are open and globallyinteroperable. Here’s what they’ve come up with.How to Choosea Mobile Middleware SolutionOften the “forgotten component,” the middlewareplatform is essential to connecting users tocritical back-end applications. Find out how toselect that “critical link.”Wireless Threats:Hype or Reality?Next-generation Internet-enabled phones will beprone to malicious viruses and code. However,design methodologies can be implemented toensure wireless communications security.Increasing Employee ProductivityThrough theMobile ChannelThe demand for mobile business really lies inincreasing the productivity of mobile workers.Here’s how mobile application technology canbest be applied in vertical markets.Bringing IPto Public Safety CommunicationsInteroperability is a considerable concern forpublic safety agencies, but integrating IP-basedtechnology will maximize workers’ capabilitiesand effectiveness.Interactive TV:The Next Big App?Wireless is becoming an increasingly importantplatform for television networks as they searchfor new, innovative advertising models. Learnmore about this truly revolutionary technology.Plus...an exclusive interviewwith the principals of an emergingWi-Fi infrastructure companyFOCUS: WIRELESS INTERNET52 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2www.WBT2.com 53

MOBILE APPSorganization usually comesfrom a desire to cut costs orincrease revenue by eliminatingslow, error-prone paper-basedmethods. Each organizationmeasures success by its ownstandards, making it essentialto map out specific cost savingsand productivity goals beforebeginning development.• Measure twice, cut once. Animportant factor for achievinga healthy ROI is deploymenttime. Upfront planningwill avoid serious problemsafter deployment. However,it’s important to select vendorsthat have a long historyof successful, on-timedeployments since the projectcost increases with everyadditional day of planning.• Get the most out of currentinvestments. In order to preserveyour existing investmentin IT infrastructure,including servers, databases,legacy systems, and even disparatemobile devices, youneed a flexible solution thatwill provide seamless connectivityfrom back-end systemsto your people in the field.4. Think About theBig PictureThe right mix of technologyand industry expertise can helpyour company overcome thechallenges of mobile and wirelesscomputing, and realize thecompelling benefits. Find anII TM FT MS SE EW QoS 4G WIA MD EW MA 3G WF DJexperienced vendor who cansupport you with expertise andflexible technologies, servingyour needs before, during, andafter deployment.• Plan for the future. Themobile application youdeploy today may not be thesame application you willneed tomorrow. Because youexpect your business to growand new technologies toemerge, your mobile applicationshould be built on anopen platform that canincorporate new technologiesand functionality. Askvendors for references andsee how well they understandthe market. Choosinga vendor with no trackrecord or a technology platformthat only works with anarrow set of standards mayleave you with an applicationthat is obsolete only ashort time after it isdeployed.• Security is number one.Wireless communicationsinvolve the transmission ofpotentially sensitive information,making security animportant concern fororganizations. The first stepin data security is ensuringthat all mobile users connectingto the enterpriseserver are successfully andcorrectly authenticated.Second, the communicationline between the device andPRODUCT REVIEW —continued from page 44devices, and the Samsung phone is no exception. The standard batterygives you about three-and-a-half hours of talk time or five days ofstandby. An extended battery, to be sold by third-party vendors,stretches that to five hours of talk time.The phone itself does not take too much power. The real drain isthe Web and the backlit color display. Two batteries and a dual-charger/cradleare included, but you’ll find that size is something of a tradeoffsince it is possible to exhaust both of the slim batteries in a single,long business day.DrawbacksAlthough it is the best of its class now, it is neither ready norupgradable for the coming 3G networks. Nor is it expandable in termsthe server should beencrypted, and finally, thedata located on the devicemust be protected.As application and systemconfiguration issues areamong the most commoncauses of security breaches,use centralized managementsoftware to enforce applicationand system configurationsettings to comply withyour corporate security standards.Centralized managementsoftware should alsoenable you to schedule andpush out new operating systemand anti-virus updates.• Allow for growth. Widelydeployed wireless solutionsshould be built on a platformthat can scale to handlehigh volumes of simultaneoususers. Since multipleusers will be independentlyediting the same data ontheir devices while not connectedto the enterprise,update conflicts must beresolved by the server-sidecomponent of the application.Employ robust synchronizationsoftware withsophisticated conflict resolutionthat can ensure consistencyof data throughoutyour organization.• Stay in control. For overall ITadministration of mobileapplications and devices,you can simplify deploymentand support, as well as savecosts, by adopting a centralizedmanagement strategy.Leverage automated centralsoftware distribution to saveyour users the time andcomplication of having todownload their own files.In addition, centralizedinventory and asset managementis a must for your ITadministrators to understandwhat hardware andsoftware is installed and currentlydeployed to virtualworkgroups – for example, toensure compliance with thenumber of seat licensesyou’ve purchased for a givenapplication.The Bottom LineWhile many organizations willstart small with pilot projects, thebenefits of mobile and wirelessapplications on worker productivity,customer service, and operationalefficiency can be significant,and can scale up dramaticallyas more workers and applicationsare mobilized. Whetheryour plan is to mobilize five usersor thousands, the key point is notto let the mobile application revolutionpass you by.As you develop mobileapplications, it is important towork with solution providerswho have the vision, leadingtechnology, and customer experienceto be a trusted advisorthroughout your developmentand deployment process.of memory or additional hardware. The 1300 will remain a 2G phonelimiting your data rate to today’s paltry 14.4Kbps, and denying you the24/7 connectivity and other benefits designed into 3G. With 3G duein most metro areas as early as this year, this will be a point worthconsidering for anyone who plans to use the Web features.Final CommentsOverall I found the 1300 to be the most usable implementationof a Palm OS phone to date. Its slim, lightweight, compact design,color screen, and well-thought out extras reflect thoughtful andimaginative engineering. If you’re looking for a digital convergencedevice that will combine your PDA and cellphone, you’vefound it.General Conditions: • The Publisher reserves the right to refuse any advertising not meeting the standards that are set to protect the high editorial quality of Wireless Business & Technology. All advertising is subject to approval by the Publisher. • The Publisher assumes no liability for any costs or damages incurred if for any reason the Publisher fails to publish an advertisement. In no event shall the Publisher be liable for any costs or damages in excess of the cost of the advertisement as aresult of a mistake in the advertisement or for any other reason.• The Advertiser is fully responsible for all financial liability and terms of the contract executed by the agents or agencies who are acting on behalf of the Advertiser.• Conditions set in this document (except the rates) are subject to change by the Publisher without notice. 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WIRELESS FUTURESII TM FT MS SE EW QoS 4G WIA MD EW MA 3G WF DJbyMichael E. SajorMichael Sajor is vice president of business developmentfor Kirusa, responsible for building partnershipswith mobile operators, application/services providers,mobility platform solution developers, and systemintegrators worldwide. Prior to joining Kirusa, he wasdirector of world markets for Lucent Technologies’Mobile Internet organization, located in Europe. Hedirected global marketing and implementation of theMobile Internet portfolio. Earlier, he was CIO forLucent’s Wireless Networks Group.@sajor@kirusa.comMultimodality: the Next Phaseof Wireless Application DeliveryUsing both visual and voice modes to optimize mobile applicationsSeeing, hearing, touching – as multimodality grabs hold, users ofmobile applications worldwide will reap the benefits – and so willmobile operators.mobile applications –whether Web or voice –are still struggling tomake inroads with the majorityof mobile subscribers, bothenterprise and consumer.Surely there have been moderatesuccesses, but the promiseof mobile access to enhancedservices and applications hasnot yet been fully realized.Substantial investments innetwork infrastructure andapplications have achievedcoverage enhancement anddeployment of data bandwidth(in the form of 2.5G networks),but have not yielded theincreases in utilization andARPU that operators and applicationssuppliers have expected.The question remains: Whatare the barriers to widespreadadoption and how can they beovercome?Mobile ServicesHaven’t DeliveredIn the past several years,mobile operators have launchednumerous forms of wirelessinformation access targeted variouslyat consumers and enterprises.Some services deployedhave been very broad-scale. Forexample, WAP services by 2 and2.5G mobile operators and anumber of speech services havehad broad support from mobileoperators. However, despiteaggressive marketing and advertisingcampaigns, subscriberuptake has been slower thandesired, and the resultant profitabilityless than expected.Mobile operators also havehigh expectations for increasedbandwidthnetwork rolloutssuch as CDMA 2000 and UMTS.Much of this expectation centerson subscriber utilization ofdata services. However, withouta change in the end-user experience,problems with user adoptionwill remain. Bandwidthalone cannot solve the problemsof device form factor andease of use.Technologies toDeliver the End-UserExperienceIt’s necessary, therefore, totake a holistic approach tomobile applications and questionevery aspect of the end-userexperience. Clearly, users wanteasy, straightforward access tothe information they want,when they want it. It will takethe combination of many elementsto achieve this seeminglysimple goal. Faster data rates tomeet speed expectations, location-basedinformation, andnew devices with color screensand advanced features will help,but these elements alone are stillinsufficient. Although new featuresand capabilities are fastemerging, feedback from usersremains clear – mobile applicationsare still too difficult to useand the end rewards are not yetcompelling enough to justify themeans.In the quest to satisfy subscribers’needs for compelling,easy-to-use mobile applications,mobile operators todayleverage two primary applicationdelivery technologies:1. WAP services offer access to abroad range of applications.However, small screens, limitedinput capability, andslow performance combineto make WAP a displeasingend-user experience – to beaccessed only under themost compelling situations.2. Speaker-independent speechrecognition technology isenabling new types of applications.For example, voiceenableddirectories andaccess to personal information,such as calendars ande-mail, are coming to market.However, grammar limitationsand problems withspeech-recognition accuracyin noisy environments combineto stress speech-basedapplications.Factor in human limitations,such as our inability tocomprehend long lists ofspoken information, and theamount of informationexchanged in a single applicationsession becomesseverely restricted. Forinstance, a long list of directionsis typically not suitablefor voice output, so manyusers find today’s voicebasedsystems frustrating.However, what is clear is thatthe applications themselves –the ability to get directions, orbook travel arrangements, oraccess personal information allwhile on the go – offer significantvalue. We need to investigatehow to deliver the valuablecontent subscribers want andneed, leveraging interactiontechnologies that are easy, obvious,and fun to use.People Are InherentlyMultimodalWhy the sense of inconvenienceand frustration? Many suggestthat human beings, in unconstrainedcircumstances, are “multimodal”– that is, we leverage differentmodes of communicationon demand to satisfy a particularneed at a particular moment. Wemove easily and quickly betweenthese modes, without consciousawareness of these transitions.Some forms of communicationare better expressed vocally – conversation,for example – but othersare more effective using visualcues – for example, a list of directionsto a hotel.When humans aren’t able toleverage visual and voice interactionson demand, they often feela disconcerting sense of constraint.This feeling of discomfortis exacerbated when the remainingmodes available are themselvesconstrained. This explains,for example, why a user might besatisfied with a Web-based experienceon a PC, where visual andaudio output are relativelyunconstrained and input is constrainedto visual modes, butuncomfortable on a WAP handset,where visual output is heavilyconstrained and input is a difficult“tap-tap-tap.”In that case, feelings of constraintand inadequacy canbecome overwhelming. The netresult is that with mobile devices,even with those of reasonableform factor, satisfying unimodalinteractions is exceedingly difficult,if not impossible, to deliver.Mobile ApplicationsGo MultimodalFortunately, new technologiesare fast emerging to enablemobile applications to becometruly multimodal – using bothvisual and voice modes to optimizewireless applications. Theend user and the application canuse both speech and visual interactionseamlessly in a single session,thanks to emerging multimodalplatforms coupled withadvanced speech-recognitionsystems.Using multimodality, a subscribercan speak an address thatwould take many difficult minutesto enter on a WAP device; or,an application can show a list ofdirections that would be impossibleto parse if delivered vocally.Coupled with complementarytechnologies such as increasednetwork speed and advancedhandsets, multimodality will significantlyenhance usability, flexibility,and performance – all ofwhich combine to deliverincreased subscriber adoptionrates and increased ARPU.Multimodal solutions nowaddress every corner of themobile marketplace. Mobileoperators such as BouyguesTelecom in France are alreadystarting to test these solutions intheir 2.5G networks. Availablesolutions include:1. Millions of users worldwideare comfortable with SMS, yetexploiting SMS as the visualcomponent of a multimodalapplication is just starting tobecome a reality. Multimodalproviders have demonstratedvaluable multimodal experiencesby leveraging advancedspeech recognition and textto-speech,complemented bySMS or MMS messages for thevisual experience. Applicationsincluding sports informationand travel experiences havebeen realized in this space.2. WAP applications stand tobenefit tremendously by intelligentapplications of multimodality.Implementations of“sequential multimodality,”where handsets move fromWAP mode to voice mode andvice versa under control of amultimodal platform, allowusers to have a much morecompelling WAP experienceby avoiding the problems ofcomplex input.In 2.5G networks, thesetransitions are simple andfast, and the application hascomplete control over theend-user experience.Multimodal platforms offeringsequential multimodality areavailable, and multimodalapplications such as drivingdirections, directory assistance,and electronic mailaccess have been realized.3. Wirelessly enabled PDAs andintegrated PDA/phonedevices allow delivery of“simultaneous” multimodalexperiences, where voice andvisual information can bemanaged at the same time ina seamless application experience.For example, a formwith multiple lines of informationto fill out can be displayedvisually; leveragingsimultaneous multimodality,the subscriber can speak thecontents of each form line,and see the recognized contentsappear instantaneouslyon the screen. Reflecting thereality that these advanceddevices are penetrating themarket quickly and this ratewill continue to increase, solutionsthat offer “simultaneousmultimodality” are available.It’s important to look at thetechnology underlying eachform of multimodality inorder to understand the optimalimplementation of a multimodalsolution from amobile operator or end user’sperspective. Multimodal wirelessapplications of all threetypes are, of course, based onhigh-quality speech recognitionand synthesis. A commonthread through all these typesof multimodal applications isthat for the foreseeable future,handsets will not be capableof supporting speaker-independentrich grammar andhigh-accuracy speech recognition.Speech resources will continueto reside within themobile operator’s network,where the high speed and reliableplatforms that arerequired can exist. Platformproviders such as SandCherryand underlying speech technologyproviders such asTelisma, SpeechWorks, andNuance are working with multimodalplatform providers todeliver fully integrated, end-toendsolutions that enable fastdeployment of multimodalenabledapplications in a carrier-grade,robust, manageable,and scalable environment.These suppliers are also deliveringtechnologies such as distributedspeech recognition,where recognition tasks aresplit between the device andthe network to reduce bandwidthdemands, enabling highqualityrecognition to fit comfortablywithin narrow 2.5Guplink channel bandwidths.The MultimodalMarket EmergesMultimodal technologies andproducts are making a significantimpact on the market. Manycompanies have joined togetherin industry forums such as theW3C Multimodal Working Groupand the SALT Forum, designed tocreate the industry standardsrequired to drive multimodalityforward.When will multimodal applicationsand services enter themarket? Increasingly, analysts aresuggesting that multimodalitywill emerge in providers’ servicelineups in as little as one year;broad ramp-up will occur in2004. Allied Business Intelligencehas predicted that by 2006, onethird of all application usage willbe multimodal. Leading-edgeand early-adopter mobile operators,such as Bouygues Telecomin France working together withKirusa and SpeechWorks, haveannounced multimodal trialswithin their GPRS networks.Multimodality’s impact will be felteverywhere. It’s not unreasonableto think that within five years,multimodality will be a commonand expected component ofmobile applications.56 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2www.WBT2.com57

DATELINE JAPANby Daniel ScukaAT&T Wireless is due to start selling Java-enabled handsetsthis month and, if service planners at Redmond headquartersare smart, they’ll take a note or two from the “i-Appli”Java ecosystem created by investor NTT DoCoMo in Japan. Here,Java has become a major success story, and carriers (Java has alsobeen deployed by KDDI and J-Phone/Vodafone) are smiling all theway to the bank.NTT DoCoMo’s packet data revenue for the fiscal yearending March 2002 (including the first full year of Javaservices) was 715,600 million yen, up 102% from the yearbefore, and it’s safe to assume much of this was due toJava-generated packet traffic.In August, 20 months after launch, DoCoMo had 15million Java users and, while J-Phone/Vodafone andKDDI don’t release their Java figures, an August pressrelease from Tokyo-based Aplix, source of the Java VirtualMachine used by the DoCoMo competitors, claimed 10million handsets used the company’s“J-Blend” technology(Sprint PCS has also opted touse Aplix’s Java).DoCoMo’s i-Appli menuincludes content categoriessuch as games (the number onecategory by far), keitai karaoke,ringtones, stock prices/trading, schedules/timetables, maps, fortunetelling, and handset maker sites (notably, NEC and Toshiba).The Java ecosystem here comprises the three carriers; handsetmakers like Sony, Fujitsu, and Panasonic; platform technologypartners; and third-party content, application, and serviceproviders, including Hudson Soft (games), Asahi Broadcasting(national election-data gathering system), CYBIRD (mail, chat),DLJdirect (retail brokerage), and many others.Platform partners include HI Corp., developer of the MascotCapsule 3D-graphics rendering engine used by J-Phone (Bandaimakes the 3D graphics) and Link Evolution Corp., developer of theJava-compatible terminal-to-terminal infrared beaming technologyused on DoCoMo’s 504i-series handsets.DoCoMo’s Do-Ja virtual machine complies with Sun’s CLDC configuration(but not the MIDP 1.x profile), whereas J-Blend is MIDP1.0-compliant. DoCoMo has proprietary extensions that allow forenhanced security, triggering other i-Applis, and multimedia. Not tobe left out, J-Phone has its own 2D and 3D graphics extensions, whileKDDI allows some Java applis to receive GPS-generated location data.With Do-Ja, applis can be as large as 30KB; with J-Blend on KDDI,up to 50KB; and on J-Phone/Vodafone, up to 80KB. Big D’s Java mayhave the smallest download size, but it offers the most “scratchpad”memory – permanent storage where onboard applis can store data(user IDs and passwords, game status, etc.) – at 100KB (the other carriersprovide up to 50KB). Handsets can hold anywhere from 4 or 5 toseveral dozen applis, depending on make, model, and generation.Sharp’s new FOMA 3G PDA, the SH2101V, can hold a whopping 200.With fragmentation caused by terminal mix (there are 35 Javaenabledmodels available, each with its own display size, audio playbackcharacteristics, memory capacity, etc.) and the fact that the carriers’Javas are incompatible, it’s a wonder that frustrated developershave been able to create any useful applications at all – but they have.Layer8 Technologies has created innovative Java music games.In one, a song is broken up into segments, downloaded to thehandset, and the game displays a series of squares thatthe player must rearrange into proper sequence toreassemble the song segments into correct order. Layer8has also worked closely with Euro carriers KPN and E-Plus to kick start ringtones and other audio content onthe baby i-modes that launched in Holland andGermany this past spring.Net Village offers Remote Mail, a classic implementationof full corporate mail server access via Java applisthat avoids all the hassles and limitations (i.e., no attachments)of regular i-mode mail.Remote Mail offers features likeprint-to-fax, and compressesmail data to reduce packet feesby some 50% (it’s a wonder BigD deals with them at all). NetVillage says it has 330,000 happyusers, and the company wasdue to IPO on Nasdaq Japan in late September. Who says mobiledata isn’t profitable?The carriers themselves are starting to realize that Java-basedservices can generate big bucks. In September, DoCoMo told analyststhat e-commerce using Java-controlled infrared handset-topoint-of-saleterminal communications figures prominently intheir future plans.At Tokyo’s September MOBIDEC conference targeted at the contentprovider community, J-Phone demonstrated an extremelyclever system in which a Sha-Mail camera-equipped handset wasused to snap a picture of a two-dimensional bar code. An applionboard the handset interpreted the code and executed an actionbased on the bar code’s content; in this case, the appli called up themicrobrowser and accessed a Web site. This system has obviousadvertising, promotion, and sales possibilities, and should be availableby year-end.There’s an interesting history behind Aplix and its JBlend technology.Aplix, now headed by ex-Microsoft employee RyuKoriyama, is profitable and shows no sign of slowing down – andthis despite the fact that JBlend is based on the made-in-Japan,open-source TRON-embedded operating system (attacked at onetime by none other than the U.S. trade representative).Japan’s wireless Internet has entered the second stage – definedby Java. It’s fun, useful, and secure, and makes traditional cHTMLwireless Web content seem clunky and boring – like rabbit-eared,black-and-white TV. U.S. carriers such as AT&T Wireless and Sprinthave their work cut out if they’re to catch up anytime soon.Java Rocks in JapanWho says mobile data isn’t profitable?Phoneomenawww.phoneomena.comDaniel Scuka is responsible for the weekly Wireless Watch e-mail and Web cast video newsmagazine, the only independentEnglish-language media focusing exclusively on the mobile business in Japan. Originally from Toronto, Daniel moved to Tokyo in1994 and is widely considered to be one of the foremost journalists covering wireless in Japan for English-language media.daniel@japaninc.com@58 www.WBT2.com O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2O C T O B E R 2 0 0 2www.WBT2.com59

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