April/May 2002

Today's wireless technology is already delivering real benefits. Sharon Clancy discovers that there's no need to wait for 3G before embracing the wireless world

When WAP burst on to the mobile communications scene a couple of years ago, the hype ran wild. Mobile Internet access heralded the dawning of a new era ­ or so we were all told.

Inevitably, the reality came nowhere near the promise. Slow, text-based access to a strictly limited range of specially-modified Web sites simply didn't cut it ­ especially when it was achieved with a skimpy LCD mobile phone display. Wireless Application Protocol soon came to be seen as a damp squib.

For the past year or so we've had something infinitely better to play with ­ GPRS, or General Packet Radio Service. It's the "always on" mobile Internet, offering download speeds comparable to that of a 56K modem, and real mini-browser Web access on palmtop computers. But where's all the hype for it? "Once bitten twice shy" seems to be the rule here, and in consumer terms, GPRS might hardly exist.

 

The business world is somewhat more savvy, and numerous applications have already been developed using the fast download speeds of GPRS to make a reality of truly mobile computing. But GPRS has had its own bête noire to contend with ­ the one that says: "Wait for 3G."

For anyone who's somehow missed out on all this, "3G" means third-generation mobile phone system. It's what the cellular network giants like Vodaphone, Orange and Cellnet (now MMO2) have paid billions of pounds to operate. It will offer all that GPRS offers, and much more besides: streaming video, breathtakingly fast Web access, and the potential for ultra-large data downloads.

So businesses planning on investing in mobile computing are in a quandary. Do they jump on the GPRS bandwagon, but risk obsolescence in a couple of years' time, or hold back and wait for the up-and-coming, state-of-the-art 3G?

Well, it seems there are good arguments for investing in what's available now, rather than waiting for something that won't arrive until the indeterminate future. And they boil down to a simple proposition: if you invest now, you can have the efficiencies and productivity benefits of a mobile workforce straight away. If you wait, your rivals could be two by the time you do.

That's certainly the view of Miles Powell, director of business development at Aspective, a leading e-business solutions provider. He argues convincingly that despite some well-documented shortcomings in SMS messaging and the GSM digital telephony behind it, and even in GPRS, these existing technologies have a lot to offer companies trying to manage mobile workforces efficiently and to improve their customer service levels.

In practice, in the logistics world, many truck and van fleet operators are already communicating with mobile workers using either SMS messaging over GSM networks or a dedicated radio data network such as Cognito or Mobitex.

SMS was originally adopted as a method of reducing expensive voice traffic between drivers and their depots, but has evolved into a well-liked logistics tool that helps distribution managers run fleets more efficiently and deliver improved customer services. SMS is used by many existing communications and on-board computing systems for a host of reporting tasks such as notifying the depot of arrival and departure times at delivery addresses and confirmation of PODs. Transport managers can relay to drivers new instructions, delivery directions and so on.

GPRS adds more functionality to all this. It's often called an always-on connection, although in fact it still has to establish a connection each time you use it; it's just that it takes a barely noticeable one or two seconds to do it instead of the 15 to 20 seconds over GSM. There is virtually no delay in sending or receiving messages or instructions.

This opens new horizons for gaining remote access to an on-board computer, and retrieving data from it ­ information on vehicle and driver performance, for instance, or delivery details. True, this can all be done via the GSM networks, as Aspective's Miles Powell admits. "But GSM has a narrow band width and is not really suitable for high-density data traffic. GPRS gives faster connection and transmission times, plus encryption possibilities.

Such benefits hold especial appeal for international and long-distance fleet operations, where vehicles may be away from base for days or even weeks, and large activity logs need to be downloaded regularly.

Powell also puts in a word of defence for WAP, which should by no means be dismissed as old-fashioned, he says. "It's a perfectly acceptable system for mobile workers requiring only occasional access to the Internet and for email." It may have a reputation for being tiresomely slow, he admits, but he points out that the speed of download is dependent on the capacity, speed and bandwidth capabilities of the underlying network and the size of the file being downloaded.

In other words, WAP is not some kind of alternative to GSM or GPRS, it's a technology that works in combination with them to achieve a given objective.

"Think of WAP as the roof rack on a car. The speed at which a roof rack travels is dependent on the car beneath. WAP plus GSM is like an old Capri ­ slow and slightly unreliable. WAP plus GPRS is like a Golf GTI Turbo, while 3G is like Ferrari, with super-fast connection and data retrieval."

He echoes a widely-held view that GPRS will revolutionise mobile working because it will make field staff much more productive. "GPRS is not just about speed," he says. "It's also about giving mobile workers access to the same applications as office-based staffs, enabling them to work from their laptops or PDAs. Until now mobile workers have been working with one hand tied behind their backs."

The argument (and it seems quite convincing) is that there will be less need for field workers to come into the office once they can process paperwork, collect emails, or update appointments on the move. The twelve to fifteen hours a week that they would normally spend commuting to the office can be spent more productively.

The one bugbear is that there are times when a GPRS connection may be lost ­ for instance, when the user is in a rail tunnel. Miles Powell takes a pragmatic view. "Employees will need some applications to be held within the wireless device in case they can't use the radio connection to access applications."

When laptop computers are being used, rather than mobiles or PDAs, this will seem a more natural approach. Applications tend to be installed on them as a matter of course, and the key issue then is likely to be achieving connectivity for large data downloads and data synchronisation. (For more details on this, see feature on page 34.)

Although it might not seem terribly technical, one of the great attractions of GPRS is simply the fact that it looks good. As Miles Powell puts it: "It impresses customers if you can confirm while you are in their office what the stock availability is. You eliminate delays in sending proposals or contracts until the representative returns to the office ­ the mobile worker simply emails the office, and they can post or fax it the same day. If you have that connectivity and your competitors do not, you will get the sale. Customers find such efficiency very reassuring."

GPRS will also dramatically lower air-time costs, which should encourage more companies with data-hungry applications to link up their mobile workers. Service providers resell GPRS air time not in minutes, but in terms of the amount of data traffic measured in megabytes ­ typically 5, 10 or 50 megabytes a month. It might not sound much, but fifty megabytes is a lot of data.

This is an area where Aspective can give chapter and verse. "You could pay around £3,000 to transmit 50Mb over a GSM network," Miles Powell says. "With GPRS, the cost would be around £500, and with data compression, it drops still further to £300." Powell also points out that data compression techniques such as EDGE can also reduce the size of the data packet transmitted down the pipe.

"Because the costs are much lower, people will start using their mobile devices to do more things ­ collect e-mails, download schematics, service manuals, customer records ­ anything that is relevant to the current job or visit."

So what does it all add up to? Basically, the message seems to be: don't wait for 3G. The technology is constantly evolving, and there won't be a sudden revolution when 3G does become available. If you delay, you risk losing customers to rivals who can provide better customer service, and sacrifice the efficiencies and cost savings that mobilising the work force can bring to your business now.

SMS and GPRS ­ the Mobile Data Association view

Although localised 3G services will be available this year, it will take longer for national networks to become established. That's the view of Mike Short, chairman of the Mobile Data Association and vice president of industry relations and standards at MMO2.

Short warns: "For the next three or four years, GPRS will be the most widely available roaming service. Even after that, the networks should be compatible. It's really a question of speed. The combination of SMS and GPRS is a very strong one, and it will suit most businesses."

Text messaging has an attractively youthful image. Who hasn't sat watching someone under 25 on a train or bus, and seen them frantically tapping keys into their mobile phones to send messages to their friends. The reason they do this is that it's cheaper to send a text message than a voice call. Text messaging, or SMS traffic, has grown phenomenally in the past 16 months. Networks now carry 44 million messages a day ­ double the traffic carried in December 2000, according to MDA.

However, only 100 million of the one billion text messages sent each month are work-related, and the MDA wants to increase SMS usage among corporate users. "Text messaging is the most convenient, fast and discreet way for business people to communicate," Mike Short maintains.

A survey of 800 managers by the MDA revealed that 80 per cent use text messaging regularly. Half use it to communicate with their teams, a third use it to send and receive messages from customers or clients. Nearly three-quarters of sent messages are reminders of meeting or appointments.

Mike Short says SMS is perfectly adequate for many data transfers. "File size should be the main consideration when choosing a data transfer network. The advantage of GPRS over GSM is that transfer rates are as fast as ISDN speeds, and files can be up to 200kb size."

How SMS works

SMS has a maximum of 160 characters, although compression systems can effectively increase that. SMS is a store-and-forward service, which means that SMS messages do not go directly from sender to receiver, but pass via one of the SMS centres operated by the networks.

Each SMS has a confirmation of message delivery, so senders can choose to receive a return message back, notifying them of successful delivery. SMS messages can be sent and received simultaneously with GSM voice, data and fax calls. Whereas these calls take over a dedicated radio channel for the duration of the call, short messages travel over and above the radio channel using the signal path. So SMS users rarely get a busy or engaged signal, even during peak traffic periods.