These are uncertain times. Bombs go off, iconic buildings collapse, thousands die each month, and economies are uncertain. It's not surprising then, that social research shows workers in the new millennium are increasingly placing lifestyle and family needs before heavy work commitments.

This is particularly true for the small business microcosm of New Zealand. Thousands now work full or part time from home or in field occupations like consultancy, farming, retail, sciences or sales. Others try to get work done while commuting or long distance travelling. Those who are office-bound in towns and cities want to get to work at a daylight hour, have access to tools which enable them to work as efficiently as possible, and then leave before being ensnarled in traffic. People in these environments benefit from being able to process computer-based work tasks while on the move.

Being mobile and "being mobile"

There has to be business benefit in giving workers access to a mobile computing platform. The extent of this benefit depends on the nature of the business and its industry. It helps to consider the time, administration, wiring, space and office resources that might be saved if workers could access the internet, send and receive email, or request a file from an office server whilst walking between departments or while en route to a customer demonstration or delivery.

You can crunch the numbers yourself or get a mobile computing specialist to help you. Often, the business benefits are tangible and a well-planned investment worthwhile.

While there's almost always a business case for mobile computing (i.e. laptops), the case for wireless mobile is usually more specific. Today's mobile workers need to be able to work "dynamically" via a connection to the Internet or office network. That way, work done on a mobile computer or device does not need to be "synchronised" with desktop systems and networks later. Traditionally this is achieved by connecting the modem in a mobile device to a wired telecommunication line or business network.

However, mobile workers can now makes these connections wirelessly. Instead of wires, data is transferred over radio waves, similar to the way mobile phone calls are sent and received. (See box story.)

There are two main wireless systems. The first is called "fully mobile" or "mobile wireless" because workers can send and receive data like documents, email, Web pages and graphics while on the move (for example, travelling in a car, or when working from a remote area.)

The other type is a "fixed wireless" system. This won't allow users to connect whilst travelling but provides wireless mobility within set perimeters.

For example, St Kentigern School in Auckland has installed wireless LAN cards in hundreds of laptops to communicate with 31 wireless LAN access points. (See box story.)  This has reduced the cost of wiring the school for computers and provided flexible new study options for students.

Is mobile computing fast enough?

These fixed wireless networks, which accommodate mobile computers and peripherals, need to perform at speeds acceptable for the computing needs of the business. They typically deliver data transmission speeds of up to 11 megabits per second (Mbps) but that can more than halve due to "extra network instructions."

Further, when more than one access point is set to the same channel and placed fairly closely together, "cross talk" can occur. The information from the various wireless clients then collides (as can happen on mobile and portable phone frequencies) and the speed of data transfer is affected. However, improved fixed wireless systems are in the pipeline and if successful, you can expect wireless LAN speeds of up to 54 Mbps in the near future.

As you'd expect, a "fully mobile" data service is slower than a fixed wireless system because it is not served by a dedicated bandwidth and well-tuned wireless access points. Speed varies depending on the number of people using the network in the area at the same time, the location of the user and whether the mobile worker is moving or stationary.

While it is currently not possible to directly dial the Internet via an ISP from a mobile phone at speeds faster than 14.4 Kilobits per second (Kbps), both Telecom Mobile and Vodafone offer superior mobile data services which use packet data technologies - CDMA and GPRS respectively. (See the side box) Both services require special wireless data cards to be installed in the mobile devices and business server settings need to be customised to support mobile data communications.

Telecom's fastest mobile data service, Mobile Jetstream potentially offers mobile data speeds of up to 153Kbps; however speeds of between 40 and 80Kbps are the norm.

Vodafone's GPRS mobile data service sends data in 13.3Kbps timeslots to GPRS enabled phones or devices. GPRS phones can accept a maximum of four time slots - that's a potential 53.2Kbps of download speed, while upload is restricted to 26Kbps.
 
Conflicting claims between Telecom Mobile and Vodafone make choosing between the services difficult. For example, earlier this year, Steve Aschbrock, business solutions manager for Vodafone, said that while Telecom's solution is faster, Vodafone's is cheaper, more reliable and can provide a better global service. Telecom naturally begs to differ. So consider your mobile data needs and then compare the prices, speeds and service both providers have to offer.

Is the cost of a mobile workforce viable?

Fixed wireless access points and other wireless components can be rented. For example, Walker Wireless offers subscription over a three year term. Access points cost $120 a month to rent (and $300 to install) and wireless LAN cards for desktops and laptops cost $29 and $21 per month respectively (it costs $40 per card for installation.) Charges may rise for unique or "awkwardly" set up networks.

The amount you pay for sending and receiving mobile data is very dependant on the mobile data plan you choose. For example, Telecom has a range of data plans which include free monthly megabytes. Vodafone's GPRS service is also charged according to how much data is sent and received. Pricing depends on what you use the GPRS network for, and the amount of data you send and receive.

Details of these plans can be found on the respective Telecom and Vodafone web sites or on www.istart.co.nz/mobile-business.htm. The Telecom site also has a useful data usage calculator.

Who's using it and how?

A local software development company, ALM Systems, received Telecom's mobile Jetstream service and installed a Telecom mobile data card into one Toshiba Satellite Pro laptop as a trial. The company reported its mobile workers connected successfully to the Internet in less than a minute and downloaded a four megabyte file in five minutes. They accessed email and Web sites, sent a text message to a mobile phone, and were able to access their private business network with a little tweaking of router software at the office end. They reported the service also worked perfectly in moving cars. They've decided the cost is worth it and have retained the service.

Pet products supplier Masterpet issued its sales force with Compaq iPaq Pocket PC devices which use Telecom's mobile Jetstream service. Salespeople generate current price lists, specials updates, check stock availability and generate sales reports or order information whilst with the customer. Quotes and sales orders require no further data entry once sales staff return to the office. Masterpet says staff have also been able to also access their email and customer contact lists without log outs or difficulty connecting.

On the graphics front, last year, Vodafone's mobile data service was used to send rally car pictures back to a corporate web site from within a rally car. The webcam was linked to a laptop, which in turn linked to a GPRS enabled mobile phone. This sent photographs to the nearest Vodafone cellsite and back to an Internet integration company. Photos were seen on the website minutes after being taken from the vehicle.

Jauary 2003
By Vikki Bland