First, the good news: for companies planning to deploy broadband connectivity to their mobile workforces, the options have
never looked better. Initial rollouts of 3G (third-generation) cellular data technology are fulfilling the technology’s promise.
Sales and field forces can connect to the Internet and corporate applications from virtually anywhere, network speeds are
reasonable, and deploying the technology requires only minimal IT investment.
“We didn’t run into a single issue,” says Randy Cairns, assistant vice president for distributed technology at American Republic
Insurance, which has begun a pilot program using Sprint 3G service and expects to roll out the technology to 200 salespeople
in the next year. Cairns’ comments echo those of other early adopters who have been happy with the ease and low cost of cellular
data deployment.
Now for the bad news: Although current 3G offerings are a good start, the path toward a truly ubiquitous, high-speed wireless
world is murky. Mobile WiMax, the wireless broadband technology that’s touted as offering landline performance to mobile users
over wide areas, is at best several years away, and some analysts feel it may never fulfill its promoters’ promises.
Exploring 3G options
On the positive side, U.S. cellular carriers are finally offering data services that get the job done. Enterprises can subscribe
to 3G technologies from three major companies: Sprint Nextel, Verizon Wireless, and Cingular Wireless. A fourth carrier, T-Mobile,
markets data services but only supports GPRS (general packet radio service) technology, which provides dialup speeds rather
than true 3G service.
For each of the various cellular technologies deployed today, the actual throughput users can expect depends on geographic
location, network load, and distance from the cell tower, among other factors. Each carrier also offers fallback to a slower
network for rural locations and other areas where broadband service is unavailable.
That flexibility is critical for American Republic, Cairns says. The insurer’s salespeople tend to go to customers’ homes,
and having online access when talking to prospective customers is a big benefit. With average connection speeds of its Sprint
EvDO (evolution, data optimized) service between 480Kbps and 960Kbps, users are happy. Even in smaller areas, where GPRS speeds
drop access down to 56Kbps, salespeople appreciate having a convenient connection, Cairns says.
At tax accountancy H&R Block, lead network engineer Kevin Oellien has had a similar experience with Sprint’s EvDO service.
From the company’s headquarters in Overland Park, Kan. -- near Sprint Nextel’s headquarters -- Oellien has seen throughput
as fast as 1.2Mbps, and he finds that in most areas, users experience speeds from 600Kbps to 800Kbps. He has now begun a broader
pilot program with Sprint Nextel’s 3G service, in hopes it can provide connectivity at H&R Block’s many kiosks and temporary
offices during the four-month tax season. By plugging a 3G card into an AirLink Communications Raven Ethernet gateway, Oellien
can add a router to almost any location, letting staff members access the Internet and corporate resources without the expense
of building out dedicated network and phone lines for the temporary facilities.
The slower speeds of the competing EDGE (enhanced data GSM environment) service used by Cingular have caused early adopters
to use it more as an adjunct connection technology rather than as a primary one. For example, users at Halton -- a Pacific
Northwest dealer of Caterpillar vehicles -- rely on wired and Wi-Fi connections where possible, but use the roughly 100Kbps
Cingular EDGE network when faster networks aren’t available. Despite the slower speeds, “they use it wherever they can because
it’s available wherever they are,” says Kip Hewahewa, the company’s telecom administrator.
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