Wireless demand grows worldwide (brief quote by Jim Balsillie)
STEVE MERTL
VANCOUVER (CP) - Say it's coffee break at your office and you wander down to
the vending machines, only to find the pop machine is still out of diet soda.
This might not happen if Gordon Ray, chairman of U.S.-based Numerex Inc., has
his way. The machine would already have told its supplier to bring extra diet
sodas on the next restocking run.
The vending machine would be equipped with a wireless transmitter that can
provide detailed restocking data, as well as alert the company about problems
such as jammed chutes or full coin boxes.
The wireless system by Numerex subsidiary Cellemetry is characteristic of the
explosion of such services well beyond cellular telephones and messaging.
"We have increased customer service with inexpensive, reliable wireless
data," said Ray.
The future of wireless is under scrutiny this week at the Inter Comm '99
telecommunications industry conference in Vancouver.
There were 300 million wireless service subscribers worldwide last year, a
figure that's expected to grow to 715 million by 2003, said Vino Vinadrai,
director of industry relations for Bell Mobility, Bell Canada's wireless
subsidiary.
In some Scandinavian countries, the penetration rate of wireless telephones
is higher than conventional wireline phones, he said.
"The trend is going upward (in Canada) but the penetration rate is not
reaching the levels of Finland, for example," said Vinadrai.
Demand for wireless data service is expected to outstrip voice service in the
next few years, driven by the introduction of more advanced third-generation
cellular systems that can accommodate heavy data traffic.
Such systems open the door to wireless electronic commerce, internet access
and tele-medicine for remote areas, he said.
The demand for new products and services is dictating the direction of
technology development, said Frank Safertal, vice-president of Hughes Network
Systems.
In some cases, especially in developing countries, phone companies are
leapfrogging fibre-optic wireline systems and going straight to wireless. It
can cost as little as one-third as much per installed line, especially for
bringing service to rural areas.
Besides lower installation and operating costs, wireless systems can be set
up or expanded more quickly and are easily moved if necessary, said Safertal.
They're also less disruptive to the physical environment, requiring
construction of transmission towers instead of digging up streets to bury
cable.
Wireless is attractive even in heavily networked countries, said Safertal.
The United States, for instance, has 1.1 million commercial buildings but
only 50,000 are wired for fibre-optic cable. The cost has many customers
opting for wireless voice and data networks for their buildings.
Competition and falling prices have helped fuel the wireless explosion, said
James Balsillie, chairman of Toronto-based Research In Motion Ltd.(RIM),
which focuses on wireless messaging services.
But don't expect wireless to take over completely, he suggested. The
attraction of new-generation, high-speed data transmission will always be
weighed against the cost.
"This is a quest for the sweet spot in the market," said Balsillie. "You must
assess the tradeoffs as well as the benefits that come with the technology."
The benefits of Cellemetry, a joint venture between Numerex and Bell South,
are obvious, said Ray.
"It is ideal for short, infrequent and important data messaging," he told the
conference.
Cellemetry, and its California competitor Aeris, use cellular phone systems'
under-utilized control channel to send quick bursts of data.
Besides the prosaic job of keeping a vending machine filled, the system can
alert railways if a crossing barrier hasn't come down or help utilities
diagnose faults in remote parts of their power grids.
One popular application allows office-equipment leasing companies to track
the use and health of photocopiers without the customer having to file paper
reports, said Ray.
Another use is allowing a Minnesota school system to alert parents just as
the school bus approaches their home so kids don't have a cold, potentially
dangerous wait outside.
© The Canadian Press, 1999 |
