Wide Area WirelessChoosing A Wireless Service Provider

Jay Best, Presidentjay@best-mobile.com631-262-0357www.best-mobile.com

Agenda

• Introductions

• Know your…

• Identify driving factors

• Key Features of Wireless WANs

• Review of Generic Options

Know your Application

Some factors to consider:• Does it need to be wireless?• Is this a wireless app from the ground up?• Type of connection assumed:

– HTTP

– TCP/IP

– Messaging

• Volume of information

Know your User

Some factors to consider:

• Frequency of connection

• Ability to delay connection

• Aptitude

• Tolerance for waiting

Know your Device

Some factors to consider:

• Power consumption

• Screen

• Processing power

• Memory

Identify Driving FactorsSome typical driving factors:

• Must support certain application

• Leverage existing devices

• Anyplace access

• Large file synchronizations

You may find there are few choices after you have identified the driving factors.

Key features of Wireless WANs

• Availability/Coverage• Connection Mode

(Packet vs. Circuit Switched)• Available Devices• Data Pricing Model• Management Features• Power Consumption• Bandwidth

My ranking for a field service dispatch

application.

Rank your app!

Availability/Coverage

Nothing else matters if the network is not there when you need it.

Satellite

AMPS (Analog Cellular)

PCS (CDMA, iDEN, GPRS) and Pager networks

2.5 G

802.11

3G

Connection Mode (Packet vs. Circuit Switched)

• Who drives the communication?– Backend or End user

• How often does data need to be transferred?

• Older cell and PCS networks tend to be circuit switched.

All things being equal, packet switched is always better – All things are NEVER equal.

Available Devices

• Most devices can be kluged onto most networks

• Kluging is usually a bad idea• Do you need ruggedized devices?• Do you need special peripherals?• The device should be able to use the

network with little user intervention.

The hardware form factor will be at least as important to the end user as the software.

Cost/Pricing Model

• How much data do you need to send per month?

• Does flat rate pricing or prepaid data make sense?

• How much variability do you have across users and months?

Your goal is to prepay for the exact amount of data that each user will require each month.

Management Features

• Device

• User

• Account

• Applications

• Data

Usually, this will be a combination of carrier, application and customers service interactions

Power Consumption

• Different networks require different amount of transmission power

• Different devices and peripherals use different amounts of power

• Pagers < WiFi < PCS < Cellular < Satellite

If the battery is dead, nothing else matters.

Bandwidth

• High bandwidth for the occasional connection like WiFi

• Medium bandwidth on 2.5 G connections will suffer from coverage issues for the next 1-2 years.

• Think about multi-modal data– Low bandwidth for time critical– Cradle, WiFi or 2.5 G for occasional sync

The importance of Bandwidth is overrated for enterprise apps

What is the Universe

• Mobile not wireless – Cradle sync• Occasional Connection –

– WiFi– Dial UP

• On demand connection– Circuit Switched– WAP

• Always on– 2.5G (GPRS, Sprint Vision, Verizon Express)– Pager Network– iDEN

Multiple Access (MA)Methods

Source: Figure 21-1 of Wireless Crash Course by Paul Bedell, McGraw Hill, 1999

FDMA = 1 voice per channelTDMA = 3-8 voices per channelCDMA = 10-20 voices per channel

GSM/GPRS is a TDMA standard

GSM/GPRS

• 3 Major US carriers(AT&T, T-Mobile and Cingular)

• Extensive Roaming Abroad– In the US roaming is signed but not delivered

• Several Flavors– CSD (Circuit Switched Data)

– HSCSD (High Speed Circuit Switched Data)

– GPRS (General Packet Radio Service)

– EDGE (Enhanced Data GSM Environment)

GSM/GPRS will have a great future in the US once the roaming is fully in place and GPRS is fully deployed.

GPRS – PDAs

• RIM BlackBerry 5810™, 6710™

• T-Mobile Sidekick

• Pocket PC Phone Edition

• Handspring Treo 270 (Palm)

GPRS - Coverage

Coverage is still weak in many areas

Source: http://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/

Nextel Packet Network

• iDEN – Proprietary standard• Built around Push-to-Talk• Packet based network• Few Modem Options – use the phone as a

modem, but it works pretty well!• Blackberry 6510 is the only OEM

wireless PDA• Claim up to 56K (with Compression)• Can get a public IP Address

Nextel Coverage

Coverage is decent – but there is NO roaming

http://www.nextel.com/phone_services/coverage/index.shtml

CDMA - Verizon

• Express Network (Burst speeds up to 144kps) – Still huge gaps in coverage

• IS-95 (CSD) as fall back. (14.4kbps) – OUCH!!

• A couple of modem options

CDMA – Verizon PDAs

• Blackberry 6750

• Pocket PC - Audiovox Thera

• Palm - Kyocera 7135

Verizon Coverage

http://www.verizonwireless.com/jsp/express_network/availability_us.jsp?p_dsply=reg

Can’t totally trust the maps

• Verizon Disclaimer - This map shows approximately where service is available, but is not depictions of actual service, rate availability or wireless coverage. The mapped territories contain areas with no service. Maps depict anticipated service areas at time of printing and are subject to change.

CDMA - Sprint

• Sprint Vision (Burst speeds up to 144kps) – Still huge gaps in coverage

• IS-95 (CSD) as fall back. (14.4kbps) – OUCH!!

• A couple of modem options

• Focus has been the consumer market

CDMA – Sprint PDAs

Toshiba 2032 (Pocket PC)

Handspring Treo 300(Palm)

Samsung i330 (Palm)

Sprint Coverage

Source: http://Sprintpcs.com

Sprint Coverage(Colorado)

Pager Networks• Motient (ARDIS network)

– 19.2 kbps

– RIM 850/857

– Palm modem available

– Arch wireless

• Mobitex (Cingular)– 8 kbps

– RIM 950/957

– Palm.net

These Networks: Reliable Excellent building

penetration Packet Switched

(always on) SLOW

Many specialized and industrial devices use these networks.

Mobitex Coverage

Coverage is thin or non-existent in many areas

Motient Coverage

Source: http://www.motient.com/find/national.asp

CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data)

• Overlay on the Old AMPs network

• Still in use but being phased out by AT&T. Verizon has not stated plans.

• Available to many industrial devices as OEM

Verizon CDPD Coverage

In the Northeast CDPD is a viable network for geographically limited deployments

WiFi as a WAN

• Free Access Points – for e.g.wifinder.com• T-Mobile – almost 2400 locations (mostly

coffee shops)• Boingo – 1200 locations (Aggregator)• Wayport – >500 hotel and airport• Cometa Networks

– Joint Venture(AT&T, IBM, Intel, APAX, and 3i)

– Up to 20K Access points (10K in 2003)

WiFi gives the option of creating your own as needed network

Proprietary Networks

• FCC has designated frequencies for mobile communication that are available as private frequencies

• These can be used as private data frequencies• Might make sense if you have:

– limited geography

– Concentration of mobile workers (>75 in an area)

– Limited Bandwidth requirements

Satellite Data

• Global Coverage

• Expensive

• Clunky Modems

• Pretty good speed

• Evaluate the viability of the operator!!

Satellite should be considered a last resort for mobile deployments

Summary

• Evaluate your requirements– Application– Device– Update frequency– Data volume

• Evaluate Alternatives (Carrier, Cradle, WiFi, Other)

• Test and verify

Thank You

Reminder:

• Please be sure to complete your session evaluation forms and place them in the box outside the room. We appreciate your feedback.