On one side the mobile phone companies are adding data services to what used to be voice-only devices and services. On the other side are the network and telecommunications companies whose hardware supports high-speed data communications. Each side thinks its products are the best choice for accessing mobile data.
The phone companies say everyone needs to carry a phone around, and that we'll make do with low-speed data services delivered to tiny phone screens rather than carry around another device. Boy, are they wrong.
Road warriors want a mobile service that's comparable to what they get at the office. The most promising high-speed service technology is 802.11b wireless networking, a.k.a. Wi-Fi.
Public wireless access points first gained popularity, as many technologies do, on college campuses. In recent months, wireless access points have become popular where people travel: in airports, hotels, and even RV parks, deployed by companies like Wayport, MobileStar, and All Tech Systems.
While some businesses may provide 802.11b access for free, to get you to patronize their core business (the local coffee shop, for example), many others will want you to pay for the bandwidth you use. Critics argue that the complexity of billing issues doom these ventures from the start, but that need not be the case.
Imagine a single national billing infrastructure, where you can buy the equivalent of a telephone calling card and use it anywhere wireless access is available. No such service currently exists, but entrepreneurs please take note. Boingo Wireless is taking a similar approach to the problem by actually buying up and rolling out a nationwide Wi-Fi network, but an equally valid (and arguably better) tack is to handle just the billing, and let local businesses maintain the hardware.
Personally, I'd rather have a data-capable device that provides a voice add-on (i.e. a PDA or a notebook PC with a microphone and earpiece capable of voice over IP or GPRS service) than vice versa (a cell phone with a postage-stamp LCD screen). Just last month Nokia announced a PC Card adapter that can access both 802.11b data networks and GPRS cell phone networks, which it plans to ship by the fall. The availability of such combo cards, in tandem with the proliferation of public access wireless LAN access points, are the two most important trends in wireless networking for the next year.
Just as it made sense to put both a modem and 10Base-T Ethernet on a single PC Card, so is it logical to put 802.11b and GSM/GPRS functionality on a single adapter. Depending on the local service, you use what's available. If you have Ethernet access, you can make a voice call using a service like Dialpad or Net2Phone. If you have GSM service, you can make a native GSM voice call, and use the slow GPRS link to display data on your PC.
As my experience demonstrates, there is no perfect mobile platform yet, but ubiquitous Wi-Fi access points will help move us closer to mobile paradise.
If you plan to take advantage of public 802.11b access points, make sure you also provide strong authentication (through RADIUS or proprietary software) and encryption (through VPN software) for your network clients. There's no sense trading away security for the sake of convenience.
Will mobile phones or wireless devices be business users' primary mobile tool? Tell me what you think in TalkBack or e-mail us.
