However, according to research just published by telecoms consultancy Schema, the European mobile data market is set to expand by 436 per cent over the next three years. The number of users is predicted to rise from an estimated 560,000 at the end of 1996, to a total of more than three million by the year 2000.
What?s more, the company?s research estimates that the number of users of mobile data in the year 2000 will represent only 24 per cent of the potential market ceiling ? estimated to be just less than 13 million users.
According to Schema, there are a number of driving forces behind the take-up of mobile data. Significant among these is the need for users to cut costs and improve customer service in a competitive environment.
Greater access to a wider range of data services, such as the Internet and email, and the growth of the information services industry are factors.
So too is the increasing interest of the information services industry in developing data services, which are likely to be cheaper to operate than voice services. Improvements in technology, such as smarter handsets and improved transmission speeds, are also expected to play a part in the big mobile data take-up.
The bulk of mobile data users are likely to be blue collar workers ? delivery and despatch workers, field force maintenance staff, emergency services and transport personnel.
However, the white collar market potential ? sales and marketing executives, senior and middle management and professionals ? is also substantial, at just fewer than seven million users.
Blue collar workers are more likely to look to dedicated data operators ? such as RAM Mobile Data in the UK ? or even private mobile radio (PMR) systems as potential suppliers of mobile data solutions, while white collar users will generally opt for a cellular solution.
Elaine Axby, head of mobile consultancy at Schema, says: ?The predominantly white collar users seeking cellular data solutions need to obtain the different elements of a mobile data package from various sources, and put them together to build their own solution. Once all the elements have been sourced, configuring the software and getting the service to work is also an important job.?
The main barrier to the development of blue collar applications, on the other hand, is the cost and complexity of integrating the mobile application into the organisation?s existing information systems and working environment.
Another obstacle to take-up, identified by Schema, is the cost of GSM data cards, which contrasts unfavourably with the cost of using the phone or PSTN modems.
Subject: Croydon Council Activities: council services Installation: Telxon T5000 mobile data terminals; RAM mobile data network
Croydon Council is responsible for keeping traffic flowing on its 2,357 streets, as well as coping with ever-increasing traffic volumes and keeping payment evasion to a minimum.
Traffic wardens in Croydon, armed with mobile data terminals, have stepped up their campaign against illegal parking. Roger Woodward, Croydon?s head of parking services, says: ?We take a serious view of people who don?t buy tickets or who overstay their time because, in the end, they are cheating the taxpayers.?
As soon as the wardens have issued one of the borough?s estimated 2,200 weekly parking tickets, details are sent from their Telxon T5000 terminal straight to the council?s central computer. It takes just a few seconds for the control room to check a driver?s parking record and feed the data back to the warden?s device.
With the old system, information on offences was only available the next day, and for every 100 tickets issued, on average, more than 80 phone calls had to be made to check parking details. So the new mobile data terminals have significantly reduced administrative costs.
What?s more, any motorist who wants to complain ? or even pay their fine ? can now do so without delay. When wardens transmit data on offences, staff in the control room analyse the information, and instructions to either clamp or remove vehicles are sent over the RAM mobile data network to the tow-away vehicles. The electronic job list on the wardens? terminals is then updated and tasks are prioritised.
?Motorists who park properly have nothing to fear, but those who park illegally are now far more likely to find that their car has been whisked away to the council pound,? says Woodward.
?On a more positive note, parking attendants will also be transmitting information about graffiti and potholes to the council?s highways department, therefore providing an improved service to Croydon?s residents,? he adds.
With as many as two physical attacks on wardens every month, personal safety has also become an important issue for staff on patrol. If threatened, wardens can now press a help button on their terminal which transmits an alarm signal over the data network and shows the warden?s last known position.
The RAM network can broadcast warning messages to wardens and vehicles in the event of security alerts, such as suspected car bombs.
In addition, Croydon is connecting its 750 Pay & Display machines to the network so that control room staff can automatically receive fault signals and status messages if, for example, a machine?s door has been opened, coins are jammed or tickets are low.
Also, date and time changes can be easily broadcast to all machines. The council estimates that it is saving between #75,000 and #90,000 a year because it does not have to send out staff to monitor machines.
Subject: Carrolls Transport Activities: import-export freight and distribution Installation: Securicor Datatrak mobile data communications system
When your business is import-export freight and distribution, being close to the world?s busiest airport makes commercial sense, which is why Carrolls Transport moved its main depot to Heathrow from central London in 1962. This family-run company specialises in moving high-value loads, particularly electronics, computer equipment and toys, as well as carpets and food, around the UK. Haulage and distribution has been a little slower than some industries to acknowledge the business benefits of IT. Indeed, Carrolls? gradual move away from voice communications with its vehicles has been influenced by its major customers. Martin Elford, company secretary at Carrolls, says: ?We have expensive goods to protect and our customers want to be reassured that security is a top priority.? He adds: ?We chose a Securicor Datatrak mobile data communications system for our valuable tractor units. This means our control room is immediately alerted on screen if a vehicle has been tampered with, or is deviating from its scheduled route.? ?The company is actually winning more top-quality jobs because we have these levels of control at our fingertips,? he says. Now that Carrolls is no longer exclusively using mobile phones and pagers, it has been able to reduce its traditionally high quarterly bills by 10 per cent. The company?s vehicles are more secure because they are monitored, so it has also been able to reduce its annual vehicle insurance premium by 10 per cent. But perhaps best of all are the benefits the company is experiencing in scheduling efficiency. Staff can see at a glance where vehicles are, what they are doing and whether they can respond to new instructions. Ray Hoare, general manager at Carrolls, says: ?Most of our calls are at 3pm; these might involve an extra collection at the airport or an unexpected delivery. ?With real-time information we can give an instant answer to a customer. We no longer have to phone them back 10 minutes later to confirm that we can do the job
Subject: Paul Treuthardt & Duncan Mortimer Activities: Formula 1 journalist and round-the-world Austin Mini driver Installation: Nokia World Communications kit, consisting of Nokia 2110 GSM digital phone and Cellular Data Card
For the majority of companies, the mobile data they are likely to come across will be associated with cellular, and not dedicated, data service providers. There are few real-life examples of how this technology is being used, but we found two users who would, quite simply, be lost without their mobile data systems.
Self-confessed road warrior and Formula 1 journalist, Paul Treuthardt, uses a Nokia World Communications kit, consisting of a Nokia 2110 GSM digital phone and Nokia Cellular Data Card, which he can use on about 40 networks worldwide. Attached to the Data Card (with a small link) and plugged into his laptop, this essentially mobile office keeps Treuthardt in touch on his trips to Grand Prix circuits.
The mobile phone replaces the need for a fixed phone at the Grand Prix, which costs up to #150 a time, so Treuthardt can speak, email and fax his copy to clients Agence France Press, The Adelaide Advertiser and F1 Sokuho, a Japanese racing magazine.
?On the Grand Prix circuit in Europe last year, I sat in a dusty car park the day before the Nurburgring (in Germany) press room opened for business, wrote a story, and sent it via the Nokia mobile phone directly to two Australian newspapers,? he says. ?In Monaco, I sat in the sun on the harbour front gazing at the yachts, filing stories and checking my email.?
In April 1996 Austin Mini enthusiast Duncan Mortimer from Sussex set off on the first-ever round-the-world trip in a Mini. The venture spanned five continents and six months. Mortimer also used the 2110 GSM digital phone and Cellular Data card to keep in touch with his UK back-up team, port authorities, customs and the press by fax, email and the Internet.
When his fuel pump burst in Thailand, he faxed his UK suppliers with details and, within minutes, a replacement had been despatched and was being flown out. During this repair time Mortimer toured parts of Bangkok by taxi. He plugged his phone?s cigarette lighter charger into the cab?s lighter: ?I can keep on the move without stopping to charge the phone ? apparently Thai taxi drivers often find their passengers using their cigarette lighters for this purpose,? says Mortimer.
Mobile Data lessons:
1 These are fairly complex IT projects so they must be carefully piloted.
2 They usually take longer than expected to roll out, so don?t expect too much too soon.
3 When choosing a network, consider levels of reliability (for getting data through to a central system, potential traffic congestion when sending messages from devices in the field), and security (for data transmission).
4 Look at running costs. Make sure you only pay for data sent and that the operator can maintain a 24-hour-a-day online connection to the network (GSM can?t offer this because charges are based on time).
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