Transcript Know your Application

Wide Area Wireless
Choosing A Wireless
Service Provider
Jay Best, President
[email protected]
631-262-0357
www.best-mobile.com
Agenda
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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 Factors
Some 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
My ranking for a field
service dispatch
application.
Rank your app!
• Availability/Coverage
• Connection Mode
(Packet vs. Circuit Switched)
• Available Devices
• Data Pricing Model
• Management Features
• Power Consumption
• Bandwidth
Availability/
Coverage
Satellite
AMPS (Analog Cellular)
PCS (CDMA, iDEN, GPRS) and
Pager networks
2.5 G
802.11
3G
Nothing else matters if the network is not there
when you need it.
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
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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
The importance
of Bandwidth is
overrated for
enterprise apps
• 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
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
GSM/GPRS is a
TDMA standard
FDMA = 1 voice per channel
TDMA = 3-8 voices per channel
CDMA = 10-20 voices per channel
Source: Figure 21-1 of Wireless Crash Course by
Paul Bedell, McGraw Hill, 1999
GSM/GPRS
GSM/GPRS will
have a great
future in the US
once the
roaming is fully
in place and
GPRS is fully
deployed.
• 3 Major US carriers
(AT&T, T-Mobile and Cingular)
• Extensive Roaming Abroad
– In the US roaming is signed but not delivered
• Several Flavors
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CSD (Circuit Switched Data)
HSCSD (High Speed Circuit Switched Data)
GPRS (General Packet Radio Service)
EDGE (Enhanced Data GSM Environment)
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
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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
http://www.nextel.com/phone_services/coverage/index.shtml
Coverage is decent – but there is NO roaming
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.co
m/jsp/express_network/availabi
lity_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
Samsung i330
(Palm)
Handspring
Treo 300
(Palm)
Toshiba 2032
(Pocket PC)
Source: http://Sprintpcs.com
Sprint
Coverage
Sprint
Coverage
(Colorado)
Pager Networks
• Motient (ARDIS network)
These Networks:
 Reliable
 Excellent building
penetration
 Packet Switched
(always on)
 SLOW
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19.2 kbps
RIM 850/857
Palm modem available
Arch wireless
• Mobitex (Cingular)
– 8 kbps
– RIM 950/957
– Palm.net
Many specialized and industrial devices use these networks.
Mobitex Coverage
Coverage is
thin or nonexistent 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
WiFi gives
the option of
creating your
own as
needed
network
• 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)
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
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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
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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.