Mobile Internet boosts business

Central Penn Business Journal, Aug 1, 2008 by Ryan, Jim T

REGION

Technology, such as the various Internetequipped wireless phones and personal digital assistants, gets better all the time.

To keep up, telecommunication companies need to upgrade their wireless networks often.

Most of the large telecommunication firms have upgraded in Central Pennsylvania to third-generation, or 3G, technology that can give businesspeople an edge while they're on the move. 3G is similar in speed to a DSL landline connection, and sometimes faster, dependingonthe wireless device and geography.

In today's mobile workforce, businesses need to be more productive by eliminating down time due to travel, said companies and technology groups.

"We're able to take what they thought was a desktop exp erience and extend it o ut to their mobile workforce," said Harry Martin, director of advanced technologies for Verizon Communications Inc.

The New York-based telecommunications company has advanced broadband services for all of Central Pennsylvania and is months from blanketing Dauphin County with its version of the 3G network, Martin said.

Likewise, Texas-based AT&T Inc. and Kansas-based Sprint Nextel Corp. have increased the areas in which they offer 3G networks that allow faster Internet downloads on mobile devices.

AT&T offers the 3 G network in Lancaster and Harrisburg, with coverage to many surrounding areas. Most of eastern Cumberland County is also in the fold. AT&T plans to have 3G operational in York before the end of the summer, said spokeswoman Ellen Webner.

"More businesses are doing work on the road, so they need connectivity to the Internet, corporate e-mail and other applications," she said.

Sprint-branded service in Central Pennsylvania is offered through Shenandoah Telecommunications Co., also known as Shentel. The company has tens of thousands of customers in the region, which extends south to Virginia, east to Lancaster and northwest to Altoona, said Willy Pirtel, Shentel's vice president of sales. Shentel offers a 3G network, but coverage won't blanket the area until the middle of 2009, he said.

Derek Cummings, a partner with Harrisburg-based law firm McCarthy Weisberg Cummings, said such sophisticated devices and networks are a convenience.

"What's nice is that I can link into our software for the office," he said. "It can save you time in that regard and save you a trip to the office."

It definitely improves business efficiency, said Kelly Lewis, president and chief executive officer of the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania.

"I'm able to approve payroll on my BlackBerry from anywhere the 3 G network is available," he said. "I don't have to wait to get back to my home computer or the office."

Cummings said he also uses a BlackBerry device to stay linked while he wanders. However, even if such devices bring the Internet to your pocket, they have limitations, he said.

"I wouldn't want to sit there and read a 25page legal brief on it," Cummings said.

Telecom companies are building better wireless technology faster, Lewis said. Howpeople communicate changes all the time, even if many of the changes are behind the scenes.

Shentel sees changes, too.

Landline phone subscriptions have declined by about 7-10 percent around the nation, Pirtel said. Fewer people use landlines because they can get more from their wireless devices.

"With the plans available to businesspeople, that will only accelerate that process," he said.

3G networks have taken about 10 years to develop and build, telecom executives said. Faster Internet access on high-end wireless devices, such as the Apple iPhone 3G (AT&T), the Samsung Instinct (Sprint) and LG Dare (Verizon) will pay dividends for businesses while telecom companies work on the next generation of cellular technology.

Verizon is working on its fourth-generation network now, which would conform to global standards and offer some of the fastest speeds yet for mobile Internet.

"There's a lot of folks going this direction," Martin said. "But we're a couple years out until it's realized by our customers."

AT&T is also working on a 4G network, but it's in the theoretical phases now, Webner said.

Pirtel said 4G is already available, and it's called WiMax.

WiMax uses radio waves more efficiently than older systems to provide always-on mobile broadband, according to the WiMax Spectrum Owners Alliance, a group of companies investing in the new technology.

Sprint has touted its WiMax network, Xohm, for some time. The Baltimore-Washington, D.C., metro area is scheduled to be one of the first where Xohm goes live this year, according to the company.

Sprint, South Korea-based electronics maker Samsung Group, California-based computer-chip maker Intel and other technology companies formed the Open Patent Alliance in June to advance the adoption and deployment of WiMax.

There's a lot of developmentphase talk about 4G. With many larger metro areas to upgrade first, it may be some time before Central Pennsylvania sees wireless' next generation.

"Development of further upgraded networks is crucial, and we eagerly await those when they come," Lewis said.