Look, up in the sky! It's a phone! It's a Wi-Fi™! It's a 3G!
By Timothy Brady
Last week we began this series to describe mobile technology and how it can be utilized by your trucking operation. As we traverse this multi-week series, keep in mind trucking and transportation technology is advancing at warp speed. No matter how detailed and complete this series may seem, there will be products introduced which could revolutionize the industry or become the next fad. My point is, keep your eyes and ears peeled for new technologies, but don’t be taken in by a fad or something that turns out to be snake oil. Do your homework, ask questions, and do the numbers to be sure the cost doesn’t negate the benefit.
With that said, let’s continue with our look at mobile technology:
Wi-Fi™ Wireless versus Broadband 3g Networks Wireless Technology:
The FCC has allowed operating in the 2.4 GHz spectrum with a bandwidth of 11 Mbps for use in Wi-Fi™ (Wireless Fidelity) communications. This technology has been the technology of choice for many individual truckers and the companies for which they drive. Most major truck stops employ a wireless internet system to which a driver may subscribe. This provides the individual trucker with the same computing power through his lap top computer which he would have if he were stationary at home. Wi-Fi™ creates a wireless high-speed internet environment (faster than cable DSL) that lets the trucker complete a number of on-line tasks very quickly.
But the next, or 3rd generation of wireless technology is taking over the mobile communications of many truckers, the 3G Network. So what is the difference between Wi-Fi™ and 3G network? The 3G provides download speeds of 14.4 megabits per second and upload speeds of 5.8 megabits per second. The minimum speed for a stationary user is 2 megabits per second. A user in a moving vehicle can expect 348 kilobits per second.
There are distinct differences between Wi-Fi™, or IEEE 802.11 technology, and the 3G network. Wi-Fi™ is basically a short-range network that offers high-bandwidth designed for data transfer. Unlike the Wi-Fi™ system, 3G networks are geared towards cellular telephone technology and Internet access. Wi-Fi™ works great if you are stationary, but because it is short range, once you exceed the limited range from its antennae (the “Hot Spot”), it becomes useless. 3G Networks, on the other hand, are designed specifically for the cell phone industry with the idea of providing download and upload capabilities as long as you are within range of a cell tower. 3G, as stated above, is about 3.4 megabits per second faster than Wi-Fi™ when stationary; that does drop to 348 kilobits per second (less then half a megabit per second) in a truck rolling down the highway. This means you won’t be able to send or receive streaming video or music, but it will permit the downloading or uploading of documents and e-mails into a 3G device, although the download and upload times will be much slower than if you were standing still.
This could include e-mailing delivered shipping documents to dispatch or Accounts Payable; retrieving the next day’s load assignments, checking a load board for possible return loads, checking weather and/or road conditions, communicating with shippers and receivers concerning their loads. With the faster download and upload speeds while stationary, you could expand this idea to stretching one’s educational horizons. This includes taking the many on-line webinars, taking training in safety, business or logistics specific to the trucking industry, non-credit university extension courses or actually working toward a university degree.
Keep in mind as you investigate each current or emerging technology, what is new today will be old next month. As an example concerning cell phones and internet connectivity, Verizon Wireless™ announced just last week that customers with Blackberry™ or Android™ smart phones would soon be able to use a free app enabling them to make calls with Skype™ --not just through stationary Wi-Fi™ connection, but through Verizon's 3G network. Skype™ lets you make phone calls through the Internet, bypassing the telephone companies’ conventional voice networks.
The lesson to be learned here is, constantly evaluate what your cell phone and mobile internet provider is offering and then decide is it a fad or beneficial to the bottom line of your operation? Technology is truly moving forward at warp speed; be sure you are keeping up with it, but not taking on unnecessary costs. It must always benefit your bottom line and add value to you and your customers.
As we continue this series on Your Mobile Technology, next week I’ll discuss GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) devices for trucking and how GPS technology is improving efficiency, but with caution–depending too much on it can be costly.
Good roads, and good loads, everyone.
Timothy Brady © 2010
www.timothybrady.com
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