Wi-Fi for windshield warriors: this forgotten wireless worker stands to gain a lot from Wi-Fi.

BEFORE THE CELLULAR BOOM of the 1990s and the wireless data rage of the early 2000s, FedEx was already practicing the fine art of anywhere/anytime wireless data communications. To exchange data with its couriers, it owned and operated a private wireless network connecting large U.S. metropolitan areas. FedEx built this wireless network in the 1980s for the same reason wireless data is so popular today: Saving time is essential to bottom-line profitability. Anywhere/anytime connectivity streamlines key operations such as data warehousing, dispatching, billing, and delivery coordination. Not only that, for FedEx, it powered a key differentiating service, namely real-time package tracking for customers.

FedEx couriers are just one example of windshield warriors. Windshield warriors are professionals who spend a significant amount of time behind the wheel. They include couriers, cable and power field personnel, repair and maintenance personnel, police, insurance inspectors, and real-estate agents. Just as wireless data was beneficial to FedEx, it's also beneficial to other companies and agencies with windshield warriors. However, running a private wireless network, as FedEx did, is an expensive operation few companies can afford.

When cellular carriers began providing low-speed wireless data services in the early 1990s, it finally became affordable for other companies to exchange wireless data with their windshield warriors. FedEx itself is in the process of switching over to AT&T Wireless' GPRS network.

The forgotten knowledge worker

Despite being an early adopter of wireless technology, the windshield warrior isn't generally thought of as a "knowledge" worker who is hungry for bandwidth. Even today, most of the data transmitted to and from the windshield warrior is low-bandwidth data such as incremental updates, notifications, status interrogations, short messages, and meter readings. Moreover, the proliferation of high bandwidth Wi-Fi hotspots in hotels, airports, and coffee houses is a better fit for corporate business users who travel by air and frequent the neighboring coffee house for breaks and business meetings with colleagues.

Forgotten in the Wi-Fi deployment plan is the windshield warrior. But, windshield warriors often require access to high-bandwidth information; for example, repair manuals, schematic diagrams, and computer and video-based training, etc. They also often have to upload high-bandwidth information to back end systems and/or databases, e.g., high-resolution photos. Transmitting high-bandwidth data over a cellular network is too expensive and slow, even at realistic 3G speeds. The reasonable alternative is to transmit such data via Wi-Fi.

Hotspots for windshield warriors

Toward this end, wireless ISPs and/or cellular carriers have an opportunity to extend the hybrid Wi-Fi/cellular model to serve the windshield warrior (see the section on Wi-Fi/Cellular Coexistence). The first step is to install Wi-Fi hotspots at locations that are strategic for the windshield warrior; in other words, venues the windshield warrior frequents anyway, and that permit drive-through and/or have easy parking. Examples include:

Gas stations--Where there are windshield warriors, there are gas stations to fuel their vehicles. Moreover, oil companies have been open to technological innovations that enhance their service; Exxon Mobil's SpeedPass program is a good example.

Fast-food restaurants--It seems like there's a fast-food restaurant on every corner. Because windshield warriors often have to ea on the road, the lunch hour can be a perfect opportunity to transmit and receive data via Wi-Fi. (McDonald's, as an example, has launched a pilot program to install Wi-Fi hotspots in its New York restaurants.)

Convenience stores--Mini-marts, such as 7-Eleven, are popular with windshield warriors. Many pick up breakfast at convenience stores and visit during the day for snacks. Windshield warriors can download their "orders" for the day while grabbing a bag of chips and a soda.

Side-benefits

In addition to being a strategic service offering for cellular carriers and addressing the business needs of the windshield warrior, deploying Wi-Fi hotspots for windshield warriors will reap side-benefits for the hotspot location owner, windshield warriors, and their companies.

Location owner

Location owners can offer Wi-Fi access to the general: public. Wi-Fi access then becomes a differentiating factor This is especially valuable in commodity markets (e.g., gas stations) because it increases revenue and builds customer loyalty.

Location owners can also partner with other businesses. For example, a rental car company could incentivize its customers to fuel at Wi-Fi-enabled gas stations, where the rented vehicle automatically accesses the Wi-Fi network to transparently update back-end systems on its "vital signs" (mileage, engine condition, etc.).

Finally, the location owners benefit from new customers visiting their business. For example, windshield warriors who start visiting the location to transmit business data might become regular customers, even on their off-hours.

Windshield warrior

Having to be physically present at headquarters to synchronize and exchange high-bandwidth data becomes less of a necessity when a worker has easy access to data on the road. For some windshield warriors, going to headquarters/hub is an out-of-the-way trip. Wi-Fi hotspots can therefore eliminate extra trips, letting the windshield warrior drive the business vehicle directly to/from home.

Windshield warrior's company

Fleet companies can use Wi-Fi to lower fuel expenses. Many fleet companies have their own fuel pumps because it's less expensive to buy fuel in bulk. With Wi-Fi, these businesses could buy fuel in "virtual" bulk, with metering and billing performed over the Wi-Fi sub-channel at service stations.

Companies could strike similar virtual bulk deals with fast-food restaurants to offer cheaper meals to windshield warriors as a company benefit.

Challenges

There are several challenges involved with the deployment of Wi-Fi hotspots for windshield warriors. The first challenge is a chicken-and-egg problem: Companies won't invest in Wi-Fi systems for their windshield warriors unless accessible Wi-Fi hotspots are ubiquitously available. On the other hand, location owners and wireless carriers won't ubiquitously deploy Wi-Fi hotspots for windshield warriors unless there's proven demand for the service.

The second challenge is overcoming security fears. Wi-Fi technology has been challenged by reports of weaknesses in its encryption algorithm. Although newer versions of the encryption algorithm fix these weaknesses and significantly increase the security of Wi-Fi transmissions, many companies remain skeptical of Wi-Fi security. To be sure, absolute security in communications (both wired and wireless) is never guaranteed, but new security techniques and best practices protect Wi-Fi from all but the most advanced attacks. (For more information on Wi-Fi security, see John Eder's article on page 18 of this issue.) This is especially true if client-side security software is installed on user devices; this shouldn't be a problem for windshield warriors because their devices are provisioned by their companies. The crux of the security challenge, therefore, is convincing companies that recent security enhancements make Wi-Fi sufficiently secure.

The third challenge is the complexity involved in managing and operating the ubiquitous network of Wi-Fi hotspots. In addition to the traditional billing and customer care duties, the network operator must, for each hotspot, authorize and monitor user access, identify suspicious user behavior (as part of defending against security attacks), detect and respond to failures, and collect logs for accounting/billing purposes.

Another major issue is scalability. The performance level of these tasks must be maintained even as the network grows to tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of hotspots. Moreover, the hotspot operator's systems may be required to run software agents to facilitate transactions between the windshield warriors and their companies. The network operator must be able operate different types/versions of software agents, as companies will likely have different requirements for the software agents.

These three challenges reaffirm the need for cellular carriers to be involved in the deployment of Wi-Fi hotspots for windshield warriors. Cellular carriers have the technological, marketing, and financial strength to overcome these challenges. For example, a carrier could gradually overcome the chicken-and-egg challenge by partnering with a major oil company to pilot the system in one city and roll out the service in stages across the country. A major oil company's (such as Exxon Mobil or Shell) network of gas stations automatically forms a nation-wide footprint. After ubiquity is established and demand materializes, the carrier could expand to other venues such as fast-food restaurants and convenience stores.

In terms of the security challenge, if a major cellular carrier puts its stamp of approval on Wi-Fi security, many companies' skepticism will lessen. Finally, with their experience running national cellular networks and their expected deployment of ubiquitous Wi-Fi hotspots (in coffee shops, airports, etc.), cellular carriers can piggyback the management and operation of hotspots for windshield warriors on existing systems.

MOBILE BUSINESS BENEFITS

Wi-Fi deployments in hotels, airports, and coffee houses are great for business people, but they leave windshield warriors out in the cold. However, a Wi-Fi hotspot deployment plan designed for windshield warriors could benefit the hotspot location owner, the windshield warriors, and their companies.

RELATED ARTICLE: Toward Wi-Fi/cellular co-existence.

In the 1990s, the cellular voice industry was becoming commoditized, and cellular carriers looked to wireless data to provide differentiated, value-added services for businesses and consumers alike. At the time, we were seeing rapid growth in both the Internet and cellular areas. Industry players thought consumers would buy into Internet data on their wireless handsets with the same enthusiasm they had for wired Internet data on their desktop computers.

Intoxicated with that optimism, cellular carriers raced toward 3G, the next-generation cellular technology, promising ISDN-like speeds for wireless data. However, the optimism was deflated in 2000 when disappointing demand for WAP data services raised red flags about the prospects of wireless data services, and technological problems with 3G began to surface. Suddenly, the cellular industry found itself mired in debt (used to finance the purchase of 3G licenses), falling stock prices, diminishing average revenue per user (ARPU), and high churn rates. The global economic downturn in general, and the high-tech downturn in particular, didn't help.

Distracted by its woes, the cellular industry almost didn't take notice of the disruptive technology of Wi-Fi Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). WLANs emerged in the early 1990s as a solution for connecting workers in warehouses and manufacturing plants. The WLAN explosion was triggered in 1997 when the IEEE unified different WLAN standards under a single Wi-Fi standard, resulting in a rapid decline in WLAN equipment costs, and enabling interoperability among different vendors' Wi-Fi equipment. Wi-Fi WLANs started seeing rapid deployments on corporate campuses, college campuses, and homes. More important, entrepreneurs picked up on Wi-Fi's commercial potential, and several commercial wireless ISPs (WISPs) emerged to serve travelling business people by installing subscription-based Wi-Fi WLANs in airport lounges and airports. Coffee houses soon followed. Wi-Fi began to gain a strong foothold.

Threats to cellular

The problem for cellular carriers is that these venues are locations natural for wireless data exchange, and so are a good fit for short range, yet high-speed, Wi-Fi WLANs. (Wi-Fi transmission rates are much higher than even 3G.) Cellular carriers were pinning their hopes on wireless data, but Wi-Fi was poised to divert this revenue stream. Moreover, with Wi-Fi Voice-over-IP looming on the horizon, Wi-Fi technology could also pose a threat to the cellular voice market (figures 1 and 2).

[FIGURES 1 OMITTED]

Fortunately for the cellular industry, commercial WISPs haven't been as successful as expected. To be sure, there's still a threat from grassroots hobbyists who want to wirelessly share their Internet DSL/Cable/T1 connectivity for free. However, commercial WISPs, responsible for building their own nation-wide networks and offering limited inter-WISP roaming haven't been able to provide the ubiquitous access necessary to attract a critical mass of subscribers.

Cellular strengths

Despite being late to the Wi-Fi game, cellular carriers are uniquely positioned to be successful Wi-Fi WISPs. They can provide ubiquitous coverage by falling back on their cellular coverage in locations where Wi-Fi coverage doesn't exist. They also have the marketing power, the customer care infrastructure, and the billing systems necessary to make a nationwide Wi-Fi successful. Moreover, a cellular carrier can legitimately treat an unprofitable WISP business (in the short-run) as a loss leader to promote the use of wireless data in general, eventually increasing data traffic over its cellular network. Indeed, the most visible and successful (although most likely still in the red) nationwide WISP today is T-Mobile. Although T Mobile is still ironing out the technology that will allow seamless roaming from cellular to Wi-Fi, it's already offering unified billing, and is benefiting from the opportunity to cross-sell cellular service to Wi-Fi subscribers, and vice versa.

With cellular companies entering the Wi-Fi game, a new model has emerged for the future of wireless services: hybrid Wi-Fi/cellular. Cellular carriers can give their customers seamless wireless service via a hybrid wireless channel consisting of a cellular sub-channel and a Wi-Fi sub-channel in parallel--the high-bandwidth, short-range, and low-cost Wi-Fi sub-channel for high-density localized areas, and the lower-bandwidth, long-range, and high-cost 2G/2.5G/3G cellular component for low-density wide areas. Customers should see the lower cost reflected in Wi-Fi rates.

If you're wondering how lxEVDO will affect the equation, you aren't alone, lxEvDo is a flavor of 3G. It's technologically promising but, as a business offering, its success is yet to be proven. Nonetheless, if lxEvDo takes off, it will still have lower bandwidth than Wi-Fi (especially 802.11a/g) and will likely be more expensive build out and operate.

Obstacles for windshield warriors

The main disadvantage, however, of the Wi-Fi sub-channel for windshield warriors is its inherent latency (figure 3). The latency arises because the data waits for delivery until the windshield warrior drives within range of a Wi-Fi hotspot to connect. However, even though the Wi-Fi sub-channel isn't 100 percent anytime/anywhere, it still works for a couple of reasons. First, wind-shield warriors already frequent the Wi-Fi hotspots I propose in this article.

[FIGURE 3 OMITTED]

Second, not all data is time-critical. Dispatches, job completion alerts, and initiation of billing are time critical. Updated schematics, on the other hand, aren't. In fact, high-bandwidth data tends to be, or can he engineered to be, less time-critical, making Wi-Fi latency less of an issue.

Figure 4 classifies data with two factors in mind: how much bandwidth it requires and how time-critical it is. The hybrid wireless can cost-effectively serve the majority of data transmissions.

[FIGURE 4 OMITTED]

By serving a real need for the windshield warrior, the hybrid wireless service I've described will be useful to windshield warriors. As Nextel has demonstrated with the popularity of its push-to-talk feature among small businesses and "blue-collar" professionals, high functionality translates to strong customer loyalty, which in turn leads to high ARPU for wireless carriers.

Figure 2: Gaining momentum--Wi-Fi technology has gained a strong
foothold in strategic venues such as college and corporate campuses,
hotels, and airports.

                 Airports              Homes           Coffee Shops

  Value      Better service to   Allow single        Better experience
  Added      travelers and       Broadband modern    for patrons and
             potential source    serve computers     potential source
             of revenues.        in different        of revenues.
                                 rooms--no wires.

Strategic    Business            "Conquering"        Professionals and
Importance   travelers spend     homes increases     students do
             significant time    exposure to Wi-Fi   laptop work in
             in airports         technology.         coffee shops.

                  College            Corporate           Hotels &
                 Campuses            Campuses           Convention
                                                          Centers

  Value      Provide mobile      * Save wire-to-     Alternative to
  Added      students with       desk cost           low-speed wired
             continuous          especially if       dial-up
             high-speed          many architecture
             connectivity        changes or
                                 construction
                                 restrictions.

                                 * Allows worker
                                 mobility on
                                 campus e.g.
                                 meetings.

Strategic    "Hooking" future    Wi-Fi WLAN card     Another touch-
Importance   professionals and   becomes standards   point with
             businessmen.        issue by IT         business
                                 departments         traveler.

Dr. Hisham Kassab is a wireless/telecom/IT strategy and technology consultant. He performs financial, market, and strategic-technological alignment analysis for senior technical management. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering, a master's degree in operations research, and a doctorate in electrical engineering & computer science, all from MIT. His doctoral research focused on wireless communications. Formerly with Booz Allen & Hamilton, his recent work at MobiLaps has covered Wi-Fi threats and opportunities from the perspective of U.S. cellular carriers, as well as new business opportunities brought about by Wi-Fi technology, [e-mail], [e-mail].