Placing Wireless Technologies in Context: Are They Right for Your Agency?

Fundraising & Grants Innovations Internet Resources Interns & Volunteers Government Special Populations Community Resources Training Troubleshooting Planning & Management

Tech News is proudly supported by IBM

Placing Wireless Technologies in Context: Are They Right for Your Agency?
By Gilad Rosner
Director of IT Projects
The Coalition of Voluntary Mental Health Agencies

If marketers had their way, the word "Wireless" would appear everywhere: Wireless Cocoa Puffs, Cheese 'N' Wireless Crackers, Pepsi Wireless...

Wireless technologies are being sold aggressively and successfully the world over. But as is so often the case, the benefits are strictly relative to one's needs. For many nonprofits, the wireless panacea may be just a mirage.

So what exactly are all these cord-liberated gizmos? And, more importantly, do you need them to enhance your agency's existing IT system?

The (Brief) History of Wireless

Set your wireless "way back machine" to the early 1980s. In between buying Human League albums and Rubik's Cubes, you might have noticed the introduction of cell telephones. Owning a cell phone was an expensive prospect, and cell phone use faced stiff competition from pagers, which cost and weighed next to nothing. By the close of the 1980s, however, increased demand, competition, and lower manufacturing costs drove the price point of cell phones down enough to encourage people to retire their trusty beepers, and switch to two-way voice communications.

Weighing upwards of 3 lbs., the first cell phones were costly marvels of modernity. They allowed the businessperson to talk on the go, bringing a new level of convenience and annoyance to public spaces everywhere.

Fast-forward to the mid-1990s and the arrival of the Internet in homes and offices everywhere. Organizations quickly become reliant on network technologies to share data. Microsoft Windows overshadows Novell as the dominant network-oriented operating system. Ethernet cable, the now-standard method of connecting computer networks together, begins to proliferate, snaking its way behind desks, in walls, and through ceilings. Cell phones are common and much smaller and cheaper than their predecessors.

In 1996, the PalmPilot first appears, and quickly rises in popularity and sales, underscoring the burgeoning handheld market. The PalmPilot owes its success, in part, to its size – that of a shirt pocket. By keeping the device small and restricting its functions to only the basics (calendar, address book, to do list, memo pad), the makers of the PalmPilot garnered a broad user base of businesspeople and consumers.

Current Technologies

As they stand today, wireless technologies break down into two major headings: fixed and mobile. Fixed means the wireless devices (generally) stay in one spot; mobile means the technology is designed to "go places." Cell phones are an example of mobile wireless technology. In order to make a phone call while driving (always use a hands-free set!) and not drop the call, cell network operators like Verizon and Cingular have to place "cell sites" around the country. These sites consist of a tower and a base station containing switching equipment. Your call is handed off from site to site as you move. An example of a fixed wireless technology is satellite television. Once that dish is planted in the ground or secured to your roof, it's not going anywhere.

Satellite technology is wireless because it's impractical and ugly to trail a wire from a satellite in geosynchronous orbit to your apartment.

A more recent addition to the wireless family is wireless Ethernet. Also called WLAN or 802.11 or Wi-Fi, wireless Ethernet allows you to have a computer network without a tangle of wires straying across the floor, nailed up the walls or hanging from the ceiling. The idea is simple: a fixed wireless hub, or "access point," sends and receives radio signals to and from wireless Ethernet cards in desktop computers (fixed) and laptops (mobile). All the data that you would normally send through Ethernet cables can be sent wirelessly, and can ultimately be joined with traditional wired traffic by connecting the access point to a wired hub.

Wi-Fi has reached a very attractive price point for most users, with access points hovering between $130 and $250 and Wi-Fi cards that connect to PCs costing between $80 and $180. A single access point has a range of 150 feet, though you might get less coverage depending on the building materials in your office or home, and whether you're trying to get a signal around corners or through walls or ceilings.

Wi-Fi is also gaining notoriety among laptop users who wish to access the Internet outdoors. Prior to Wi-Fi, if a laptop user wanted to connect to the Internet, she or he had to dialup through the regular phone network or use a cellular modem. The problem with cellular modems is that cell phone networks were not designed to handle data traffic, and so the maximum speed that one can reach is 19.2 Kbps. With Wi-Fi, mobile users can connect to public or private networks at speeds in excess of 128 Kbps. In other words, what once took five minutes to download via a cellular modem now takes less than a minute on Wi-Fi.

Not content with moving their laptop from desk to sofa to bathroom, mobile computer users are taking their machines outside to stare at their screens on park benches and at sidewalk cafes.

Wi-Fi for No-Fee
Subscription-based wireless Internet access (such as Boingo Wireless) is beginning to materialize, and there are a number of grassroots efforts to bring free wireless Internet access to public spaces. Groups like NYCwireless and the Bay Area Wireless Users Group list public "nodes" that Wi-Fi users can utilize for free.

If you have staff members out in the field, and they need Internet access on their laptops – to check mail, or to access the office Intranet – you could consider a free or subscription wireless service, but only if you know that the field workers will always be near a node. In most cases, your field workers will be going to a variety of locations, and will not be close to a wireless node. Therefore, the best choice is a regular dialup modem and an Internet Service Provider (ISP) with local phone numbers. In that rare case when you know your field worker will always be going to, say, Bryant Park, you might consider giving Wi-Fi a try.

As to the Rest . . .
Personal Digital Assistants, or PDAs, like the PalmPilot, are also benefiting from advances in wireless technologies. Wi-Fi cards are available for a number of PDAs, and some handhelds, like the Blackberry, are fully integrated with certain cellular phone networks. Businesses are now able to extend their reach by tying PDAs into their internal networks. This means that if you have Lotus Notes or Microsoft Outlook, for example, for your email and calendaring, a mobile employee could check her Inbox and her schedule while out in the field. If schedule changes are critical information for a field worker, this could be a very useful tool. If you're one of the unfortunate few who absolutely, positively must read every email the moment it arrives, moderately priced solutions are available.

On the immediate horizon, we are beginning to see evolution in cellular networks. Although Wi-Fi performs exceptionally well for fixed applications (sitting in Starbucks, for instance), the technology is not designed for web surfing in a moving car. To do that, one needs a more advanced cellular network. Terms like 2.5G, 3G, GPRS, WCDMA, and the ungainly 1XRTT are the heralds of faster networks, pushing data rates up to 40 Kbps initially, and exceeding 128 Kbps in the long-term. While the two-way videophone is not around the corner, watching movie previews on your phone will soon be a reality, though how companies can make money off that gimmick is anyone's guess.

While the "killer app" of cell networks is still person-to-person voice communications, upgrades to the networks will allow for much faster data speeds for mobile users.

A Practical Approach to Wireless Technology
It's important to be aware that new does not always equal useful. While it would be nice to not have wires trailing around your office, it's still 20% to 40% cheaper to use traditional wired hardware. While it's nice to be able to check eBay while you are out in the field, it may distract you from working on your budget spreadsheet. If you have a business need that can be solved by wireless technologies, there are a number of low-cost options that could make you happy. Wireless is but another option in a panoply of technological choices. Makers of wireless technologies are convinced that their products will save you time, money, and effort. But, who cares what they think…the question is: What is your business problem, and what technology will solve it?

Wireless Today: Should Your Agency Hop on the Bandwagon?
With low margins on computer sales, spiraling debt from speculative ventures, and a bursting of the stock market bubble, the computer and telecommunications industries are diversifying their products as fast as possible. To help their sagging markets, manufacturers of all kinds have put wireless technologies at the top of their priority list.

With over 128 million cell phone users in the United States, the ubiquitous presence of office computer networks, and increases in the use of home networks, wireless technologies inject a much-needed stream of revenue into computer and network companies' pockets. But in order to get that revenue, manufacturers need to make a compelling business case to the public. The first people to buy new technology are the so-called "early adopters." These tend to be gadget lovers and corporations who have reached "buying point" in their IT budget cycle. But these users alone are not enough to sustain this escalating industry. Hence, lower level users are increasingly targeted for market expansion.

It can be difficult to resist the promises offered by the manufacturers of wireless technologies: ease of use, improved communications, time, and hence, cost-saving benefits. But nonprofits, unless they are very well-heeled, need not keep up with the Joneses. In fact, the history of wireless development illustrates that nonprofits (and other low intensity users) should wait for further, inevitable iterations of new technology to drive cost down.

Gilad Rosner can be contacted at grosner@cvmha.org.

Printer Friendly Format

Innovations....
Wireless Innovations: New Wireless Technology Is Good News For Nonprofits (October, 2007)

METRIX – A Free Database Solution for Nonprofits (March, 2005)

The Case For Wireless Networking (October, 2004)

Open Source – New Horizons (May, 2004)

The Electronic Data Initiative for Nonprofits (August, 2003)

Placing Wireless Technologies in Context: Are They Right for Your Agency? (October, 2002)

How "Open Source" Can Open Doors for Nonprofits (June, 2002)

CUNY Wired! Showcases the Best in Academic Technology (April, 2002)

A Handheld Future (June, 2001)

Migration to Handhelds: Visiting Nurse Association of Brooklyn (June, 2001)

Using Handhelds in the Field: ACCION International Empowers the Self-Employed Poor (June, 2001)

Nonprofits Benefit from ePayments Technology (April, 2001)

Handheld Computing: Readers Respond (July, 2000)

Is Handheld Computing Ready for you? (May, 2000)

Community Voice Mail comes to New York (August, 1999)

Other Articles of Interest....
How we're using Information Technology to Further our Mission (February, 1999)


Search		Home

About Tech News Events Link Library Feedback Site Map Subscription