What is "Wireless" ?

The wireless world is not a simple as it seems. People will claim to have a wireless application that you subsequently discover is actually a WLAN (wireless local area network) application. That means it will only work while it is in range of an antenna located on the property of the people running the system. This is like having a wireless handset for a phone wired into the premises.

A real wireless application is WWAN (wireless wide area network) and will run all the time your wireless device is in range of a compatible signal. This is like having a cell phone. In fact, the WWAN runs on the same kind of signals as your cell phone. So, being a savvy user, you know that not all phones will work everywhere, and WWAN devices are the same.

A Bell cell phone won't work where there is only an AT&T signal. Your wireless device has to be right for the network you want to connect to, and coverages differ. All wireless computing devices are digital, but not all use the same kind of signal, and not all signals are available in your area.

CDPD has been available widely in the USA, and also in much of Canada except Ontario and Quebec. Anyone with CDPD access to the internet can run our demo on their wireless handheld device (except for the printing) provided they are located in an area with CDPD signal. In general you can expect CDPD to be slower than GPRS.

GPRS recently became available in our area (Southern Ontario), so that is what we recommend to local customers. Fido (Microcell) and Rogers AT&T supply GPRS access, and it is available mainly along the 401 corridor and Toronto (May 2002). GPRS is also expanding across North America. We have tested using the Microcell GPRS network, and do our PDA demos with a Fido card. Ruggedized GPRS devices will soon (August 2002) be available for use in Ontario.

What this means is that our wireless route sales server is available to the majority of Americans and Canadians. Most of you can run our demo, or a live version of our system, wirelessy in your area. As signal coverage increases we can expect the rural and more remote areas to also come within range. The further you are located from your local signal, the slower the performance will be, however speeds are improving all the time.