Communications For All

Options for local and regional fleets are on the way

As an industry that invests large amounts of capital in mobile assets, trucking has long understood the importance of wireless data communications. However, the key to successfully adopting wireless communications is finding an acceptable balance between cost and coverage.

Up to this point, the need to balance that equation has largely limited wireless data communications to wide-ranging TL fleets. With the introduction nearly a decade ago of wireless systems with national coverage, TL carriers quickly became the first viable commercial market for those services, easily justifying the cost of mobile communications and reaping the benefits of extending their information systems into the cabs of their trucks.

However, many other types of fleets - less-than-truckload, local and regional distribution, vocational, and private - have held back, understanding the potential benefits of wireless data communications, but unable to find an adequate return on investment for their particular operations. And while TL carriers and their enthusiasm for new technology receive most of the attention from the press, it is these other "have-not" fleets that operate the majority of the 7-million registered commercial vehicles in the United States.

That division is about to disappear. New data communications technologies, as well as new partnerships between existing service providers, will soon deliver a broad menu of wireless services that will offer something for everyone who needs to send and receive information from a truck or trailer. The entire trucking industry is about to get the wireless services it needs, at prices it can afford.

Cost vs. coverage Many TL carriers have been able to justify the relatively high cost of satellite-based communications because their highest priority is ubiquitous coverage, that is the ability to communicate with vehicles anywhere, any time. National cellular-based service, which has some service holes but offers near ubiquitous coverage at rates that are competitive with satellite service, has also proved cost-effective for longhaul irregular-route carriers. In both cases, TL carriers are able to hold down monthly communications costs because they send a relatively low volume of small position and status messages.

For other types of fleets, however, the cost of sending data is more important than national coverage. LTL fleets, for example, want to capture shipment and billing information when drivers pick up freight, and route sales operations want their drivers to handle all transactions at the customer's location. Similarly, a field service fleet wants its mobile workers to have remote access to technical and customer-account data bases. In these cases, data volumes are high but the operating area is limited, and the priority is affordable high-volume data transmission, not national coverage.

A third wireless scenario for trucking requires the lowest possible hardware and service costs combined with national or wide regional coverage to handle extremely low data volumes. Trailer tracking is a good example, since fleets with large trailer pools can't afford to outfit them with equipment that costs thousands of dollars per unit, and most would be satisfied with one or two position reports a day. Another would be fleets looking to send simple dispatch messages to drivers and receive basic status messages in return.

It is these applications, and others like them, that are now being offered practical options. The following companies have already developed or will shortly introduce a wide array of wireless data services that can be tailored to fit almost any fleet's particular requirements. And if you still don't see one that meets your needs, have a little patience. Technology and business development is moving swiftly in this area, and other new or hybrid services are just around the corner.

Qualcomm Corp. (www. qualcomm.com) A pioneer in the industry, Qualcomm currently provides wireless service to over 220,000 trucks in North America, making it the largest wireless communications company serving trucking. Concentrating on TL carriers and private fleets with similar operations, it built that large customer base by providing two-way messaging and location information over a satellite-based system.

The strength of the service, which is called OmniTRACS, is ubiquitous coverage in the U.S. and Canada, as well as separate but linkedservice in Mexico. However, it comes at a relatively high cost for the vehicle hardware and for actual messaging charges. Since TL drivers are moving on irregular routes over long distances, the need for coverage offsets those costs. However, it's been harder to cost-justify the current satellite-based service for other types of fleet applications.

Now Qualcomm is moving to expand its services beyond its traditional TL market through partnership agreements and expanded service plans that should prove attractive to LTL and regional fleets, while also upgrading available services to its current TL customers.

The most significant partnership for potential new fleet customers is with Symbol Technologies, a maker of hand-held computers and short-range, or local-area, wireless systems widely used in warehousing operations. As part of the agreement, Symbol has designed a new on-board wireless transceiver that also incorporates a programmable computer running under the Windows CE operating system.

The MVPc, or mobile vehicle PC, will not only replace the current OmniTRACS satellite transceiver, but will also be used for a new land-based wireless service called OmniExpress. Expected to be ready for commercial service early next year, the new service will be based on digital cellular technology linked by Qualcomm into a national network. It will complement the company's satellite service with an alternative that offers lower costs for high volume wireless data communications but without the satellite's ubiquitous coverage.

The second major Qualcomm partnership offers a new service to its existing customer base of TL carriers, who have been asking for a low-cost/high-coverage system that would allow them to track untethered trailers. The new service, which will be provided by Vantage Tracking Systems, uses a network of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites that can send and receive short messages. Relatively inexpensive trailer transceivers for the service can run on integrated batteries for up to 30 days while unhooked from tractor power, and will cost-effectively transmit short position and trailer-status reports.

Qualcomm says it will also soon offer a land-based trailer system that will further reduce tracking costs for fleets that don't require the true ubiquitous coverage provided by the Vantage LEO service.

American Mobile (www.ammobile.com) While American Mobile's first service for trucking was a satellite-based system intended for TL carriers, two years ago the company acquired the ARDIS land-based wireless data network originally developed by IBM and Motorola for field-service applications. By offering a combined, or "multi-modal" system that allows fleets to mix and match satellite- and land-based systems depending on their coverage and data needs, the company has successfully begun to attract LTL customers and other fleets with local or regional operations.

The multi-modal system automatically connects to the lower-cost ARDIS network if it's available, and uses satellite service for high priority messages when it is outside of ARDIS coverage. To lower hardware costs, fleets can also choose dedicated ARDIS or satellite transceivers based on a truck's operating area.

Other fleets with operations concentrated within the service areas covered by the ARDIS network are choosing to use that service without the satellite backup. UPS, for example, has just signed a contract to provide 50,000 local drivers with ARDIS service. In addition to lower communications costs, the land-based service can also use much smaller modems than the satellite service, allowing UPS and others to give drivers hand-held wireless units that can be carried into customer locations.

Early next year, American Mobile will further leverage its ARDIS investment by offering wireless e-mail over a small two-way pager. Called eLink, it will be primarily aimed at mobile executives. But the company also hopes that longhaul fleet customers will offer the low-cost service to drivers as a way to send and receive personal e-mail while they're away from home.

HighwayMaster Communications (www.highwaymaster.com) Although it, too, services the TL market, HighwayMaster offers a land-based cellular system rather than a satellite system. While coverage is not truly ubiquitous, it is national. Slightly lower hardware costs, a cellular voice option, and availability of additional information services have allowed HighwayMaster to offset the coverage differences and compete successfully with the two satellite services in that longhaul marketplace.

The company says it will begin offering untethered trailer tracking over the same national cellular network later this year. Called TrackWare, the new service uses a technology called cellemetry, which sends and receives short, low-cost messages over the cellular system. Cost for the trailer hardware and monthly service fees should be somewhat lower than those for the LEO satellite tracking systems, according to HighwayMaster. Like the other trailer systems, its primary market will be TL carriers.

Eaton Corp. (www.eaton.com) Fleet Advisor from the Trucking Information Services Div. (TISD) of Eaton Corp. is actually a package that includes a proprietary on-board computer and fleet management software, as well as wireless data communications to link those two elements. Currently, Eaton is marketing Fleet Advisor to waste haulers, private grocery chain distribution fleets, and others that need complete distribution management solutions.

Since the company stresses the functionality of its complete package rather than how the separate elements work, it's a bit misleading to only talk about its wireless communications. However, it should be pointed out that Eaton currently offers two wireless options - one satellite-based for complete coverage and the other land-based for better cost efficiency. The satellite data service is provided by Norcom Networks Corp., and the land-based service is provided by BellSouth Wireless Data. Other types of wireless communications could be adopted if they provide either a price or service advantage.

BellSouth Wireless Data (www.bellsouthwd.com) Originally known as RAM Mobile Data, BellSouth Wireless Data has a large land-based data-only network. The network offers good coverage in most metropolitan areas, and its data cost structure is well-suited to LTL, regional, and distribution fleet operations within those areas.

Rather than offer wireless service to fleets directly, BellSouth provides the communications link for other companies marketing a variety of wireless services. At last count, it had over 60 of these resellers in transportation and related areas, including Eaton's TISD.

However, there is one service directly marketed by BellSouth that does have applications in trucking. Inter@ctive Paging offers wireless messaging using the RIMS 950, a small two-way pager with a keyboard for entering messages. Charges for the wireless e-mail are based on a flat, monthly rate. While it probably isn't the best solution for transmitting large amounts of billing or customer information, it is perfectly suited for status messages, dispatch notifications, and other short communications between drivers and fleets.

Vantage Tracking Solutions (www.vantagetracking.com) Vantage is an example of a company that wants to do one thing well. In this case, it's untethered trailer tracking using the LEO satellite network owned and operated by ORBCOMM and the ARDIS land-based network. Although monthly charges are the same for both services, the basic LEO system provides daily position reports with ubiquitous coverage, while the land-based system sends multiple position reports each day but lacks coverage outside of major metropolitan areas. Message size is limited, but through the use of coding a single location message can also include information on trailer status, unused cargo capacity, and other sensor data.

Intended for TL carriers, the Vantage service is offered as a package that can be integrated with existing fleet management systems. As mentioned earlier, Qualcomm is also offering the Vantage trailer tracking to its customers.

Although full commercial service isn't expected until later this year, Vantage has already signed up TL carrier Schneider National and the trailer leasing company TIP for its tracking system. It's also expected that trailer manufacturers will soon offer to install the Vantage transceivers as original equipment.

ARINC (www.arinc.com) Established by a consortium of airlines to provide that industry with multi-mode wireless communications, ARINC currently has three systems for the trucking industry.

The first is Dominium, an untethered trailer tracking system designed for TL carriers. It sends and receives short messages over the ORBCOMM LEO satellite network. The system, which provides trailer and sensor information as well as trailer location, is currently undergoing field tests and commercial availability is scheduled for later this year.

The second service is a multi-mode messaging system intended for cost-conscious fleets looking for basic wireless communications. The system uses the small RIMS two-way pager, which snaps into a cab-mounted cradle. The cradle includes a modem for the ORBCOMM LEO network, a GPS receiver for determining location, and a battery charger. If the system detects BellSouth Wireless coverage, it uses that less expensive service to transmit or receive short messages. If it's outside BellSouth coverage, it automatically switches to the ORBCOMM network, which is more expensive but provides complete coverage. This system could be used by both TL carriers and regional distribution or service fleets that may occasionally roam outside of the land-based service's metropolitan coverage areas.

The third service uses the same multi-mode system to remotely monitor and control "smart" refrigeration units from Carrier Transicold and Thermo King.

PeopleNet Communications (www.intouchavl.com) InTouch from PeopleNet Communications is an analog cellular voice and data system aimed at TL carriers. Providing national coverage, it controls communications costs by using the national paging network rather than a cellular telephone connection to send short messages to vehicles. Return messages and other wireless data are then transmitted over the cellular system to a control center.

Fleet users access that data over the Internet, which eliminates the cost of a dedicated or dial-up land-line connection. The Internet feature also reduces software and integration costs for fleets since they only need a browser to communicate with drivers, and it allows PeopleNet to easily upgrade features and services without having to send and install software to customers.

Ease of use and comparatively low communications costs make InTouch attractive to smaller TL carriers that haven't already invested heavily in fleet management systems. The company says it will continue to focus on TL fleets, adding untethered trailer tracking in the near future and other features for that market.