Internet access on the move

Internet access for people on the move is a compelling service. Whip out your notebook computer in a cafe or by the beach and casually fire up an internet connection and you can count on turning the heads of observers.

"You mean you're sending email, from here, in the sun, by the beach?" "Yes, yes ... "

"Wow."

It could be, of course, that they're less envious than incredulous that someone supposedly liberated from the office remains tethered to work. And they might have a point.

Telecom has been offering mobile internet access for several years under the Mobile JetStream brand.

For someone toting a notebook computer, a GTRAN card, which consists of a slender radio transmitter and receiver, slides into a PC cardslot to connect to the 027 network.

Vodafone's Mobile Connect card provides access to a similar service, based on a slightly different technology, with the benefit that users can connect to the internet in about 30 countries that have the same GPRS network.

If your use of mobile internet access is a little more meaningful than showing off your ability to get email at the beach, the wow factor is without doubt genuine.

Both telcos' services are better than the speed of a dial-up connection and coverage is extensive.

In Telecom's case, wherever the 027 network goes, so does Mobile JetStream.

Similarly, wherever you can get an 021 signal, Vodafone's mobile data service will work.

The extent of the 027 network is displayed on Telecom's website. So, too, are accounts from several customers who are putting the service to serious use.

Dunedin-based DELTA Utility Services, an asset management and contracting company, has a system which records the geographical location of electrical supply components for customer Dunedin Electricity.

DELTA's staff need remote access to the component database when they're in the field working on maintenance of electrical supply equipment.

Information services manager Keith Beck says Mobile JetStream lets field staff with laptop computers access more accurate, timely data than was available off paper records.

"And the wait for data to download over the cellular data network is well with the tolerance range," Beck says. "By that I mean the amount of time someone will comfortably wait to retrieve data, without getting impatient or frustrated."

Another South Island firm with a critical business mission is Christchurch-based Cookie Time. The company has 44 franchise distributors delivering biscuits to retailers up and down the country.

Rather than laptop computers, the distributors carry handheld computers-cum-phones that connect to Mobile JetStream, providing them with a fully mobile invoicing system that speeds up the entire sales process.

Cookie Times information systems boss Chris White says the system had to be easy to use and secure, and it scores on both counts.

White says the system has eliminated a 225,000-invoice paper mountain. With each invoice costing 16 cents, that represents a big saving for the company's distributors, and provided a rapid payback for the $150,000 project.

Mike Pero of Mike Pero Mortgages knows all about the meaning of money, being in the business of getting it into the hands of property buyers. A home purchase is often a tense, time-sensitive transaction, so anything that can done to smooth the process helps prevent deals falling through.

Pero says a key benefit Mobile JetStream has provided him is more time in the day.

"I'd say it's given me an extra 45 minutes to an hour in my day. I wouldn't be without my GTRAN card and Mobile JetStream now."

The service lets him send and receive emails and download data from just about anywhere. He can deal with most of the 100 or so emails he gets and sends each day while travelling to and from meetings.

"Its changed the way I work. I do lots of my emails in taxis. And when I'm flying I do a download just before I get on the plane, write the answers in the air, then transmit them when I land.

"This frees up time for dealing with people and helping them into their dream home."