New mobile technology takes businesses to new heights

There's no doubt that consumers are into it - but what do the two new 3G mobile phone networks mean for businesses? Are there tangible business benefits - and does the welding company making video calls while fixing a train in the Vodafone TV advertisement even exist?

It does. Greg Kershaw, managing director of Welding Specialties which features in the ad, says it's easier to use a video call to see the customer's need than trying to estimate the scale, time and cost of a job by verbal description.

Apparel and safety wholesaler Workgear Company has also issued their mobile sales force with 3G Nokia 6680 phones so they can make video calls. Ben Wiki, managing director for Workgear, says reps carry stock in their vans but customers often ask to see an item not carried. Now, the reps place a video call back to the warehouse so the customer can see what they are interested in.

"Previously, the rep had to go to the warehouse, the customer had to wait until the next visit, or the item had to be sent by courier to the customer and the customer charged," says Wiki.

IT recruitment consultancy Agility Group sources 20 per cent of job candidates internationally. Giles Warburton, director for Agility Group, says if he can pick up the emails of international candidates remotely, he can beat other agencies to placing them. Agility uses smart phones and laptops with 3G connect cards from Vodafone.

"I once beat another agency to a good candidate by just five minutes because I picked up the email remotely on 3G and got straight back to the candidate," says Warburton.

The above examples are all customers on Vodafone's 3G network, however Telecom New Zealand launched its 3G mobile service in New Zealand first. So what are Telecom's business customers using 3G for? Phil Love, senior corporate affairs director for Telecom, says Telecom 3G (T3G) is mainly used for basic business applications like email, web surfing and for connecting back to head office systems - it just all happens faster over 3G.

"[Newer] applications all take time to be taken up; it doesn't happen overnight," says Love.

However, he says Telecom has 'tens of thousands' of users on Push To Talk - a service that connects a 3G caller to up to six people at the same time.

"A guy was telling me about a large building site and how everyone would go looking for pieces of [framing]. Instead of sending a string of texts to different people he uses Push to Talk," says Love.

What Telecom's network doesn't allow for is video calling. Instead, it has video messaging, a different technology allowing a 20-30 second video message to be recorded then sent to a phone or an email address. Love says video messaging has multiple business uses and is powerful for the insurance industry, people wanting to record the state of a product or service, and travellers wanting to send a short video to a home email address or phone.

Video messaging is also available on the Vodafone network. Kristin Dunne, general manager business marketing for Vodafone, says Vodafone's service is more internationally available than Telecom's and international charges are lower. The Vodafone network offers business applications including push to talk, video calling, simultaneous voice and data sending, mobile news, and Internet surfing. Technically, the speed of Vodafone's 3G network is slower than Telecom's, a reality which has previously caused mobile business users in New Zealand to swear by Telecom's service. However Vodafone has fought back, optimising its network speed by compressing data where possible. Dunne says as a result, local Vodafone 3G users send photos and other large files without worrying about the transfer taking too long or being unreliable.

"On election night when that plane circled round the Sky Tower a press photographer used a Vodafone 3G Connect card to send a high resolution image; that image appeared on front page of newspapers the next day," says Dunne.

Vodafone's Push to Talk business customers include New Zealand Steel which previously had mobile team members using radio as a one-to-many communication tool. Dunne says NZ Steel now has improved efficiencies during shut downs and emergencies.

Dunne says businesses on 3G mobile networks get to 'drop the walls' from their offices.

"Work from your home, your bach, around the world, and have the same level of connectedness as you would in your office. "

3G and WiFi

These are different technologies used across different types of wireless networks.

* A cellular 3G connection is more secure than a WiFi connection but costs more to use.
* A WiFi connection may be more accessible during international transit than a cellular connection
* A WiFi connection only has a range of a few hundred metres (the area covered by the WiFi 'hot spot'). 3G connections are available from main population areas in New Zealand and can also be accessed from a moving car.
* When a 3G connection is not possible, the mobile device will maintain the connection at 2G rates of speed and performance
* To use a WiFi connection, you need a WiFi enabled mobile device
* To use a 3G connection, you need a 3G mobile device