Like parallel rails that run straight into the distance but seem to touch at the horizon, wireless telecommunications and mobile computing have each made great strides into the future. Now leading companies from both sectors are working together to make sure their convergence is not just an illusion. The ties that bind them are wirelessly enabled software applications.
All sectors of the industry are entering a new competitive era where wireless conduit that was once scarce is now abundant and where carriers may have to reach out to applications developers to help them retain their hold on the market.
Rob Mechaley, senior vice president and chief scientist at AT&T Wireless Services Inc. noted at the recent Mobile Insights ’96 conference in Phoenix that software is the missing link between the big gains made in mobile hardware and wireless networks.
“We need applications to fill the bandwidth that’s available now,” he said.
Toward that end, AT&T launched its AirData Developers Program a year ago. The program provides training, technical support, product testing and certification to software developers to encourage the development of solutions that take advantage of emerging Cellular Digital Packet Data technology. Bell Atlantic Nynex Mobile and Ameritech Cellular Services have similar developer programs.
But applications software development is not limited to the newer technology platforms. Packet radio carrier Ram Mobile Data USA L.P. has an extensive developer program. “We have several hundred developers at different stages,” said William Cafero, director of marketing support. “Our mission is to support and help developers wirelessly enable their applications. We provide an easy and cost-effective way for them to enter the wireless world,” he said.
Ram is working with 10 middleware tool developers-including Racotek Inc., Oracle Corp. and Motorola Inc.-to provide software developer kits. The company also provides marketing support such as access to its sales channels, inclusion in its sales catalog and a link to its home page on the Internet’s World Wide Web, Cafero said.
The Ram network is based on Mobitex packet radio technology, which has been adopted in 16 countries. Cafero believes having a global market is attractive to many developers including those from the United Kingdom who want to enter the American market.
In the paging sector, PageMart Inc. is aggressively pursuing application developers. “Our experience with major corporations made us realize that they don’t understand even advanced one-way paging,” said Catarina Wylie, manager of corporate communications. “In developing a solution, we realized there’s more creative outside than inside. So, we could either teach corporate users one by one or give the tools to developers to integrate wireless into their solutions. Software developers are the artists of the industry,” she said.
PageMart offers a suite of developer tools that contain the software code developers need to embed into their solutions to make them wireless enabled.
The company recently introduced a 32-bit SDK, an upgrade to its 16-bit SDK released last June. MobileMedia Communications Inc. also offers a Telocator Alphanumeric Protocol-based SDK.
