Mobile Com Update
A look at low-cost, satellite-based systems.
John Bendel
Technology Editor
The competition to outfit small fleets with mobile communications gets hotter all the time. The latest heat source is Canadian. Toronto-based Link Logistics is introducing its low-cost, satellite-based mobile communications system to the U.S. market. The company is a division of U.S.-based Transcore. Transcore trucking products include various DAT freight-finding services, Keypoint Software, the Transcore Exchange and many other carrier services.
Transcore Link Logistics calls its product LinkTrak and is taking aim at fleets from 10 to 50 trucks. Those fleets will likely be in the truckload business where the near-universal satellite coverage has the most appeal.
According to Brad Aitken, director of operations management for Transcore Link Logistics, LinkTrak is not a new system. It has been on the road in Canada for nearly three years.
"We have 70 customers, small and medium-size fleets," he said. "The average fleet size here in Canada is 10 trucks."
The LinkTrak system is comprised of two essential elements, a compact satellite antenna transceiver and a ruggedized 2Tech keypad and display from Two Technologies Inc. The unit is tethered to the dash with coiled wire.
Drivers can select from 15 preformatted messages that the customer can define to suit a specific operation. The driver can enter a free-form message of up to 150 characters.
Messages are sent and received using satellite wireless services provided by Vistar of Ottawa, Ont., Canada. Vistar has long provided satellite technologies in the U.S. through vendors such as Aether Systems. Vistar also markets its own trailer tracking system, GlobalWave, in the U.S.
Satellite messages are routed to the LinkTrak center at Link Logistics in Toronto. Messages and position reports are made available to customers on an Internet web site. The system reports when messages are received and read. Dispatch views truck locations with street-level accuracy on screen maps provided by ProMiles.
DO-IT-YOURSELF INSTALLATION
According to Aitken, LinkTrak is easy to set up.
"It all comes prepackaged. It's very simple to get up and going. It's all cabled and wired in. In most cases, customers have installed it themselves. They can move it from truck to truck fairly easily," he said.
"The equipment cost is low and thus the overall maintenance cost going out four or five years is going to be lower also."
Aitken said the LinkTrak hardware costs $1,500 per truck and service plans begin at $40 per month per vehicle. The company also offers a lease option that requires no up-front hardware investment. Lease packages begin at $80 per month per truck.
"That gives you position reporting every four hours," he said. Of course, trucks can be "polled" for a location report at any time.
The basic package includes 50 messages a month per truck. Aitken explained that while free-form messages were limited to 150 characters each, dispatch forms - or macros - that contain shipment information can contain up to 350 characters.
Aitken said LinkTrak provides a dispatch program called Link Dispatch, but added that LinkTrak could be interfaced with other systems as well. "If we needed to do a TMW interface, we would do that," he said.
"We're looking at marketing this to guys that may have been a little concerned about getting into something like this because it was complex or expensive. We're giving them a solution from a company they can rely on, Transcore," Aitken said. "They know we'll be here to support it."
ADVANCES ON THE GROUND
On the ground-based cellular front, a new twist in cellphone evolution may offer opportunities to fleets. Mobile phone maker Nokia announced that it will offer a phone capable of switching between the GSM phone networks and Wi-Fi hotspots. GSM is the digital wireless technology offered by major providers like AT&T Wireless, Cingular and T-Mobile. Wi-Fi, which is also known by the cryptic name 802.11, is the increasingly popular short-range or local area network (LAN) showing up in hotels, airports and truck stops. More to the point, Wi-Fi is used by many freight handling and yard management systems.
That kind of dual capability in cellphones, especially those that run GPS and dispatch programs, could offer new opportunities in systems integration. For example, Wi-Fi transceivers could automatically download data from a driver's smart cellphone when the truck enters a yard or terminal. Depending on the application and data involved, that could save money by cutting down on mobile phone transmissions during a run. It would also make it practical for inexpensive cellphones to be used for common dock and yard communications, data as well as voice.
Meanwhile, Verizon has launched nationwide Push to Talk service going head-to-head against Nextel's Direct Connect walkie-talkie-style service. Nextel took Direct Connect national in June. Now the companies have launched an advertising war.
Verizon's ads shout "Now there's a push to talk that works where you do," a clear reference to Verizon's coverage, which is wider than Nextel's. Nextel counters with "We have push to talk. They have push to wait. What part of 'instant' don't the other guys understand?"
Some users complain that Verizon's service can take from five to seven seconds to connect while Nextel's is virtually instant.
Direct connect has proved popular among local and regional fleets; it remains to be seen if Direct Connect or Verizon's Push to Talk will find a significant place in the truckload market.
In any case, the walkie-talkie phone competition is just beginning. Sprint PCS and AT&T Wireless have announced plans to enter the field as well. But widespread adoption would bring problems as well as solutions. Some drivers are already complaining about loud walkie-talkie conversations in truckstop restaurants.
