wd 8% 6% ra 5 6Y% BK 6 a Te onore eon 8 Q% %% Inlerhome 42 tq ne t 9991 373 2h IoloSysim tet ck tI ———e 42% 42 OGG A 1377 MAFXEILOID 7 Mackelfacis SBi8% 144 Marsh esiMd mPhe 19% 4 2% - 14 ota— Getting Ahead By Going Wireless by Kent Mathy, SVP. AT&T Wireless (NAPSA)—Today’s wireless technology is changing the way businesses conduct, close and stay in business. There are more than 145 million cell phone users in the United States. The ability to make a phone call or access information at high speed anywhere wireless service is available is a competitive advantage to small and large businesses. While it’s doubtful the virtual office will completely replace the four walls of a basic office setup, there are clear competitive advantages to provide employees with the ability to work reKent Mathy motely with wireless data access via a phone, personal digital assistant (PDA)or laptop. Today’s wireless business solutions provide businesses with the freedom of real-time wireless access to a variety of business tools, including corporate e-mail, ealendars, address books, contacts, corporate Intranet and the Internet. All of this is possible from a single device that also lets users make and receive wireless phonecalls while in data mode. As a result, businesses can drive down costs and inefficiencies while driving up productivity. Paul Belliveau, president and CEO of North American Besam AES, an automatie door manufacturer for large retailers including Walmart, is a true mobile office road warrior, traveling about four days a week. After using his Blackberry 6710 on the AT&T Wireless GSM/GPRS network for just a few months, Belliveau now works moreefficiently and travels lighter. He shed his pager, handheld organizer, cell phone and laptop for work both in the United States and overseas. “Now I can react to my e-mails while I’m sitting in an airport. Even when I go to Europe, the minute I get off the plane, I’m live with e-mail and a phone,” said Belliveau. A recent survey in America’s Network showed that American enterprise users ranked GSM/ GPRSwireless service providers as providing higher quality, more reliable and more consistently satisfying wireless service, than their non-GSM competitors. Also, employees can use their phones in more than 100 countries. Speed also counts in today’s business environment. Most wireless technologies offer data speeds similar to those of dialup, but national mobile wireless networks running two to three times faster will be available by the end of this year. Even faster speeds are available via Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) in limited locations such as airports or hotels. And then there are the devices themselves. The latest wireless phones have large color screens, innovative navigation, and data entry capabilities. Many PDAsnow double as wireless phones that also connect the user to real-time data remotely. Laptop modem cards provide wireless access to company e-mail, Intranet and Internet sites. Wireless networks based on Internet Protocol (IP) can be easily customized to support Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) for enhancedsecurity. The business benefits are real—right now. Real-time wireless access to email enables financial executives to keep track of market conditions, company issues, financial applications and personnel. Fleet managementis already benefiting from the ability to use wireless location-based services for vehicle location, by sending and receiving real-time data on vehicle navigation, vehicle maintenance and repair status. Secure access to centralized databases is vital to government agencies in crisis management. Belliveau readily admits there is some challenge to having that much real-time information literally anytime and anywhere wireless service is available. “Having constant access to office and personal e-mail can be addictive, it forces you to become highly organized and to prioritize what's really important.” And for Belliveau these days, that means resolving customer issues and closing sales from wherever, as quickly as possible. Kent Mathy is a SVP of AT&T Wireless (NYSE:AWE), the largest independent wireless carrier in the United States. For more information on AT&T Wireless, visit www.attwireless.com.
