WHAT'S ON CALL
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As Britain's mobile cellular telephone network grows, the choice of what system to specify grows. We have been looking at some of the units and suppliers in the market. • Keeping in touch is always a good idea. If the consignment of hanging garments your driver is taking to Grimsby is suddenly diverted to Manchester by the customer, it is not very businesslike to sit and wait for things to go wrong. A confused driver in Grimsby who has just used up his daily driving hours is not going to be a good excuse to give to your customer in Manchester who is screaming for 400 suits and ties to fill his empty shelves.
Nowadays customers demand a fast, efficient and flexible service from their transport contractors and the best solution is to equip your fleet with some sort of mobile communications network. The choice can be as daunting as the price, but most modern communications systems are both reliable and compact. They will fit inside the average cab with no problems at all, though not always inside your pocket.
CB RADIOS
CB radios were once thought to be the answer to the mobile communication problem, but their restricted power outputs have proved inadequate. CB users can only talk to other users in the area through which they are travelling. Today, mobile telephones look more likely to become the standard cab fitting.
The Automobile Association has just launched AA Mobile Communications to help companies select, install and run the right equipment for their needs. The AA has a network of fitting depots around the country and the average truck or van cab will only take a few hours to kit out with a mobile telephone system. According to the AA, "because we have no direct association with either an equipment manufacturer or a network owner, we are free to recommend precisely the right equipment for your needs."
Cellular telephones are simply an extension of the existing national telephone network, so provided you are within the covered area (see Cellnet area map) you can ring directly through to any STD number in the country or overseas, or to any other cellular phone. These up-to-date telephones offer services such as iutomatic last number redial, call diversion, and memories to store frequently-used numbers.
HANDS FREE
The mobile telephones recommended by the AA include the Panasonic PN100 unit which the AA believes is "the most advanced model on the market." It has a 1,000-channel capacity and a "hands free" facility, which is vital for safe motoring. Drivers should never use their hands to hold or dial a mobile phone when the vehicle is moving. The PNIOO's impressive features include a liquid crystal display, a memory number store for up to 30 numbers, an illuminated keypad for using in the dark, an electronic four-digit lock to prevent unauthorised calls being made, a mute control to prevent the person you are calling from overhearing a conversation that you might be having with a third party, last number re-dial, on-hook dialling so that the handset can be left on its cradle until the person you are calling answers the phone, a call time indicator to tell you how long you have been on the phone, a received-call indicator to tell you that someone has been trying to call while you were out of the cab, and a call transfer which allows calls to be transferred to another number automatically.
The Panasonic PN100 is among the most sophisticated models on the market: it costs about £1,500 to buy and install.
At about the same price is the Phillips PH100 mobile phone, also with a 1,000channel capacity. The AA says that this model offers "exceptionally good reception, even in fringe areas of coverage." It has a hands-free ability, a 40number memory, on-hook dialling, an electronic lock, a call waiting capability (to tell you there is someone trying to call the same number ahead of you) and a signal strength indicator to tell you if you are in an area where the signal is too weak. Cleartone makes a similar 1,000channel handphone at about £1,000 to buy and install.
WAUUE TALIUE
There are also a number of highly sophisticated — and highly expensive — "briefcase" mobile cellular phones which you can take out of the vehicle and carry about like a walkie-talkie. They ensure complete freedom, but are probably too costly to suit the average operator. The Mobira MB300 hand portable telephone, for instance, costs more than 22,500 to buy and install.
The AA offers a mobile messenger service which allows subscribers to have messages stored in a personal voice "mail box" at the network exchange. The exchange is open 24-hours a day, sevendays a week and has the capacity to store up to ten 60-second messages for 36 hours. You are given a personal coded access tone to get into the mail box to listen to your messages and erase them when required.
UniqueAir, part of the Unipart group, has a nationwide network of sales and service outlets. As the cellular network expands to cover 90% of mainland Britain by 1990, demand will rise accordingly, says UniqueAir's managing director Alan Beswick. If mobile phones are fitted incorrectly they can damage a vehicle's electrics and reduce its re-sale value. UniqueAir places great emphasis on its authorised dealers and trained fitters.
According to Beswick, Racal and CelInet do not place enough emphasis on ensuring that their installers are trained to an adequate degree: "No attention is being paid to the suitability for fitment in motor vehicles, nor to any possible adverse effects on vehicle electronics such as engine management systems." UniqueAir sells a wide range of phones, mainly through Unipart car dealer showrooms. Its Tallunan portable model is supplied by Mobira.
British Telecom has some cheaper alternatives. Radiopagers bleep when someone needs you quickly. The system is not as direct, nor as responsive as incab telephones or computers and is dependent on finding a roadside call box that is in working order. BT's Message Master radiopager costs £50 plus a monthly rental of 231 for your zone. There are 40 zones throughout the country and you will pay an extra £1.50 a month for every extra zone you want your pager to cover.
The new pager combines all the facilities of British Telecom Radiopaging's previous Message Master — which could receive and display written messages of up to 90 characters virtually anywhere in the country — and has the following extra features: ▪ A built-in digital clock with alarm facility.
"Time stamping" of all messages received.
111 Automatic removal of messages after 24 hours.
▪ An LCD display which shows simple to-understand symbols and instructions in addition to alpha/numeric messages. fl Storage capacity of up to 512 characters.
BT also runs a voicebank electronic mailbox which can store 48 one-minute messages for up to 72 hours for £40 a quarter. A variety of mailbox services are available, and once again they are much cheaper, though much slower, than using an in-cab phone.
Baselink is another British Telecom service worth checking out. It is a twoway radio network, available in the Greater London area on a multi-channel frequency. You can talk confidentially on Baselink from vehicle to vehicle or from depot to vehicle.
ARE Communications has been supplying cellular telephones and radio communications systems since the introduction of the networks two years ago, and now offers a wide range of competitively priced mobile phones and two-way radio equipment. Its Icorn radio telephone models have limited channel capacities, but ARE also offers the highly sophisticated Motorola transportable cellphone.
If you would rather test the water before committing yourself to mobile phones, Cellrent of Rockingham Drive in Milton Keynes has launched a hire service for mobile phones. Operating on Britain's most popular cellular network, Racal-Vodafone, the Cellrent hired phones can be taken out for a day, a month or longer.
by Geoff Hadwiek