PUBLIC TERRESTRIAL CIRCUIT SWITCHED NETWORKS REPRESENTATIVE NATIONWIDE NETWORKS Nationwide circuit switched networks exist in vehicular, mobile applications; the successful ones use the existing voice cellular network as a last mile solution. One well-known system is that of United Parcel Service (UPS), which has no voice capability in its devices. During 1998 UPS began its move to a packet switched approach via a public network: ARDIS. Other circuit switched systems are also beginning to experiment with packet alternatives, from hybrid CS-CDPD through Cellemetry. The prominent cellular alternative, Nextel s digital network, is nationwide by pricing and advertising but has huge coverage gaps | The Wireless Data Haadbaak Fourth Edition. James F. DeRose Copyright 1999 John Wiley Sons Inc. ISBNs 0-471-31651-2 Hardback 0-471-22458-8 Electronic 5 PUBLIC TERRESTRIAL CIRCUIT SWITCHED NETWORKS REPRESENTATIVE NATIONWIDE NETWORKS Nationwide circuit switched networks exist in vehicular mobile applications the successful ones use the existing voice cellular network as a last mile solution. One well-known system is that of United Parcel Service UPS which has no voice capability in its devices. During 1998 UPS began its move to a packet switched approach via a public network ARDIS. Other circuit switched systems are also beginning to experiment with packet alternatives from hybrid CS-CDPD through Cellemetry. The prominent cellular alternative Nextel s digital network is nationwide by pricing and advertising but has huge coverage gaps. Nextel s major emphasis is voice and it has attractive hand-held as well as vehicular devices. While Nextel s iDEN architecture permits short-message activity the only data function currently stressed is paging. The company has decided to skip the circuit switched stage for true data and develop a packet system instead wireless data . . . will come down our product delivery pipeline in the next couple of years. 1 A summary of representative offerings is contained in Table 5-1. HighwayMaster A Stubborn Fighter From its network switching center in Dallas HighwayMaster manages information from the nationwide circuit switched cellular resources of 73 different carriers. Concentrating on the over-the-road trucking application it has a uniform pricing scheme that accounts for screens and consolidates the roaming costs. HighwayMaster was established in April 1992 and began offering combined voice 57 Table 5-1 Business characteristics Nationwide circuit switched Service name Parent company Key parent owners Infrastructure Protocol s First operational Principal emphasis Limitations First quarter 1998 coverage Planned coverage . .
