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Satellite
Communications, June, '97
| Companies with the technology
to track and communicate with their fleet vehicles are no
longer left to the whims of their drivers to report their
locations. Many commercially available systems now offer
the technology for two-way communications with drivers on
the road. A handful also provide automatic vehicle
location. Current systems for communication and automatic
vehicle location use either cellular systems,
ground-based radio systems (UHF-VHF or RAM mobile), low
Earth orbiting satellites or geostationary communications
satellites. Systems using satellites generally allow
vehicle location anywhere and anytime, and at a lower
cost than most cellular telephone systems, which do not
provide seamless coverage. Radio frequency-based
networks, although the lowest in cost, are limited in
coverage to a specific local area. In the United States
alone there are 1.7 million semi-tractors (European
readers will think "lorries" or
"juggernauts"), but only 200,000 currently use
two-way communications systems. In addition to
semi-tractors, the potential users include millions of
government agency vehicles, commercial cars and trucks in
pickup and delivery businesses, and private fleets
worldwide. Each part of the communications and tracking
system that a company chooses provides an important link
in achieving the goal of improving the overall operation
of the organization using it. Speed of communications The speed at which a communication and location system operates is determined by the technology of the wireless communication system. The elapsed time for transmitting data from dispatcher to driver varies, with many of today's current systems ranging between 8 and 20 minutes. However, a software product developed by ATI averages 3 to 4 seconds, a speed made possible by communicating through the Internet. Satellite location and communication systems send messages or obtain information from drivers using communications software to relay messages to each vehicle. Vehicles receive messages on small mobile data terminals that beep with each incoming exchange. In most cases, the driver can respond with a single touch of a button pre-programmed and customized to the company's typical questions. Drivers can also summon emergency assistance by simply pressing a panic button. Area of system coverage One of the most important questions potential users ask is, "What type of coverage is provided by a communications system, and how is it different from other satellite and cellular systems in the market?" Local coverage is appropriate for companies requiring tracking only in a small local area. A UHF-VHF or other ground-based radio communication system would span up to 75 miles, depending on the number of land-based antenna towers set up and the power of the transmitter being used. Local law enforcement agencies, taxi and limousine companies, contractors, and some municipal transit companies are examples of users whose need to transmit data and track vehicles is confined to a local area. Regional coverage with some expansion into limited areas of national coverage can be obtained with cellular, CDPD, RAM Mobile, or paging networks. These systems are being used in local metropolitan areas and isolated parts of the United States, Canada and Mexico. Many rural areas lack coverage by ground-based paging and cellular towers. This results in a customer losing the ability to communicate with, or track, a vehicle when the vehicle goes into a "dead" area. To obtain true blanket coverage spanning a continent, customers turn to satellite systems, currently available through four companies:Qualcomm, American Mobile Satellite Corp. (AMSC), American Technologies Inc. (ATI), and Orbcomm. Because each company uses different satellites to provide its communications service, the extent of coverage and speed of transmission varies somewhat. ATI, Qualcomm, and AMSC provide 24-hour-a-day coverage. Orbcomm has just two of its low Earth orbit satellites operating so far, and therefore sends and receives transmissions about every 6 hours. Orbcomm's planned constellation of up to 32 satellites would provide continuous service, and their coverage area would be global. American Mobile Satellite Corp. offers mobile telephony in North America direct by satellite using a powerful special-purpose spacecraft in geostationary orbit. Qualcomm uses capacity on commercial communications satellites in geostationary orbit to deliver its communications and vehicle location services. ATI currently uses capacity on Comsat and GE Communications satellites, in conjunction with a Global Positioning System receiver, and an omnidirectional antenna in each truck to continually track and communicate with fleets on the road. The dispatcher can monitor the locations of all the vehicles on a single map screen, or display the location of a single vehicle. ATI maintains an Internet server linked to Comsat's satellite Earth station in Maryland as an intermediary between the onboard units and a customer's dispatching computer. Accessing the network through a local Internet service provider, a customer gains password-protected access to data on its own fleet that is stored at the server. Users can poll onboard units for position reports as needed, or obtain position reports at set intervals. Alternatives to Internet access are available for customers located in areas where there is no local Internet service provider. Costs When reviewing the purchase of a tracking and communications system, there are many differences in the initial costs of hardware and software, in the monthly communication cost per vehicle, and in the software maintenance fees. The initial costs of ground-based cellular tracking and communications equipment varies in price from $50 for a cellular phone to approximately $2,000 per vehicle for Highway Master equipment. The initial cost of satellite tracking equipment can be as much as $4,000 per unit, depending on the vendor and quantity purchased. Dispatch software for fleet operators can range from $4,000 to $25,000 with the features of the different software packages varying greatly from system to system. As an example, the cost for a single user version of the LOGITRAK dispatch software from ATI, running on a Windows '95 computer platform, is $5,000. The cost of a multiple user client-server system running under a Windows NT network environment varies depending on the number of users; a three-user system costs approximately $12,500. Some single- or multiple-user platform software on the market today boasts many detailed features and benefits and costs as much as $25,000. Monthly communications costs also vary greatly between systems. With a cellular system, careless usage can result in costs of $200, $300, or even as high as $700 per month per vehicle, depending on long-distance charges and operator discretion. Some of the cellular-based vehicle location systems now offer a package price for the air time and the long-distance cost, with prices varying from $40 to $80 per month per vehicle. These package prices are often based on how often the dispatcher wants or needs to have contact with the fleet. Flat fees for using satellite systems can run from a $50 per month per vehicle with ATI, to as high as $125 per month per vehicle with other service providers. Some satellite systems for vehicle location will offer a base fee of $40 to $50 per month per vehicle, but then charge per character (e.g. 5 cents per word packet) for every data transmission. This may not seem like a lot of money at first, but considering all the data transmissions that are broadcast in an average day, overall service costs could exceed $150 per month per vehicle. Software maintenance fees for mainframe software can cost from $10,000 to $200,000 per year. Personal computer-based software maintenance fees traditionally cost much less, averaging about 15 percent to 20 percent of the original price of the software. Customer service and support All suppliers of vehicle communications and location services provide extensive customer support simply because the systems (other than plain cellular phones) are new technologies and somewhat more complex than using a hand-held calculator. Fleet vehicle drivers earn their money by driving from one point to another, not by taking computer courses for two or three days, so communications system vendors have striven to make the dispatch software and hardware as easy to use as possible. The reliability and features of the dispatch software from various vendors can be as different as night and day. In evaluating different systems, close attention should be paid to the software to assure that it will meet the customer's particular needs. Dispatch software packages may be designed to run an stand-alone personal computers using common operating systems like Microsoft's Windows '95, Windows NT multiple user networks, or AS400 network systems. Overall value Technology today provides companies with the ability to increase revenues per mile. It can simplify dispatching, help track the company's mobile investments, and provide immediate communications with drivers. The data transferred allows driver and management to make timely decisions and to take immediate action, instead of having to wait for a driver to contact the office by phone or missing load orders because the company is out of touch with its drivers. Companies can avoid the frustration and losses associated with sending drivers out of their way because they were unable to communicate with them in a timely manner, by purchasing wireless communications and tracking technology. |
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