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WIRELESS WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGSPhone outfits race to outdo each other in offering users distinctive services'Who would you like to call?'' asks a woman's too-chipper voice. ''Home,'' I say. The cab driver glances back at me in his rearview mirror. I'm sure he's wondering whether he has picked up one of New York's mentally unstable. I'm sitting alone in the back of the taxi, but I'm not talking to myself. Honest. I'm checking out a new voice-dial phone--made by Samsung Group and marketed by Sprint Corp. (FON)--by trying to pick up messages from my home voice mail. But the wireless phone doesn't understand what I'm saying. ''Home,'' I repeat. As luck would have it, a cacophony of car horns erupts just as I speak. Nevertheless, the phone starts to dial. ''Hello?'' says a sleepy voice at the other end of the line. I mumble something incomprehensible and hang up immediately, since there could not possibly be anyone at my apartment. Then, I remember that the phone is able to tell me what number I just dialed. That information is not comforting: The phone has somehow mixed up ''Home'' and ''Mom.'' I've just prank-called my mother. Sorry, Mom. But this is what comes with the new age of wireless technology. What matters these days more than the telephone you getare the services that come with it--even if they don't always operate perfectly. Wireless services now go well beyond the traditional features of Caller I.D. and voice mail. You can get everything from voice-activated dialing and free long distance to morning news briefs and E-mail. As the competition among wireless carriers gets more intense, the ability to provide a distinctive service is becoming criticAl in separating the winners from the losers. GO DIGITAL. Aword of caution, though: To benefit from the newfangled services, you need to get a digital phone. Analog phones work well enoughif you just want to chat away--and they're often the cheapest option for those who just want a phone for emergencies. But if you care about extra goodies, such as E-mail, you need a phone that works on one of the three digital standards in the U.S.: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) tends to have the most features, although it's offered mainly by smaller carriers, such as Omnipoint Corp. (OMPT). Time division multiple access (TDMA) and code division multiple access (CDMA) both work well and are backed by larger carriers, including AT&T (T), Sprint (FON), and Bell Atlantic (BEL). Phone companies like to debate which of the digital standards is the best, but none of this really matters for customers. All three offer good voice quality, so which technology you choose isn't critical--as long as you go digital. Here's a suggestion to help deal with the flood of new services: Pay a little more--it's worth it. The wireless industry will swell to an estimated 66.5 million subscribers in the U.S. by the end of this year, up from 53.5 million in 1997, according to market researcher Dataquest Inc. But stiff competition means that the average revenue per customer is sliding by about 8% per year. This development has made carriers rabid to attract heavy-spending customers. Omnipoint, for example, charges 67 cents a minute if you choose a $20-a-month plan, but the rate drops to 17 cents a minute if you pay $50 a month. But no matter which plan you choose, Omnipoint throws in additional goodies, such as The New York Times headlines and horoscopes. Omnipoint is one of several smaller carriers that is worth checking out if you want to get enhanced services such as news or other information on your telephone. Omnipoint, Western Wireless (WWCA), Aerial Communications (AERL), and several others use GSM technology, which is the most sophisticated of the three digital standards: It has been in use in Europe for years. That permits Omnipoint to give on-demand services that competitors have a hard time managing to duplicate. With the company's service, for example, you can request a stock quote or what the weather is in Chicago--and have an answer in moments. Nextel Communications Inc. (NXTL) is one of the most innovative wireless providers, especially when it comes to services for businesses and executives on the go. It has a service called E-mail forwarding that lets you take E-mail sent to your work or home PC and forward it to your Nextel phone--at no additional charge. You get only the first 25 words or so of the message, and you have to read them on a screen only slightly larger than a matchbook. But at least you'll know if you get any urgent messages while you're out of the office. ON THE GO. Nextel also offers a special feature that's a cross between a conference call and a walkie-talkie: You push one button after selecting a particular work group and can immediately speak to as many as 100 people. This has greatly improved the ability of employees at General Motors Corp.'s (GM) testing grounds to get in touch with each other. The 900 workers are constantly out testing cars, so it's nearly impossible to catch them in their offices. But now that they carry Nextel phones, they have a better chance of reaching one another. ''We're confident this is going to cut the time it takes to get jobs done,'' says Jack Turner, director of vehicle development tests. What's more, the Motorola Inc. (MOT) i1000 phone, which operates on the Nextel network, has a built-in speakerphone. That way, a team of people roaming the testing grounds can all talk together to someone off-site. ''To be able to throw that phone on the table in a conference room with 30 people is pretty impressive,'' says Turner. Nextel does have its drawbacks. The service isn't cheap, even though new, lower rates will be introduced on Nov. 9. It costs about 14 cents a minute under the new plan compared with the 10 cents a minute offered by many rivals. Nextel's phone is too technical for most general users: For example, you need to punch in *-#-2-6 to program a name into speed-dial. And Nextel has many regions where you can't get service, since it doesn't use cellular carriers as a backup to its own network. In my experience, coverage in the New York-to-Boston corridor is spotty, and parts of Georgia are not covered at all. The biggest change during the past year has been the booming popularity of flat-rate calling. With such plans, customers pay just one price per minute--no matter where they're calling from or to. This means they don't have to worry about long-distance charges or exorbitant ''roaming'' fees when they're calling from outside their home territory. George C. Fraser, an author and motivational speaker who travels an average of 25 days a month, says AT&T's Digital One Rate plan has cut his wireless phone bill in half, to about $90 a month. ''I just think this is the greatest thing since sliced bread,'' he says. While simplicity is flat-rate calling's biggest appeal, there is fine print you need to consider. AT&T offers the most straightforward plan: For as little as 11 cents a minute, you get free long distance and roaming any place in the country. The only catch is that the cheapest plan you can get is a steep $90 per month--so you have to be a heavy user to make it pay. Sprint offers a similar plan that starts at $50 a month for 500 minutes, but if you roam beyond the company's network, you pay a pricey 69 cents a minute. So far, Sprint's network covers 46% of the U.S. population. CROSSING BORDERS. Even so, flat-rate plans can mean big savings. Steven Harris, communications manager for San Antonio AirLife, which transports patients by helicopter for two Texas hospitals, estimates that Sprint's service has cut the bill for his work phone in half. Alysse Resh, an account representative for 3M (MMM) who covers the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia, used to spend $350 a month on wireless services. Now, with Bell Atlantic Corp.'s flat-rate plan, her bill is $160.
''My boss is thrilled,'' she says.
By Peter Elstrom in New York RELATED ITEMS
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Updated Nov. 5, 1998 by bwwebmaster
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