Powered by a military-inspired technology, Geotek Communications Inc. said it has carved an initial toehold in what it believes to be its own special niche in the market of advanced dispatch wireless communications.
The Montvale, N.J.-based company recently turned on its Frequency Hopping Multiple Access system at 900 MHz in Philadelphia and signed 150 pilot customers up for a beta trial. The digital network will deliver voice transmissions, with data service scheduled for later this year.
Geotek’s FHMA network uses spread spectrum technology developed by the Israeli military and obtained through Geotek’s joint venture with Israel’s military research arm, Rafael. The company said it can serve a wide metropolitan area with a limited number of high-power radio sites, resulting in lower infrastructure costs.
For instance, only 10 high-power sites are needed to cover the Delaware Valley, including Trenton and Atlantic City, N.J., Wilmington, Del., and the Philadelphia suburbs.
A Geotek competitor using a non-FHMA system would probably need more than 30 sites to cover such an area, contended William Opet, Geotek’s senior vice president of marketing. Cellular operators might need 150 to 200 sites to establish such a foothold, he added.
“This technology can be adapted to any frequency. Right now, 900 MHz is clean and we have sufficient spectrum for our current business plan, which is serving small- to medium-size business customers,” Opet said.
Philadelphia is the first U.S. market served by Geotek; other areas slated for FHMA coverage this year include Washington, D.C.-Baltimore, New York City and Boston. Geotek has acquired spectrum in 32 other markets, with the hope of rolling out service in 1996 and 1997. IBM Corp. has been contracted for about $40 million to provide turnkey site construction and project management for about 200 Geotek base stations.
All of Geotek’s voice and data services will be delivered through a single mobile handset, manufactured by Mitsubishi Consumer Electronics America in Georgia. It is available in two versions, the Enhanced Mobile Workstation and Integrated Mobile Workstation. The devices have a large, five-line, easy-to-read screen for alphanumeric messages and a keypad with simple keys that drive operations, Geotek said. A standard serial port allows other devices to be connected to the workstations.
“It can be loaded with software so it has the ability to store data in the terminal,” Opet said.
A portable model with a docking kit is being jointly developed by Geotek and Hughes Network Systems Inc. and will be offered in mid-1996.
Included in the data service will be credit-card authorization, automatic vehicle location, fleet management, inventory tracking, data base access, pick up and delivery control, electronic forms printing and remote order entry.
Modern frequency hopping was developed by military forces during World War II to avoid enemy eavesdropping. The transmitter constantly switches from frequency to frequency, sending for a fraction of a second then jumping to another frequency. The pattern is not random; it is predetermined but known only to the receiver.
