VANCOUVER, British Columbia-Ericsson Inc. last week introduced its Wireless Office System at the Universal Wireless Communications Consortium Global Summit in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The premise-based system, designed to capitalize on advantages of the Time Division Multiple Access standard, offers companies a single-phone, single-number system that can be used anywhere inside or outside the office, Ericsson said. When the user leaves the system’s in-building radio network, the TDMA phone that was used on the internal private branch exchange is able to automatically roam to any Interim Standard-136 network.
The Wireless Office System provides a mobile extension of the wired PBX, including features such as voice mail and four- or five-digit dialing, and can operate on both the 850 MHz and 1900 MHz personal communications services frequencies. The product will cut down on playing phone tag, listening to endless voice-mail messages and keeping up with multiple communications devices, said Ericsson.
With general availability in North America scheduled for November, Ericsson already has announced a joint marketing agreement with AT&T Wireless Services Inc. to offer the system to its business customers. Rogers Cantel Inc. also announced its intent to jointly market the wireless office service to customers throughout Canada.
Under terms of the agreement with AT&T Wireless, nationwide AT&T Wireless Office Service will be provided using Ericsson’s hardware, software and performance management platform and AT&T Wireless’ airtime and service. Ericsson will provide equipment that connects directly to a customer’s private telephone system and AT&T’s digital network, said the company.
“With the Ericsson wireless office product, Rogers Cantel enables business users to benefit from a unique advantage of TDMA-the ability to use the same handset on their internal office PBX and on the external wireless network,” said Robert MacKenzie, vice president of PCS and product development at Rogers Cantel.
