We’ve all seen coverage maps. Whether it be a section in a carrier’s brochure, a poster hung up in a mobile operator’s retail store, or even an interactive map online, coverage maps play an important role when it comes to buying a cellphone and figuring out where exactly it can be used. In fact, members of the wireless industry (and journalists covering the space) tend to hang them in their cubicles, offices, etc.
Often times, American Roamer is the cartographer-of-sorts behind these coverage maps. And even if American Roamer doesn’t take credit for a certain map, Bryan Darr, president and founder of American Roamer, said that doesn’t stop them from doing the research and providing the results.
“We collect and research all the coverage for every carrier in North America, whether they (the carriers) ask us to or not,” Darr said.
Carriers know their coverage (and perhaps their competitors’ coverage) and test their networks incessantly, but maps are another issue.
Building a map might take more time, energy and effort than carriers have. And after celebrating its 20th anniversary a few weeks ago, American Roamer said it has the know-how and the years of experience to back up its services.
The playing field
Unlike most of the media attention, American Roamer doesn’t just focus on the top-tier carriers. Darr said the coverage researched is that of the “big guys” and the “small guys” too.
“[Smaller and rural companies] were our bread and butter in the beginning when the company got started,” Darr said. “We understand them very well.”
Mobile virtual network operators are also not forgotten; American Roamer tracks their coverage. Further, Darr noted that they will provide services to many businesses in the industry that aren’t even carriers, but provide some type of service dependent on those networks.
“Anyone who has based their business in some way on the cellular network is a potential client for us,” Darr said.
Carriers typically reach out to American Roamer to create coverage maps for marketing and interactive purposes. Mapping eventually will break into marketing mapping and interactive mapping.
Companies and carriers often prefer to offer interactive and up-to-date coverage maps online that can provide customers with an electronic experience, and American Roamer provides those as well. Or if a company chooses to create its own online map, American Roamer can create the coverage patterns, which a customer can use to load onto mapping interfaces on the Web.
Wealth of information
Wireless carriers are famous for thinking of their network and coverage areas as beloved children, meaning they’re typically hesitant to release control. So why this area?
Darr said because American Roamer has a niche, and has been at it for so long, they’re experts in dealing with any type of coverage information.
“People think you can just push a button and out pops a map,” Darr said. “It’s not that simple.”
American Roamer is tracking the predictive behaviors of radio signals, which don’t simply stop in corners. A signal doesn’t stop just because the government drew a line there years ago, Darr joked. What’s more is the time and effort involved. Coverage doesn’t just deal with a carrier’s own network, Darr said. Roaming partners’ networks must be incorporated, and gathering that information is what can become time- consuming. American Roamer, however, has that data at its fingertips.
“If they [carriers] were to go and try to get [information] from roaming partners every time they update their maps, it would take a long time and they don’t know if its accurate,” Darr said. “Because we research it day in and day out, we know what people are offering out there on their network at any given time.”
Growing Web presence
American Roamer also offers what it calls Wisard, or Wireless Industry Search and Retrieve Database program, which allows subscribers to search for just about anything related to wireless coverage. Even with a tiny piece of information about a location, such as a ZIP code, Wisard takes that tidbit and produces a plethora of information including coverage, technical data, license owners and many deeper details for a specific location.
In addition to moving online and perfecting interactive maps for the Web, Darr said the company is taking more steps to keep up with the technological times.
These changes include many internal processes in terms of speed as business and customers expect things to get done fast. Darr has learned this and is making sure his company stays on track and in the race to get products to customers as fast as possible. “When a carrier says, ‘I’ve got to have a map and I have to have it tomorrow’ we can do it,” Darr said.
Next-generation technology is also an integral part of the wireless future and American Roamer is well-aware and well-prepared. Darr said they’ve started to incorporate WiMAX coverage patterns as launches come about and he assured, when LTE becomes commercial, it will be on the American Roamer maps, represented with its own pretty and eye-catching color.
Click here to download an EV-DO coverage map, and click here to download an HSPA coverage map. Maps courtesy American Roamer.
