Mobile cellular data powers the interactive taxi -- and the repo man

Computerworld - LAS VEGAS -- Mobile cellular data networks now power enterprise information systems far from routine mobile e-mail or white-collar field-force automation systems.
Corey Gottlieb, co-founder of Global Vision Interactive Inc. in New York wants to use high-speed cellular data systems to deploy what he calls an interactive taxi (iT) service that can provide passengers with real-time Web news and information throughout the top 20 taxicab markets in the U.S.
Gottlieb deployed the iT system, which features a touch-screen computer connected to the company's back-end systems over a cellular Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 1xRTT network operated by Sprint PCS Group. The network had an average throughput of 50K to 70Kbit/sec. in New York taxis earlier this year. This summer, the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission shut down the iT service -- as well as DVD-player based services offered by six other companies -- following complaints by riders, but Gottlieb said he expects to be back in operation later this year.
In the meantime, Gottlieb said at this week's Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association Wireless IT and Entertainment conference here that he has focused his attention on Chicago, where he expects to deploy iT in up to 2,400 cabs, and Boston, where he has the rights to install the system in 550 cabs. The touch-screen systems in both cities will allow passengers to tap into a wide range of news and information services, continuously updated via the over-the-air CDMA link, Gottlieb said.
That same network is also used to download advertisements and public service announcements to the cabs, said Gottlieb, explaining that the iT ads command higher prices than billboards and bus posters. Impressions for billboards and bus posters last only a few seconds, while the captive nature of a cab ride gives advertisers more time to get their messages across, he added.
In Chicago, Gottlieb said he plans to add a credit card reader to the touch-screen computer to make it possible for riders to spontaneously purchase tickets to theatrical productions advertised on the iT service. The credit card reader could also be used to buy movie tickets, with an on-screen directory showing not only what's on at various theaters, but also the starting times for each movie.
Mobile data systems can be used for more than just information and advertising. Just ask Walt Camping, a high-tech repo man, who uses a similar system to boost the efficiency of his automobile repossession business, Camping Companies Inc. (CCI), which scoops up some 24,000 cars a year from people who have fallenbehind in their payments.
Camping said he uses a 1xRTT network developed by Qualcomm Inc. in San Diego. The Qualcomm cellular network dispatches repossession information from lien holders like banks or finance companies directly to rugged PCs housed in the tow trucks operated by Phoenix-based CCI. The PCs display a digital image of a repossession order and hook into the company's back-end database.
This real-time information system helps Camping avoid the worst problem anyone in his line of work can encounter -- taking possession of a car after its owner has made a late payment.
Camping believes his system can help revolutionize the repo business, and he plans to market it to the rest of the industry.

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