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InformationWeek.com July 31, 2000
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Metricom Offers Speedier Wireless Data Service

Ricochet lets wireless modems connect to notebooks at 128 Kbps and higher

By Aisha M. Williams

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    Road warriors who need easy access to the Internet, their company's intranet, and business applications want faster wireless services--and Metricom Inc. is delivering. Metricom has released the latest version of Ricochet, a mobile wireless data service designed to handle speeds of 128 Kbps and faster.

    Launched in San Diego this month, the service is based on a digital packet-switched network with spread-spectrum radio frequency transmission and standard TCP/IP. Users attach notebooks to a Ricochet modem for wireless access to E-mail, intranets, and Web content. Microcell radios mounted on streetlights and utility poles act as transceivers. Network-access points collect and convert radio-frequency packets for transmission to the wired IP backbone.

    Most wireless networks can't support Ricochet's speed, especially when multiple users share bandwidth, says Forrester Research analyst Amanda McCarthey. "Metricom's network was custom-built for sending and receiving data," she says. "Everyone else is trying to do something similar in a mass-market way."

    Some companies might find the service--priced from $50 to $80 per user per month--too expensive. But for others, it will be worth the cost. Harold Mann, president of Mann Consulting, an IT-support and Web-design outsourcing firm in San Francisco, says making the company's databases accessible on handhelds is too complex, and Ricochet is more convenient because its wireless modems connect directly to notebooks. "We have about 30 employees, but half of them are always at client sites," Mann says. "Ricochet eliminates the need for them to come back to the office at the end of the day to access data."

    The updated Ricochet service will be available in most major U.S. cities via resellers.

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