September 25, 2000

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Schwab Takes It Slow On Its Wireless Service

By Terry Sweeney

harles Schwab & Co. is taking a careful-but-concerted approach where wireless delivery of market information and wireless stock trading are concerned. "One of the unique things about the wireless medium is the 'anytime, anywhere' nature of the devices,'' says Bob Sofman, senior VP of Schwab's global wireless solutions group in San Francisco. "People get very serious about a market that changes second-by-second. They want to stay on top of the news, receive quotes, news stories, and analyst comments and they want to make trades. That time element is good for our application."

The financial-services company in June launched its Pocket Broker service, which delivers market data to customers with wireless devices such as RIM pagers, the Palm III, and Palm V. And by using public key infrastructure security in Hong Kong, Schwab traders there are able to buy and sell directly from their wireless terminals.

Still, Sofman acknowledges that wireless data transmission isn't fully mature or speedy enough. "The current input is kludgey, the resolution isn't as good as it needs to be, the screen is small, and all the terminals have different functionality," he says. Regardless of whether devices converge or diverge, he expects much more sophistication in the future.

"We're introducing Pocket Broker on Web-enabled phones, and are creating relationships with all the major wireless carriers in the United States," Sofman says. "We believe the mass penetration will be with Web-enabled phones. We want to be where our customers are, so we're building the appropriate infrastructure." The introduction is scheduled for this month.

During the summer, Sofman says, Schwab was in test-and-learn mode with Pocket Broker. "We've been very deliberate--it's been a slow and gated rollout," he says. "We want to understand how customers use it--what they like, and don't like. We dedicated resources to active traders and investors and made sure customer-service reps can answer any question about the account and about wireless itself."

While Schwab isn't the first trading company to adopt wireless access--Fidelity Investments and Quick & Reilly have also taken to the airwaves--it didn't take Schwab long to grasp the technology's potential. Sofman sees business IT, acting on behalf of the content or service delivery objectives of its parent company, playing an active role in helping prospective users understand the potential of wireless. "In the fourth quarter, we intend to hit the market with a major campaign that will educate customers about the addition of a wireless channel, why and how it's a powerful way to complement the way they use the Web," Sofman says.

Despite questions about the best way to adapt wireless for business apps, Sofman is bullish on its prospects. "Our challenge is to roll out products now," he says, "and figure out what wireless will enable and how it will lead to new Schwab services."

Return to main story,"It's A Wireless World."

Illustration by Noma

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