Wi-Fi Is Old Hat For FedEx

Most businesses are only beginning to assess Wi-Fi technology, but it's been a key part of FedEx Corp.'s IT architecture for two years.

The $21 billion company uses Wi-Fi, also known as the IEEE's 802.11 wireless LAN specification, at its hubs and ramps to process 3.5 million packages in a three-hour window each night. "We were required to learn it early on just so we could continue to grow our business because of the number of packages we had to handle each night," says Ken Pasley, director of wireless mobile architecture for FedEx Services. "It's critical for us to use wireless when sorting packages."

FedEx uses the technology for various applications. Handheld scanners read bar codes on the packages and then send the information to FedEx's IT-tracking applications via Wi-Fi. Additionally, all of FedEx's wide-body planes are equipped with 802.11 radios, so the plane can send maintenance information and receive gate-arrival information shortly after landing. And, the airplane maintenance crew uses Wi-Fi-enabled PCs on carts to access important schematics needed to complete Federal Aviation Administration checklists when making repairs. Before, they had to go to a maintenance building and bring the written manuals back to the plane, which ate up a lot of time.

FedEx's reliance on 802.11 isn't limited to the nighttime package-handling business. It's also deployed at FedEx's campuses for the white-collar side of the business. Applications developers pick up their laptops and walk to another office on campus to collaborate on projects. And executives in conference rooms can access presentations or check E-mail on their laptops without touching a single plug or wire.

Last week's entrance of AT&T, IBM, and Intel to the public Wi-Fi-access network space is encouraging to Pasley. "As I see them group together their offerings, it makes me feel more comfortable," he says, adding that FedEx will explore emerging public services that enable high-speed wireless access from coffee shops, parks, hotels, hospitals, and other buildings for its mobile workforce.

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