FCC: Biz Travelers Bolstering Wireless Industry

<B>FCC: Biz Travelers Bolstering Wireless Industry</B>

By Annalise Bomenblit

Innovation within the wireless community continues to be driven by the more mobile members of the population. Business travelers now have the ability to book and rebook flights, reserve hotel rooms, rental cars or car services, check in to flights while already en route and complete expense reports before returning to the office.

Whether or not travelers are comfortable performing these tasks via wireless remains a very individual matter. And while the recent economic downturn has roughed up some of these wireless providers for the short term, a new report released earlier this month by the Federal Communications Commission said the health of the industry is intact, thanks to an ever-increasing base of users.

"Business users have been the first to adopt wireless data and Internet services, just as they were the first to adopt cellular services in the 1980s," said Becky Diercks, director of Cahners In-Stat Group's wireless research group.

The overall picture, however, still shows room for growth. Wireless telephone use has reached 39 percent in the United States, according to the FCC--still a paltry sum in comparison with European nations. For example, Sweden and Italy are at a 76 percent and 72 percent penetration, respectively, according to a Bear Stearns report released earlier this year.

The FCC said consolidation in the mobile phone industry has been a boon for customers, with an estimated 91 percent of the population having access to three or more different operators, but analysts see some detriment in this evolution.

"There is a greater reach of existing carriers but fewer carriers, so there is less competition," said analyst Alan Reiter, president of Chevy Chase, Md.-based consulting firm Wireless Internet & Mobile Computing. However, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics, the price of mobile phone service declined by 12.3 percent during the year.

Cahners illustrated that wireless data use still has a long road to go in comparison. The research group estimated that by March there were only about 600,000 users of wireless Internet devices in the United States, representing just 0.5 percent of all U.S. wireless subscribers.

Behind the learning and usability curve lies a whole new world for travelers. The much talked about Bluetooth standard could be a saving grace for travelers who feel lost on the road. Bluetooth technology allows mobile units to communicate with devices and systems in their vicinity using radio signals. Such applications include using a mobile phone to transmit financial information to a soda machine, for example, to purchase a beverage, as if using a debit card. Wireless checkin would work the same way, eliminating the need to wait in lines at airports.

British Bluetooth developer Red-M has been working with BlueTags, a Danish company, to track luggage via wireless devices and prevent lost luggage from staying anonymous. Meanwhile, hotel, air and car rental vendor offerings likely will be presented to frequent travelers first, with the first opportunities for wireless air rebooking to be rolled out by Northwest this month.