From Wednesday's Globe and Mail Last updated on Sunday, Apr. 05, 2009 01:40AM EDT
It has become a common site in cafés and airports across the country. People pull out their laptop computers and magically link to the Internet without wires.
As technically liberated as they may seem, however, these people aren't going far with their lattés and Web pages. Their connections are limited to a small radius of about 30 metres, beyond which their wireless “hot spots” turn cold.
At Sierra Wireless, Ross Gray has been working on a way to let travellers and workers on-the-go take the Internet with them, wherever they take their laptops. The Vancouver-based company makes wireless modems and related software that use radio frequencies to connect any number of devices to the Internet or a computer network, from scanning machines to handheld personal digital assistants.
Businesses and organizations are increasingly finding new uses for wirelessly connected computers. The insurance industry, for example, equips sales teams with Sierra's technology so they can plug into office systems while they are visiting clients' homes. And the RCMP puts the company's wireless cards in the rugged laptops in officers' cruisers.
“The road warrior's needs are changing,” Gray says. “The need for information at critical times is becoming more and more important.”
Gray, who holds a degree in mathematics, is a 10-year veteran of the Internet and wireless communications business. At Sierra, he is in charge of getting equipment manufacturers to build the modems into their products, and he recently scored two big wins. Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo Group, two of the world's largest computer makers, have agreed to put Sierra's AirCard into some of their laptops.
That should make the Web as accessible to travellers with laptops as phone conversations are to people with mobile phones today.
Gray says he's already addicted to his own product. At work, wireless connectivity has become a crucial tool in his travels, allowing him to stay up to speed with what's happening back in the office and improving his productivity in the process. The technology also spills into his personal life.
“Most times, my friends and colleagues are surprised when they hear that I'm away, as my responsiveness is the same as when I'm home,” he says.
He's not alone. The industry shipped about three million wireless PC cards in 2005. By next year that figure is expected to double, and by 2008 the industry expects to sell more than eight million cards.
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