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The Sept 11 World Trade Center tragedy could be viewed as the moment that wireless came of age in the U.S. While the system bent under heavy usage, it didn't break and provided many -- including emergency services personnel - with a means of communication during the tragic event It also hammers home the importance of ensuring that your business contingency plans include a wireless component for the sake of employee communications.
"Wireless was pretty much the only way to communicate to people in danger," notes Meridien Research analyst Damon Kovelsky. "The technology did what it was supposed to do," allow people to contact one another.
Ed Kountz, an analyst at TowerGroup says that the Sept. 11 incident shows that wireless has moved from a technology that "you don't need to have to a must have."
However, the level of wireless service available varied by vendor. That's because many carriers suffered the loss of their cell towers as buildings collapsed, power was lost and offices were vacated. As calls swamped the lines, many callers were met with fast busy signals, indicating the network was overloaded.
One of...