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Organizations intent on keeping phone service up and running despite line outages have somewhere to turn. Our examination of Telular Corp.'s Phonecell-4M, revealed an effective cellular backup device that can provide telephone service to organizations when their wired service goes down.
We tested the Phonecell-4M unit, which uses four independent transceivers to support four cellular lines with cellular service provided by Bell Atlantic Mobile Systems, Inc.
As a cellular backup device, the Phonecell 4-M is able to keep many business applications running, even under varying cellular conditions. This is not to say that this, or any other cellular backup system, can handle everything. As some of our tests revealed, it can't.
Transmitting facsimiles, for instance, is a bit unreliable. But when the need to communicate is paramount, the Phonecell-4M provides an effective safety net.
What makes this system particularly versatile is that it doesn't limit users to traditional cellular handsets or other cellular equipment. In fact, once the Phonecell-4M unit is installed and programmed, it can be used with standard off-the-shelf telephone equipment. The Phonecell-4M supports autodial and autoanswer equipment, as well as custom calling features.
Not only can this technology be used for backing up traditional phone service, but it is also ideal for providing service to remote locations where traditional wired connections don't exist. Railroad companies, such as Conrail, Inc., for instance, have used Telular equipment to remotely control distant track switches.
The Phonecell-M is a member of a larger product line, suitable for sites that need to set up multiple telephone, modem or even fax connections.
At the low end of this line is Phonecell, a compact and portable desktop box with a single transceiver that allows users to attach a single device. At the high end is the Phonecell CPX, a customizable unit that can be configured with 12 cellular lines. Taking up the middle ground are the Phonecell-1M and Phonecell-4M.
The benefit provided by the Phonecell-4M is obvious to anyone who has been cut off from civilization by the loss of phone service. If the phone service between the home and the local central office is disrupted, for instance, by a fallen branch on a telephone wire, a cellular phone user still has the ability to communicate. The person without...