Eye For Auto Telematics News Letter Exclusive Interview With Nigel Dutton of BT Cellnet
Exclusive Interview: BT Cellnet’s PT Cruiser From Telematics Update Magazine's Editor Maggy Blagrove With Nigel Dutton of BT Cellnet (11/2/2001)
On a cloudy, windswept afternoon in October, a black beast of a car with flames down its side roars into a car park in London’s East End. The vehicle in question is British Telecom subsidiary BT Cellnet’s PT Cruiser and it’s the first of many cars to visit Telematics Update Magazine as a part of our Reviews programme.
This is BT Cellnet’s prototype, demonstrating what Telematics services BT Cellnet can offer corporates using GPRS networks and devices that are already on the market – and more importantly not a Wingcast or OnStar logo to be seen. Telematics Update Magazine chats to Nigel Dutton, Mobile Multimedia Manager for BT Cellnet.
Let’s start with the hardware, Nigel
What we’ve done is we’ve installed a micro PC into the base of the drivers seat no bigger than a 2 or 3 year old CD player; the micro PC is then configured and connected to a Motorola Timeport GPRS phone, a standard GPRS handset. We then view it using an Alpine multimedia in-car entertainment unit which has GPS, for travel, multimedia for radio and DVD. It has 2 spare video inputs, one of which has been used to connect to the micro computer. This gives you a head-up display of Internet access, Intranet and Extranet. We then slaved that connection with DVD glasses in the back.
What would these DVD glasses be used for?
It’s a an alternative to having a screen so say if a car manufacturer wanted to see specific information, DVD glasses directly connect straight to the computer. It’s a very discreet solution.
So you could use them to view sensitive information on the move?
Yes that’s right. We then connected the micro PC to a wireless LAN, this then talks to the Sony Vaio and Compaq and iPAQ – what you have is 3 simultaneous web sessions running over one GPRS connection. This can be 3 different types of data from 3 different locations.
How does that effect the connection speed – in fact, what is the connection speed?
The current handsets that we are using will give you a connection speed of 28 kbs pulling down, and 10 kbs pulling up. Subsequent devices and handsets will give you up to 56 kbs. It’s fair to say that a near home experience over a standard 56K modem is what you can expect over GPRS.
When you are downloading 3 different items independently does this alter the connection speed?
Because the data is in packets, providing you are not simultaneously pulling down those packets it will easily cope with those independently, and that goes for GPRS on the network as well - you can have a large number of users logged on to the GPRS network, always on, always connected, but because they are not always pulling down packets it’s not affecting those individual speeds. It has to have a high chance of collision to actually affect your speed - it might during short periods but as certain packets finish it will speed up again.
Are these services for on the move or stationary?
At the moment they are not on the move and in a commercial vehicle we would actually have any distraction for the driver disabled, so as soon as you disengaged the handbrake it would disable any visual interruptions to the driver. It could well be that you have audio instructions and information. We have for instance the capability and can demonstrate the ability to pull over audio streaming, so we can access virtually any internet radio worldwide and push that through the in-car entertainment system. But that could also be audio info from my company intranet or extranet, or info services coming from the RAC or any travel organisation.
Are then any voice-activated services?
Not at the moment, the services we are demonstrating are just web based services but we do have the ability and have been researching and developing voice activated services in our labs; for example, reading out emails.
How does the main screen just down from the dashboard work?
All of the equipment in here is standard equipment that you can buy off the shelf, we have put the unit together to demonstrate the capabilities of GPRS and the immediacy of GPRS – it’s up and running now.
Is it simply a matter of increasing consumer awareness as to what the products out there on the market can do at the moment?
Yes, that was one of the considerations; we wanted to use the devices and applications that were readily available to virtually anybody and as a consequence we have put the car, applications and hardware together in less than 15 days. So the device on the front is a standard Alpine unit, CD DVD player, navigation, music and radio and we’ve used one of the auxiliary inputs to attach to the micro computer, which is connected to GPRS.
This screen is not designed by Alpine to take GPRS and look at the Internet; the screen would otherwise be higher resolution. We’ve just used this screen because it neatly fits into the radio, we have adapted something that already exists. So one consideration is that if you are using off the shelf screens such as these the graphics do have to be modified.
Which area of business do you envisage these services being of most use to?
Initially B2B corporates, GPRS has been rolled out to businesses throughout the UK, it’s been B2B applications that are pushing the new developments in mobile data. We see the first killer application as being email on the move, seeing as we spend in excess of 40% of our time away from our desks we will then take maybe an hour and half to catch up while we’ve been away. We also envisage it as vital for delivery applications – being able to verify that a package has been delivered at a certain time at a certain place, getting real-time authentification using digital signatures.
Also it can be used in the emergency services: The Sony Vaio carries a motion eye camera so it can take still photos or video shots and push those back to base – this could be used to verify what has to be done in a situation. Remote response is key – all of the emergence services could be using the video applications.
It’s not designed for one company wanting the whole package. It can be tailored to each companies/ individuals need.
What are the security implications with regards to the wireless LAN in particular?
Security quite rightly is an issue and one that we believe we have addressed with the Blackberry. It is triple res encrypted - you can’t get more secure than that. But with the Wireless LAN, if that was big issue it might not necessarily have to be a wireless LAN interface: it could be an interface such as the DVD.
All of these scenarios are for accessing corporate networks so the security lies with BT Cellnet and the corporate network itself. Each GPRS connection requires a pipe from our network direct into the corporates network so that’s a fixed connection. Then there’s an APN, which is an address, which is configured on each SIM, and this gives you access to that corporate LAN and without that APN you can’t get in. If you were to take this a stage further, using Bluetooth technology you could embed a Bluetooth chip within a slightly higher spec multi media unit screen.
You could quite easily put a processor in that radio so that all of the processing power that currently lays with the microprocessor you can embed within the multi media and radio unit. Then connect that to a Bluetooth chip so that the car can come as standard with the capability of interfacing with a Bluetooth phone in a very close proximity within the car. The Bluetooth phone then has GPRS capabilities and has the corporate connection. This could be a standard installation but I could come along and I could configure it: the phone would enable the workstation. Once I take the phone away the corporate information cannot be accessed but a colleague could come along with their handset, establish a relationship and make a connection to their corporate network. So in the next 2 –3 years you’ll see a much more flexible userface.
What kind of interest have you had so far from corporate companies wanting to implement this kind of solution?
We’ve had great interest from the Finance section and recognising the capability to get real-time info out to their clients, who want stocks and shares information while they’re on the move. Time is key in these markets. We also have a number of OEMs looking and reviewing how they can incorporate GPRS technology within their in car entertainment systems.
Are you planning to partner up with other OEMs?
We are not partnering with the OEMs, but plan to offer BT Cellnet Telematics services to anybody. The devices would be purchased from us and we would in effect be a Telematics Service Provider (TSP).
Are you looking predominantly at the UK and Europe or worldwide?
Predominantly UK and Europe but it will be rolled out worldwide.
What kind of timescale are we looking at?
It’s very dependant on how quickly the other operators get their GPRS networks up and running. Europe-wide, it’s not far off: the States is a different matter.
Can these services be easily upgraded to 3G?
It would run alongside, it’s a whole different network, but we see GPRS and 3G running alongside one another for a considerable amount of time. The early adopters that start using and experimenting with GPRS will be the early winners in 3G because they’ll identify what applications work well, what sits well on the various devices. They’ll be able to see whether a 4-inch screen or an 8-inch screen is better, or if it should be landscape or portrait – all valuable learning and an opportunity to gain revenue early on. It may be that some of the applications sit better on GPRS than they do on 3G, but you will only learn this by playing with GPRS now.
It’s also the case that many applications are better on GPRS because they are not really data hungry and very straightforward Text based services. For example your real time stocks and shares info is not 3G dependant.
Personalisation still remains key. BT Cellnet have developed their own portal but they key is adapting it to my personal likes and dislikes. We also identified other sites that were light on bandwidth to construct an ideal portal that, once set up, the user won’t need to do much else to. You still have the freedom to roam so the whole “walled garden” issue doesn’t apply here.
There’s a tremendous opportunity here to create loyalty and reduce churn by offering a good GPRS portal maybe with a service or a package or with a car. That could be a GPRS portal offered by Chrysler, say Chrysler diagnostics that would be used say once every three months, the vast majority of it would be Chrysler identified sites that are useful to me on a day to day basis.
Where does your revenue come from?
We make money through two different routes: First through the BlackBerry system, which is subscription based with a monthly fee. The fee would include a 24-hour access, which, we plan to upgrade to include Internet and attachments within the next 6-8 months. Secondly, actual GPRS information such as navigation data. This is based on a pay as you go model with the more you use the cheaper the data is.
What’s the next step for the vehicle?
It’s visiting various corporates up and down the country, looking at the range of devices. We then go back to the workshop and put together a bespoke proposition to their requirements demonstrating what can be done. The next stage for the vehicle is to tidy up some of the hardware and incorporate it into the vehicle a lot more. It’s a very popular marketing and educational tool for BT Cellnet to really show people what GPRS can do.
Would you say that the key to the take up of GPRS and 3G is the realisation that you have to work in partnerships; one single application or idea is not sufficient to drive the industry forward?
Yes we have all of them on display here – consumer electronics, handset manufactures, OEMS, mobile operators and that’s just the hardware. It’s important to remember the application and content developers and that we spark their interest and imagination when developing services like these for GPRS. I envisage a time of picking and choosing my own portal and development my own tailor-made GPRS “skin” my needs and my requirements for both business and pleasure.
Thank you very much Nigel
So there we have it an interesting concept for Telematics - one that cuts out the middleman – i.e. the wireless carrier becomes the TSP. One problem we envisage is not a logistical one as BT would just out source this but more who controls the actual content and front line execution that the OEMs are keen to keep with Onstar, Wingcast etc. And there is the small matter of the car's battery, which only lasts around 60 minutes when the engine is turned off.
How this model will pan out in the long run is uncertain, and it’s currently anyone’s guess as to how the OEM and wireless carrier partnership will evolve. Nevertheless it’s good to see a vehicle like this on the road, up and running in the UK and finally it looks like the word on the street really is Telematics.
EyeForAuto
If you're interested in Telematics then you cannot afford to miss EyeForAuto's Telematics West Conference. The event will be held in San Diego on Nov 6-7 and will bring together over 40 leading speakers on automotive Telematics. With them, you'll be able to discuss and debate the strategic development of Telematics business models. Successfully implement the latest advances in linking automotive Telematics strategy with wireless technologies and meet the whole industry in one room.
The event is already selling fast, so make sure you book early to guarantee your place!
CLICK HERE for more information
