At the moment, telephones in the office are linked to desks, computers are connected in local area networks and 80 miles of cables snake their way around an average office building, writes Philip Ross. People work in the same location every day because communications are fixed between physical places.
Much is about to change. Companies such as GPT are launching telephone systems which will provide cordless handsets for use within an office. For the first time, an extension number can move around the building with a worker, no longer tied to a fixed desk or office.
Called ISDX 100, GPT’s system can handle 100 extension numbers using four zones. Users still have access to all the normal facilities which a phone system offers, but without the constraint of location. A 500-extension version will be launched at the end of the year.
Northern Telecom has launched its Companion system, also a cordless PBX which liberates the office telephone extension. Companion 100 will be available for sale by BT this autumn. Both these products are based on CT2 technology, while a rival system called DECT is not far behind.
Firms such as Ericsson, Phillips and Alcatel have developed DECT as a standard across Europe for cordless PBXs and the system has advantages over CT2, especially for heavy use within office buildings. Ericsson’s Freeset is scheduled to be launched later this year.
But a cordless PBX is only part of the story. NCR is launching WaveLAN, which transfers data between computers using radio waves.
According to NCR, all that needs to be added is a board within the computer and a small external antenna which is the size of a pack of cards. This technology allows computers, and peripherals such as the printer and facsimile, automatically to be part of a network without ever physically having to “plug-in”, except for power.
Other technologies are also available. Outside the UK, Motorola has its Altair – also a wireless local area network – which links computers using a high frequency radio wave. At present, the DTI will not licence this system for the UK, although it is in use in Spain, Germany, Australia and the USA.
The situation becomes more complicated when alternatives to radio waves are considered. Technologies such as infra-red could also be used to transfer voice and data, where even the mouse and keyboard will no longer need wires. In the short term, these systems will probably be used alongside traditional “hard” wire cabling or new solutions such as ISDN.
Structured solutions, although flexible, are expensive and, once cordless technology has proved to be successful, there may be a move towards a completely cordless environment, although probably using a cabled “backbone” (either copper or fibre optic) as a link between floors in a building.
For listed or older buildings, the appeal of this technology is obvious. No longer will raised floors be a necessity for firms using information technology. Office furniture will change, as cable management ceases to be an issue, and, for the facility manager, office moves and planning become simpler.
Outside the office, as cellular phone systems are upgraded to become digital (GSM) and new communications systems are launched, such as RAM Mobile Data and Mercury’s One-2-One, people will increasingly be able to work effectively wherever they need, in the office, the home or an airport lounge.
Computer companies are beginning to bring out products to achieve this. Apple launches Newton this summer, a notepad computer which uses handwriting recognition and will have built-in wireless-networking technology. This means that users can share information without a physical link between them.
Other new products, such as the next generation of Powerbooks, may also come with wireless technology. With this mobility, what happens to the traditional office?
Philip Ross is head of research at design consultancy Business Design Group.
