Trialling GSM data services for the mobile office

This paper presents the results of a field trial in which a group of salespeople, with minimal experience of using computers, were provided with mobile computing equipment and access to the GSM data and short message service (SMS) for communications. The trial had three purposes: (1) to evaluate the quality of service provided by the GSM data and SM services and determine whether they provide a significant improvement over the data service provided by analogue cellular networks; (2) to investigate the potential for a personal server/mobile client architecture in which the server provides additional communications services to the mobile client; and (3) to learn about the problems experienced by novice users of mobile services. The trial was carried out in Denmark at the end of 1994