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Cellular, Wireless & Paging
Chapter 9
This is a broad subject. There are hundreds of choices that fall into this category. Since we are focusing on becoming efficient, we’ll stay on that track.
Cellular phones are required for doing business. Pagers are not so much anymore - but they still have their place. Are you traveling in the mountains frequently - as we do? Then you may want to carry a pager - as they are more reliable than a cell phone.
The term “wireless” can encompass cellular, portable wireless devices (such as pda’s, laptops, blackberry, and other forms) and pagers. When we refer to wireless in these discussions - it will refer to pda, laptop, blackberry and other non-cellular and non-pager devices for accessing the internet and data intranets.
- Recommended devices in your basic arsenal:
- Cellular phone with nationwide roaming. Listing of providers.
- Laptop, PDA, or Blackberry device with wireless capability for checking e-mail.
- Note: Combination PDA/Cellular phone is THE way to go if you can afford it.
- Our personal picks:
- Cellular phone service with national coverage (no roaming charges) for $35 per month (300 minutes, unlim. night/wknd, plus 200 bonus anytime minutes.) through AT&T. I am not going to argue over who’s best! Verizon, Sprint, T Mobile, Virgin, Qwest, Nextel and ALL the others have loyal followers. Listing of providers You should compare them all and see what works for you best. Plans change every month - so ours could be out of date tomorrow. Know appx how many minutes you’ll use. Keep all your coworkers on the same plan so you can use free connections to one another. Watch the fine print!
- Internet Service/wireless: We use Comcast Broadband in the office with a wireless router to use our laptops around the office. While on the road, we use dial-up from Earthlink (appx $20/month) to get access from those extremely remote places (Juneau, Alaska for example).
- There are numerous wireless “hotspots” available for free (some Starbucks, some hotels) while others charge a $10 per day fee. Wireless is the best way to go while traveling. Some hotels offer a broadband connection in your room for free or about $10 per day.
- Dial-up is becoming a thing of the past. If you are buying a PDA or laptop with intentions to use them on the internet - get a wireless capable device when you buy it! Don’t wait.
We’re not going to cover who offers paging. It’s so much a thing of the past that you could do a simple search on the internet to narrow down your options quickly. However, we will provide a convenient list of providers through this link to Chapter 12
- How to tie it all together and become efficient.
- Let’s use this scenario: You’ve got your Virtual Office System. It’s central phone number will use it’s follow-me-live capability to first try and ring you at your office phone, then your cell phone, then home (all of these numbers are optional and programmable of course), then go to voicemail. OR, they can fool around inside your VOS and get a fax-back or listen to info.
- If the caller doesn’t get you and goes into voicemail, then they leave a message. After that, your system will do whatever you programmed it to do. For example, you could have it call you back with the message that was just left to whatever phone you are (hiding out in private) at; it could send an e-mail attachment of the voicemail to your inbox if you are trying to have some private time at your computer; or it could page you on your pager.
- Since you carry your cell phone and wireless laptop or pda at all times, you’ll always be connected. You’ll never miss a message by more than a few minutes (unless you are out of coverage range of course). So, you’ll be less likely to lose a sale or business. No longer will you be that business person who doesn’t call people back for hours and then finds out that the people bought from someone else due to lack of information.
Note: a few great references to stay on top of what’s hot in the market for gadgets these days are the following: www.zdnet.comwww.pcworld.comwww.pcmag.com
Check your messages and e-mail frequently and take time to answer them. It’s amazing how many business people fail to do so - resulting in millions of lost revenue each year.
Continue to the next Chapter 10. Protecting your privacy and security>>>>>
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