This solution sponsored by: AG Communication Systems, A subsidiary of Lucent Technologies

Solution Description

Today’s employees are more mobile than ever.  ROAMEO provides your company with a better way to stay in touch so that you can conduct business anywhere, at any time.  ROAMEO is a licensed wireless office system that integrates your desk phone and your cellular or PCS phone.  It allows you to use your office number as a single number that will reach you wherever you are – an office down the hall, in the car, or even a different city.  With ROAMEO, your wireless handset becomes a cordless extension of your desk phone making it easy to stay in touch.  There are no codes to program or menus to master – simply turn on your wireless handset and ROAMEO automatically registers and communicates with your office phones system and the outside wireless network.

Features

• Incoming calls ring both your desk phone and wireless phone simultaneously.

• All calls to your desk phone number or wireless phone number will reach you wherever you are.

• Existing PBX or Centrex features such as 4- or 5-digit dialing and calling number identification are available on your wireless handset when you are within the range of ROAMEO.

• Unanswered calls are forwarded to office voice mail – only one mailbox to check!

• Interference-free operation.

Business Environment:

Solution Components

The solution consists of the following components (especially for an application solution):

1. A ROAMEO Controller (adjunct to a PBX, Centrex, or Key System)

2. ROAMEO base stations and a distributed antenna system (where required)

3. TDMA-based cellular or PCS handsets provided by a TDMA-based wireless carrier

ROAMEO Options 

ROAMEO provides a variety of PBX, Centrex, or key system connection options including:

• Analog Line - Connects directly to a corresponding subscriber circuit on the PBX. Eight (8) or twenty- four (24) port card configurations are available.

• T1 Line Side - Offers line features on the PBX using less expensive T1 connections. Available in a 48-port card configuration.

• DEB (digital Emulation Board) - A signaling method used to concentrate lines in a hunt group fashion allowing greater users per line. The DEB appears to the PBX as a standard digital phone line having appearances for ROAMEO subscriber extensions.

• Centrex BRI - Appears to the Centrex switch as a standard BRI line having appearances for ROAMEO subscriber extensions.

• Lucent DEFINITY G3 PRI - Based on the ISDN PRI standard with minor extension that provide station features to the mobile handsets directly across a PRI link.

ROAMEO is connected to the wireless SS7 network via an IS-41 link using TCP/IP over frame-relay. The IS-41 protocol allows both domains, in-building and the outside wireless network, to co-exist providing one number, one handset mobility. ROAMEO uses the Private System Identity (PSID) capabilities of IS-136 to provide full in-building mobility within the cellular or PCS spectrum.

Devices Supported

• ROAMEO supports a variety of cellular and PCS handsets

Wireless Networks Supported (if applicable)

• Cellular (TDMA) or PCS (TDMA)

Major Customers Using the Solution

ROAMEO is being utilized in many diverse customer environments.  Our customers include companies in the following market sectors:

• Conglomerates

• Consumer cyclical

• Consumer non-cyclical

• Financial

• Government

• Services

• Technology

• Transportation

If communications are critical to your business and missed calls mean missed opportunities, poor customer service, or productivity losses, ROAMEO can benefit you.

Rule-of-Thumb Costs & Benefits

A recent study of end users showed that:

•   82% of users reported that callers can reach them more easily

•  79% strongly agreed that ROAMEO is easy to use

•  69% said ROAMEO significantly reduced telephone tag

•  64% reported a significant increase in their overall productivity

•  57% said they have significantly decreased the time they spend listening to voice mail

Major product advantages reported by our customers include:

• Availability/no missed calls when away from the office

• Having one number where they can be reached

• Ease of use and convenience

The cost per user for the ROAMEO system is dependent on the complexity of the building, number of users, and coverage area.  As a rule-of-thumb, licensed wireless office systems generally run in the $1,000 to $1,300 range (cost for the controller and base stations) per user for 75-to-100 user systems, the $800 to $1,100 range for 150-to-200 user systems.  For larger systems, the cost per user can be as low as $500.  Monthly costs would include the cost for macro wireless service and a flat-rate in-building charge from your wireless carrier.

Vendor Product Page URL

For more information, go to vendor web site at www.agcs.com/roameo.  This site contains additional product information as well as contacts if you are interested in an on-site presentation and/or budgetary quote.