Motient's M-Commerce Movements

Motient has learned that a successful m-commerce offering means remembering the simple things.

Although most people think of m-commerce as the ability to pay for goods, services or information via mobile devices, wireless-data provider Motient is proving that an m-commerce offering encompasses much more.

Wireless data has been Motient's bread and butter since it was founded in 1988 as American Mobile Satellite. The company, which acquired Ardis in March 1998 and changed its name to Motient last April, owns and operates an integrated terrestrial and satellite data-only wireless network that stretches across North America. Its DataTac network, developed by Motorola, runs on the 800MHz frequency.

Through the years, Motient has discovered that there's no such thing as an m-commerce solution. Rather, extending m-commerce service to enterprises and customers requires close relationships with ASPs, ISPs and content providers.

Back to Basics Brian Nimmo, Motient vice president of marketing and strategic alliances, said that although many companies view e-mail as a basic wireless-data application, it still is integral to the success of m-commerce. For instance, any retailer that hopes to offer products to mobile users must be able to reach those customers via mobile e-mail.

"E-mail still remains the sticky application that m-commerce companies want to get messages to and from their employees and customer base," Nimmo said. "Companies involved in m-commerce are finding innovative ways to leverage e-mail's powerful existing aspects; it's more than just sending messages to and from individuals."

Motient provides its eLink 2-way wireless e-mail service to customers accessing e-mail through corporate servers, ISP accounts and paging-network suppliers. Earlier this year, Motient forged a marketing alliance with Internet-messaging provider Critical Path. Using Motient's network and wireless portable e-mail devices, Critical Path provides a 2-way wireless extension of a customer's desktop e-mail so that end users can wirelessly send and receive e-mail from their desktop addresses. Using filters, eLink users also can designate which messages are forwarded and how often.

"Yahoo also will be leveraging our e-mail capability, as well as other features yet to be announced," Nimmo said.

As simple as it sounds, Internet access and Web browsing also are key to extending m-commerce to customers. A partnership agreement with Neomar allows Motient's subscribers to access the Web via Neomar's WAP-based microbrowser. A relationship with GoAmerica Communications facilitates Web access and surfing using a Research In Motion 850 wireless portable device. The GoAmerica service allows users to customize their financial, news, weather and sports links, complete and submit forms and applications, and access corporate information with optional layers of security.

Portal Partners Beyond e-mail and Web access, Motient works with portal companies to offer what most people consider m-commerce applications: stock trading, portfolio updates and wireless banking.

Motient's relationship with Aether Systems gives banks the ability to send updates and information about transactions to Motient's wireless subscribers. Aether's Personal Commerce Portal is a single entry point to a suite of services that allows users to manage all of their finances. And, in order to avoid the hassle of partnering with every bank in every city around the United States, Motient works with portal-provider Oracle to offer access to trading companies and financial institutions.

Nimmo said Motient partnered with Oracle because it has existing relationships with banks and financial institutions. Because Oracle wants to leverage its portal to send information to all types of wireless devices, the Oracle portal is a vehicle for Motient to extend financial services to users.

"If we can offer access to portals, users can tie into any financial institution that they choose, so we don't have to align ourselves with one particular institution," Nimmo said. "Instead, we can concentrate on providing the best network, devices, access via devices, service and proven applications, all at a price that can't be beat."

Motient also has accepted w-Trade applications for use on its network, although it has not deployed the solutions yet. Motient has not said which w-Trade applications it will offer, but w-Trade Technologies' wireless financial applications include: w-Trade, which allows wireless trading of securities, stocks, bonds, options and mutual funds; w-Bank, a complete wireless-banking solution; w-401k, wireless 401k-account management; w-Cash, wireless cash management; w-Alert, which dispatches alerts and confirmations for applications; and w-Research, access to real-time research reports.

Sergey Fradkov, w-Trade Technologies CTO, said in addition to wireless-finance applications, w-Trade offers wireless-commerce applications, including: w-Store, which enables merchants to offer commerce to mobile users; w-Travel, which offers travel reservations, schedules, pricing, ticketing and promotions; w-Auction, which enables users to place bids; w-Dine, allowing users to search for restaurants, access menus and reviews, and book and confirm reservations; and w-Ticket, offering wireless access to ordering tickets, viewing venues and show times, getting directions and reading reviews.

Abundant Applications David Wonderling, Motient spokesperson, pointed out that providers such as Motient are limited only by their imagination when it comes to the types of m-commerce applications they can offer to customers.

"You can develop any sort of application to put on a hand-held device that a potential customer would want," he said. "It is not a problem of not enough opportunities, it's a challenge of identifying which of those opportunities are the most beneficial."

Nimmo said Motient uses focus groups, studies and surveys to decide which applications to offer. For example, it recently joined up with paging company and partner TSR to survey customers coming into TSR retail stores about their views on the company's wireless-data offering. Customers said they want to receive the same rich content and applications that they currently enjoy while online at their PCs. They also want affordable, easy-to-use applications that they can use anywhere they travel.

In order to offer those applications, Motient outsources all of its software development. Sometimes it takes ideas to software developers and commissions them to build those applications; other times software companies come to Motient with ideas for applications to run on its network, Wonderling said.

For instance, Motient currently is working with software developers to create a package for law-enforcement agencies. Nimmo said that many police cars are equipped with computers, but police officers walking their beats or patrolling on horseback and bicycles need smaller devices to access information databases.

"Those police (who don't use patrol cars) are very attracted to this type of solution because 2-way devices give them immediate access to information they can't access through their dispatchers," Nimmo said.

Nimmo said Motient will continue to add a host of other m-commerce applications, ranging from health care, to financial services, to field services.

"In the field-services area, if a truck pulls up to fix an appliance in your home, you can get a bill and sign on the spot via our network; behind the scenes, the network communicates back into the company's database to verify your account and credit," Nimmo said.

Also in the future, Motient will add location technology to its m-commerce applications.

"As you go past a large shopping center, a store can send you an e-mail message letting you know they have something on sale you are interested in purchasing, based on your buying habits," Wonderling said.