Mentor Engineering's MDC Mobile Data Terminal

For customers that want to purchase a complete TranWare Enterprise solution with TranMDT,™ Future Quest recommends quality Mobile Data Terminals from Mentor Engineering. Since 1988, Mentor Engineering has set the industry standard in building high performance mobile data hardware products, with hundreds of installations throughout the world.

The Mentor MDC provides unsurpassed durability and user simplicity, with a large graphics display, fully integrated credit card swipe and GPS capability. The MDC is available to support transmission over most available public cellular data networks, including Sprint/Nextel, Verizon, T-Mobile and Telus.

For transportation companies with a substantial investment in an existing two-way radio voice network, the MDC is available in a private radio version, which supports high data throughput over two-way radio. Interface cables are available to support most popular mobile radios.

The Mentor MDC works seamlessly with TranWare Enterprise to completely automate the dispatch process. Trips are automatically sent to the closest available vehicle or first available vehicle in the zone or pull-zone where the trip is located. Drivers may perform most common functions with a single button press, including Accept, Reject, Arrive, Load, and Complete. Such status changes are instantly updated at the dispatch centre. In addition, drivers may query the system to view the number of available vehicles and available trips in each zone, as a means to staying productive, earning more money and providing the fastest level of service possible.

With its built-in GPS receiver, the MDC sends the vehicle’s location each time the driver performs a trip status change, as well as on a timed or distance interval. This updates the vehicle’s position on the TranTrac street map. TranWare Enterprise can be programmed to verify that a driver is actually in the zone that he is trying to book into or it can automatically book the vehicle into the appropriate zone as it moves about. An emergency foot-switch can be used by the driver to send an emergency message with the vehicle’s location if a dangerous situation arises.

Public Data Network or Private Radio Network Options

If you choose to implement TranMDT, you have the option of using a private radio system or public cellular network as your communications gateway. Which should you use?

In the past, there was one choice, which was to use your two-way radio system as the backbone for your MDT communications. However, with the advent of public data networks, today’s transportation operators have much greater choice. Virtually all cellular companies now support packet data on their cellular networks, offering highly competitive rate plans. For example, Sprint/Nextel offers unlimited data for only $13.00 per month, per vehicle. When you consider the following benefits that public data networks provide versus private radio networks, serious consideration must be given to this choice before proceeding:

1. Superior coverage
	Public networks cover virtually all of North America with seamless roaming. Chances are, your private radio system would only be a single site system in your area of operation. The public network probably has 30 to 50 sites in your home area alone. With a public network, this means you can dispatch to multiple cities, anywhere in North America, from a single dispatch system. This means you could leverage your dispatch centre investment to open up new markets or to dispatch for other companies in other markets.
2. Higher data speeds
	Your private radio system is capable of a maximum data speed of approximately 9600 bits per second, whereas the public network can carry data at speeds of 56,000 to over 500,000 bits per second. This means there is far greater capacity on the public network. A single private radio channel with 2 frequencies (full duplex) can typically handle no more than 125 vehicles. If your fleet exceeds that number, you may require another duplex pair, which you may not be able to obtain due to spectrum shortages. Your fleet wil never out-grow a public network.
3. Simplified installation and implementation
	MDT’s on a private network must be hard wired to your 2 way radios. Often, your radio fleet consists of different models of two-way radios. Each model must be treated differently, with different cable assemblies, and different tuning characteristics. As the transmit and receive attack times are different for every model, your entire radio system must be de-tuned to accommodate your slowest performing radios.
	Physical vehicle installation is time consuming and complex on a private radio system. An MDT operating on a cellular network has the cellular modem built-in, so the installation is far simpler. If a vehicle breaks down, you can plug the MDT into the vehicle lighter plug, slap a magnetic antenna on the roof and it is on the air.
4. Lower hardware costs
	If you install an MDT system on your two-way radio system, you will likely need to spend thousands of dollars on upgrading your radio site(s) and the base station or repeater equipment in them. For example, you will need a continuous duty digital capable base station, which can cost $10,000.00. You may also need to purchase two-way radios. The MDT system will only be as good as the radio system, so adding MDT’s to it usually means spending a lot of money on the radio system first in order to optimize the MDT system reliability and coverage.
	You need to be careful that your radio system is not subject to future licensing changes. For example, narrow-banding is being implemented by FCC and Industry Canada in many urban markets. These changes could force you to purchase new hardware now or at some future point.
5. Licensing Delays
	Operating a data network on your private radio system usually means making application to FCC or Industry Canada for additional radio frequency spectrum. Chances are, if you don’t already have the spectrum you need, you may not get it due to spectrum shortages.
	Often, the license application process can delay your implementation by several months
	As your fleet grows, you may not be able to obtain the additional spectrum you need
6. Voice communications
	Adding data to your voice system usually means using your existing radio voice channels. Unless you operate several hundred vehicles, you may not be able to obtain a separate channel for voice communications. If so, every time the system is used for voice, (such as when a driver calls dispatch) you are preventing dispatch calls from going out on the MDT system.
7. Network redundancy
	If you add MDT dispatch to your voice (two-way radio) system and it goes down, your company is dead in the water. You will have no voice or data.
	However, if you use your existing radio system for voice only and put your MDT system on a public network, you have always have redundancy. If the public network goes down, you still have voice and vice versa.

Future Quest can help you through this decision process. However, as a general rule, we would only recommend a private radio network be used under the following circumstances:

1. You have sufficient radio channels to accommodate both voice and data
2. Your coverage is satisfactory
3. Your radio system is satisfactory and won’t require significant upgrading
4. You don’t plan to expand outside of your current market area