NetMotion Offers Fix For CDPD Transition Problems

Shelley Julian, NetMotion's vice president of marketing, said the company's NetMotion Mobility software provides two key fixes necessary for law enforcement and government agencies to move to GPRS: a fixed IP address and added security features.

Sparks have been flying between law enforcement agencies and the solution providers that serve them and AT&T Wireless after the carrier sent a letter to its customers warning that it would stop taking new orders for the 19.2-Kbps CDPD network next March. AT&T Wireless plans to pull the plug on the network in June 2004.

While AT&T Wireless has been encouraging these agencies to migrate to its 2.5G GPRS network, solution providers that serve the law enforcement vertical have said the new network doesn't provide support for a fixed IP address and lacks security necessary to meet strict government guidelines, among other issues.

While GPRS assigns a dynamic IP address every time a device moves on and off the network, NetMotion Wireless' software can get around that by essentially tricking the network into believing the device is logged into the network, even when it is turned off or moves out of range periodically, said Julian.

"It makes it look like the device is still there and the application is running," she said.

In addition, NetMotion adds a number of security features, Julian added. Encryption can be set on a global, group or per-use basis using AES, Twofish, 3DES or DES. In version 4.0 shipping this fall, NetMotion will add support for RADIUS servers as well. Support for a number of different VPN clients also is provided.

Solution providers, however, said the IP and security are just a few of the issues they confront as they assess the CDPD transition issue. Jeff Rubenstein, president and CEO of Hollywood, Fla.-based solution provider Advanced Public Safety and reserve officer for the Delray Beach Police Department, said public safety has to budget for a significant hardware upgrade as well as deal with AT&T Wireless GPRS pricing plans, which charge per kilobit rather than a flat monthly fee.

Moreover ,he noted that AT&T has given agencies just over a year plan a major transition. "Government agencies just don't move that fast," he said.