BY ARA C. TREMBLY

What is all this hysteria and folderol about wireless? I mean itseems you cant go anywhere these days without some cellular ormobile computing company touting the virtues of doing away withwires.

If we only would eliminate those nasty strips of metal encasedin rubber, such companies tell us, our lives would be a fabulousfantasy in which Catherine Zeta-Jones would be at our sideappealingly praising our perspicacity. In the tech community, thehype is growing to epidemic proportions.

Wireless technologypersonal digital assistants (PDAs) withe-mail, computers on our wrists, hot spots that let us connect tothe Web while sipping trendy lattesis ready to explode, the punditstell us. And it must be true, because theyve been telling us thatfor at least five years now.

The pundits one day may be proven correct, but why must we stoopto demonizing the wire, an entity whose history in our nationandindeed the world overhas been one of selfless service?

On that fateful day in 1844 when Samuel Morse sent the telegraphmessage What hath God wrought? from the U.S. Supreme Court chamberto Baltimore, the course of communication in the civilized worldchanged foreverand wire was an integral part of that change. Fromelectric power to telegraph to telephone to transoceanic cables,wire has been the medium that has enabled the tremendoustechnological growth of the 20th century.

Wireless is hardly a new idea, though. In fact, in the earlydays of radio, that device often was referred to as wireless. Andmy more seasoned readers may remember Dick Tracy and his fabulouswatch, which wirelessly carried all kinds of communication acrosscomic-strip land. Ironically, such watches actually are being soldtodaypart of the wireless revolution.
I also find it interesting, however, when we as a nation hadachieved free wireless television transmission in the 1950s, weturned right around and went back to wires, and we were happy topay a hefty premium to do so. By the way, heres a neato tech tipfor those under age 25: If you use that antenna thingy attached toyour TV, you still actually may be able to tune in some of thosewireless broadcasts, and you dont have to pay a dime for them!Cool, huh?

But as much as wireless has been promoted, the rate of adoptionfor todays wireless technologies has been modest, to say the least.Ive heard estimates for wireless penetration in industries acrossthe board at about 20 percent. According to Houston-based analystswith Celent Communications, the adoption figure is one percent inthe life insurance industry and only slightly better on theproperty/casualty side.

There are a variety of reasons for the slow fuse on the wirelessbomb thats waiting to explode. Multiple proprietary standards, poordata security that is only now being addressed, and a profusion ofdiscrete devices are among the retardant factors. When it comes toinsurance, the problem is practical applications are few, and eventhose applications are not heavily utilized.

Wireless makes sense for adjusters with laptops in the field whoneed to send photos quickly and/or documents for fast processing ofclaims, and the industry is seeing some use of the technology inthis way. Basically, anything that demands an instant response willlend itself to wireless, but very little in our phlegmatic industrydemands such a response.

So, why are so many still convinced wireless technology is readyto blast off? The answer lies in the same kind of thinking thatspawned the idea, and later the actual creation, of the Dick Tracywatch. Its just so cool! the pundits gush. How could anyone notwant to connect anywhere and do anything without wires?

Theres the key. The pundits and technophiles are having so muchfun with their wireless devices they cant understand why everyoneisnt rushing out to buy them by the boatload. Eventually, theybelieve, we all will come to see wireless is, indeed, thefuture.

The problem with this line of thinking, however, is it ignoresthe need for a product to have practical application in the realworld. Its one thing to snicker as we read and respond to oure-mail on the train, but its quite another to demonstrate thatbeing able to do so is a boon to productivity or the bottom line.Proving value is something thats starting to happen with wireless,but that will not cause a stampede to Best Buy in the morning toclean out its stock of PDAs.

Instead, as Celent analyst Chad Hersh puts it, Where costsavings and revenue generation are to be had, [wireless] will beused. Its that simple.

Cool is not enough; wires are not inherently bad. After all,even the coolest tech magazine around is still called Wired.

Ara C. Trembly is technology editor for National Underwritersproperty/casualty and life/health editions. He may be reached at[email protected].