Wireless Connectivity

Property claims are constantly evolving and there are often several participants, in different locations, involved in a claim who need to either makes changes to a file or review information contained in a file. To accomplish our goal of keeping claim participants always mobile, Symbility exploits wireless technologies to keep each claim participant connected to the data they need to keep the process moving. This exploitation results in claims being settled faster, at a lower cost and with fewer expenses.

Although most portable computers sold today have some form of integrated wireless technology, and wireless capabilities can be added on to virtually any computer, only Symbility's mobile claims™ software was designed from the ground-up to account for the limitations presented by transmitting data wirelessly:

1. Mobile users don't always have wireless access to the Internet.

2. When wireless access to the Internet is available, the transmission speed can be painfully slow.

To make staying connected wirelessly feasible for claims adjusters and restoration contractors, we engineered our unique claim synchronization technology. This keeps all data decentralized in the Symbility.NET connected claims hub and allows all remote mobile claims users to synchronize the data on their device with Symbility.NET to transfer only the data that is relevant. Upon synchronizing, any new information that has been entered into the system since last synchronization is automatically downloaded to the device (for example, new claims and updates by another participant to an existing claims file). Also, any information that has been entered into the device since the last synchronization (for example a new estimate, digital photos or an approval for an estimate) is uploaded and automatically made available to other relevant claim participants.

Symbility Makes "Wireless" Fast and Practical...

Even though highly graphical and detailed, Symbility's electronic claim files use proprietary compression techniques which makes it fast and efficient to transfer data even on slow, wide-area wireless connections. Digital photos and voice annotations are much larger than the rest of the claim data gathered at the site, so if the current wireless connection is slow (or if the connection is expensive and charged per the minute or per the byte) you have the option of synchronizing all data except photos and voice annotations—then synchronizing the rest of the data once a faster wireless (or wired) connection is obtained.

...and Secure

Regardless of the wireless (or wired) method used to connect a device running the mobile claims software to the Internet, the data being transferred is encrypted before being transmitted using a 128-bit Secure Socket Layer (SSL). This is the same industry standard encryption method used by banks to provide access to sensitive customer data via the Internet. This means we don't rely on any external security integrated into a wireless network, and in fact always assume that there is none (like any public "hotspot"). Any claim data that might be intercepted would be absolutely useless without the mobile claims software and the proper authentication.

What is "Wireless"?

The term "wireless" is a buzzword that everyone has heard but may not be completely familiar with. Part of the confusion is that there are three ways the term "wireless" is used. In each case, wireless refers to connecting computers to each other, to other devices and to the Internet so that information can be exchanged, all without any physical wires. The three wireless standards commonly in use today are differentiated mainly by the range of signal that each will work within.

Bluetooth®

Bluetooth® is a short-range networking standard (within 30 feet) and is often termed a PAN—Personal Area Network. It was not designed to network computers in the typical sense, as its bandwidth is relatively small. Rather it is better suited to replace cables between various devices. It helps to think of  Bluetooth as "cordless" rather than "wireless".

Among other uses,  Bluetooth is used to connect pen-based computers to the  Bluetooth-enabled cell phones, which act as a modem and connect to the Internet using a WWAN wireless standard (see Wide-Area Wireless below). It’s important to note that using  Bluetooth is not a method to connect to the Internet directly—another wireless standard is needed to do that. Rather, it is a way to connect to another device (ex. a cellphone) that can connect to the Internet.

WiFi (802.11b/g)

"WiFi" is the wireless term you’ve probably heard most often, or perhaps you’ve seen the term 802.11b (or it’s faster version, 802.11g). WiFi is pervasive now and likely already in your home or office, since it’s easy to use and inexpensive. It’s referred to as a WLAN networking standard (Wireless Local Area Network) because its main use is to replace the wired Ethernet cables that are the typical way to network several computers together in a Local Area Network.

WiFi provides the fastest connection to the Internet (highest bandwidth)—roughly broadband speed (about equivalent to a cable modem or DSL modem)—only wireless. To connect your wireless pen-based device to the Internet, all you need to do is be within 300 feet of a WiFi transmitter (an "access point"). Generally the connection occurs automatically, unless the connection is encrypted, in which case you’ll need to know the key code to connect.

All Tablet PCs and almost all Pocket PCs include built-in WiFi capability. When working remotely, a a mobile claims professional connects to the Internet by going close to a WiFi “hotspot”. A hotspot is simply a wireless transmitter that is connected to the Internet itself. There are thousands of hotspots throughout North America—some free, some requiring memberships, some pay-as-you-go—including coffee shops, airports, hotels and even McDonalds®.

Wide-Area Wireless (GPRS, EDGE, EVDO, 1xRTT)

While high-speed WiFi is limited to cities and larger towns, for a truly liberating Internet experience, you need WWAN (Wireless Wide Area Networking). This allows you to connect to the Internet virtually anywhere—essentially anywhere you can receive a cellphone signal. That’s because it’s the cellular phone service companies that provide this wireless data service, and because it piggybacks on the same technology that delivers voice calls to cellular phones.

Although the range of wide-area wireless data connections is far greater than WiFi, this freedom comes at a cost. The speed of the connection is much slower—typically equivalent to a 56K modem. Thankfully, Symbility mobile claims has been engineered with a slow connection speed in mind, and it works great.

There are two versions of WWAN (GPRS and 1xRTT), depending on the telecom company offering it. To use a pen-based computer anywhere, anytime on a GPRS or 1xRTT network you need either a wireless modem such as a Sierra Wireless™ AirCard (usually purchased through a cellular phone service provider) that plugs into the Tablet PC or Pocket PC, or a data-capable cellphone that also has Bluetooth® wireless capability.