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ATM Deployers Moving Towards Wireless Connectivity
- 1. Special report
By Steve Arel
Contributing writer,
ATM Deployers Moving ATMmarketplace.com
Toward Wireless Connectivity Sponsored by:
A growing number of companies are finding that wireless
technology provides advantages that benefit both them and
their customers, as well as better position them for the future.
S The emergence of wireless
tay connected. Cell phone companies
use those words to woo people away technology
from landlines. Likewise, the ATM
industry wants consumers to “cut the cord” Wireless technology has been around
as it tries to make wireless technology in other industries for some time. But
more common. in the ATM world, wireless is a relative
newcomer.
Several information technology firms,
led in part by innovation from Australia- No specific figures exist for the actual
based Symstream Technology Group, number of ATMs in the world that use
are promoting wireless communication wireless connectivity. However, industry
solutions that promise faster ATM experts say the total number of wireless
transactions, fewer dropped calls, greater units lags far behind the number of ATMs
flexibility and higher customer satisfaction. operating on traditional landlines.
The switch to wireless has less to do with
boosting business and improving the But the gap is closing.
bottom line than it does with the simple
fact that wireless works.
So it’s no wonder that a growing number
of companies in the ATM industry are
capitalizing on technology that helps them
meet consumers’ needs more quickly.
Despite the numerous advantages, from
cost-effectiveness to easy upgrades to
reliability, not every company has been
quick to embrace wireless. Still, plenty of
others are willing to invest now, banking
on a future of ATM operations untethered Symstream solutions are carried in various types of
modems, including this one produced by MultiTech.
from wired connections.
© 2010 NetWorld Alliance LLC | Sponsored by Symstream Technology Group 1
- 2. atM Deployers Moving toward Wireless connectivity
Growth in wireless technology continues Carriers are moving toward wireless
in urban areas, but the most significant infrastructure [because the alternative is]
leaps are seen in rural areas and
a waste of time and money.”
developing nations where few or no
telecommunications infrastructures exist. — Mark Gamon, director of strategy and international development, Symstream.
“The cost of a landline is high and a
connection may not be available in all
of the locations where a bank may want current communications infrastructures
to put an ATM due to accessibility,” said work, ATM deployers are reluctant to
Manjunath Rao, regional services sales tear them down or replace them with
director with Duluth, Ga.-based NCR wireless options. Why fix something that
Corp. isn’t broken? For the average operator or
deployer, the expense of reconfiguring or
In the past, rural areas were not prime retrofitting thousands of ATMs outweighs
locations for ATM installations. Exorbitant the need to switch.
costs and logistical challenges associated
with laying and accessing landlines had The emergence of wireless connections
made connecting ATMs to networks cost began to flourish several years ago.
prohibitive. Speeding this development has been the
inception of advanced wireless networks.
The situation is different today. Systems such as local and metropolitan
area networks, code division multiple
Through wireless networks, ATMs can access (CDMA), general packet radio
connect to hubs around the world. service (GPRS) and satellites have opened
up a multitude of possibilities.
“Not even emerging markets are putting
cable in the ground,” said Mark Gamon, Perhaps the most significant network that
director of strategy and international is furthering wireless communications
development for Symstream. “Carriers within the ATM industry is the global
are moving toward wireless infrastructure system for mobile communications, or
[because the alternative is] a waste of time GSM, which has become an international
and money.” mobile phone standard. In use in more
than 200 countries, GSM enables greater
Existing infrastructures in developed parts network capacity and increased efficiency
of the world, coupled with the introduction for sending voice and data transmissions.
of wireless connectivity, are allowing For the ATM industry, the third generation
developing nations to join the ATM of GSM — commonly known as 3G — has
race — and in many ways to leap past the proven to be the best choice for quicker
technology of ATM-using giants such as transmission of data.
the United States, the United Kingdom and
Australia. “Through every optimization, there was a
big jump in bandwidth and the ability to
The reason: Landlines are restrictive support more applications over wireless,”
and expensive, but they’re too intricate said Natasha Royer Coons, president and
and well-established to eliminate. Since managing director of San Diego-based
© 2010 NetWorld Alliance LLC | Sponsored by Symstream Technology Group 2
- 3. atM Deployers Moving toward Wireless connectivity
TeraNova Consulting, a telecom consulting
firm. “Before, we were limited with what
we could send.”
Advantages of shifting to wireless
Time is money in the business world,
including the ATM industry. Whether the
situation calls for deploying units, handling
problems or completing transactions more
quickly, speed succeeds.
Traditional ATMs are tethered to banks Installing wireless cards, such as the one seen above,
allows ATMs to break from traditional hardwires.
or other buildings by hardwires — power
cords and phone lines. That setup requires
company personnel to regularly check
the machines for potential problems; even for serial-connected ATMs.
otherwise, a unit could run out of money
or paper or experience other problems that “The technology provides a secure data
a business might not learn about unless a transaction,” Gamon said, “and since GSM
customer complained. voice-channel resources are not shared, the
reserved bandwidth makes performance
Wireless technology bypasses many of more consistent. This is not the case with
those traditional problems. For starters, GPRS, which suffers from congestion
and perhaps most significantly, wireless- problems at busy times.”
enabled equipment only requires a power
cord. That allows for easy deployment at What also separates Symstream’s solution
banks and at remote sites. from others is that unlike messages sent
over data channels, data is transmitted
A router inside the ATM transmits over voice channels. On the 3G network,
data faster than an anchored line can. voice channels take priority over data
Transactions, however, can be speeded channels. Data messages receive lower
up, depending on the solution used. priority even on other wireless networks,
Transactions on a dial-up network can take meaning they can be delayed while voice
as long as 20 seconds to process. That’s transmissions are sent, depending on the
because connections must dial into their number of voice calls being transmitted
hubs after users swipe or insert their cards. at the same time as the data message or
On the contrary, using 3G processing takes messages.
six seconds or less, Gamon says.
Most ATM users don’t know or care what
“That’s particularly important if you want kind of connection ATMs use, Gamon
to move people through as quickly as says, but wireless makes a considerable
possible,” he said. difference where transaction speed is
concerned.
Symstream says its solution is unique
because it adds a layer of strong encryption Wireless technology also allows for
© 2010 NetWorld Alliance LLC | Sponsored by Symstream Technology Group 3
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flexibility. An ATM using a wireless around the world forbid work on historic
connection easily can be moved from one structures that could threaten to mar the
end of a store to another or be deployed in interior and/or the exterior.
an unlikely place, such as on a pier, train
or boat. When it comes to moving wired
ATMs, there always is a significant cost Management from afar
involved, those in the industry say.
Symstream is among those companies that
have made an impact through wireless
Wireless also enables portability, which
solutions that allow machine owners to
can be critical when it comes to setting
oversee their equipment from a distance.
up equipment at special events such as
For companies such as Customers
concerts or fairs, where running a landline
ATM, which has ATMs deployed across
doesn’t make much sense.
Australia, such solutions eliminate the
need to have someone physically check
Installation and time-to-market speed each machine for maintenance.
are other considerations. A wireless ATM
can be deployed in one day; deploying
“We can’t afford to fly people to look
hardwired ATMs often takes weeks.
after these machines,” Wildash said.
“We have to have a simple machine and
“I can get an ATM out the afternoon a wireless technology. They have to manage
customer orders it,” said Tim Wildash, themselves.”
managing director for Customers ATM, an
independent ATM deployer in Australia.
Remote management allows operators
“Otherwise, we have to wait for hardwire,
to read the heartbeat of their equipment.
running lines down buildings and having
Programs provide real-time reports,
to dig out busy driveways to get lines
showing which machines are functioning
boosted. To get it done properly, we have
properly and which ones have encountered
to pay a premium service.”
an issue, such as running out of money or
paper, an electrical problem or another
Such delays don’t always sit well with type of malfunction.
clients, whose business hinges on quick
deployments. Customers ATM, which has
Software programs continually produce
worked with Symstream for more than
reports that show activity on each
four years on its wireless connectivity
machine, such as transaction time and
solution, has some machines that conduct
success rate. The same programs also allow
as many as 14,000 transactions a month.
operators to wirelessly and remotely install
patches for security protections, download
“Delays upset the client,” Wildash said. technology upgrades and change graphics
“With wireless, you get the job done and on the ATM screens.
passed over to operations.”
When installing new ATMs, some building Working toward change
owners aren’t inclined to allow drilling in
walls and floors for the sake of installing Customers ATM, which operates 5,500
lines. Also, regulations in many cities ATMs, is focusing on the future — a future
it sees as free of wired service.
© 2010 NetWorld Alliance LLC | Sponsored by Symstream Technology Group 4
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In a move some in the ATM industry to sell banks and ATM manufacturers
might consider unusual — including some on the potential of wireless technology.
within the company — Customers ATM His pitch has met with success, as
plans to shift most of its ATM network evidenced by several businesses switching
to wireless connectivity. A number of its from traditional hardwires and some
newer machines come equipped with manufacturers producing wireless-ready
the technology, Wildash says. The others machines.
are being reconfigured, with roughly 150
retrofitted ATMs being reintroduced Symstream has forged relationships
each week. Thanks to the simplicity of the with companies such as MultiTech to
Symstream solution, such a significant have itssolution installed in MultiTech’s
rollout of machines is easily handled. modems and with NCR to have the
Symstream-enabled modems installed in
Wildash estimates he saves almost $1,000 ATMs.
over a machine’s lifespan by moving from
hardwire to wireless. He bases that number Gamon says there has been overwhelming
on a comparison of the cost of a wireless- interest in wireless and a realization that
equipped unit with that of a landline wireless represents the future of ATM
machine, which involves in-store dial-up transactions.
costs, administrative time to install the
unit, transactions lost while waiting for the As the technology advances, so too will the
installation and the inability to upgrade capabilities of ATMs. Some in the industry
ATMs in fixed positions. anticipate units being used for paying bills
and other transactions. In addition, global
Customers ATM also makes up ground positioning systems could be installed
financially when it comes to retrofitted to track machines that may have been
units, since its communications fees are repositioned or stolen.
cut in half when ATMs are retrofitted for
wireless connectivity, Wildash says. The bottom line, several agree, is the
industry as a whole must first overcome
“If you have a good transmitter and its trepidation toward wireless solutions,
receiver, we can go anywhere,” he said. “It some of which stems from uncertainty
does everything else the others do. It’s a about security. But experts express
better deal for us.” confidence in security measures, with
encryption techniques complying with
tough international standards and
Getting more on board rendering a hacker’s ability to crack codes
nearly impossible.
Gamon has spent much of the last several
years making presentations in an effort
Experts express confidence in security measures, with encryption
techniques complying with tough international standards and
rendering a hacker’s ability to crack codes nearly impossible.
© 2010 NetWorld Alliance LLC | Sponsored by Symstream Technology Group 5
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Coons suggests companies deploying
ATMs assemble teams to oversee their
wireless future and conversion, attain
certifications for networking and conduct
trials.
“When we present the differences
[between wireless and hardwire
capabilities], companies are pretty excited,”
Gamon said. “But it’s the biggest risk-
averse industry and a slow adopter of new
technology — but we’re starting to right
the curve.”
About the sponsor: Symstream Technology
Group is a technology company that focuses on
providing wireless communications solutions.
Symstream emphasizes data-transmission
methods based on international mobile/
wireless standards for public wireless networks.
Symstream works in financial transactions,
and its customers include international and
national banks.
© 2010 NetWorld Alliance LLC | Sponsored by Symstream Technology Group 6