Trouble was, the network was only designed to serve 2 million people. Users experienced dropped calls, and PHS phones acquired a reputation as cheap, low-cost alternatives to normal cell phones. To fix the problem, PHS service providers started deploying ArrayComm software and hardware at their base stations. Analysts in Tokyo confirm that the service has improved. Now, working with makers of handheld computers, MP3 players, and other devices, ArrayComm wants to take palm-based computing into the broadband era.
Cooper says a leap like that is sorely needed.
Palm VII devices from Palm Inc., for example, offer a modicum of Internet access. But they can only cruise a limited number of specially prepared Web sites. And they surf at a plodding 9.6 kilobits per second. Other companies in the U.S., including cellular services, are starting to offer the same kinds of access. ArrayComm antennas, if they were widely deployed, could quickly lift that speed to one megabit per second, Cooper believes.