About 3,500 Cox Communications Inc. field techs are staying connected to their mother ship using roaming software built by NetMotion Wireless Inc.

    Net Motion's client-server mobile virtual private network (VPN) system maintains the IP state of laptops and their applications as techs hop from one type of network to another, whether it's based on cellular technology, WiFi, or even an Ethernet connection. The Mobility XE platform, which works with Windows PCs and handhelds, also selects available networks automatically, based on rules set by the customer.

    The benefit? The techs don't have to restart an application or reboot a device, explains Tom Johnston, NetMotion's senior vice president of product and marketing. Interruptions caused by coverage gaps in the field "can tank productivity," he says.

    Also bakedinare some quality-of-service smarts that can prioritize bandwidth so "mission-critical" applications get first dibs on capacity, while others, like Web surfing, gets access to whatever is left over.

    In the deployment with Cox, field techs equipped with laptops are using NetMotion in concert with apps such as "EdgeHealth," an internally developed cable modem signal testing system, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT - message board) Outlook, Web browsers, a corporate instant messaging system, and some elements of the operator's Convergys Corp. (NYSE: CVG - message board)-made ICOMS billing platform, including customer comments and work order information.

    Johnston says more than 95 percent of NetMotion's customers have seen at least a 5 percent increase in productivity, and over half see a 20 percent improvement.

    "We're eager to provide whatever tools we can to the technician to maximize the customer experience," says Al Briggs, Cox's director of mobile solution services.

    But what about areas where a wireless or wired connection is completely absent? If the tech encounters a dead zone – inside an elevator or parking garage, for example -- the system tells the application and the server that the connection is slow and halts the sending of data. This spoofing technique essentially keeps the application running although no data is being transferred until NetMotion can reestablish a connection.