Wireless data is a personal application. Every customer has different issues. In the health-care industry, concerns run the gamut from confidentiality to coverage.

"The problem with the health-care market is that you are dealing with people's lives, so there has to be a higher level of insurance than in other markets," said Daryl Sterling, Yankee Group consultant.

It's worth the effort: A 1999 Yankee Group study found that health care is the market most likely to adopt wireless data. To break into this potentially lucrative market, be prepared to address five Cs: consistency, coverage, confidentiality, cost and compatibility.

CONSISTENCY & COVERAGE Dropped calls are frustrating enough, but imagine how upset EMS personnel would be if their data calls drop while sending patient information to an emergency room. That's a top concern with wireless-ready telemedicine devices such as Medtronic Physio-Control's Lifepak 12 defibrillator/monitor. Ubiquitous coverage can mean the difference between life and death.

Together, Omnipoint and Medtronic Physio-Control are testing the service with two metropolitan New York hospitals. Bill Faltzstein, Medtronic Physio-Control director of advanced development, said his customers view this application as a timesaving device, so data accuracy is paramount.

"If they have to redial or the transmission is interrupted, either they will not try again and transport immediately, or they will keep trying en route," he said. "When they do that in a moving vehicle, (transmission) can get even worse."

Because of this application's critical nature, the hospitals are testing Omnipoint's coverage extensively, and the carrier won't supply service until they're satisfied, said Madeleine Moskonas, Omnipoint business-marketing manager.

"Normally, hospitals have a limit in how far they go before another hospital picks up," she said. "Hospitals need to know that the area where they deploy ambulances has decent coverage."

Some carriers have even installed additional towers to enhance coverage for hospitals. The Medical Center at Princeton has a wireless solution using Bell Atlantic Mobile's (BAM's) CDPD network and Sierra Wireless' AirCard modems for its home-health-care providers.

"Jamesburg, NJ, has many retirement homes, and we do lots of business out there," said Lucy Molfetas, The Medical Center at Princeton director of information systems (IS). "BAM put in a tower for us within about four months, so our productivity and connectivity increased."

Consistency and coverage go hand in hand, but Molfetas said she can deal with less-than-adequate coverage as long as she knows where the holes are. Poor consistency, however, is inexcusable.

"If providers are in a particular area that has good coverage, they want to be able to connect 100% of the time," she said. "A screen can't freeze because they could lose an entire transmission."

CONFIDENTIALITY Patient confidentiality is a top priority, so it's no surprise that some physicians are nervous about sending sensitive information over the air.

"We knew at the outset that we would have a secure connection," she said.

When marketing its wireless-data applications to health-care agencies and medical-equipment manufacturers, Omnipoint touts how GSM's security preserves patient confidentiality. That's key for an application such as Data Critical's MobileView, which on-call cardiologists use to dial into a hospital server to review patient information on a Nokia 9000 handset.

"Wireless carriers do an excellent job explaining their encryption process, and GSM does a phenomenal job with that," said Craig Kairis, Data Critical vice president of sales.

COST CONCERNS Cost is always a concern, so it's important to demonstrate how your application can save money.

For instance, The Medical Center at Princeton knew it would transfer a lot of data, so it didn't want to pay for data on a volume basis. Molfetas wanted to predict what the service would cost, but even rough estimates were difficult because each patient-provider relationship is different: Nurses and therapists who visit many patients in one day need more access than those who see the same patient all day, every day.

"We worked out a great deal with (BAM) for monthly service," Molfetas said. "We have an excellent flat rate, and cost is not an issue."

The medical-equipment manufacturer often makes the initial sales call to the health-care agency, so bundling the service price with the equipment cost is one option. Some vendors provide a turnkey solution to spare users the added effort of choosing a carrier. Medtronic doesn't, although it helps customers by recommending a service. It's up to the customer to negotiate price.

"From the customers' point of view, they would rather not worry about whom their provider is," Medtronic's Faltzstein said. "These markets are more interested in the service and how it can help health care."

COMPATIBILITY Some hospitals won't consider wireless because of potential interference with other medical devices. Last summer, the FCC proposed allowing potentially life-critical medical-telemetry equipment to operate on a blanket-licensed, interference-protected basis.

"Some devices have created interference, but as progress is made, especially with digital signals and using different parts of the frequency, I think those problems can be minimized," said Jon Linkous, American Telemedicine Association executive director.

Molfetas also stressed the importance of offering technical support. BAM gave The Medical Center at Princeton names and phone numbers of engineers in case problems arise.

"If we have to call somebody, they are on the phone," she said. "They expedite for us, and they correct the problem."

Sierra Wireless and BAM also trained Molfetas' staff. In turn, the hospital's IS department taught employees how to use the computers and transmit information wirelessly. Kairis said education is the biggest obstacle in marketing wireless data.

"Physicians ask, 'You can do what?'" he said. "Once we get those tech-hungry physicians out there, we can put together a total-value package with service, applications and platforms."

In some cases, the vendors already have sold their devices. Moskonas said that vendors often provide leads to Omnipoint. The carrier is creating a formal lead system where the vendor could send leads directly to Omnipoint's sales force.

"We want to get all our sales people trained on the applications," she said.

Other times, when the appropriate opportunity arises, Omnipoint may go with a vendor on a sales call. Kairis welcomes carrier participation on sales calls because carriers can answer tough questions about rate plans and coverage.

"After all," he said, "we are selling (the carrier) on what we can do, too."