Radios have connected dispatchers to drivers since the 1950s, perhaps earlier. From the start, radio communications created the instant “push-to-talk” (PTT) pipeline between the office and mobile workers to update schedules and routes as the day progressed.
In the 1960s, computers merged with radio systems to create an early form of group talk called “trunking” whereby dispatchers could switch from talking to a single driver to a group of drivers or the entire fleet.
One of the biggest advancements to radio systems came in the 1990s with Nextel offering nationwide PTT voice service combined with cellular connectivity for fleets to run a variety of fleet management applications.
In the past decade, most of the major network carriers have created IP-based communications to connect fleets with their mobile workers in an even more efficient way than radio. One of the more recent developments is Web-based software applications that instantly connect the office to drivers using PTT, text and data.
AT&T, for example, offers such an application for its Enhanced PTT service. Its Integrated Dispatch application is uniquely centered on voice communications for fleets that would benefit from having instant, nationwide PTT connectivity with drivers and workers. Fleets that have multiple pickups and deliveries per route, such as couriers, and work fleets like construction or home services would be the most likely users.
AT&T’s dispatch application automatically captures the location of drivers from the built-in GPS feature in smartphones. This eliminates the need for dispatchers to conduct routine check calls. In cases where cellular connectivity is not available, such as inside a building, some phones can also send Enhanced PTT messages through a Wi-Fi connection.
The Integrated Dispatch application lets fleets create groups and subgroups of drivers assigned to each dispatcher. These settings are immediately pushed out to the console of each dispatcher and to the devices in the field.
