The pundits one day may be proven correct, but why must we stoop to demonizing the wire, an entity whose history in our nationand indeed the world overhas been one of selfless service?

On that fateful day in 1844 when Samuel Morse sent the telegraph message What hath God wrought? from the U.S. Supreme Court chamber to Baltimore, the course of communication in the civilized world changed foreverand wire was an integral part of that change. From electric power to telegraph to telephone to transoceanic cables, wire has been the medium that has enabled the tremendous technological growth of the 20th century.

Wireless is hardly a new idea, though. In fact, in the early days of radio, that device often was referred to as wireless. And my more seasoned readers may remember Dick Tracy and his fabulous watch, which wirelessly carried all kinds of communication across comic-strip land. Ironically, such watches actually are being sold todaypart of the wireless revolution.
I also find it interesting, however, when we as a nation had achieved free wireless television transmission in the 1950s, we turned right around and went back to wires, and we were happy to pay a hefty premium to do so. By the way, heres a neato tech tip for those under age 25: If you use that antenna thingy attached to your TV, you still actually may be able to tune in some of those wireless broadcasts, and you dont have to pay a dime for them! Cool, huh?

But as much as wireless has been promoted, the rate of adoption for todays wireless technologies has been modest, to say the least. Ive heard estimates for wireless penetration in industries across the board at about 20 percent. According to Houston-based analysts with Celent Communications, the adoption figure is one percent in the life insurance industry and only slightly better on the property/casualty side.

There are a variety of reasons for the slow fuse on the wireless bomb thats waiting to explode. Multiple proprietary standards, poor data security that is only now being addressed, and a profusion of discrete devices are among the retardant factors. When it comes to insurance, the problem is practical applications are few, and even those applications are not heavily utilized.

Wireless makes sense for adjusters with laptops in the field who need to send photos quickly and/or documents for fast processing of claims, and the industry is seeing some use of the technology in this way. Basically, anything that demands an instant response will lend itself to wireless, but very little in our phlegmatic industry demands such a response.

So, why are so many still convinced wireless technology is ready to blast off? The answer lies in the same kind of thinking that spawned the idea, and later the actual creation, of the Dick Tracy watch. Its just so cool! the pundits gush. How could anyone not want to connect anywhere and do anything without wires?

Theres the key. The pundits and technophiles are having so much fun with their wireless devices they cant understand why everyone isnt rushing out to buy them by the boatload. Eventually, they believe, we all will come to see wireless is, indeed, the future.

The problem with this line of thinking, however, is it ignores the need for a product to have practical application in the real world. Its one thing to snicker as we read and respond to our e-mail on the train, but its quite another to demonstrate that being able to do so is a boon to productivity or the bottom line. Proving value is something thats starting to happen with wireless, but that will not cause a stampede to Best Buy in the morning to clean out its stock of PDAs.

Instead, as Celent analyst Chad Hersh puts it, Where cost savings and revenue generation are to be had, [wireless] will be used. Its that simple.

Cool is not enough; wires are not inherently bad. After all, even the coolest tech magazine around is still called Wired.

Ara C. Trembly is technology editor for National Underwriters property/casualty and life/health editions. He may be reached at [email protected].