British Gas is to provide 11,000 wireless-enabled notebook PCs to its service engineers.

The company has already supplied 850 field staff with new laptops, and plans to hand out a further 8,000 by the end of 2004.

The machines are the first phase of a two-stage technology refresh project, which will eventually cover 11,000 employees.

The utility chose a rugged Panasonic CF18 notebook, powered by Intel's Centrino mobile processor, for the latest rollout.

Mobile workers currently connect via GSM, but the new systems will enable them to select GSM, GPRS or 802.11 wireless networking, with Bluetooth for linking to printers and other local devices in the van.

'The key for us is to be able to switch to the most appropriate communications technology that we want to use. We are busy investigating GPRS, and we're also watching the rollout of 802.11 hotspots carefully, as we feel that that could offer a number of benefits,' said business IT solutions manager Peter Ransom.

'Although we may not be using that technology today, this equipment is intended to have a life-span of around five years, and we fully expect to be exploiting those new technologies within that time.'

British Gas has provided engineers with portable systems for several years and wants to gain further benefits.

'This is the third time we've replaced our mobile technology,' said Ransom.

'In 1996, we rolled out the first wave of notebooks, giving engineers the ability to work from home. This removed 100 depots around the country, which dramatically improved the efficiency and profitability of our services operations.'

'Each time we refresh the technology, we look for efficiencies in the technology and improved ergonomics. This time, we focused on reducing the weight of the notebooks and providing more connectivity options,' he said.

The notebooks act as a mobile office, providing reference manuals and diagnostic tools to help engineers repair faults on over 8,000 gas appliances.

They also connect remotely to various head office applications, updating daily job schedules and ordering replacement parts.

In future, the company expects to provide a wider range of materials to its engineers, expanding its elearning programme and sending out DVD-based multimedia magazines.