Cellular phones.

• Position: Cellular communication and how it relates to Alaska's businesses

Ron Sheardown, president of Greatland Exploration Ltd. in Anchorage, has traveled to the Soviet Union fourteen times in the past two years to manage international mining exploration projects. The assortment of portable equipment he carries always includes his cellular phone.

"I use it for calls to and from the Soviet Union and Europe,' he says, as well as in town here when I'm moving around between offices and meetings.' He considers the $750 he invested in his portable unit cheap" considering its usefulness, and he plans to upgrade his equipment soon.

Frequent fliers like Sheardown will find cellular connections are available at most destinations through roaming' agreements between cellular companies. Sheardown says he has used his phone successfully throughout North America, from Arizona to New York. One limiting factor is that his unit runs on an 18hour battery; regular replacements may be in order if your phone is a business lifeline.

Cellular phones owe their early success to our culture's appetite for instant communication. Sales and service personnel who spend many hours on the road are prime candidates for cellular, and the trucking industry nationwide is a major user. Among promising markets are Alaska's fishing industry and small business enterprises such as real estate agents, contracting firms and travel agents.

Cellular phone users are exploring law enforcement, military and recreational applications, such as boating. Terrence Connor, general manager of Cellular One in Anchorage, says he read recently about a man operating a video rental business out of a van using a cellular phone as his contact number.

Beyond the advantage of instant accessibility to customers and staff, cellular offers the benefit of increased control over personal time. Carol Douthit, an Anchorage real estate agent, explains, 'It frees me up to do other things. I can make 8 or 10 calls from my car on the way to an appointment, and I'm free to come and go when I want to rather than wait around for a call."

Cellular detractors who complain about low sound quality will concede the phone's best application may be for emergencies - when you are trapped in a traffic jam, stalled by bad weather, or just need to tell a client you're running late.

Despite the debate about sound clarity, the market penetration of cellular phones appears to be following the pattern established by fax machines a few years ago. Once considered an expensive toy, the fax machine now is...