New PC Network to Use Radio Signals : Computers: The IBM and Motorola joint venture is expected to provide users access to large computer databases.

International Business Machines Corp. and Motorola Inc. said Tuesday that they are launching a personal computer network that uses radio signals, a technology expected to create a billion-dollar market and allow access to large computer databases from virtually anywhere.

The high-tech giants said they have formed a new company to provide a nationwide radio communications service giving workers outside the office the ability to converse with their big mainframe computers.

Armies of technicians and service workers in the field could potentially tap into the IBM-Motorola computer network.

The new company, Ardis, will begin full commercial operation in early April and provide immediate service to more than 8,000 municipalities in all 50 states using IBM’s nationwide private radio data system and Motorola’s shared-use radio data network, the companies said.

“In essence, Ardis is taking the personal computer out of the office, putting it in a vehicle or briefcase, and replacing the wire with a two-way radio,” said Art Sundry, president of Motorola’s Communications sector.

Motorola said Ardis aims to improve productivity for many of the 10 million U.S. field workers such as salespeople and service workers by providing reliable mobile data communications.

“There has been a tremendous emphasis on productivity in the factory, but really until now this has not been applied to sales people and other mobile workers,” Gordon Comerford, Ardis chairman and a Motorola senior vice president, told Reuters.

Pricing for the service has not been determined, but Comerford estimated it would cost $100 to $150 a month for the average customer. “It’s a fantastic pay-back,” he said. “It could pay for itself in one new service call a month.”

Schaumberg, Ill.-based Motorola designed, manufactured and installed IBM’s radio data network in 1983. The network is used by 16,000 IBM service personnel and 2,000 service workers in the Rolm telecommunications unit.

Senior IBM executives have cited the mobile radio network as a major advantage when other communications lines are not available or are damaged.