Editing Mobile data terminal (section)

==Technology==
In the earlier days of [[computer-assisted dispatch|computer-aided dispatching]] (CAD), many MDT's were custom devices, used with specialized point to point radios, particularly in applications such as police dispatching. While applications like taxi and package delivery often still use custom designed terminals, the majority of CAD systems have switched to [[Rugged computer|ruggedized]] laptops and Wide-Area Wireless IP communications, utilizing the Internet or private IP networks connected to and over it.

For industrial applications such as commercial trucking, [[GIS]], agriculture, mobile asset management, and other industries, custom electronic hardware is still preferred. Custom terminals use I/O interfaces that connect directly to industry-specific equipment. They are usually environmentally hardened packages with power supply protection and robust memory file systems that greatly improve reliability and task efficiency. MDT solutions that are based on ruggedized consumer products or consumer available software will typically not have the life cycle duration expected in industrial applications, over five years.