Mobile telephony allowed us to talk on the move. The Internet
turned raw data into helpful services that were easy to use. Now,
these two technologies are converging to create third generation
mobile services
What will it mean?
Let's look first at what 3G services will mean for users.With
access to any service, anywhere, anytime, from one terminal, the
old boundaries between communication, information, media and
entertainment will disappear. Services will truly be
converged."Mobility" will be built into many services that we
currently regard as "fixed" - indeed, mobility will become the norm
for many communication services. We'll be able to make video calls
to the office and surf the Net simultaneously, or play interactive
games with friends at home - wherever we may be.But 3G is not just
about applications that require high data rates. It's also about
convenience and speed of access.The packet-based IP (Internet
Protocol) technology that will form the core of future services
will mean we can be online constantly: e-mail messages with file
attachments will download to hand-held terminals instantaneously;
at the push of a button we'll be connected to our company network.
We'll have this "anytime access" without paying a penny until we
actually use network resources to send or receive.There will also
be a growing need for mobile users to interact with machines, and
for machines to interact with other machines, over radio
connections - reporting faults, ordering new stock, or relaying
location details whenever required. Companies outside telecoms
today will be taking advantage of 3G to develop innovative new
services.
What is 3G?A new radio communications technology
that will create a "bit pipe" for providing mobile access to
Internet-based services. It will enhance and extend mobility in
many areas of our lives.In the near future, mobility won't be an
add-on: it will become a fundamental aspect of many services. We'll
expect high-speed access to the Internet, entertainment,
information and electronic commerce (e-commerce) services wherever
we are - not just at our desktop computers, home PCs or television
sets.
Business users3G services will add an invaluable
mobile dimension to services that are already becoming an integral
part of modern business life: Internet and intranet access,
video-conferencing, and interactive application sharing.We are not
just talking about "road warriors" who spend their entire working
lives travelling. It's more a question of supporting new, flexible
working practices where employees need access to a wide range of
information and services via their corporate intranets, whether
they are at their own desk or anywhere else.Employees who spend
some of their time working at home. Accountants that carry out
audits at client premises. On-site maintenance engineers who need
access to detailed instruction manuals. These are all situations
where 3G services will play a valuable role.
General
consumersWe're likely to see 3G services enter our day-to-day
lives in all sorts of new ways: for example, in shopping,
especially Internet "mail order" (e-commerce), banking, or playing
interactive computer games over the Net.We'll think nothing of
sitting on a train and using a mobile palmtop with Internet
browsers to log into our bank accounts. While online we'll be able
to check our accounts, pay a few bills and click on a screen icon
to immediately set up a video-conference to discuss our account
with a bank clerk.On vacation, we'll be able to use our mobile
palmtops to obtain local tour guides, make a last-minute
reservation at a hotel, find and call the nearest taxi firm, and
send video postcards. We'll expect location-independent mobile
access to a personalised set of services that matches the way we
live and work.
Machine-to-machine communicationsIncreasingly,
machine-to-machine communications will also be enabled and enhanced
with future mobile network technology. Domestic appliances will
have built-in radio modems to provide remote control and
diagnostics. Our refrigerators might have built-in sensors that
will detect which items need restocking - because they have passed
their use-by date or run out - and automatically send a reminder
message to our Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). We could even
get the refrigerator to send an order direct to our local store.
Likewise, vending machines will be able to tell the warehouse when
they need restocking.
What's driving the development of 3G
services?The parallel, rapid growth in mobile and
Internet-based services - the benefits of combining the two in
intelligent ways are enormous.The background to this paradigm shift
in the way we communicate at work, rest and play is the rapid
parallel growth in mobile services and the Internet.The mobile
phone is the fastest-selling communication device of all time. By
2005, there will be one billion mobile users around the world -
which probably accounts for half the population of the
telecoms-deregulated world. The quality and variety of mobile
communication services on offer and the performance of mobile
terminals are improving all the time. But we're still using mobile
phones primarily for talking. This is about to change.The other
expanding area of technology is the Internet. IP based services
already account for well over half the traffic in "backbone"
telecom networks. In future, most communications and information
services will be developed in the IP environment. There is
tremendous synergy between the IP world and mobile communications,
and they are converging. Indeed, most of the forecast one billion
mobile users in 2005 will also be Internet subscribers. By then,
the difference between the two services may already have evaporated
due to convergence.Current mobile networks were originally designed
for narrowband voice and data traffic. These networks will now
evolve to wideband capabilities, allowing sufficient data rates for
all mobile multimedia and mobile Internet-based services of the
future. At the same time, completely new and innovative services
that require high-speed data transmission will come to the
market.
What will 3G add?Fast, user-friendly,
service-oriented ways to access information, applications and
services while on the move.From a service perspective, 3G mobile
technology will add two things. First, mobile services will be
delivered with better performance and greater cost-effectiveness.
Second, 3G services will go on to facilitate new services with more
comprehensive content. For instance, mobile multimedia messages
will become more common as an improvement on traditional,
text-based emails.User access of up to 2Mbit/s will be provided -
at least 40 times higher than available until recently. This high
throughput will allow services such as high-quality video to be
transmitted over the air.The packet-switching core network will
give users the feeling of being permanently connected to the
services they are using, yet they will be charged on the basis of
the amount of information sent and received, rather than on today's
basis of connection duration.With 3G, multiple connections can be
set up simultaneously from the same mobile terminal. So, for
example, a user could connect to a remote database to retrieve
information without interrupting a videoconference session.
What
will 3G services terminals be like?There will be a wide range,
from simple single-application devices such as voice-only phones,
to multi-purpose communicators capable of handling several voice,
data and video services in parallel.To date, the "terminal" for
accessing mobile services has been the mobile phone. With the
coming of 3G services, we can expect to see a broadening of this
concept to include a whole host of new terminals. These will be
both general-purpose computing and communications devices, and
devices with more specific purposes to serve particular market
segments.
From phones to multi-functional devicesThere will
still be recognisable mobile phones. But many of these will have
larger screens to display Internet pages or the face of the person
being spoken to. There will be smaller "smart-phones" with limited
web browsing and email capabilities.The addition of mobile
communications capabilities to laptop and palmtop computers will
speed up the convergence of communications and computing, and bring
to portable computing all the functions and features available on
the most powerful desktop computers.There will be videophones,
wrist communicators, palmtop computers, and radio modem cards for
portable computers. Innovative new voice-based interfaces will
allow people to control their mobile communication services with
voice commands.We will also see the integration of 3G services into
a very wide range of devices and products other than user
terminals. For example, the "telephone-on-a-card" will allow mobile
services to be built into business equipment, vehicles and
household appliances, for dedicated applications.Devices such as
phones, computers and digital cameras will also be able to
communicate with each other using short-range radio. Digital
cameras will be able to use wide-area radio communications in real
time and reduce the need for bulky memory and other components.
Work is already well under way to define standardised,
user-friendly protocols and platforms for next-generation
terminals.
How will user terminals develop?In a variety of
ways. We are likely to see a range of multi-purpose communicators
as well as highly-targeted devices. We'll see an array of new
terminals arriving on the market over the next few years to allow
users to make the most of 3G services. These will range from
sophisticated multi-purpose, multimedia terminals to simple,
application-specific devices designed to meet the needs of
particular market segments. Here are some new and recent
developments in mobile phone technology that are beginning to shape
the 3G services devices of the future.
( BluetoothBluetooth
is an initiative among telecoms equipment, computer and chip
manufacturers to develop a two-way digital radio standard for
short-range connections between different devices, in an office or
home environment. It will do away with obtrusive cords between
mobile phones, palmtops and portable PCs.For instance, a
"photograph" taken on a Bluetooth-enabled digital camera could be
transmitted to any nearby Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone, from
which it could be sent anywhere in the world over the mobile
network.Bluetooth presents substantial opportunities for the
development of innovative service concepts, not least in vertical
market applications and machine-machine communications.The key to
Bluetooth is the concept that different devices recognise each
other and then initiate the high-level functions of the specific
device - these functions will be implemented using
application-specific software.
( SymbianSymbian is an
independent joint venture company established in June 1998 by
Ericsson, Nokia and Psion; Motorola joined Symbian in October 1998.
This partnership will drive the development of the EPOC operating
system optimised for mobile multimedia communications. Its aim is
to set the standard for mobile operating systems and to enable a
mass market for "mobile information devices" - the next generation
of palmtop computers, PDAs, smartphones and communicators.Symbian
is focusing on two key areas: development of best-in-class core
software, user interfaces, application frameworks and development
tools for mobile information devices; and the promotion of
standards for the interoperability of these devices with mobile
networks, content services, messaging and enterprise-wide
solutions.
( Wireless Application ProtocolWireless
Application Protocol is a new global, open standard protocol for
hand-held devices that will allow users to access online services
without having to plug in a laptop computer.With WAP-enabled
terminals, many data applications will be accessible from the
terminal itself, using a built-in browser.WAP will work across many
mobile network technologies, and is intended to attract new
subscribers and open up the mass market for mobile data services.
Who will buy 3G services?Initially, the typical "early
adopter" business user. But 3G applications will be widespread and
they will have mass-market appeal.The early adopters of 3G services
are likely to be organisations that wish to give staff full access
to corporate intranets whether they are at their own desks or
anywhere else.The rapid and continuous proliferation of mobile
IP-based communications systems, together with Internet and
intranet installations, will create a powerful enabler for a
multitude of new applications.The move to packet switching will
change the way we view mobile networks. It will open the door to
applications for which today's mobile networks have limitations.
For example, with packet switching it will be feasible to connect
remote surveillance cameras to a monitoring centre via a mobile
network. As long as the video image stays constant, no data need be
transmitted, and therefore no call costs are incurred. The instant
the image changes, the changing image is transmitted.Packet
switching also makes mobile networks highly suitable for users of
palmtop computers. Data can be sent and received instantly, since
users are always connected.
Who will be involved in 3G service
development?As well as telecoms and Internet service suppliers,
there will be a whole variety of players involved in 3G services
from the computing/IT, media, entertainment, banking and retail
sectors.The trend in mobile services - as in today's fixed networks
- is towards content-rich services that can be developed using
defined and specified network capabilities.For many new services,
"mobility" will be both the cause and the effect - adding the value
of "mobile freedom" to previously fixed services (wireless
e-commerce, Internet access, corporate connectivity), and being the
driver for new services that users and applications will demand
because they are mobile (location-based information, in-vehicle
entertainment, tracking, route planning and diagnostics.)So 3G
service developments - in the broadest sense - are coming not only
from mobile network operators, but from ISPs, IT hardware and
software vendors, retailers, banking and finance firms,
transportation companies ... the list really is endless. A network
of new partnerships is being formed between content providers,
terminal and application developers, media organisations and
network operators. In other words, we are witnessing the
convergence that people keep talking about.
Compiled by John
Sabine(c) 1999 Ericsson