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“We
have learned from 2G that person-to-person messaging, simple interfaces
and timely content delivery will be the key to 3G success… On a
technical level, continued efforts towards the interoperability of radio
interfaces and the evolution to an IP-based core network will be
crucial”
Although
mobile data services are already available on 2G platforms through WAP, i‑mode
and short message service (SMS), it is through the advent of 2.5 and 3G
that users will begin to fully reap the benefits of the mobile Internet,
through high-speed communications and multimedia applications. Figure 2
shows possible migration paths from 2G to 3G technologies. What we have
learned from the success and failures of 2G technologies is that
person-to-person messaging, simple interfaces and timely content delivery
will be the key to future service development and revenue generation. A
mere simulation of the fixed-line Internet experience will not compel
users to take up mobile data services. The development of an adequate
payment system for mobile devices is also crucial: for “always on”
applications, per-minute billing may have to give way to volume-based
billing.
The
combination of mobile and Internet technologies—for instance in the form
of SMS messaging—is already transforming the way people interact and the
way business is done. Some 24 billion SMS messages were sent worldwide in
the first quarter of 2002. Messaging services have also brought
information technology closer to groups that have traditionally had
limited access to it, such as children and the deaf community. High-speed
data services combined with additional functionality, such as location
technologies and improved security, will further enhance the user
experience.
On
a technical level, the viability of future 3G services will rely on
continued efforts towards the interoperability of radio interfaces, the
evolution to an IP-based core network and the harmonization of formats for
content delivery. At the service level, convergence between the fixed and
mobile Internet is already happening, through services such as mobile
instant messaging and fixed-line SMS. This interoperability will
eventually encompass complimentary and alternative network technologies,
such as wireless LANs, short-range connectivity technologies, fixed
broadband networks etc. Regulators and industry players alike need to
realize that there are a number of different options for providing mobile
Internet services, and that 3G services must be considered in their global
context. As Figure 2 indicates, 3G technologies are only a part of the
overall picture.
Figure 2: Radio access systems for
mobile data
Possible
migration paths from 2G to 3G
Ranges and data rates
Note:
Bottom chart uses logarithmic scales.
Source:
ITU. Bottom figure adapted from European
Information Technology Observatory 2002).
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Although
the shift to 3G is a radical one, in most cases entailing the construction
of new networks, the transition from 2G to 2.5G services is likely to be
accompanied by a more significant conceptual shift than that from 2.5G to
3G, introducing the concept of “always-on” mobile communications. This
is already beginning to bring the Internet and mobile communications onto
a more common ground. The shift to 3G mobile will take this concept even
further, but will essentially involve convergence and interoperability.
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