It is 'm' now, succeeding the existing profound 'e'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): One of my grand aunts enthusiastically showed me
\nher new PC set, saying that she could now browse the Internet and
\n\"more importantly, I can send e-mails to my children and
\ngrandchildren and receive m-mails from them.\"<\/p>\n
She made me smiled as she joked that m-mails stood for mobile-
\nmails as the message senders were always located in different
\nplaces. She could be correct. One of the most major buzzwords in
\ninformation technology now is \"mobile\", not just \"electronic\".<\/p>\n
The era of the \"e\" world, which is marked by most terms
\nbeginning with an \"e\" prefix, will likely lose out, being
\nreplaced by an \"m\" world.<\/p>\n
We are about to encounter the mobile world.<\/p>\n
Watch what people are talking about: m-commerce -- mobile
\ncommerce, instead of the popularly e-commerce -- this is to make
\naccount transactions or payments over mobile phones.<\/p>\n
There will also be m-shopping, to order goods, check
\navailability or price and delivery information; m-banking, to
\ncheck statements and payment and other transactions; m-brokering,
\ninformation on exchange rate and stocks; m-sign, to confirm
\norders requiring signatures; m-reservations, for traveling
\ninformation and request; and so on.<\/p>\n
As an initial beginning of the m-world, we now have WAP
\n(Wireless Application Protocol), which permits development of
\nattractive applications and business applications such as Mobile
\nInternet Access (MIA) for subscribers. In this new millennium,
\nthe fields of information technology and telecommunications will
\nmerge, sparking tremendous potential for private and industrial
\ncustomers. Increasing numbers of on-the-go subscribers will
\ncreate a huge mobile market.<\/p>\n
The Internet is coming to the palm. WAP permits the delivery
\nof Internet directly to cell phones and hand-held computers. It
\ntailors Web pages to appear on hand-held gadgets.<\/p>\n
Telecommunications equipment makers claimed that the next
\ngeneration of cell phones will have enough bandwidth to function
\nas portable Internet terminals. They said that wireless Internet
\nusers will far surpass PC Internet users in a few year.<\/p>\n
Patrick Aronson, senior manager of Personal Network Group for
\nSouth Asia of telecom equipment maker Motorola, believes that
\nmany people will use mobile phones to access the Internet for the
\nfirst time.<\/p>\n
\"It's the 'm' era. It's estimated that by 2003, the world will
\nhave some one billion wireless Internet users,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The growing demand for mobile Internet-based services creates
\nthe need for more speed within mobile networks. WAP will only be
\na stepping stone before we see other packet-oriented data
\ntransmission technologies like GPRS (General Packet Radio
\nService).<\/p>\n
GPRS is one of the key steps in the migration route of today's
\n2G to 3G, the third generation of mobile communications, UMTS
\n(Universal Mobile Telecommunication System).<\/p>\n
Collaboration<\/p>\n
Every one may want to have access to the information they
\nneed, anytime and anywhere. Anticipating this, leading
\ntelecommunications equipment giants have allied to develop mobile
\naccess for them.<\/p>\n
The world is experiencing the alteration from the 2G -- second
\ngeneration -- which include the current GSM technology in
\nIndonesia, to the 3G. The next generation of mobile cellular
\ntechnology offers a tenfold increase in data throughput rates
\n(from 9.6kbps to 115kbps).<\/p>\n
Very soon, we will see GPRS which uses eight 14.4 kbps time
\nslots simultaneously (instead of one 9.6 kbps slot in GSM) to
\nprovide bandwidth on demand for data applications such as
\nInternet access. GPRS is a reliable system with all of the
\nadvantages of integrated services. It also offers an optimized
\npoint-to-point transmission of high-frequency, small-volume data,
\ntogether with point-to-multipoint transmission in specific
\ngeographical areas.<\/p>\n
There will also be the so-called Bluetooth technology. It is a
\nglobal specification for wireless connectivity permitting phones,
\nhand-held PCs, televisions, disc players, cars, alarms and so on,
\nlinking each other and transmit voice and data by way of radio
\nfrequencies rather than cables. Bluetooth devices and appliances
\nare estimated to be applied in hundreds of millions if cell
\nphones and millions of other communications tools, like headsets,
\nPCs and handheld computers in less than two years.<\/p>\n
Later, we will have the UMTS, the realization of a new
\ngeneration of mobile communication technology, featuring
\nbandwidths of up to 2Mbps and allowing transmission of voice,
\ndata and multimedia. This will allow video-conferencing with
\nexcellent picture quality, fast mobile net surfing and
\ntransmission of e-mails (or m-mails) with large file attachments
\na usual thing.<\/p>\n
UMTS is based on two duplexing modes: FDD (frequency division
\nduplex) and UMTS-TDD (time division duplex). But, its system will
\nnot sweep away the existing GSM networks overnight. Instead,
\nthere will be a gentle migration to the new technology.<\/p>\n
German Siemens and Japan's NEC for instance, have joined
\nforces to gain maximum synergy and to combine their technologies
\nin developing UMTS radio systems.<\/p>\n
French Alcatel has also cooperated with Japan's Fujitsu to
\nanticipate in the booming 3G market.<\/p>\n
Siemens stated that the mobile communication market has proven
\nto be one of the fastest growing segments in the
\ntelecommunications market. In the field of mobile data solutions,
\nresearch has shown that the annual subscriber growth rate will
\nrise from 60 percent to 85 percent for business users and from 60
\npercent to over 100 percent for residential users by 2002. Mobile
\ndata solutions will, therefore, play an essential role in shaping
\nthe immediate future of mobile telephony: they offer tremendous
\nbusiness potential and create lucrative new sources of revenue.<\/p>\n
Milestone<\/p>\n
Future wireless systems will provide users not only voice,
\ntext and audio features, but also high-quality images and video
\nin the wideband frequency. This will include interactive news
\ndelivery (voice, video, e-mail, graphics), interactive audio,
\nInternet games and video conferencing with file transfer
\ncapability.<\/p>\n
The 3G comes from the existing GSM technology (working in 900
\nmegahertz or 1.8 gigahertz). There are also GPRS and EDGE
\n(Enhanced Data-rates for GSM Evolution) before coming to UMTS.
\nUMTS is the part of the International Telecommunications Union's
\n(ITU) IMT-2000 vision of a global family of third-generation
\nmobile communications systems.<\/p>\n
IMT-2000 is the term used by the ITU as the specification for
\n3G services, based upon a \"family\" of compatible standards, of
\nwhich a GSM-based evolution is set to be the most widespread.<\/p>\n
ITU recently stated that another milestone in the history of
\nthird-generation mobile systems has been reached with the formal
\nadoption of the IMT-2000 radio interface specifications. The
\nagreement came at the ITU Radiocommunication Assembly meeting in
\nIstanbul early this month.<\/p>\n
The approval of the technical specifications of IMT-2000 opens
\nthe way for a whole new world of multimedia mobile
\ncommunications. With speeds nearly three times faster than
\ntoday's basic rate ISDN for fast-moving mobile terminals and even
\nhigher speeds for users who are stationary or moving at walking
\nspeed, IMT-2000 systems will definitely change the way we
\ncommunicate, access information, work or even carry out social or
\npersonal activities.<\/p>\n
ITU said that the 3G market is estimated to grow from US$1.5
\nbillion in 2001 to $9.2 billion in 2005, with investment in
\ninfrastructure to support 3G services reaching some $1 billion in
\n2001 and peak in 2003 at over $5 billion. (icn)<\/p>",
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