New players in race to offer GSM-1800

New players in race to offer GSM-1800

JAKARTA (JP): Coming soon to your palms: the GSM-1800. New
players including TelkoMobile of Telkom and IM-3 of Indosat as
well as GSM-900 operators are scrambling to advertise the
service, which will be launched soon.

One of the interesting features of GSM 1800, which is becoming
outdated in other parts of the world, is that it is based around
the WAP (Wireless Application Protocol technology), which can
deliver the Web and e-mails directly to mobile phones and hand-
held computers.

The GSM-1800 is set to unify communications systems such as
the e-mail, beeper, facsimile, voice mail, cellular phone and the
Web.

From a network point of view, IM-3 claims the GSM-1800 will
offer bigger capacity and better quality than the GSM-900.

GSM-900 has a bandwidth of 25 megahertz, while GSM-1800 has a
75 megahertz bandwidth and is capable of a much higher capacity.
Therefore, connections will be smooth. There will also be a
enhance full rate (EFR) facility that will allow users to enjoy
better voice quality.

IM-3 will have several facilities, including the UMS and
Mobile Data.

The UMS (Unified Messaging Service) is a combination of voice,
facsimile, SMS (short messaging service) and the Internet.

In the mobile environment, unified messaging means providing a
user access, via the mobile terminal, to all the recognized
messaging formats, including voice mail, facsimile, pager, SMS
and e-mail. In today's working environment, messages are received
in a wide variety of formats from a myriad different sources.
Unified messaging brings all the different messaging formats and
services under a single tool, giving the users the opportunity to
manage the data and information services for maximum benefit.

Meanwhile, by applying the GPRS, WAP and SMSC systems, users
can also enjoy mobile data services, which include info on-
demand, games and mobile banking.

GPRS represents the first implementation of packet switching
within GSM. It is essentially a circuit switched technology.
Rather than sending a continuous stream of data over permanent
connection, packet switching only utilizes the network when there
is data to be sent. GPRS will enable users to send and receive
data at speeds up to 115kbit/s.

When launched in August, IM-3's service will cover parts of
Banten, Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Semarang, Malang,
Madiun and Bali. Also in August, TelkoMobile will begin its
services in Jakarta, Bandung and Bandar Lampung.

With the new players, the number of cellular phone users will
increase at a faster rate. As elsewhere, mobile phone user growth
in Indonesia will be much more impressive than that of fixed-line
users. It is estimated that mobile phone users in Indonesia will
total 8.7 million by 2003, surpassing the 7.5 million fixed-line
users. The number of cellular phone users will also likely
surpass the number of personal computer users.

In a way, this is because the new operators will offer prepaid
cards first and the monthly subscription later in the year. User
growth is driven by the prepaid services as they allow consumers
to manage their consumption in a controlled way.

The GSM-1800 is promising users with something wonderful that
they will not get from GSM-900. However, users must remember that
the quality of the devices of different manufacturers devices may
vary as the operators are still optimizing their services. Users
must also be prepared for higher rates for the GSM-1800 services.
(icn)