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One of the interesting features of GSM 1800, which is becoming outdated in other parts of the world, is that it is based around the WAP (Wireless Application Protocol technology), which can deliver the Web and e-mails directly to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