 | Issue: | Asia-Pacific I 2001 |
| Article no.: | 6 | |
| Topic: | The Path to Mobile Multimedia | |
| Author: | Kari Ahola | |
| Title: | Senior Vice-President | |
| Organisation: | Nokia Networks | |
| PDF size: | 20KB |
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Article abstract
The dawn of a new era in mobile communications is about to break, leading to a very exciting period over the next few years with the evolution to Third Generation telephony. This new technology will bring not only enhanced quality but also transform the ability of network operators and content providers to create new mobile services. It will create the basis for a Mobile Information Society full of new and interesting business opportunities.
Full Article
Third Generation mobile communi-cations technologies, such as Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), are the first mobile tele-communications systems designed with Mobile Multimedia in mind. From the outset they will be equally adept at handling circuit-switched and packet-switched traffic, and similarly capable of supporting voice, text, data and image -even simultaneously within the same phone call. This will bring about a radical transformation of telecommunications as we know it. It will greatly enhance person-to-person communications, create a whole new way of looking at business-to-consumer information services and take intra-business communications to a completely new level. It may even help automate our working and living environments – making life easier and more comfortable. Content and service providers will see Third Generation telephony as a new distribution channel. Corporates will use it to improve business communications. For operators, Mobile Multimedia services will offer the opportunity not only to sell more bandwidth but also to find new ways of adding value with more sophisticated services -improving customers’ satisfaction and retaining their loyalty. Total Interactivity Today’s mobile systems already offer a limited amount of Mobile Multimedia. For example GSM, the only true Global System for Mobile communications, allows the storage, transmission and retrieval of text messages through Short Messaging Services (SMS). In the Philippines for example, we are seeing the world’s highest usage of short messaging, or “texting” as it is known. Users are quick to grasp the benefits of quickly sending a message to one or more friends – without the wait associa-ted with a circuit switched connection. But with true Mobile Multimedia services, messaging will include the creation and transmission of images, video and data files on the move, in addition to text and voice. Mobile Multimedia includes real-time multimedia telephony – videotelephony or voice plus data or all three. When someone calls us not only may we see his or her picture but also relevant information, allowing total interactivity.While the demand for video has yet to be proven, there is circumstantial evidence to suggest that such a demand exists – 80 percent of human commu-nications is via the eye, so why not telecommunications. Better yet, Doctors and other experts will be able to give advice from afar having seen the situation first hand. People will attend meetings without having to be present. Tourists will send their friends and relatives personalised electronic postcards that they have created themselves. The support of continuous data links with Third Generation technology could also allow the mobile handset to be used as a remote control. It could allow remote programming of a car alarm or video recorder. In-car navigation systems could be turned into on-board information systems. Real-time road maps could be called up on demand. The car could automatically call for assistance if the vehicle was involved in an accident. Software systems used by the car’s computer and other automated systems could be upgraded over the air or, when faulty, analysed and repaired. In the business world, communications are the lifeblood, and today’s business communications are much more than just voice. With General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) as the first step to Mobile Multimedia, GSM users can access true packet data connections via Internet Protocol (IP) technology. This packet-switching capability provides business personnel with access to the Local Area Network (LAN) nearly anywhere, whenever they need it -always connected. This has the potential to greatly improve productivity, as information can be sent and received without having to regularly dial in to work, as is commonplace today. For a service engineer or salesman, the need to return to base can be reduced, while for a senior manager more business information can be reviewed. Things can get done without having to divert other personnel’s attention. A big stepping stone to 3G – taking mobile communications beyond GPRS – is the use of EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM). With available frequency spectrum becoming more and more scarce, EDGE provides the vehicle to improve the efficiency of existing networks. A host of multimedia services will become available to GSM users with EDGE modulation technology, which also serves as the transport for GPRS. Multimedia Lifestyle Mobile Multimedia services have the potential to radically transform business-to-consumer communications, parti-cularly via the Internet. Mobile phones are the most accessible means of gaining access to information because they are by definition carried around everywhere, which offers unprecedented opportunities for gaining access to consumers. Mobile shopping and mobile banking via Third Generation terminals are among the areas with great potential for consumer marketing applications. Not only could a combination of video, still image, sound and text be used to display goods and services, but data sent from the handset could also authorise their purchase. With the advent of e-commerce, payments will also be made directly from the mobile phone, without the need for credit or debit cards. With m-commerce (mobile e-commerce) the phone itself could make contact with the bank’s computer, verify the account balance, and register the debit when a purchase is made. Payment could also be made using the mobile telephone account or on a prepaid account. There is no question that demand is growing. Online Internet sales in the final months of 1999 exceeded those of 1998 by 300 percent, and the figures continue to rise. The coming years will also see a dramatic increase in the number of Internet connections made by wireless handsets adding to demand – as early as 2003 more handsets will be connected to the Internet than PCs. Tomorrow’s mobile terminals could even be used to withdraw cash from an automatic teller machine or to activate vending machines and pay for the goods bought – an application that is already in practice with GSM. Moreover, because location tracking is inherent in cellular radio networks, information services could be fine-tuned to individual users and their current situations. For example, when inquiring about movies, the films at the closest cinemas could be given priority. Advertising may not just try to persuade us we need a particular brand of product but will also tell us where the nearest outlet is – producing the most radical change in consumer product marketing since the introduction of television. The Mobile Multimedia era will allow all of us to enjoy a richer variety of services and level of service personalisation – changing the way we work, shop and play. All this adds up to a lifestyle change towards a Mobile Information Society.
