This module describes the history and evolution of wireless technology, its overall impact on society, and where

wireless technology is taking consumers. Upon completion of this module, you should be able to:

Describe the history and evolution of wireless technology and the key forces driving wireless adoption today List and describe the various classes of wireless technology Describe the impact of wireless systems on society Describe the future of wireless Describe the business models enabled by wireless systems

History and Evolution

Introduction

The amount of commerce done over the web continues to grow as new wireless choices, including web-enabled cell phones, handheld devices, and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) become widespread. According to the EMC World Cellular Database, the number of cellular subscribers in the world in September 2003 was nearly 1.3 billion. Of those 1.3 billion subscribers, 12 percent were located in North America, 27 percent were located in Europe, and 39 percent were located in Japan. Many businesses find those figures a compelling reason to provide mobile access to their services. As applications and the technology become more reliable, more consumers will use them. Many new technological developments occur in parallel, then

History and Evolution

Mobile Telephones

Mobile telephony began in the 1950s, when portable sets were tested with U.S. pipeline construction crews. At roughly the same time, the Ericsson company was conducting pilot studies in Sweden with an on-call doctor and a portable bank. It was not until the 1980s, though, that mobile phones could be considered truly portable, when advances in miniaturization and battery technology brought their weight down to under four pounds. Current models can weigh less than four ounces, with smaller size constrained only by the practicalities of the input device and screen. Mobile phones have the ability to:

Make phone calls Transmit and receive data Use instant messaging, which is popular among younger users Provide electronic organizer functionality, such as address books, calculators, and simple games Browse specially enabled Internet sites allowing access to services, such as electronic banking and stock trading Take pictures Play games Display video clips

Today, the main limitations of mobile phones are the restricted wireless bandwidth and the restrictive user interface. Future

History and Evolution

Other Handheld Devices

The current success of the PDA was preceded by several false starts. After an expensive development effort, Apple Computer launched the first PDA, the Newton, in 1994. While a truly visionary product for its time, the Newton was not a commercial success and nearly bankrupted the company. Other companies, such as Casio and Clove Technology, attempted to evolve the pocket calculator into a pocket computer without much success. In 1996, following their less-than-successful Zoomer product, Palm, Inc. designed and launched the Palm Pilot. Why the Palm Pilot succeeded where its predecessors failed is unclear, but its success is indisputable. More than one million units were sold in the 18 months after its launch. Even in 2000, Palm continued to hold an 80 percent market share. The capabilities of mobile phones and handheld devices are merging. Already, PDAs such as the Palm VII Pilot support wireless communications, and Nokia's 9290 wireless phone demonstrates how a device can act as both a phone and a handheld computer.

History and Evolution

The Internet

The global data communications network called the Internet was first connected at UCLA in 1969. Based on Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) networking protocols, the Internet standardized the transmission of data. A number of protocols have been constructed on top of TCP/IP for specific kinds of information services, such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which forms the basis of the World Wide Web. The Internet continues to expand to incorporate other forms of data transmission and other networks. Voice Over IP (VOIP) is used for voice (telephone) communications. With the Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) now established for mobile devices, the reach of the Internet now extends even further. Convergence between wireless and wired Internet connections is underway, to the extent that the two communication types will eventually be indistinguishable to the user. Ultimately information will be accessible through whatever medium is available and rendered on the client device in the best way possible using available bandwidth and local resources.

History and Evolution

Wire Replacement

This section describes the use of wireless technologies to replace communication links traditionally supported by wired infrastructure and reviews their benefits and drawbacks.

Wireless local area networks (LAN) Fixed wireless Satellite

Wireless Local Area Networks (LAN)

Anyone who has ever tried to link two or more computers knows that the cabling between the machines can quickly get out of hand. Corporate LANs are no different and, because they evolve over time, they can easily degrade into a complex morass of cables. Corporate LANs are supported by a billion-dollar network management industry and require fulltime network managers to keep them running. Substituting wireless devices for all those wires is a tempting alternative. Wireless devices can be more flexible and are potentially cheaper, with typical wireless LAN architectures requiring only equipment on each client computer and a base station. Wireless LANs not only eliminate cables, but also many network hubs and switches. You can also upgrade a wireless LAN without the expensive and time-consuming replacement of infrastructure required by a wired LAN. Wireless networking enables:

Hot-desking workers, who can access local resources without plugging into a network port. Easy access to facilities, whether planned or impromptu. For

example, you can transmit documents to a wall screen from any device.

Fixed Wireless
Used primarily as a local loop or last mile replacement for wired connectivity, fixed wireless offers a competitive price and performance alternative for connection to a fixed location. In this context, fixed means not mobile and by eliminating that requirement, fixed wireless can offer far more network bandwidth than mobile wireless can provide. Fixed wireless comes in two broad categories point-to-point and multipoint with multipoint being by far the most popular. In its multipoint form, users have fixed antennae that all point to a shared base station. The available bandwidth is shared among users, with downlink speeds being much higher than uplink speeds. Point-to-point is an unshared connection and requires a separate transceiver for each user. With point-to-point, you effectively get your own unshared, private link and bandwidth is the same for both uplink and downlink.

Satellite

The concept of a satellite in space serving wireless needs is not new. In 1945, forward-looking science fiction writer Arthur C. Clark described almost all the components required to build such a system in Extra-Terrestrial World, an article in Wired World magazine. Today, satellite communications represent a multibillion dollar industry. Satellites are used for TV broadcasting, long distance phone calls, satellite telephones, and data communications, but they carry less bandwidth than fiber- optic networks. In the twenty-first century, a growth area for satellite use is in local loop technology, in much the same way that fixed wireless is being used today. Satellite is more attractive in locations where a wired solution is impractical or a fixed wireless solution would not cover the area required. Most satellite units use a dish pointed directly at the satellite, making them much bulkier than other types of wireless communications equipment.

The Impact of Wireless Technologies

Introduction

Wireless technology is significantly impacting human society. Following is a discussion of how wireless products are affecting everyday life around the globe.

The Impact of Wireless Technologies

NTT DoCoMo

Perhaps the first proof that the Internet and wireless phones could be successfully and profitably married was the phenomenal success of DoCoMo's (a unit of NTT) i-mode cell phone service, launched in February, 1999. Through a combination of thoughtful navigation design that hides the Internet's complexities from users and clever marketing, DoCoMo changed the way people use their phones and achieved the long sought integration of mobility with high value services. DoCoMo's i-Mode service has become a model for the rest of the mobile industry.

The Impact of Wireless Technologies

Demographic Trends

As early as 1970, writer Alvin Toffler correctly predicted in the book Future Shock that employment would move progressively back into the home as a result of the shift from manufacturing towards information-based services. More recent trends in the labor market include: The transition from full-time work to part-time, subcontracted employment The transition from office-based to home-based working Increased personal mobility. Travel is on the increase.

In the future, successful organizations will be those that leverage new technology to maximize the potential of the workforce. The 2000 Futurework report from the U.S. Department of Labor notes that "Increased global competition, due in part to advances in communications, has increased the demand for new technologies and for the people who can imagine new ways to use them." Wireless technology might not be the only technology driving these changes, but it has an important part to play. The transformation is already visible in the consumer use of wireless web access, and it is predicted that business will follow.

The Impact of Wireless Technologies

Wireless in the Home

Because many homes do not have a wired network, the wireless home environment is also part of the wireless revolution. The wireless home network is based around a wireless communications hub that manages the interface between the wireless home and the outside world. It includes facilities such as high-speed Internet access (either wireless or land-based), voice channels with coordinated telephony, video conferencing, and access to email, the web, and online applications. This wireless communications hub has the following potential impacts:

The Impact of Wireless Technologies

Use of Mobile Devices

The mobile phone market has experienced phenomenal growth around the world. Consider these predictions and facts:

The use of mobile phones has grown more quickly in Europe than in the United States, largely because digital phone services arrived at the same time as the trans-European deregulation of communications. The handheld device market is also an area experiencing significant growth. In May, 1999, International Data Corporation (IDC) predicted that over 8.9 million devices would be shipped worldwide that year, an increase of 34 percent over the previous year. As new devices continue to evolve, the feature set will expand to include standard mobile phone functionality within the handheld device. Voice and data transmission using the same wireless device will become the expected norm. In 2001, the Bluetooth short-range wireless protocol was released and now provides wireless connectivity for a wide range of devices, including keyboards, printers, PDAs and games. Wireless networking protocols in the home and office are now mainstream. The combined impact of all these technologies, along with the extending reach of the Internet and the diversifying range of devices, have set the scene for the wireless revolution.

The Future of Wireless Technology

Introduction

This section describes where wireless technologies are going and reviews the following areas:

Core wireless values Wireless system structure Bandwidth and user interface Wireless services evolution Wireless usage worldwide Wireless business models Use of wireless in the enterprise

The Future of Wireless Technology

Core Wirel ess Value s

The Internet has become a huge marketplace for information and services, it is growing larger and faster as mobile Internet access becomes more prevalent. Mobile service users will be greater in number, and they will want to have access at any time, not just when a computer is available. Because wireless devices are portable, personal, and always connected to the wired infrastructure, wireless technology enables dynamic access to personalized services. As wireless adoption progresses, successful wireless services will address the following core values: Immediacy Context sensitivity Services are delivered in a manner and at a time that fits the user's immediate need. The service that is provided takes into account the environment from which it was requested, such as location or time of day.

Personalization

Services provided are specific to a user's profile, removing complexity and enabling users to find what they need with a minimum of navigation.

Initially, these tailored services will target the wireless environment. Ultimately, the benefits of getting the right service, at the right place, at the right time will increase demands for dynamic personal services whether the user is mobile or not.

The Future of Wireless Technology

Wireless System Structure

This section describes both current and future wireless architectures.

Today's architectures Wireless architectures going forward

Today's Architectures
Before learning about wireless architectures of the future, you should understand how systems are installed today. This provides a baseline for a more accurate prediction wireless systems of the future. The following animation demonstrates a simplified view of a basic wireless system today. Click Play to start.

The access device is the cell phone, which communicates to a transmission tower or Base Transceiver Station (BTS). Up to 30 BTSs can converge on a Base Station Controller (BSC). From the BSC, the voice signal is delivered to the (MSC). The MSC interacts with modules that manage mobility, authentication of users and devices, and authorization of network resource usage. Calls then proceed to the Gateway Media Switching Center (GMSC) to interact with the various outside networks such as Public Service Telephone Network (PSTN), which services standard wired telephones.

Wireless Architectures Going Forward

As the technology changes, wireless architectures continue to evolve, making development and deployment decisions more complicated. Corporations considering wireless solutions must work with what is possible now, while at the same time building a flexible strategy that can leverage future advances. The combination of wireless handheld devices and Internet technologies present the opportunity for the development of a new paradigm for user interaction and has the potential to radically alter the manner in which content and services are delivered and used by information consumers. What might happen is that each part of the system, shown in the following demonstration, supports the same functionality, but in a much more generalized way. Click Play to start.

1. The mobile telephone becomes a generalized access device.

2. The BTSs and BTCs become the radio access network (RAN), the

system that the access devices talks to. The RAN represents the caching and integration point for all access devices.
3. The MSC is replaced by the core network, which switches between

other wireless networks, the public switched telephone network (PSDN) and the internet. 4. The service network stack provides the focal point from which key wireless digital services are accessed and delivered.
5. Finally, the content stack provides content and services.

The Future of Wireless Technology

Bandwidth and User Interface

The Future of Wireless Technology

Wireless Services Evolution

The Wireless World

The technologies described here are beginning to change the way people conduct business and lead their lives. Work and leisure activities can be conducted whenever and wherever is most appropriate, as shown in the following demonstration:

Some of the impacts of wireless technologies will be negative, either in perception or in reality. There is ongoing concern, for example, about the potential health risks caused by radiation in mobile phones. In addition, not everybody likes the concept of being accessible at any time, anywhere, by anybody. Some will even see it as a civil liberties issue, but the

fact remains that the choice of whether to stay connected is always controlled by the user at the device level.

The Future of Wireless Technology

Wireless Business Models

Wireless is a very large area and prudence dictates that it be approached incrementally. From a business perspective, it makes more sense to pick an easily justifiable problem and address it well with a wireless solution than to commit to a major wireless initiative all at once. By taking an incremental approach, you can learn along the way, achieving benefits as you analyze each problem area and the appropriate wireless solution. In this way, you can evolve your wireless efforts at a steady pace and not be overwhelmed making all the major decisions at one time. The addition of wireless capabilities and the Internet to corporate infrastructures will have far-reaching effects inside and outside the business environment. Users will be able to access IT facilities any time and any place, allowing business to be conducted in a number of new ways. Many of these capabilities are already being implemented or piloted, with the promise of new improvements from technology vendors and service providers. Some of these new developments are presented here, to provide a sense of what is coming. More detail about available technologies and how they can be applied is provided later in the course. To understand the potential of wireless technology and its effects, consider some of the different models that are possible in a wireless world.

Electronic Commerce (e-commerce) Environments

Mobile, wireless devices have already debuted in the field of e-commerce, using Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) or i-mode (in Japan) as a mechanism. WAP-based mobile commerce, or m-commerce, has been moderately successful, although nowhere near the levels predicted. This is probably due to the limitations of current devices and existing bandwidth. With the arrival of higher bandwidth and more capable devices, mobile commerce will reach higher levels.

Mobile Customer Relationship Management (M-CRM)

m-CRM has evolved from sales force automation applications to supporting the communications flow between a company and its customers, improving the service to customers, and increasing the potential for repeat business. Wireless technologies have two roles in M-CRM: Supporting the sales force in managing interactions with customers. For example, a salesperson can have product and customer information readily available when at a customer site. Giving customers direct access to customer service and support facilities from any location. For example, you request a roadside recovery service and verify when a repair person will be available, or check the status of a package delivery from the road so you know when it will arrive at your home.

Location Sensitivity

Location sensitivity is fast becoming a reality as a number of mobile phone manufacturers, including Sony and Motorola, are integrating Global Positioning System (GPS) facilities into their handsets. Location sensitivity generates a whole range of new applications: As mentioned earlier with M-CRM, a phone call for breakdown service can be accompanied by information that pinpoints the location of the car. Handset users can retrieve a local map, find the nearest ATM, or receive discount coupons for the store they are visiting. Users can notify others of their location on a real-time basis. For example, parents can verify that their children are where they said they would be, or service engineers can log their arrival and departure from a customer site. Integrating Wireless into Enterprise Access

The Future of Wireless Technology

Review Questions - What Is Wireless Technology?

Congratulations! You have completed this module. The following review has multiple-choice questions that are designed to both check your understanding and enhance what you learned, by reinforcing important module concepts. If you need to review the question topic, click the Review icon available at the top corner of some question pages. With every response, you should receive feedback in the area at the bottom of the review question screen. Click the forward arrow button to begin the review.