<font color=RoyalBlue>Mobility, Unwiring Next Key IT Words
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By Kim Myung-Chan
Country Manager of Intel Korea
Korea's economy has undergone a huge makeover the last few decades and is becoming one of the world's 10 biggest economies. It is a really amazing feat in view of the fact that the nation was one of the poorest countries in the world five decades ago.
In recent years, the information-technology (IT) industry has become the growth engine for Korea. Broadband Internet access, wireless/cellular communications and memory semiconductors have led the nation to become a world IT leader. However, it's time for the industry to find the next killer application that delivers compelling benefits to consumers to continue its success.
I believe the next big wave in computing and communications will be ``mobility.’’ Mobility means the freedom to access the Internet and search, retrieve, create and share information any time, anywhere.
As the nations of the world become more globally connected and competitive, people get hungrier for information. They want access to the Internet any time and anywhere. People on business trips want to check their office e-mails and take care of business while they wait for the next airplane at the airport.
A stockbroker wants to process his customer's request while on a vacation at a remote resort. His children may want to enjoy online gaming at a poolside, while their grandparents want to see their grandchildren's vacation photos or video, even before they come back home from vacation. Benefits that mobility provides are endless.
There are four key points to be addressed for true mobility. The first point is wireless access. This point must be addressed through both infrastructure and devices. Even though existing cellular/mobile communication networks can provide basic channels for wireless access, their bandwidths are too limited and too costly to handle the growing hunger of consumers for information.
A newly emerging solution for this wireless network bandwidth is the 802.11 wireless LAN standard, called Wi-Fi. Among many variations of 802.11 standards, 802.11b, which provides up to 11 megabits per second of data transmission, is the prevailing standard, while 802.11a with a much wider 54 megabits per second speed is likely to be the next choice.
Users of devices with the wireless LAN adaptor function can wirelessly access Internet at ``hot spots,’’ places where access points are installed.
Network service providers throughout the world are seeking to deploy and expand their public 802.11 wireless LAN network. In Korea, KT and Hanaro Telecom have constructed about 10,000 hot spots throughout the nation, and have plans to establish many more in the future.
Many other organizations such as companies, colleges, hospitals, restaurants, department stores and shopping malls are also implementing their own wireless LAN networks for improved productivity and convenience.
For example, Intel Korea is working with the Cheju Provincial Government and KT for an ambitious plan to build a wireless LAN network throughout Cheju Island. Intel and KT also agreed with Lotteria to construct a 802.11 network at the restaurant franchise's fast-food restaurants nationwide.
The next point is battery life. To truly ``unwire’’ people, removing power lines, as well as, network lines is required. Innovative technologies like Intel's Centrino mobile technology have significantly prolonged battery life. Notebook computers based on the Centrino mobile technology provide up to five hours of battery life or more, which should be sufficient for users to enjoy wireless Internet without constantly looking for power outlets.
The third requirement is small and light form factor allowing flexibility in designing easy-to-carry mobile computing devices. The last, but not any less important point is performance. Mobile computing devices must be equipped with enough power to handle the power-hungry, multimedia-rich applications of today. Consumers are expecting as high performance out of their mobile devices as out of their desktops.
Intel sees mobility as the next paradigm of the IT industry and is working hard to realize the era when every computing device has communication capability and every communication device has high computing power.
The Centrino mobile technology, which was officially introduced last March, was designed from the ground up to fulfill these four requirements for mobility.
The recent worldwide economic downturn proved to be a hardship for the Korean IT industry. The industry must be able to stimulate both corporate and general customers by presenting them with appealing solutions to get out of this long tunnel of gloom. Through the freedom of mobility and ``unwiring,’’ people will be one of the stimuli for growth in the IT industry.
It will also help Korea upgrade its worldwide leadership and its IT competitiveness founded on broadband and wireless communication infrastructure into the next level.
06-04-2003 18:53
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