Hiram,
Is high-speed data over cellular and PCS phones exploitable by LMDS or is it a competitive threat to LMDS? See below:
Hooked on (data) speed
New generation of wireless devices promises
to leave today's fastest PC modems eating their dust
By David Bowermaster
MSNBC
Feb. 26 - Next year, telecom equipment makers like Qualcomm, Nokia and Ericsson will begin producing network hardware that will enable providers of personal communications services, or PCS, to send e-mail and other data to wireless phones at rates roughly twice as fast as today's zippiest PC modems. Even swifter speeds are just around the corner. But does a person really need all that speed?
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿTHE WIRELESS WORLD'S speed fixation is an outgrowth of the same fascination with interactivity that is prompting cable TV and phone companies to churn out high-bandwidth Web surfing technologies such as cable modems and digital subscriber line, or DSL.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿEach of these industries believe super-fast data delivery is going to grow into a huge business, and they all want a slice. They also greatly fear losing their current customers by failing to keep pace.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ"Speed is a fundamental competitive requirement," Jyrki Salo, vice-president in charge of the Americas for Nokia, told the unplugged legions gathered this week at the Wireless `98 trade show in Atlanta.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ"Speed is king," agreed Dan Hesse, president of AT&T Wireless. Speed is no big deal if all you want to do is make voice calls on your wireless phone. But the great promise of the PCS networks going up all over the country is their ability to send data such as e-mail, stock quotes and sports scores to the small screens built into new wireless phones.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿRight now most PCS networks can send data at rates of only 14.4 kilobytes per second, far slower than the 56kbps pace of today's PC modems. And sitting around waiting for data to appear on your phone is no less annoying than waiting for it to show up on your home computer.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ"Wireless data up until now has asked for incredibly long user patience," concedes Geoff Parkins, global vice-president of telecommunications for IBM. The lag time has stunted the growth of wireless data.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿRemedies are in the works. Later this year Nokia will introduce equipment that can jack speeds up to 64kbps, Salo says. In 1999 rates will pick up to around 115 kbps.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿIn three to five years, Nokia and a host of others will unveil so-called "third generation" equipment that will pump data across PCS networks at a head-snapping 2 mbps, or nearly 50 times today's top modem speeds. That will put wireless on an even playing field with cable modems and DSL.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿSuch speeds will greatly expand the functionality of wireless phones. Not only will they become efficient micro Web browsers, they will also be useful as external, wireless modems for laptops.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿA big plus for wireless carriers is they will be able to improve speeds by simply upgrading equipment at cell towers, rather than refurbishing millions of miles of underground cable or copper wires. (It's not clear whether each new leap in capacity will make obsolete the previous generation of consumer PCS phones and other devices.).
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ"Over time we'll be offering more and more capabilities and be using the same infrastructure largely used for voice. Wireless then turns out to be exceedingly convenient," says Dr. Irwin Jacobs, chairman and chief executive of Qualcomm, which makes network infrastructure as well as a popular line of wireless phones.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿJacobs, a well-respected voice in the industry and the architect of one of three leading PCS network architectures, says he can foresee a time when even home computer users will go online sans wire.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿYet he cautions that most wireless consumers are not going to need, or want to pay for, mega-speeds. "Many of the applications that we see currently used" - particularly e-mail - "will be handled very well at 100 kbps," says Jacobs.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿCarriers are thus likely to give customers a range of pricing options for wireless data, with higher prices for higher speeds. Alternatively, Jacobs says carriers may switch to "packet-based" data pricing, where users are charged by the amount of digital information they download.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ
PHONE OF THE FUTURE?
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿThe most compelling example of what consumers will be able to do with all of that wireless speed is the Cosm phone that Sony unveiled in Atlanta. Still only a "concept" device, the Cosm phone incorporates some of the most exciting digital technology in a single device.
Sony's D-Wave Cosm communicator could be a sign of things to come with high-speed wireless data.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿAlong with the standard functions of a PCS phone, the Cosm comes with a full-color screen, roughly 2 inches by 3 inches., that can download Web images. Filtering software designed by Sony, called WebSPF, will scrunch the components of any Web page down to fit on the Cosm screen. By incorporating location information sent from the nearest PCS tower, the Cosm will be able to call up traffic maps tailored to where you are as well as listings of restaurants and movies within a few miles.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿYou can also take photos with an optional digital camera, and annotate comments with a voice recorder. All of that information can then be zapped off to relatives and friends via e-mail.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿSony says the phone will be able to provide a "satisfying experience" at 14.4 kpbs, but clearly it is a machine designed with much higher speed limits in mind. |
