The new 'mobile' Internet

Mobile Internet, The, Dec, 2004

A number of developments on the device and network have made the mobile Internet possible. These developments have opened up new possibilities, says Anupama Hegde, Director of Product Management for IndTelesoft in Bangalore

The Internet is making profound changes to the way people communicate around the world. New modes of accessing the Internet are now available, and people have the option of staying connected even while they are on the move, through wireless devices such as mobile phones and handheld devices. These new modes of access bring tremendous value to the end-user, breeding a new generation of users, applications, and services.

Imagine going shopping and pushing a button to show your husband the exact shade of paint you want for your new house while he is at work, and getting a thumbs-up message back from him immediately. Or knowing when an old schoolmate happens to be in the same city as you so that you can finally get together for dinner and catch up with each other. Or imagine capturing your toddler in action and sending the multimedia clippings to his grandparents. Or playing an interesting game of chess with a friend in another city while both of you are on a train ride home.

These trends have also resulted in the coining of a new term--the mobile Internet, a reference to mobile access to the Internet. A number of developments on the device and network have made the mobile Internet possible. These developments have opened up new possibilities.

Yesterday's mobile phone has today morphed beyond recognition into a device that far exceeds its basic function of providing voice telephony service. As has been the case with personal computers, technological advances in handsets have allowed mobile manufacturers to put more into the same or smaller form factors. So the mobile phone today is a device that, in addition to providing familiar telephony functions, takes on the role of a multimedia communicator, personal organizer, camera, radio, voice recorder, and information, entertainment, and connectivity device all rolled in one. In many instances, the mobile phone takes on specialized functions such as a walkie-talkie, gaming console, and location or identification device.

There are other ways in which the mobile phone has changed and is going the way of the personal computer--it runs its own operating system (Symbian, Windows Mobile, Linux, or one of the myriad proprietary ones) and contains far more software content in the form of standard and custom applications than ever before. You can now download and install software on your phone and customize its look and feel.

And finally, your mobile phone or PDA now supports wireless IP (Internet Protocol) access, making it a window to the World Wide Web or the Internet, and consequently a part of the Mobile Internet.

Accompanying these changes to the mobile phone is the evolution in underlying wireless network technology. Advances in network technology have resulted in increased bandwidth and new service options for the consumer. Mobile operators are rolling out new-generation infrastructure. Circuit-switched 2G (second-generation) cellular networks are giving way to 2.5G and 3G (third-generation) converged (voice and data) packet-switched cellular networks. Other types of wireless network technologies such as 802.11 or Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are finding their way into mobile handsets, as well as public and private networks all over the world. All of this, of course, gives the end-user a number of different options to connect to the Internet.