The wireless Internet evolution
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Worldwide markets for both the Internet and mobile telecommunications are expected to grow in the next year or two to 1 billion in each industry segment. Inevitably, both are converging to form a single entity–the wireless Internet.
While most people today browse the Internet from their office or home, this scenario is expected to change. Within three years, about 1.3 billion people will access the Internet via wireless devices--all expecting desktop-like performance, and on-demand information from their carriers. While a huge amount of Internet content is already available and the number of computing devices (laptops, PDAs, smartphones) increases daily, one obstacle still exists--wireless download speeds.
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Content is rapidly becoming richer, which places increasing demands on the wireless infrastructure to allow for an efficient web experience. However, developments in this technology are slow, costly and perennially delayed, causing a widening gap between the user and the wireless Web. Wireless carriers are looking for ways to address the demands by consumers and business for web content access over the Internet--anywhere, anytime. The key obstacle remaining is bandwidth.
Today’s wireless networks still operate on extremely narrow bandwidth networks that are only capable of download speeds of between 9.6 kb/s and 19.2 kb/s--nowhere near the broadband solutions available to the desktop. Carriers are trying to respond to the growing demand for wireless Internet services by investing heavily in next-generation networks, with those in Europe and Japan leading the pack.
However, licenses for these new 2.5 and 3G networks are, in many cases, prohibitively expensive. Even with huge capital outlays, these networks are yet to deliver the network speed promised and are faced with what they can actually deliver.
Today’s Solutions Fall Short
Wireless carriers today are primarily focusing their efforts in one of three directions to resolve the problem of narrow bandwidth/slow access. However, these choices are less than ideal in at least one vital area.
Web Content. Since carriers cannot control the content of websites, they rely on the millions of site owners to develop content that is compatible with mobile devices to create a solution that serves everyone. Attempts by many corporations and Web designers to design their sites to accommodate both narrowband wireless users and broadband users have failed since the compromise on content richness and functionality is too great.
As a result, many Web creators are designing two or more versions of their sites to meet the needs of everyone from wireless to dial-up to high-bandwidth users. However, this is expensive practice most website owners find unacceptable. Finally, nearly 15% of Web designers neglect to take into account that most users have low-bandwidth connections, delaying download speeds. Since the content compromising approach is insufficient and the alternative of maintaining multiple versions of sites is too expensive, carriers are left with a lesser of two evils.
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Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). While WAP offered some promise, it has been receiving negative reviews for several reasons. WAP flies in the face of richer content. It not only requires that website owners create new, specific WAP content, but download speeds are still slow when using a WAP-enabled device.
The solution winds up being limited in functionality and requires a dedicated gateway to access websites in addition to requiring special WAP-enabled devices that are cumbersome to use and require carriers to make large investments in WAP technology. And again, because website owners control their content, they need to make a strong commitment to provide WAP content, something the wireless carriers have no control over.
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Increasing Bandwidth and Improving Infrastructure Usage. Many wireless carriers are making heavy investments in next-generation 2.5 and 3G technologies to increase bandwidth as a result, increasing speed. However, early adopters have already learned that theoretical bandwidths of 115 kbps are not attainable and are realistically much closer to 20 kbps.
The culprit in this case is also the nature of the beast. Packet switching networks offer a far more efficient environment for data delivery and allow for the much desired, “always on,” connection (meaning, wireless data users don’t have to go through a dial-up process since they are always connected) it comes at a price. Packet switching is a shared media technology. The combination of the increase in number of users and the amount of data exchanged has an adverse effect on bandwidth, which in turn slows down access speeds, sometimes to a crawl.
According to Giga Information Group, “Both general packet radio services (GPRS) and enhanced data for global system for mobile communications (GSM) evolution (EDGE) technologies limit the peak bandwidth at which a wireless device may access the network.”
For example, where peak network speed for GPRS is 115 kb/s, peak device speed is only 27 kb/s, and the resulting average PC browser speed is only 20 kb/s. Similarly, for EDGE, where the peak network speed is about 470 kb/s, peak device speed is about 118 kb/s and the average PC browser speed drops to about 80 kb/s. And, these speeds are still dependent on the number of active simultaneous subscribers on a cell and the subscriber’s mobility at any moment in time.
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Internet acceleration solutions allow wireless carriers to offer their subscribers full browsing with faster speeds. Since this solution reduces the number of data packets, carriers can support even more subscribers over existing infrastructures.... |
Desktop-Quality Wireless Internet
With wireless carriers facing significant deficit in the three key solutions being used today, the industry needs a way to provide full Web browsing over the wireless network, with the same browsing experience as on the desktop, no compromise on graphics and using the existing network infrastructure. An ideal solution would address these current shortfalls while offering the ability to perform even better on next-generation networks.
In addition, a solution should be able to be deployed immediately, be easy to install in the network infrastructure of a wireless carrier and eliminate the need for Web designers to compromise on content.
While such a solution may sound surreal, it exists here and now with significantly less infrastructure, less time to deploy and lowers costs in Internet acceleration solutions. Internet acceleration solutions allow wireless carriers to offer their subscribers full browsing with faster speeds. Since this solution reduces the number of data packets, carriers can support even more subscribers over existing infrastructures while still offering improved service.
The software solution delivers accelerated full Internet access at a fraction of the cost of infrastructure upgrades. It is totally transparent to end users, since no client software is required, thus ensuring that any wireless user with an HTML browser on their mobile device (such as a laptop, PDA or mobile phone) can browse the entire worldwide Web without compromising on content.
With these solutions, carriers can immediately capture a significant share of the mobile Internet market without the need to wait for costly 2.5G and 3G infrastructure upgrades. This enables them to prepare their users for next-generation networks and then seamlessly migrate to the new network when it is ready.
Even when deploying 2.5 and 3G networks, carriers will need a supplemental solution for two reasons:
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more speed and
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to preserve their huge investments in these technologies.
And of equal importance, acceleration solutions are compatible with all current and future networks such as GSM, CDMA, TDMA, GPRS, EDGE and UMTS.
For wireless/PCS network operators facing increasing competition and diminishing profit margins for traditional services, Internet browsing is an immediate and attractive market for expansion. Network operators can offer their subscribers immediate access to the full Internet, using devices like laptops and handheld PCs that their subscribers already own, as well as any future HTML-enabled wireless devices such as smart phones.
It’s also crucial to find a solution that requires no additional software or added infrastructure on end-users devices.
Solutions that optimize the Wireless Internet user experience are
gaining favor as the newest and best way to provide a more acceptable
Web browsing experience for both business and consumer users. By
delivering extremely fast download times, wireless carriers can not
only differentiate their services but also help to assure the future
viability of the wireless industry as a key method of Internet
access.
Moshe Sheps is the President of Speedwise Inc., which provides
rapid-deployment solutions that accelerate Internet access over
existing wireless and landline infrastructures.
Visit Speedwise online.
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Planet 3G Wireless:
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CONFERENCE Understanding
3G Wireless Technologies and Opportunities 2002 WirelessOne 2002 WORLD
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