The Future of Mobile Communications; Awaiting the Third Generation

by Peter Curwen

• ISBN13: 9781403902689
• ISBN10: 1403902682
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2002-10-11
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Mobile communications are about to enter the third stage in their development, widely known as 3G. This will bring always-on Internet access to mobile devices. This book investigates the history of mobile communications and explores the technological background to 3G in a user-friendly manner. It examines the licensing process throughout the world, and draws conclusions about the prospects for 3G through a comprehensive analysis of the issues that have been raised so far.

Author Biography

Peter Curwen is Professor of Business at Sheffield Business School, Sheffield Hallam University.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables	x
Glossary	xi
Abbreviations	xvi
Acknowledgement	xix
Preface	xx
Introduction to Mobile Telephony	1	(28)
Introduction	1	(10)
Mobile versus fixed-wire	11	(7)
Short message service (SMS)	16	(2)
National coverage: Western Europe versus the USA	18	(2)
ARPUs and SACs	20	(1)
Evolution of standards	21	(7)
Mark-up languages	27	(1)
The role of satellites	28	(1)
Intermediate Steps Along the Road	29	(26)
Satellite communications	30	(10)
Introduction	30	(2)
Limited bandwidth networks	32	(1)
Iridium	32	(2)
Globalstar	34	(1)
ICO Global Communications	35	(1)
Odyssey	36	(1)
Reappraisal of the networks	36	(1)
Inmarsat	37	(1)
Teledesic	37	(1)
SkyBridge	38	(1)
Conclusions	38	(2)
Wireless application protocol (WAP)	40	(1)
General packet radio service (GPRS)	41	(7)
Cdma2000 1x	47	(1)
I-Mode	48	(5)
Introduction	48	(1)
Why i-mode has been a success	49	(1)
Sources of revenue	50	(1)
Will i-mode travel?	51	(1)
Conclusions	52	(1)
Smartphones and personal digital assistants (PDAs)	53	(2)
UMTS Licensing in Western Europe	55	(36)
Individual countries	58	(33)
Austria	58	(1)
Belgium	59	(1)
Denmark	60	(1)
Finland	61	(1)
France	61	(3)
Germany	64	(6)
Greece	70	(1)
Ireland	70	(1)
Isle of Man	71	(1)
Italy	72	(3)
Liechenstein	75	(1)
Luxembourg	75	(1)
Malta	75	(1)
Monaco	75	(1)
Netherlands	76	(2)
Norway	78	(1)
Portugal	79	(1)
Spain	80	(2)
Sweden	82	(2)
Switzerland	84	(2)
UK	86	(5)
3G Licensing Elsewhere in the World	91	(37)
The rest of Europe	93	(5)
Japan	98	(3)
China	101	(1)
Elsewhere in Asia	102	(8)
The USA	110	(8)
The `C' and `F' licence auction	112	(2)
Stance of operators	114	(2)
Recent developments	116	(2)
Elsewhere in North, South and Central America	118	(2)
Australasia	120	(4)
The Middle East and Africa	124	(1)
Operators' interests in 3G licences and measures of licence costs	125	(3)
Analysis of Issues Raised by 3G	128	(34)
Strategic partnerships	128	(2)
Auctions versus `beauty contests'	130	(9)
Sources of finance	139	(3)
Subsidies	142	(1)
Equipment sharing	142	(1)
Delays and debts	143	(1)
Mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs)	144	(1)
Roaming	145	(1)
Prospects for new entrants	146	(1)
Technical hitches	147	(1)
Standard wars	148	(2)
Vendor alliances	150	(2)
Health risks	152	(1)
Pricing services	153	(1)
Regulation in the EU	154	(1)
Conclusions	155	(7)
A Case Study of Vodafone with a Piece of Orange and the DTs	162	(32)
Initial scenario	162	(1)
Background	163	(7)
Vodafone/AirTouch	164	(2)
Mannesmann/Orange	166	(1)
Vodafone AirTouch/Mannesmann	167	(3)
Orange	170	(5)
E-Plus	175	(1)
T-Mobile	176	(1)
Rebranding	177	(1)
Tidying up	178	(6)
Doing the sums	184	(5)
Revising the strategy and redoing the sums	189	(2)
Conclusions	191	(3)
Notes	194	(12)
Index	206