Today, mobile service providers in Europe are still licking wounds from the punishing bids for 3G, a platform that still hasn’t seen any clear definition, yet has propelled companies to fight for their space.
Today, disgruntled mobile phone consumers in the U.S switch from service to service, in the vain hope that one of the services would actually provide decent connection and stable reception.
Today, India is waiting with bated breath to see what this turmoil is going to throw up, that could possibly bring it the next wave.
Wireless, wireless, wireless...
In this issue of siliconindia, we look at where this currently “hot” industry of wireless is going. As Gaurav Garg (see “Mobile Wireless,” p.18) says, there is a technology “soup,” where nothing talks to nothing else. Bluetooth, CDMA, 802.11a, GPRS, GSM, BREW...the market is seeing ever-evolving new standards and applications, which is adding to the confusion.
A good primer to this feature would be to examine what these names are, what they do, and their limitations.
There are three distinct areas of networking: the Personal Area Network (PAN), the Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), and the Cellular (Wireless WAN), each of which has its limitations.
In the Personal Area Network, we have Bluetooth in action. Much maligned, and possibly written off as a non-starter, this technology of small footprint is definitely still in the reckoning. Bluetooth finds tremendous use in connecting devices within the personal areas-- for e.g., when your PDA could connect up to the printer in your office and command a print-out. Low cost and device-driven, Bluetooth is to be widely used in the European markets, as more laws about “car-calls” are passed, making it more difficult to make calls while driving. These devices work over distances of a few feet, say, within an office, or between rooms. When the network grows to larger than these personal spaces, the WLAN kicks in with the 802.11 series of standards. The protocols for these standards differ, and so does the application. The WLAN will be good for seamless connection within about a 1,000 ft.
The Wireless WAN is the current interest, where the footprint extends over thousands of feet. Despite the apparent confusion, it is surprisingly clear that each of these standards will have specific use and will need to coexist. Unless there is going to be a new one which will function in all three levels.
While these standards still find their feet, applications have begun fighting for supremacy. There is BREW from Qualcomm, which is touted as a flexible base for wireless applications. Then there is Java with its own platform contending for the top-spot. Other platforms like WinCE and Symbian are working quietly in the background, with specific development geared to managing memories, location-based applications and process-thread models which may finally decide what application gains the upper hand.
Many have predicted coexistence as the only way out. But before any of these platforms or applications can boast of possible futures, there is the added fear of security. There have been reports of network cards on laptops picking up data “screeches” off the air from other laptop transmissions.
In all this, there is the consumers’ own effort in wireless LAN, with teams from metros beginning the infamous “freenetworking.” Also called broadband bootlegging, this is quite like the Napster model, except it is more robust and DIY, and the rates are falling.
Finally, there is the good old man on the street. He refused to be sold on DSL and broadband, and that industry is still floundering. What will he ask of the wireless world? Will the industry stop to think about his answers?
As the future takes wireless through its fate, siliconindia will be sure to bring more on this industry. The following are some good roadmaps from VCs, industry leaders and research firms.
