Chapter Fourteen. Future Applications in Wireless IP Networks

Applications and services are what the end user eventually sees. The underlying technology is invisible or irrelevant from a user's perspective. What the user really cares about is the usability of a feature. So performance and interaction as well as presentation becomes important. Third-generation networks enable the delivery of feature-rich applications by incorporating support for quality of service, high bit rates, and greater capacity.

Two distinct trends have emerged that are the primary drivers for convergence of packet and circuit based networks. First is the need for access to information. The vast availability of information on the Internet has made the need to access the Internet a vital commodity. The Internet is an example of a packet data network that most people recognize today. Second, people and society in general are more mobile and have the need to be constantly connected. This has fueled the rapid growth of wireless networks. Second-generation wireless networks have been primarily driven by voice services and are essentially circuit switched networks. The wireless Internet is the combining of the features of these two types of networks. Access to information from mobile devices is increasingly felt as one of the key applications for third-generation wireless networks. However, there is a clear difference in the way a user interacts with and experiences the wireless Internet. It is not the same as the traditional Internet experience using desktop and laptop computers. Form factors of the devices as well as the interfaces to the services will make the wireless Internet a new experience. The richness of this experience and applications are still under development, and it will be some time before consumers are able to embrace this concept on a wide basis. The acceptance of the wireless Internet is also based on regional views and cultural differences. Consumers in Japan and elsewhere who have been exposed to a kind of wireless Internet with the I-Mode network are more willing to try the new wireless Internet as opposed to users in the United States, where the traditional Internet, with access via desktop and laptop computers, has primarily flourished. While the Internet has influenced the current design of 3G wireless networks, it is also the case that wireless networks will eventually change the way we view and interact with the Internet today.

The mobile market is changing from an environment dominated by voice to one where mobile Internet and enhanced data services will be equally important. The mobile device, which to some is as essential as the wallet or purse, is evolving toward becoming a life management tool. Functions such as calendars for appointments, web browsers, and e-mail are being incorporated into the devices. In the mobile world the key to success is via delivering targeted , timely , and essential services. It is extremely important that application developers understand consumers, their lifestyles, and their needs when designing and building services for the future. Nokia, which is a frontrunner in mobile wireless communication, has been projecting the vision of a mobile world and mobile information society wherein a major part of all personal communication will be wireless based in various forms such as voice calls, data exchanges, or multimedia sessions.

This chapter takes a look at some of the applications that we can expect to see in the future via the IP-enabled wireless networks.