GSM INSIDE Wireless conference hones in on multimedia >BY JASON MEYERS, Wireless Networks Editor

The worldwide GSM community realizes that having more customers than other digital wireless technologies doesn't mean its mission is accomplished. The question now is how to refine GSM, and the overwhelming consensus is to equip the technology platform to carry multimedia applications.

How best to do that was a popular topic among the more than 2000 delegates of the 1997 GSM World Congress last week in Cannes, France, which began with a keynote address by Stephen Nachtsheim, vice president and general manager of the mobile and hand-held products group of Intel Corp.

Nachtsheim compared the wireless industry and the PC industry's development, particularly Intel's efforts to build brand strength among consumers with its widespread "Intel Inside" campaign. GSM supporters-network operators, infrastructure providers and terminal manufacturers alike-face a similar challenge and must not let GSM's swelling popularity for voice applications block the multimedia goal, he said.

"Why shouldn't every mobile PC be connected via GSM? The Internet and e-mail are major opportunities for GSM data," Nachtsheim said. "Don't let the voice business obscure your opportunities for GSM data.

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute supported GSM's data hopes by issuing a framework last week for Global Multimedia Mobility. Likewise, wireless operators from around the world acknowledged that the voice component of GSM is important but fails to complete the picture or guarantee future superiority.

"We need a mobile data application that is analogous to voice," said Margaret Crank, vice president of MTN of South Africa. "We need a grand slam.

In the exhibition hall where the congress met, many equipment providers also supported the multimedia push. Alcatel introduced its One Touch Pro GSM handset, which is modeled after the remote control's familiar interface and which, with software from Unwired Planet, provides access to scaled-back Internet and intranet information (see sidebar).

Ericsson unveiled a suite of Wireless Office and Business applications that includes wireless access to corporate intranets via GSM. Ericsson and Swedish wireless operator Telia, together with truck manufacturer Scania, are conducting a GSM trial in a virtual private network in Sweden.

Still to be resolved in making GSM multimedia a reality are the bandwidth expansions that will make higher-speed transmission possible. Developments in high-speed circuit-switched data and packet data services will help open the pipe for GSM data, said Jari Hamalainen, program manager for Nokia Mobile Phones, which showcased its Nokia 9000 Communicator at last week's event.