How Many Megabits Do I Need?

The promise of new technologies in wireless has spread around a vast array of numbers for data throughput. Anywhere from 14.4kb/s to as much as 2Mb/s and beyond. The question still remains: “How much do I need?”

The answer is not as high as you may think. If we relate the capabilities of new wireless technologies such as GPRS and EDGE or 1XRTT to the capabilities of a typical 56K dial-up modem, we find that most applications can be done with much less bandwidth.

Most of us have used the Internet for some form of chat, video or streaming applications. Chat will work in a very small throughput window. Non-real-time streaming works well. The limiting factor, of course, is how long you are willing to wait for that first chunk of the file to come in.

Full streaming video is the big bit hog of applications. Video on demand still is a challenge for most landline networks. True real-time video conferencing requires not only bandwidth but also QoS, which is required to reserve the resources to make it all work.

QoS improvements now are being implemented in packet networks with more to come. This, combined with initial applications being limited to non-real time, means that with the first offerings, new-technology wireless networks will be able to include such favorites as e-mail, messaging, file transfer and Web surfing, along with new features such as e-commerce and chat.

Some of these applications can be done with simple SMS. The difference is that the new networks promise reduced latency and a more robust connection. “Always on” connections and the ability to connect securely to private networks make these new connections the first real glimpse at true mobile Internet.

Now, the question is, if users can do all of this in lower bandwidth, why would a carrier want to implement new technology such as EDGE or WCDMA?

The answer is capacity. EDGE and WCDMA will bring improvements in overall capacity to the wireless networks.

We already have shown that applications are possible. Now we need to make these applications more robust and capable of supporting more subscribers using new applications.

Simply put, as the market grows for data in the wireless networks, we have to squeeze more out of the available spectrum.

Now that we have established that we can do a lot with what has been deemed a little, the next question still is one of the biggies in the business: “Which applications do I offer?” The answer is complicated. Experience in Europe has shown that the more personal an application, the more broad appeal it tends to have. Messaging, like SMS, has proved that individuals will use the phone for more than to make calls.

New applications such as chat and instant-messaging-type services offer a great deal of promise. The limitation of SMS to one other person at a time is overcome, and now communities are starting to grow in virtual space the same way that Internet communities grow.

Walters is Nokia (www.nokia.com) system marketing manager.