3GMobile

Simon Mo
Kelvin Kwong
Nicole Cheung
What is 3G?
• Third generation of cellular devices
• Capable of providing high-speed data transmission

• Main Features
– 384kbps for mobile systems; 2Mbps for stationary
systems
– Greater capacity and improved spectrum efficiency
– Global roaming between different 3G environments
How does 3G work?
• Before (2G) : Circuit Switching Technology
– Requires reserving a dedicated portion of the airwaves
– Inefficient because spaces and pauses between
speeches get same priority as words

• Now (2.5G & 3G) : Packet Switching Technology

– Breaks up information to be sent into packets of bytes
– Sends packets along a network with other packets and
reassemble original information at other end
Packet Switching Technology
Packet Switching Technology
• Advantages
– Data can be carried at a much higher bandwidth
– More data and subscribers can be supported
– Connections will always be on, without need for dial-up

• Disadvantage
– Transmission rate could fall during peak hours as
network becomes overloaded
3G Standards
• International Telecommunications Unit (ITU):
– IMT-2000 consists of five radio interfaces

• W-CDMA
• CDMA2000
• TD-CDMA / TD-SCDMA
• UWC-136
• DECT+
Business Applications
• Mobile network access
• Remote inventory and asset management
• Advertising
• M-commerce
Adoption Issues
• Current
– High capital expenditures
– High licensing fees
– Low demand
• Future
– Government involvement - licensing
– Security - actual and perceived
– Pricing - user base vs. fixed cost recovery
Japan –The world leader in 3G
• Date of 3G Licence Awards: June 2000

• Method of Award: Beauty Contest

• Number of 3G Licences: Three

» NTT DoCoMo
» J-Phone
» KDDI
Licence Winner: NTT DoCoMo
• The largest provider of wireless telecommunications
services in Japan
• First wireless operator in the world to launch 3G services in
Tokyo, Japan in October 1, 2001
• Main features:
– Access I-mode website
– Read e-mail
– Download Java application
– Faster download
Licenser Winners: J-Phone and KDDI
• Both J-phone’s J-sky service and KDDI’s EZ-Web service
are scheduled to launch 3G service at the end of 2002
• Instead of focusing on corporate market, they target the
consumer market, which is mostly of young women in their
late teens and early 20's
U.S. – lags behind the rest of the world
• Proposed Date of 3G Licence Awards: September 2004
(but keep postponing)

• Method of Award: not decided

• Number of 3G Licences: not decided

U.S. Major Adoption Problems:
1. The Quest for Spectrum
– America's airwaves are occupied by a heavy load of TV
channels, broadband startups, satellites, and huge
military allocations
– Lack of U.S. spectrum for providing 3G services
U.S. Major Adoption Problems:
2. A Fragmented Market
– lacks the nationwide infrastructure that Europe and
Japan have developed
– There is a big chaos factor: US carriers have so much
to consider, from what devices to support to what
networks to connect to at the back end
U.S. Major Adoption Problems:
3. Carriers Move Slowly
– Unlike many European countries, U.S. government
allows for multiple standards -- 2G, 2.5G, and 3G -- to
coexist
– So while many European countries will move to 3G in a
single step, U.S. carriers will move independently of
one another as their individual strategies dictate
– U.S. carriers prefer to further develop 2.5G instead of
go straight to 3G with huge investment in building
infrastructure for 3G services
U.S. Major Adoption Problems:
4. The Disappointment Factor
– Americans have become very comfortable with
unlimited flat-rate Internet access
– They are not satisfied with the websites displayed on a
2-by-2-inch mobile phone screen with data streaming in
at a mere 9.6Kbps
Questions and Comments