The Mobile Web

The mobile web has changed dramatically the past 6 years. Not so long ago , low speed (GPRS), small screen mobile devices on mobile networks accessed the internet with minimal functionality via the WAP protocol. It seems ages to me when during my university Thesis I was researching ways advancing and bringing the real Internet to the mobile device without sacrificing any functionality - all efforts led to the development of WAP 2.0 and advanced mobile web browsers.

Old browsers where rendering the web on a small phone screen and the end user experience was pathetic. We should remember how unsuccessful WAP proved to be due to the poor user experience.

Some "old generation" browsers are the following:

• Unwired Planet's - UP.Browser (later renamed to Openwave)
  embedded browser in : Ericsson, Motorola and Nokia handsets
  
• Bluelark,
• i-mode
• PalmScape
• Pocket Internet Explorer

Technologically speaking, those browsers had the ability to display graphics and they tended to work well only with stripped down websites designed for handsets with small screens, low processing power and optimised for low bandwidth speeds. Their base protocol was either WAP or WAP 2.0 which was optimised for the limiting wireless internet.

From a user perspective, things like advanced Web with Flash, or even worst, fast JavaScript execution, were simply impossible. Users were frustrated and unsatisfied since they were accustomed to desktop browsing.

Things started to change gradually and nowadays, after 6 years, wireless devices are much more powerfull, i.e. the Apple iPhone, the Nokia N95 8GB, the HTC Touch HD and finally the Google Android G1, have comparable functionality to a low-end PC.
The web evolved to Web 2.0 with many services existing in the "cloud". Current devices need to have advanced functionalities in order to keep up with this new web trend. Simple web 1.0 is not enough anymore. Users request to have their web 2.0 PC experience on the mobile, anytime anywhere.

This new need transformed the small handset devices to larger screen mobile computers with high resolution screens, advanced imaging capabilities and broadband connectivity (WiFi, 3G, HSDPA, WiMAX).

These capabilities have introduced the opportunity for a mobile web 2.0 experience. The enabler here is once again the mobile browser.

Today's mobile browsers include:

• Apple's - Safari, (MAC OS)
  
• RIM's - Blackberry browser, (RIM)
  
• Google's - Chrome Mobile, (Linux)
  
• Nokia's - S60 broser, (Symbian OS)
  
• Microsoft's - Internet Explorer (WM)
  
• Mozilla's - Mobile Firefox (Linux & WM)
  
• Opera's - Opera Mobile (Linux & WM)
  
• Palm's - Blazer,
  
• Obigo browser (all OSes)
  

These browsers have given users a very similar web experience like the one from desktop PCs. They work with the same web-based technologies as PC-based browsers, including PDF code and JavaScript. They are compatible with the "old" mobile web - WAP/WAP 2.0 - as well as with HTML and XML.

The two basic modules current browsers consist of are:

• An interface: for displaying the web content
  
• A rendering engine: handles user inputs and turns HTML, XML, JavaScript plus other code into user understable content.

The rendering engines that mobile browsers use are identical with the PC browsers.
WebKit, is an open source engine that is used by many as a mobile and PC rendering engine i.e:

• Nokia's S60 browser
• Apple's Safari browser
• Google's Chrome

Other major mobile-browser enginers are:

• Internet Explorer Mobile,
• Opera's Presto
• Mozilla's Gecko

All these browsers are capable in running JavaScript and hence Web 2.0 wesites. Google's Chrome browser moves a step further running JavaScript much faster by using their V8 JavaScript rendering engine. V8 is more of a compiler rather than an interpreter, hence the code runs directly on the OS rather than in the browser. User experience of Web 2.0 sites is several times faster that other engines. The first mobile browser supporting that feature is no else but the first Android phone - the HTC G1.

Mozilla is also working on competing technologies like their TraceMonkey, scheduled to appear in Firefox 3.1.

Thin-client browsers
These browsers are less-functional browsers and can be used by older less powerful phones, allowing them to run a rich Web experience.
By running the rendering and other CPU intensive processes on server farms, a representation of the website that the device could not run on its own is send to the mobile client. Data compression techniques are also used in order to increase rendering performance as well as safe handset battery life.
several vendors are offering thin-client browsers some of which are:

• Opera's - Mini browser
• Skyfire's - Skyfire
• Bitstream's - ThunderHawk

Sony Ericsson's Mobile Phone Series

Did you ever wonder what that model letter and code number mean for Sony Ericsson handsets?
Well, the meaning for the model letter is shown below:

• C series (”Cyber-shot”) - Cyber-shot branded mid to high-end camera solutions.
• D series (”Deutsche Telekom”) - T-Mobile operator exclusive.
• F series (”Vodafone”) - Vodafone opearator exclusive.
• G series (”Compact series”) – Compact mid to high-end smart phone series.
• J series (”junior”) - Low-end phones without camera.
• K series (”kamera”, Swedish) - Low to high-end phones all with camera, and some even with Cyber-shot branding.
• M series (”messaging”) - Mid-end smart phones running Symbian UIQ and all having a QWERTY keyboard.
• P series (”PDA”) - High-end smart phones running Symbian UIQ and almost all having a QWERTY keyboard.
• R series (”Radio”) - Low-end phones featuring advanced AM/FM radio capabilities.
• S series (”slider” / “swivel”) - Mid-end phones with either a slider form factor or a swivel design.
• T series (”fashion”) - Mid to high-end phones with fashionable design.
• V series (”Vodafone”) - Mid-end Vodafone operator exclusive.
• W series (”Walkman”) -Low to high-end Walkman branded music phones with special music accessories.
• X series (”XPERIA”) - XPERIA branded high-end smart phones.
• Z series (”clamshell”) - Low to mid-end clamshell phones often fashion-related.

In order to find out which handsets belong in each series, visit the link below:
http://blog.se-nse.net/codenames/

Enjoy

Who is leading and lagging on mobile telecoms?

There is a very interesting and informative article from Tomi T. Ahonen on the current state of mobile telecoms in the industrialised world. It describes why some countries are far ahead than others and it also states the different measurement ways of ranking these countries between them, ie.:

• Mobile market penetration
• Mobile network generation
• Handsets
• Mobile services

As you can expect, on average of all the above KPIs, Japan South Korea and Singapore lead the others.

Please have a read. It is one of the most insightful articles from the guru of mobile telecoms.

Mobile World Congress 2008 - Hot and Cold

It's big time for all who are in the mobile and wireless sector. The Mobile World Congress in currently taking place in Barcelona. So far the following are the most important hot and cold highlights of the event:

Hot Topics:

1. New mobile/wireless market - The hottest emerging market is the African, with lots of greenfield opportunities and lots of room for many wireless technologies ranging from GSM to WiMAX. It is considered the new goldmine for the mobile industry.
   
2. Femtocells - 2008 is condered the femtocell year in the mobile industry. Lot's of allianced, lots of pilot deployments and lots of new products were demoed.
3. Mobile Advertisments
4. Mobile UI - check the TAT - The Astonishing Tribe demo.
   
5. Mobile Social Location based services - Mashup of LBS and Web 2.0 for the mobile space.
6. LTE/SAE & Mobile Broadband - Ericsson has pioneered an LTE demo at this years' MWC with data rates reaching 160Mbps. The future is bright, the future is LTE !
7. MobileTV - Lots of new platforms, products and news from operators. T-Mobile and Orange have announced the launch of Mobile TV services using TDtv - an IPWireless technology over the existing UMTS spectrum using TDD. UMTS-TDD is not dead after all!

Cold Topics:

1. Mobile Search
2. Mobile Gaming
3. WiMAX - Eventhough this topic is still hot in the wireless inductry, it is cold in this years' MWC event.

As it is known, the MWC event is like a barometer indicating what's going to follow in the mobile industry.

WiMAGIC : The next generation WIMAX

WiMAX chipmaker Sequans will lead the European efforts for the development of a new air interface technology for the next generation WiMAX. The project is funded by the EU 7th Framework Programme for Research and is dubbed WiMAGIC. The R&D efforts comprised of 5 tech companies and six EU universities started early January 2008 and will last for about 3 years, contributing with technical specifications to the IEEE 802.16m standard.

These efforts will lead to the development and finally commercial introduction of WiMAX 2.0.
WiMAX 2 potentially to be launched sometime around 2015, will be backwards compatible to the current Mobile WIMAX (802.15e) system and is intended to deliver much higher data rate performance. More specifically, the R&D efforts will contribute alot to the enhancement of the physical layer (PHY), the MIMO functionality, the MAC layer and the mobility management (handovers) in order to make it the leading candidate for 4G.

It is estimated that it will be able to deliver data rates nearing 50Mbps per user at ranges 500m away from the transmitter in a dense city and much more in rural areas. The next generation WiMAX will compete head to head with the opposite camp technology - see LTE - but will lag in time. LTE technology might be commercially available much sooner than WIMAX 2.0 and economies of scale favour LTE, however from a technical point of view, WiMAX 2.0 will be the leader, pioneering the advancements of wireless communications.

As always, time and market will indicate the winner!

Wireless should go green

Hybrid cars, solar power motorcycles, wind power homes, solar homes... what's next? Renewable energy powered phones of course or alternatively called Green Phones. That is handsets where can be charged using a solar panel or harvesting kinetic energy, something like the Seiko Kinetic watches, or use fuelcells and hydrogen as a battery. This is not too far fetched. I estimate that by 2015, more than 5% of newly sold handsets will be hybrid - battery + solar panel or battery + energy harvesting capability.

Networks and network operators using 3G+ and WiMAX technology should also go green.
Consider the fact that just a typical European mobile operator is generating more than 10 tonnes of CO2 for each of their 3-sector sites every year.
Consider also the fact that currently 3G/3.5G and later on LTE and WIMAX networks use very inefficient power amplifiers (~20% efficiency at best) to transmit the radio signal. That will further increase the operator carbon footprint and might ring the bell of environmental agencies and mass media to spot light on them and criticize them of not being environmental friendly.


There is also an economic perspective of why operators should also go green. Taking the example of a European operator with 3G and 3.5G technology and about 5000 sites deployed in the field and considering that 80% of operators' total energy cost is accounted by the radio network with every site having fans and air-conditioning units to cool off the inefficient hot power amplifiers, then that equates to about 15MW/year of electricity consumption which is translated to $15m OPEX bills. Since that amount of energy can be typically produced by a medium scale wind farm, imagine what a reduction in OPEX an operator could have by having all electricity provided for free!

It is important operators understand and recognise that radio network CAPEX to reduce the energy consumption can have short payback periods and it makes a huge impact on their "green" image.
Operators like Orange and Vodafone are already targeting a 25% reduction in energy consumption by using renewable energy technology and/or highly efficient power amplifiers (from Nujira) to their radio networks.

The global "green" movement is seen to be reflected to governments, businesses to mainstream consumers. Making handsets and operators go "green" could have significant marketing benefits to both handset vendors and MNOs in attracting thousands of new customers as well as reducing their annual OPEX.

It is estimated that by 2015 more than 35% of the energy consumption of a typical wireless operator would come from some sort of renewable energy source (wind, solar, fuel cell) or a green fuel like hydrogen.

It is now time for operators to adopt a "green" policy for operating their wireless networks.

Comments are always welcomed.

PS: A whitepaper concerning this topic is under research and will follow soon.

What is the killer application for NG Networks?

Next Generation networks are increasingly becoming part of the network upgrade roadmap of most telcos, mobile operators and service providers. Already BT in the UK has upgraded most of their infrastructure to an All-IP and branded it 21CN. It is really an NGN, full IP network.
For operators to upgrade their legacy networks a strong business case is more than vital in order to justify the expense of the upgrade to NGN. And to have such a good business case operators need to offer and market new services that will use that new network infrastructure and of course create revenue. But what is that service that could run over an NG network and be the cash-cow, or killer-app of the service provider?
That killer application is "IPTV" or Internet Protocol Television that will provide exciting new services to subscribers and new revenue opportunities for service providers. Some typical IPTV services include: multicasting TV, VoD, triple play, VoIP and Presence, HDTV, Storage, QoS, web access and everything else a traditional cable/wireless TV service can offer but at a lower cost (key to success).
IPTV is a fusion of computing, communication, content and broadcasting. In addition to what cable and wireless TV services offer, IPTV is two-way interactive communication between the subscriber and service provider and user can consume all mentioned above services at the same time.

Successful deployment of IPTV services require perfect QoS and of course fast access to the network. The following "last-mile" access network technologies can be used to deploy IPTV services:

• DSL technologies
• ADSL2+ and VDSL are the basic technologies available currently
  
• VDSL2 with data rates up to 200Mbps can be used in the future with estimated timeframe 2008 - 2010.
  

• Ethernet
• Gigabit Ethernet or Carrier-grade ethernet is becoming very popular to telcos as a "last-mile solution" and can provide high Gbit capacity and very high QoS. Due to its inherent excellent QoS, Carrier Grade Ethernet is one of the best candidate technologies for IPTV services.
• Wireless LAN/MAN
• IEEE 802.11n and WiMAX are also able to support IPTV services. However due to their poor QoS and low data rates relative to the other candidate technologies, they are considered just the low-end alternatives for IPTV.
• FTTP & FTTC
  
• is an advanced and very future proof access technology for IPTV. It is based on fiber-optic cables reaching the subscriber premises. Typical data rates can reach 10Gbit per user with excellent QoS. Many operators in Scandinavian countries, S.E Asia and the US, prefare this technology to future proof their network infrastructure.
  

Technical Challenges
ADSL2 networks are deployed in almost all developed markets. so, why IPTV services are not very common? There are some technical barriers and challenges involved in deploying successful IPTV services.

• Guarantee of QoS
  
• IPTV services are usually based on service level agreement (SLA) and thus strict requirements on packet delay, jitter, throughput are required for the core and access networks. There should be a minimum guaranteed QoS the service providers always offer and that should be communicated using the SLA.
• Admission Control
• admission control in IP multicast networks is currently difficult because the policing is not just intelligent enough. To solve the barrier, there are several technologies that can be applied (i.e.DSMCast) but with an extra cost.
• Congestion Control
• This is critical since many IPTV data flows are transmitted at the same time. Although good congestion control mechanisms exist for single data flows (i.e. TCP flows like web browsing etc...), these cannot handle combined data traffic (i.e. voice+video+web data) and thus new algorithms tailored to IPTV should be developed.
• Privacy
• Privacy and security in general is also a critical issue. Attacks such as DoS attacks and network outage failures could harm IPTV. Rapid recovery is mandatory to minimise user complaints. User privacy, confidentiality or possibly anonymity need further investigation before launching such services.
• Competition
• There is increasing competition to IPTV by MobileTV services and P2P IPTV.
  
• Standardisation
• Last and most important, standardisation is mandatory to ensure successful large scale deployment of IPTV. Currently there are not any official standards supporting the technology and many service provides are forced to deploy proprietary solutions risking the future of their investment.

These technical barriers are serious enough that make service providers reluctant in offering such services. In addition to that, markets with already existing infrastructure have a negative or slow adoption of IPTV service mainly due to lack of standardisation and interoperability.

MagicNode estimates that IPTV will start becoming mainstream in the timeframe 2010 - 2012. Till then, lots of hard work needs to be done to solve at least the technical barriers.

Comments are always welcomed.