 |
 |
   |
 |
 |
In 2000 the Government benefited from revenues of more that £22 billion by auctioning the licences to operate third generation mobile phone services within the UK.
The expectation was that this technology would develop a host of services with the business user and consumer alike clamouring to take advantage of person to person video calls, downloading games and large files; the reality has been somewhat more prosaic.
"3" was the first third-generation network to launch services in the UK and targets the consumer market with no business specific services to date.
Vodafone launched a third-generation network service aimed specifically at the business user "Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G/GPRS" in May 2004 and were followed in July 2004 with Orange launching a similar service. This year has seen T-Mobile and 3 introduce data card services.
What is the 3G/GPRS data card service?
Aimed squarely at the business user; a datacard that can be used with almost any laptop to provide high-speed internet access and email services up to 7 times faster than a 56K PSTN dial-up modem, when used on a 3G network.
Using the 3G service, the maximum theoretical download speed is 384 Kbps and upload speed is 64 Kbps (bits). The service may be affected by the number of users in your cell
and the signal strength from the nearest antenna. Like all mobile networks atmospheric conditions can influence performance. These factors mean that when operating
within the footprint of a 3G network the typical download transfer rate is around 120-150 Kbps.Outside of 3G network coverage the card will send and receive data on the GPRS data network. GPRS data speeds are typically around 40kbps to download information (maximum of 53kbps) and 20kbps to upload information (maximum 26kbps) from the mobile end.
To increase the utility of these cards, WiFi functionality is being added to provide higher speed access when the WiFi broadband option is used.
Are 3G mobile handsets available?
Yes, the networks are launching an increasing range of handsets from all of the major manufacturers. It is forecast that about 50% of new phones to be launched during 2006
will be 3G phones. The early problems of bulky handsets and poor battery life is a thing of the past.The fact remains that the range of services offered on any of the 3G networks comprise largely of film clips and sports footage and continue to appeal typically to the consumer market; there are still no compelling 3G services targeting the business community to date.
What is the coverage of the 3G networks?
Many people are not aware that all 3G phones are at least dual-band devices, which means that when no 3G coverage is available, the handset reverts to GSM operations and will support voice calls, text messaging and GPRS data services, all of which are available to 99% of the population on all of the mobile networks.
Before making a judgment on the extent of 3G services, it is sometimes worth considering that the most popular "business" mobile data service is Blackberry - and that uses GPRS technology.
As of January 2006:
- 3 extends to more than 86% of the population and users host on the O2 GSM network when the 3G network is not available to them.
- Orange claims to have the most comprehensive integrated 3g/2.5g network coverage of the more established networks with over 85% population coverage.
- O2 achieved coverage to 50% of the population by the end of 2005 but is putting more focus on their i-mode service.
- T-Mobile has placed their emphasis on building high quality 3g services in metropolitan areas, supported by more than 800 WiFi hotspots at strategic locations nationally.
- Vodafone is up at more than 72 percent
| << Previous | Next >> |