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The third issue of “Wireless” – The newsletter with the latest views &

steps forward in wireless technology

All the latest news on Wireless Technology

JANUARY 2 0 0 2

A mobile future

The Internet untethered

Enhanced wireless solutions

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4

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In this issue

Toshiba IntroductionThis is the third edition of the Toshiba Wireless Magazinecreated specifically to help keep you, our highest levelof corporate and public sector contacts, informed. Inthe first two editions, my intention was to introduce thelatest philosophies and concepts of wireless computingand communications.

In this third edition we start to see the words moving off the page and into our businesses. I know thatToshiba has the capability and knowledge, and is bestplaced to make this a reality for you. As more of you

are feeling that this is the time to start implementing a wireless strategy, my invitation to you now is tocontact Andy Bass - Director of Computer Systems orTrevor Evans - Head of Corporate & Public Sector Sales through myself – Sue Murray, on 01932 825043 oremail me at platinum@toshiba-tiu.co.uk to apply whatwe’ve written in this magazine to the appropriate partsof your organisaton.

Sue Murray

A mobile futureThere’s much more to it than the Internet without wiresThe Economist

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……When you call a fixed telephone, you calla place, when you call a mobile phone youcall a person….. With over 800 million mobilephones in use worldwide, this may seemobvious now, but in 1973 it was impossible toimagine. Even in the early 1980s, McKinsey, aconsultancy, predicted that 900,000Americans would have mobile phones by2000; the actual figure was over 70m.

The Internet also seemed to arrive when noone was looking. Back in 1993, just before theInternet boom, who would have foreseen therise of Napster, eBay or Amazon? So makingforecasts about the development of themobile Internet, the offspring of two suchspectacularly unpredictable technologies, isclearly dangerous. Peering into the fog,however, this survey ventures to predict that inthe short-term, the mobile Internet will beused by consumers mainly for interpersonalmessaging and by businesses, mainly toextend corporate information systems tomobile devices. Beyond that, who knows?

People tend to think of it (the mobile Internet)simply as the Internet without the wires, ratherthan something entirely new. Yet the mobileInternet is something new, because of wirelesstechnologies’ capacity to bathe the world inbandwidth and liberate people and devicesfrom the constraints of fixed locations. Just aswater, gas and electricity are ubiquitous,always-on utilities in most of the developedworld, wireless technology promises to do thesame for information by making the Internetas pervasive as the air we breathe. …..BTCellnet spotted the parallel and is renamingitself O2 the chemical symbol for Oxygen.

The longer term effect of existing technologyis hard enough to imagine as it is, but thereare even stranger things in the pipeline. Onetrend to look out for is ad hoc networking, inwhich the networked architecture is muchmore fluid that in today’s systems, Handsetsmight for example, double as portable base-stations, routing data to and from othernearby handsets. So far the best workingexample of this idea is Cybiko, a Russian-made electronic toy that allows users toexchange messages and play games withother users nearby. Teenagers lap it up. JensZander, of the Royal Institute of Technology inSweden, imagines a mobile network whereeach user is given a six-pack of small basestations when he buys a handset, and isasked to sprinkle them around randomly; thenetwork has no centre, and grows virally. This sort of idea is reminiscent of the “peer-to–peer” approach used by Napster, theinfamous music-swapping service. It alsoresonates strongly with those building guerrillaWi-Fi networks.

Little wonder that companies, big and small,are trying to shape the development of theemerging mobile Internet market. Given thecurrent economic climate, life is turning outmuch harder for wireless firms than it was forthe dot-com generation, but the builders ofthe mobile Internet have the advantage ofhindsight. “People are trying to learn from theexperience of the fixed Internet”, says JohnSims of 724 Solutions, a wireless softwareprovider. They’re saying, “let’s not repeatthose mistakes”.

Lessons learnt?“For example”, says Mr Sims, “there is farmore awareness of the need for security andprivacy on the mobile Internet than there wasin the early days of e-commerce”. In addition“operators”, he notes “are well aware of thedanger of being turned into “dumb pipes”, ashappened to the fixed-line Internet-accessproviders”.

“Another difference”, says John Little of PortalSoftware, a firm that provides billing systemsto mobile operators, “is that wireless firmsexpect to have to experiment in order to findbusiness models that work. Internet start-ups,in contrast, often committed themselves to aclever new business model, and werescuppered if it failed to work. They did notbuild in ways to change their minds”.

The demise of the dot-coms has also taughtmobile Internet firms to be deeplysuspicious of business models that rely onadvertising revenue. The good thing aboutmobile phones is that they provide a means ofcharging money for content and services, sotangible revenues are available now, not in thedistant future.

Caution be damned; here is a finalprediction. The Internet’s mobile offshoot willturn out to be an entirely new medium, asdifferent from the Internet as the telephonewas from the telegraph. It will be accessibleto people beyond the reach of today’sInternet, notably those in the developingworld.... and will thus bring many of thebenefits of the Internet to a far widerpopulation than is able to enjoy them at themoment.

To get some idea of how difficult it is to predict the future of the mobile Internet, talk to Marty Cooper, a veteran ofthe wireless industry. On April 3rd 1973, Mr Cooper stood on a street corner in Manhattan with an odd-lookingwhite plastic brick-shaped object in his hand. It was a device called a Dyna-Tac, developed by Motorola...., tocurious glances from passers-by, Mr Cooper pressed a few buttons, held the brick to his ear and started talking.He was making the first-ever cellular phone call. In acknowledgement of his role in pioneering this new technology,he is now known as “the father of the cellular phone”.

ContentsThe mobile Internet 3 - 9A mobile future

The Internet untethered

Hitting the Wireless sweet spot

Is Wi-Fi a killer?

How going mobile can bring enormous benefits

Health workers get onlineany time, any place, anywhere -

Wireless networks on cusp of explosive growth

Wireless portals merely mini-web: survey

Wireless Hotmail access in Europe

Bluetooth 10 - 11Wireless network and Bluetooth

Wireless Apps coming, but slowly

GM drives Wireless initiatives

LAN environments 12 - 13Enhanced Wireless solutions

Low-power 802.11b could put PDAs on WLANs

What’s New? 14 - 19CompactFlash & SD technology

3G: What will 3G mean to you?

Toshiba's Emerging Technology managers and TechnicalConsultants contribute to this magazine. Should you wish todiscuss any of the information given, please contact them on thenumbers below:

Commercial SectorNick Barrass 07810 528787

Finance SectorJesse Westgate 07770 730823

Telco SectorMark West 07831 797764

Public SectorStuart Owen 07785 516116

Hitting the Wireless sweet spotJohn Williamson – Newsweek

SMS started out as a teenage consumer crazebut is now seeing huge growth in thecorporate arena. According to Michael Ohr,founder of Empower Interactive in London, thecorporate SMS expansion was triggered whendifferent operators interconnected their SMSsystems – as well as by the advent ofcorporate hosting systems that allowcompanies such as banks, news agencies andinsurance companies to “push” messages tomobile phones. The GSM associationforecasts that a staggering 200 billion SMStext messages will be sent this year. “Somemajor European operators have as much as15 per cent of their revenues coming fromSMS”, says Ericsson CEO Kurt Hellstrom. “It’sa good indication of the potential of what wecall the mobile Internet.” James Aitken,principal consultant with Ireland-based LogicaMobile Networks, notes that about 40 per centof traffic in the hugely popular Japanese I-Mode wireless data service is messaging.Aitken predicts that multimedia messagingcombining text, voice, video, animation andmusic will be one of the big success stories of Europe’s third generation (3G) wirelessnetworks.

Despite the hype over real-time video and CD-quality sound, the firstwireless Internet service that is likely to capture the public imaginationis the humble text-messaging system known as Short MessageService or SMS.

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Night time on the neonlit streets of Tokyo’s Shibuyadistrict,….and everywhere there are people talking and typinginto astoundingly advanced mobile phones – tiny devices thatfold up like colourful make-up compacts, are incredibly light,and have small, vivid colour screens capable of displayingsophisticated graphics. Most important of all, these phonesenable their users to access the Internet while on the move. In Japan, the Internet has gone mobile.

In this respect, say prophets of the mobile Internet; the scenein Shibuya is indeed a foretaste of the future. Theconvergence of the two fastest-growing communicationstechnologies of all times – mobile phones and the Internet-will, they say, make possible all kinds of new services andcreate a vast new market as consumers around the worldstart logging on from Internet-capable phones. Marketresearch firms and consultancies predict that by 2004, thenumber of mobile-Internet users will rise to around one billion,from 200 million today.

It was big numbers like this that prompted mobile networkoperators around the world collectively to pay more than $100billion last year for licences to operate “third-generation” (3G)networks.…..The downturn in the technology sector, andelsewhere in the world’s economies, has cast a long shadowover 3G’s future. The huge debts incurred by operators inbuying their licences and their need to cut spending in orderto service their debts, were arguably on of the downturn’scauses. On top of the cost of acquiring the licences,operators will have to spend another $400 billion or so tobuild their 3G networks, so they are teaming up to shareinfrastructure and reduce costs. There are also fearsometechnical problems to overcome. This has delayed the start of3G services; the world’s first 3G network was launched inJapan on October 1st, five months late, and 3G networks inother parts of the world will arrive months, even years laterthan originally planned.

…Operators are no longer talking of watching video clips onthe train or videoconferencing in a taxi; instead, they areconcentrating on more realistic goals, such as using phonesto access email, download news and weather reports, andcall up location-specific information. Meanwhile, manyoperators have already launched so called “2.5G” networks –upgraded 2G networks that offer some of the benefits of3G……….amid all the carnage in the technology sector animportant transition is under way. Even allowing for the latearrival of 3G, it will not be long before the number of Internet-connected mobile phones exceeds the number of Internetconnected PCs. Nokia bullishly predicts that this will happennext year; Ericsson….says 2003; even pessimistic forecastsput the date at 2005. It will probably be 2.5G handsets, ratherthan 3G ones, that will overtake PCs to become the world’smost prevalent Internet access devices. But one way oranother, phones will soon become the predominant means of

access to the Internet…….The term “mobile Internet” itself is problematic. “Mobile data services” might be more like it.Other names that are bandied about include “the wirelessweb”, “mobile e-services” and “mobile on-line services”. Butthis survey will refer to the emerging mobile data environmentas the “mobile Internet”, event though with the benefit ofhindsight it may prove to be as much of a misnomer as“speaking telegraph”. One attraction of the term is that theword “Internet” technically refers to a network of networks,and that is exactly what the mobile Internet will consist of. Itwould be a mistake to equate the mobile Internet with 3G andassume that, because 3G is in trouble, other mobile Internetservices are too. Instead, there will be many overlapping andinterconnected wireless networks. There will also be a varietyof access devices, including laptops, handheld computersand other, as yet undreamed of gizmos. Different networksand devices will be used in different situations by differentkinds of users in different parts of the world. It seems clear,though, that the Internet-capable phone will predominate asthe mobile device of choice.

Combining the Internet with mobile phones will pose technicalbusiness and cultural challenges. For a start, there is a clearconflict of attitudes between Internet and mobile phone users.Internet users expect things to be free, and are prepared toaccept a certain degree of technological imperfection. Mobileusers are accustomed to paying but expect a far higher levelof service and reliability in return. Those on the Internet sideof the fence complain that wireless firms don’t reallyunderstand data networking; those on the wireless sidecomplain that Internet technology is flaky.

But the difference between these two worlds also presentsan opportunity. Content providers see the mobile Internet as a way to start charging for their wares. Wireless-networkoperators see themselves as potential gatekeepers to themobile Internet, and may be in a position to grab a share ofon-line commerce revenues, which fixed-line Internet accessproviders have failed to do. Hardware and softwarecompanies see all sorts of new opportunities in products toknit the Internet and mobile networks together. In short, themobile Internet is a chance to build a new network and get itright this time – by learning from the mistakes made by allthose failed dot-coms.

The biggest gamble in business history; control of a vastnew medium; the opportunity, at last, to monetise theInternet; clearly, a great deal is at stake. Some say it is alljust wishful thinking. But in many parts of the world – notonly Japan – millions of people are even now using phonesand other handheld devices to communicate on the move.All over the globe, the foundations for the shift to moreadvanced services are already in place.

The Internet untethered The Economist

Mass MarketConsiderable debate also rages as to whetherthe coveted early adopters of 3G services willcome from the corporate or the consumersector. “We’ve seen the wireless Internetemerging in the same way that the cell-phonemarket did – from the corporate sidedownwards,” says Aaron Dobrinsky, CEO ofUS national corporate wireless Data SolutionsProvider GoAmerica. But Logica’s Aitkendisagrees. “The real money and the real powerof new services are going to come from theconsumer market, he says. “As we see fromthe I-Mode example, it’s the vast number ofpeople in the consumer market all doing smallthings such as person-to-person messaging.”Aitken foresees a similar future for 3G, inwhich real-time voice-communications andmultimedia messaging capabilities are used to support a panoply of relatively mundaneconsumer-oriented applications, such as on-line postcards, information access,entertainment, email, on-line shopping andsubscriber-invoked location-based value-added services.

Is Wi-Fi a killer?The Economist

Work is already under way on new versions ofthe 802.11b standard that will improve therange and transmission speed of Wi-Fiequipment. Some analysists have suggestedthat Wi-Fi might kill off the high-speed mobilenetworks, such as the third generation (3G)networks now being built around the world.

This seems highly unlikely. For a start, Wi-Fi isdesigned for use with fully fledged computers,and transmits high-speed data over shortdistances. 3G is slower, but was designed tohandle a far larger number of users, and towork with small, handheld devices over longerdistances. Wi-Fi is intended to providecoverage in hot spots; 3G is intended toprovide blanket coverage. Wi-Fi cannot beused for voice calls, and currently providesconsumers with too much power for it to beused in phones or small handheld computersfor more than a couple of hours. It also hasserious security shortcomings; its build – inencryption standard – has been shown to beflawed, In short although computer users willhappily use Wi-Fi to access the Internet fromtheir laptops when it is available, they will stillneed a cellular connection if they want to roambeyond Wi-Fi hot spots or make voice calls.

All this means that the technologies are ideally seen as complementary rather thancompetitive. Any equipment vendors, such asNokia, Nortel and Ericsson, make both cellularand Wi-Fi equipment. A recent report fromAnalysys, a consultancy based in Cambridge,suggested that mobile-networks shouldfacilitate seamless switching between the two.To sum up, multiple standards will prevail; Wi-Fi, 3G, 2.5G networks, and specialist data-only networks such as Mobitex. Bluetooth,another wireless standard, is intended to allowdevices such as handheld computers andprinters, or phones and headsets, tocommunicate over very short distances.Already there is talk of 4G networks. Themobile Internet will exploit a tapestry ofwireless networks, all of which will coexistwithout a tangled cable in sight.

Health workers get online any time, any place, anywhere –BT and Toshiba provide remote healthcare workers with latestGPRS mobile technology

Worcester Community and Mental Health NHSTrust, BT Health Toshiba and iSOFT areworking together to pilot the latest in mobiletechnology – GPRS (General Packet RadioService) – so that remote healthcare workerswill have access to vital patient informationfrom wherever they are, twenty-four hours a day.

Twenty-one healthcare staff, including nursesand therapists, will be issued with laptopcomputers linked to the main Trust PatientInformation Management System via the newBT Cellnet GPRS network. There is no needfor health workers to dial up and log on toaccess information, as GPRS provides an‘always-on’ wireless connection, enablingthem to access and update patientinformation and files on the Trust’s network,send and receive e-mails and access theInternet when working remotely.

The immediate benefit of GPRS is that userswill gain valuable time by not having to visit asurgery or Trust to gain patient information,access their e-mail, the Trust Intranet or theInternet. Furthermore, information recorded atthe point of care via the PiMS system will beimmediately accessible to anyone who hasappropriate access, such as other healthworkers and clinicians.

For example, GPRS mobile technology couldenable online referral appointments at thepoint of care and give hospital managers oncall access to the system to locate free bedsanywhere in the region.

Ian McGregor, Head of Informatics atWorcestershire Community and Mental HealthTrust, said: “Not only does the GPRS pilotoffer staff access to Trust files 24/7, but theincreased efficiency it brings will save on manhours – and money, which we will be able tore-deploy elsewhere.”

Peter Dyke, e-health strategic director for BTHealth, views the trial as heralding the start ofa revolution in healthcare provision in the UK:“These new mobile services allow healthcareprofessionals to deliver care at truly the mosteffective point - unconstrained by the fabric ofNHS buildings. They will save the NHS timeand money, and, for the patient, they heraldmassive improvements to their experience ofhealthcare services in this country.”

Roger Wallhouse, Director of Sales andMarketing at iSOFT, added: “Staff inWorcestershire have already been using ourPiMS system for some time and so are familiarwith the benefits of readily accessibleintegrated patient information. Making thisinformation available to remote workers wasthe obvious next step in further improvingpatient care. We are very pleased to beworking in partnership with BT and Toshibaand look forward to seeing the benefits of the pilot.”

The pilot started in October and runs for threemonths, during which time the Trust willassess data transmission rates, servicereliability and the benefits of different mobiledevices. After completion, it is likely thatGPRS will be rolled out to the Trust’s 2,000field workers early next year.

The Worcester case study is one of the firstexamples of GPRS technology being used bythe NHS to support the day-to-day workingenvironment and it provides an early glimpseof how healthcare staff around the countrymight expect to work in the future.

How going mobile can bringenormousbenefitsFT-IT Review Karl Boone and Michael de Kare-Silver – PA Consulting Group

Boone and Kare-Silverview that although 5 years ago we all sawCRM as “the new kid onthe block”, the basicprinciples have actuallybeen around for decades.

Boone and Kare-Silver explain that the goal of CRM systemsis well understood. “Most organisations have implementedsome form of CRM, typically in the form of sales forceautomation or the call centre environment.

…Many sales force automation projects fail to impress and, according to Gartner Group, up to 60% of CRMimplementations fail and a third of all CRM systems becomeinactive within one year.

CRM projects have, in general, struggled with two issues.First, while applications contain a wealth of knowledge forsales or field service professionals, they need to be back atthe office to access it. The second issue is that most CRMsystems rely on customer-facing users creating thisknowledge in the first place – many systems fizzle out when users fail to do this because it is too difficult, tooinconvenient or delivers minimal benefit to the users.

PA Consulting is finding that the use of mobile technology torecord and deliver that valuable knowledge – technology thatis accessible today – can improve the effectiveness of salesand field service teams and help make CRM a success.

London Bridge Group and Toshiba – Workingtogether to bring wireless capability to CRM applications.London Bridge Group is an international leader in credit,collections and recovery management solutions, withheadquarters in the UK and offices throughout Asia, NorthAmerica and Europe. It has more than 350 clients worldwide,spanning financial services, telecommunications, utilities, retailand e-business.

London Bridge Group has identified that many CRMtechniques and supporting information systems focus only onthe obvious elements of the customer relationship, such assales, billing and customer care. As a result, they neglect twofactors that are essential to maximising the profitability andloyalty of every individual customer – namely, customer life-cycle management and optimisation of the customer as anasset. To address this issue within the financial servicessector, London Bridge Group has created its Vectus® CRMsoftware system.

Now, Toshiba is working closely with London Bridge Group tobring wireless connectivity to Vectus®, via its wireless-enablednotebooks and GPRS technology. This will dramaticallyimprove the ability of sales and field service professionals inthe financial services sector to get access to existingcustomer information held on systems – when and where theyneed to. London Bridge’s system is just one that Toshiba hastested, working with wireless applications and GPRS andequivalent airtime providers. It will also make it far easier forthem to keep the systems up to date with the very latestcustomer information – something that plays a central role inthe performance of any CRM initiative.

For further information, please contact us atplatinum@toshiba-tiu.co.uk

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TechTarget: How should security beaddressed when planning a WLANdeployment?Redman: Security is at the top of the listwhen it comes to applications technology. The two areas to be most concerned aboutare encryption and authentication. Encryptionensures that users who are transmitting dataon the network can’t eavesdrop.Authentication makes sure that only validusers have access to the network. Those arecritical areas to look at as you’re making adeployment plan. There are ways to deploywireless LANs safely, and ways for users touse them safely, and it makes sense to followthe guidelines. Don’t just use the technologythat comes with networking equipment, butuse superior encryption and authenticationtechnologies that are available, particularlyif you’re using a virtual private network.

Garry Kranz is a freelance writer based in Richmond, Va.

Toshiba SummaryGartner Dataquest predicts that 50% of USbusinesses would integrate some kind ofwireless networking technology by the end ofthis year. Wireless LANs will become part ofan enterprise’s technology capabilities, likecellular phones, PDAs and notebookcomputers. This being the case – how shouldyou choose the right technology for yourbusiness?

Firstly, applications should guide yourtechnology choice, not the reverse.

• In terms of planning and budgeting, youshould be looking beyond over two to threeyears – focusing on your specific businessapplications and requirements

• Each of the three Wireless networks (WPAN, WLAN, WWAN) has to be assessedindependently

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• You should not be concerned over Wirelessprotocols. Standards are in place, the issueis compatibility – which platforms withwhich applications will suit yourrequirements?

• Security is an important consideration.Encryption (ensuring that other users onthe network can’t eavesdrop) andAuthentication (ensuring only valid usershave access to the network) are the criticalareas to look at. There are guidelinesavailable to ensure secure deployment

Toshiba’s Wireless Technical Consultants are 100% focused on these issues, andwelcome your call to discuss yourrequirements. Either email them atPlatinum@toshiba-tiu.co.uk or contact themdirectly – their numbers are quoted on theinside front cover.

Wireless portals in Europe and the US aresimply moving Web services to mobile devicesand aren't taking full advantage of the mobilityof their users, according to a new surveyreleased. The survey was conducted by theGlobal mobile Suppliers Association (GSM), aEuropean wireless services trade group. Thesurvey covered 72 mobile portals in WesternEurope and the US, studying the nature of theirwireless services.

“Mobile portals seem to be viewed as asmaller format of Web portals,” the surveynotes. “The relevance of contents orapplications does not seem to be questionedat all times.”

The survey notes that, in a mobile culture, themore relevant the service, the more moneyusers are willing to pay for it. It specifically saidoperators could do a better job of promotingso-called “community applications,” ormessaging communities using Short MessageService (SMS) that share information amongpeer groups. The survey also indicated that

As wireless standards take shape, enterprises should examinepotential benefits by looking at applications, devices andusers. The key: know what your needs are and don't try to plan too far ahead. A recent Gartner Dataquest surveypredicted that 50% of US businesses would integrate some form of wireless networking technology into theirinfrastructures by the end of 2002. Rapidly changing andincompatible protocols, however, may be hampering that rateof adoption. How should you choose the right wirelesstechnology for your business? TechTarget asked PhillipRedman, Research Director with Gartner Group of Stamford,Conn., to help clear up the confusion and provide some tipson developing a wireless implementation strategy.

TechTarget: How can enterprises sift through this informationand apply it to their IT planning processes?Redman: They have to look at whom their users are, whatapplications they have and the type of devices being used.This will help enterprises evaluate whether to spend money on technology today or wait for a higher, new technology inthe future. A lot of it really is application-driven. Applicationsshould guide your technology choice, instead of technologyguiding your applications. It’s not going to work that way.

Open Storage Management: Tools for the New RealityEMC Corporation Delivers Open Software for AutomatedInformation Storage. On October 29, EMC CEO Joe Tucci and CTO Jim Rothnie introduced new software products andtechnologies for automated information storage management.

Learn how you can benefitGet an announcement overview, detailed product andtechnology information, links to the event webcast and more.

TechTarget: Since standards are still evolving and somedevices and products aren’t available for purchase yet, howshould companies approach their budgeting and planning?Should they be looking beyond five years?Redman: Certainly five years is a long time to spend planningyour technology. I would say two to three years maximum.Evaluate your current needs and how they could be filled byexisting technology. Then, look ahead to future technologyneeds for your applications. It’s certainly worth having a visionand putting that vision down on paper, assessing what you’llneed to get to reach that vision. Is it equipping all your storeswith wireless LANs so that users can have Internet access tothe store and you can offer competitive prices on your Website? Or is it offering email application capabilities? Perhapsit’s looking at sales, where stores get crowded and you bringin mobile units serving customers wherever they are, notdependent on a fixed cash register. Or are you looking at anenterprise application – extending your wired LAN to otheroffices, conference rooms, shared spaces, or to supporttemporary workers? Are you in a warehouse and looking touse the parking lot? There’s a plethora of applications outthere, each with a different ROI and involving differentvariables.

Wireless networks on cusp of explosive growthThe Information Architect Builders of the 21st Century IT Infrastructure, By Garry Kranz

Wireless portalsmerely mini-web: surveyDavid Haskin, Managing Editor,allNetDevices

Each one has to be assessed independently. Three types ofwireless area networks exist, targeting different markets andoften using incompatible protocols: • Wireless personal area networks, or WPANs, are used for

short-range communications in the consumer/residentialmarket. A common application for WPANs is Bluetooth,which Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner Group says shouldbe viewed “not as a competing wireless technology but as a companion” to the more utilitarian 802.11 standardscrafted by the Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE).

• Wireless local area networks (WLANs) are used for corporateor Internet communications on campuses or enterprises.Specifications include 802.11b/a and, in Europe, HiperLAN2(High Performance Radio LAN).

• Wireless wide area network (WWAN) is used to link cities,states or large enterprises. One common protocol for thistype of network is 802.11a.

TechTarget: There seems to be a lot of confusion surroundingthe different wireless protocols. Does lack of a single uniformwireless standard hamstring IT departments eager to deploywireless networking?Redman: No, not really. If you’re looking at Bluetooth, there’sonly one Bluetooth standard. If you’re talking about the waythose solutions are implemented, that’s a different problem.It’s all about compatibility. Look at 802.11. It has only onestandard, but all 802.11 technologies are compatible. Thereare some competing technologies out there, but there’s noone gold standard for technologies. But you’re right: there are a lot of evolving platforms. The challenge to enterprises is tounderstand their current needs and how existing technologycan help them out, and not to plan more than two years inadvance for (future) technology applications. It’s not just onthe network side. Devices also are evolving. For instance, you have a handheld device and want to supportconferencing. You’ll have to choose which handheld platformto run. If you’re going to look at the application, are you goingto use a Lotus-based application? Oracle? Sybase?Microsoft? Those are all evolving too. Having anunderstanding of how technology can help you is very, veryimportant, but a lot of it is really a matter of self-introspection.Companies need to look at how the different types ofnetworking technologies – whether they’re wired or wireless –will help them grow, either because they need to decreasecosts, increase efficiencies or have the opportunity of gettingmore business.

TechTarget: Gartner has predicted half of all US businesseswould deploy wireless LANs by the end of 2002. How closeare we to witnessing widespread wireless adoption?Redman: Wireless LANs aren’t going to be for everycompany. But many enterprises will see a need, whether it’sfor vertical applications, horizontal applications, or literallyhundreds of other applications. As that need increases we’llsee more implementation and wireless LANs will become partof an enterprise’s technology capabilities, like cellular phones,PDAs and notebook computers.

Microsoft said that some wireless phone usersin Europe will soon be able to access theirHotmail accounts via standard cell phones.Specifically, users will be able to receive andsend Hotmail messages via Short MessageService (SMS). The service will be offered by apartnership between Microsoft and MIGway, anew joint venture of the Danish TDC MobileInternational and the Dutch CMG WirelessData Solutions.

In a statement, those two European operatorssaid that they, in turn, will make the capabilityavailable to 40 wireless operators in Europe. Microsoft touted the service as both aconvenience for users and a potential profitgenerator for wireless operators.

“We are extending our capability to offermobile carriers an immediate opportunity togenerate revenue based on two-way SMS byproviding their consumers with access toMSN Hotmail,” said Judy Gibbons, VicePresident of MSN EMEA.

operators could do a better job of creating “a bundle of relevant applications based ontypical user scenarios.” This would entailproviding a suite of applications that areappropriate for specific users and theirlocation. While billing based on the volume ofdata is common, the survey notes a trendtowards charging flat rates for Europeanusers, particularly for next-generation GPRSservices.

Development of effective wireless portals inthe US are behind Europe, the survey notes,with the future unclear. Currently, five of theseven US portals included in the survey arequite similar to each other in terms of content.The companies said that the service will betrialled by TDC Mobile and by the Swissoperator, Sunrise.

WirelessHotmail accessin EuropeallNetDevices staff

Toshiba's Technical Consultants are focused on the issues discussed in this article & welcome your call to discuss theappropriate considerations for your organisation. ( contact details quoted on inside front cover)

Amsterdam, Netherlands, October 22, 2001 . . . BothBluetooth and WLAN will succeed in Europe, contrary topopular belief. The two technologies won't compete: They'llplay different roles, go into different devices, and arrive atdifferent times, according to a new report by ForresterResearch B.V. Bluetooth will outnumber WLAN by 10 to 1 in2006: 235 million Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones, PDAsand laptops versus 22 million WLAN-enabled devices.European telcos must wake up now and embrace bothtechnologies to defuse competitive threats, generate morenetwork traffic and drive sales.

“Forrester sees the two technologies as more complementarythan replacements for each other,” said Forrester Analyst LarsGodell. “WLAN will beat Bluetooth on reach, bandwidth andsupport for PC LAN communications standards. Its strengthswill make it the uncontested winner for laptops to connect toprivate or public networks, and it will dominate public Internetaccess hot spots like hotels and airports. It will steadily powerinto laptops, reaching more than 10% next year and 72% by2006, as corporate deployments drive demand and laptopvendors struggle to keep up with one another,” Godell added.In contrast, Bluetooth will go everywhere else, becoming thepreferred choice for mobile phones, PDAs and consumergadgets, and winning on cost, power consumption andsupport for real-time applications like voice. In 2006,Bluetooth will be present in 73% of phones and 44% ofPDAs. It will rule device-to-device communications, enablingseamless communications between phones, printers, PDAsand scanners in the office and between phones, smart homecontrol units, TVs and VCRs in the home, as well as deliveringpowerful vertical solutions. Bluetooth will see a biggerinstalled base of devices as early as next year due to itsinclusion in phones – annual shipment volumes of phones andconsumer gadgets are more than 100 times greater thanthose for laptops. Bluetooth will flood into mainstream mobilephones in 2003 when chip prices will fall to $5.

“With a few Nordic exceptions, Europe's telcos haven'tmoved out of the trial mode with WLAN services – andBluetooth isn't even on their radar screens,” according toGodell. “Telcos must wake up: WLAN and Bluetooth carry arange of opportunities that can defend telco revenue streamsand reduce competitive threats. To protect their GPRS andUMTS business cases, mobile phone operators must takepart in the hot spot land and grab now, before the mostattractive hot spot locations and most lucrative businesscustomers have been taken by competitors such as MVNOsand new wireless ISPs (WISPs). Instead of seeing WLAN as athreat to be lobbied against, mobile phone operators shouldview it as a unique opportunity for learning about dataservices now and for differentiation later.”

For the report “Bluetooth And WLAN Will Coexist,” Forresterspoke with 50 networking and IT managers across Europe –25 from Global 3,500 enterprises and 25 from public spaces –to assess their plans for using WLAN and Bluetooth in thenext two years. We also interviewed 48 telcos, hardware andsoftware vendors, system integrators, WISPs and regulators.

Wireless network and Bluetooth will coexist in Europe, Forrester AssertsForrester Research

11

You might think that Tony Scott,CTO for IS and services atGeneral Motors Corp., would bekissing fancy wireless initiativesgoodbye. After all, the newsreleased by the automotivecompany to Wall Street on Oct. 18th wasn't good. Hit by the slowing US economy and the soaring cost of consumerincentives, the Detroit-basedcompany reported a third-quarternet loss of $368 million and evenbleaker fourth-quarter warnings.GM CEO Rick Wagoner evenreleased a wary statement:“We're buckling down to enhanceour cost position while remainingvery aggressive in our effort tomaximise revenue and growmarket share.”

But Wagoner's words were actually music toScott's ears. That's because, unlike many ITmanagers who are reviewing or even scalingback wireless deployments in light of theslowing economy, Scott is spearheading amajor six-month-old wireless strategy make-over that he believes will help GM not onlymaximise revenue and grow market share butalso improve customer service. Already, theinitiative has helped GM identify and prioritisepotential wireless projects; led to thelaunching of one series of major wirelessdeployments; and helped the company zero in on the 802.11b, or WiFi, wireless LANstandard as a core enterprise technology forGM. Eventually, the initiative will help GMidentify a host of wireless standards and leadto wireless initiatives that will touch practicallyevery aspect of the company's operations,from marketing and sales to the factory floor. Although Scott wouldn't say how much GMplans to spend on wireless, it's clear thestrategy initiative has led the company to animportant conclusion: Wireless is key for GM.

“Along with supply chain and CRM issues,wireless is one of GM's top priorities when itcomes to our IT budget,” Scott says. “We seegreat potential making certain applicationsand business functions accessible throughwireless devices.”

There's a lesson in GM's take on wireless forIT managers at other companies: if you're notdeveloping a strategy right now, you're late tothe game – especially if end users havealready brought their own wireless devicesinto your computing environment. In addition,don't expect wireless to turn a profitovernight. In fact, wireless won't make sensein some applications for some time. But,experts say, particularly for large, global,multi-faceted enterprises such as GM, now isthe time to begin picking wireless standardsand deciding where wireless will pay off first.

“If you look at the business General Motors isin, they have a lot of supply chaincomponents that are mobile oriented, andwireless is crucial to their business,” saysGartner analyst Ken Dulaney. “If you have 100large businesses, GM is at the top of the list ofcompanies that could benefit from the costsavings and improved customer service.”

Many IT managers would agree – at least intheory – with GM's bullishness on wireless. Arecent study by Meta Group estimates that 20per cent of business-to-business transactionswill be wireless by 2003. The report alsostates that for enterprises, the business-to-employee and B2B applications are takingprecedence over business-to-consumerapplications.

HiperLAN collapseopens Europeandoor to 802.11a

Wireless LANs running at 54 megabits persecond (Mbit/s) could be available in the UKwithin six months, although politics coulddelay it till the end of 2002. The collapse of the rival HiperLAN standard gives theEuropean standards agencies a short-cut toapproval of the 802.11a standard developedby the US-based IEEE standards body.However, licensing across Europe may bepatchy as different national radio authoritieswill move at different speeds, and WLAN usemay be restricted in some areas such asairports.

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t284-s2101101,00.html

Suite enablesWinXP link toBluetoothWidcomm is shipping a new version of itscommunications software suite, which canlink Windows XP with Bluetooth wirelessperipherals. Microsoft shook up theBluetooth industry earlier this year when itsaid XP would not include native support forthe short-range wireless protocol. At thetime, Microsoft maintained that there werenot enough Bluetooth products available totest XP, although it plans to offer nativeBluetooth support in the operating systemnext year. In the meantime, firms may useWidcomm's Bluetooth for Windows (BTW)version 1.2, unveiled at the recent BluetoothDevelopers’ Conference in San Francisco.

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t284-s2100968,00.html

Wireless Apps coming, but slowlyBy allNetDevices staff

Only a quarter of all business-to-consumer transactions and20 per cent of business-to-business transactions will beconducted without wires by 2003, according to a studyreleased on Thursday by META Group Inc.

The study found that many enterprises are currently planningwireless implementations of mission-critical applications.However, they are looking to extend existing applicationsusing their existing application infrastructure and are notinterested in building new systems, the study found.Not surprisingly, META Group found that enterprises thatalready have many employees using mobile devices are moreaggressive in developing mobile applications. As a result, anearly development in many companies is likely to bebusiness-to-employee applications, which provide a moreimmediate productivity return.

The study also notes that technology and preferences formobile device technology will remain in flux for the next twoto three years. It projects that no specific form factor, such asphones or handhelds, will dominate. The findings are part ofMETA Group's Wireless Adoption, Trends and Issues study.

GM drives wireless initiativesAnn Chen, eWEEK

802.11b however much the WLAN standard istweaked. Moreover, Bluetooth is designed forad-hoc and personal area networking (PAN)applications, places where 802.11b was neverdesigned to go.

For instance, Bluetooth is designed toautomatically connect devices like compatiblelaptops and printers as soon as they are inproximity with each other. IT administratorsprefer to be able to control who is connecting to 802.11b WLAN systems, through passwordand access controls, because these systemstend to give people a lot more access tosensitive corporate data.

In addition, 802.11b will never be able tohandle PAN applications like Bluetooth does.Part of the reason the specification took solong to get to market was because there wasso much testing going on in order to ensurethat different vendors' Bluetooth phones andPDAs actually worked together.

Toshiba Summary

Toshiba is currently working with Socket andSymbol Technologies on CF technology andthe results have been good. Socket are oneof the first in the world to market CF cardswith a wide range of products. We havebeen testing their latest CFII Bluetooth cardwith great success. Installation software waseasy to use and we were able to pair with anEricsson T39 mobile phone with ease. Wehave carried out tests with the Symbol802.11b WiFi CFII card. We like the formfactor and although 802.11b will drain powermore quickly we were able to get at leasttwo hours of usage using our Pocket PC e570 PDA.

Ken Chan – Toshiba Notebook ProductManager

PDAs could access wireless LANs withouteating batteries if Socket Communications'new card fulfills its promise

Socket Communications has introduced a low-power 802.11b wireless LAN card itclaims can be used with handheld deviceswithout sucking the battery dry within an hour or so.

The company has not given solid battery lifefigures for its CompactFlash™ (CF) card, whichcan be used with Pocket PC devices.“Through advanced power and batterymanagement features, the card enableshandheld users to remain productivethroughout the day,” it said...

In the past, the IEEE 802.11b specificationwas seen as too much of a power hog to beused in battery-powered devices. This isbecause of the type of power amplifier used inthe base specification. Companies such asSocket and Symbol Technologies have beenlooking for a solution to this problem for awhile. The last time ComputerWire spoke tovendors about low-power 802.11b cards,most were seeing battery life of an hour or two at most with PDAs.

If Socket has managed to pull the same trickfor 802.11b cards that Transmeta Corp haswith CPU power management software, thiscould help to increase the penetration ofWLAN cards in the mobile enterprise market. However, this will not make the existingBluetooth low-power wireless spec obsoletefor two reasons: first, Bluetooth was designedfrom the ground up for low-power short-rangewireless connectivity, so it is likely to have abetter power requirement characteristic than

13

Tokyo – Toshiba Corporation today

announced an enhanced wireless

solution for LAN environments that offers

simple wireless connectivity, total

mobility and reinforced security. With

demand for secure wireless network

connectivity growing fast, Toshiba’s new

seamless network solution fully supports

the concept of “anywhere, anytime,

always connected to the world.”

The new system comprises Toshiba’s Magnia Z300, a highlycompact space-saving server launched in July 2001; a LANcard to control the wireless LAN access point function; MobileIP, software for wireless connectivity between differentnetworks; and IEEE802.1x, wireless LAN security software tothe standard specified by the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE). The basic package supports amaximum of 20 wireless devices, and Toshiba can supportcustomer requests for additional connections.

In most companies, security is as important a considerationas mobility. Toshiba’s new wireless network solution supportsthe high level security of IEEE802.1x and integrates the IPSec(IP Security protocol) in Mobile IP. Seamless intranetconnectivity throughout a company facility also includedsecure, uninterrupted connectivity to their source network forroaming users.

Separate company facilities that install the new system canalso achieve continuous connectivity via the Internet or anintranet. This allows visitors from one facility to connect totheir home network while visiting another.

Demand for enhanced network mobility is acceleratingdramatically. Allied Business Intelligence Inc. forecasts thatthe 2000 market of 4.9 million wireless LAN nodes will grow to55.9 million nodes in 2006. Most customers want a high levelof security and quick implementation, without the extra stepof individual IP setting. Toshiba’s seamless solution exceedscustomer expectations by supporting seamless, securewireless connection at anytime and anywhere.

Toshiba brings enhancedWireless solution to office LAN environmentNew Seamless Network System Expected to Enhance Company’s Overall PC Business

Low-power802.11b could put PDAs onWLANsDan Jones, Computerwire.com

15

CompactFlash™

The CompactFlash Association (CFA) is a non-profit, mutual-benefit organisationfounded in October 1995. The firstCompactFlash (CF) cards appeared priorto this, in 1994. The aim of theCompactFlash concept is to simplify thecapture, retention and transfer of data.

The CFA board members include 3COM,Canon, Eastman Kodak Company,Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi, IBM, LexarMedia, Matsushita (Panasonic), Motorola,SanDisk, Seiko Epson and SocketCommunications.

2 Types of CF CardType IDimensions - 43mm (1.7") x 36mm (1.4") x 3.3mm (0.13")Interface - 50 pins (conforms to ATA specs)

Type IIDimensions - 43mm (1.7") x 36mm (1.4") x 5.5mm (0.19")Interface - 50 pins (conforms to ATA specs)

A Type I card will operate in a Type I or Type II slot. A Type II card will only fit in a Type II slot because it is slightly deeper (seemeasurements above).

CF cards support both 3.3V and 5V operationand can be swapped between 3.3V and 5Vsystems. This means that any CF card canoperate at either voltage. Bear in mind thatthat any single card can operate at only one ofthe voltages.

ReliabilityCF cards use non-volatile (no externalpower/battery required) and solid state (nomoving parts) technology. This makes them 5-10 times more reliable and sturdy thanstandard 1.8”/2.5” magnetic media typedevices (HDD’s etc). In addition, CF cardsconsume around 5% of the power comparedwith the same HDD devices. Solid-statetechnology increases shock resilience (2000g/10ft avg) and means that memory devicecould have a data life of > 100years!

For larger storage requirements, IBMMicrodrive (Type II device) are available in340/512Mb & 1Gb capacities.

The most commonly occurring CF devices arethe solid state memory/storage cards. Theycan be found in digital cameras (Canon,Epson, JVC, Kyocera, Kodak, Minolta,Polaroid, Pentax, Pretec, Ricoh, Nikon, Sanyoand Yashica) and some camcorders.

Toshiba’s PDA device contains 1x CF Type IIsocket.

For more information go tohttp://www.compactflash.org/

SD TechnologyOn August 25, 1999,Matsushita Electric IndustrialCo Ltd, SanDisk Corporationand Toshiba Corporationreached an agreement tocollaboratively specify, develop and promote SD asthe next generation securememory card. On January 6,2000, these three companiesformed the SD Association(interest was driven by afurther 71 companiesexpressing interest). The firstcommercially available deviceto use SD technology waslaunched on March 27, 2000.The device was a ToshibaMEA110AS mobile audioplayer. By March 2001, therewere about 225 members ofthe SD Association

SD Memory Card specs;Standard featuresDimensions 24mm x 32mm x 2.1mm Interface 9 pinsCapacities 32Mb, 64Mb (2000),

256Mb (2001)Speed 2Mb – 10Mb(2001)Features Powerful security and copy

protection (SDMI compliant)

Advanced Features• Cryptographic security for copyrighted data

based on proven security concepts from DVD audio

• High transfer rate for fast copy/download• Non-volatile solid-state; no moving parts

maximise battery power. Data is not lostwhen power is turned off

• Low battery consumption to maximisebattery life in small portable devices

• User selectable mechanical write-protectswitch on the exterior card casing

• New devices with SD Card slots will acceptexisting Multimedia Cards

• Operating shock rating of 2,000Gs,equivalent to a 10-foot drop to the floor

• Unfazed by drastic weather conditionsranging from blistering heat to freezing cold

There are obvious similarities between SD andCF technologies. Both provide moveablestorage and device connect interfaces. Size isthe primary advantage that SD has over CF. A device with two CF slots needs to be eitherthicker or longer to accommodate the twophysical interfaces. In the depth of a single CF Type II socket, you could use four SDcards. However, to use physical devices(HDD’s etc) the CF socket has the capacity. As the SD card evolves, it will become more than a simple storage device and itsfunctionality will begin to cross the CF path.The SD socket will become the interface forthings like small cameras, TV tuners, FMradios and so on. Toshiba’s PDA devicecontains 2x SD sockets. Additionally, Tecra 9000 and Portege 4000 both have asingle SD slot.

For more information checkhttp://www.sdcard.org/ http://www.toshiba.co.jp/index_j2.htmhttp://www.sandisk.com/main.htm

Currently available or advertised CF devices;CF Ethernet card - http://www.socketcom.com/

CF Digital Phone card (GSM connection) -http://www.socketcom.com/

CF Bluetooth card -http://www.socketcom.com/

CF interface hand scanners -http://www.socketcom.com/

CF IBM MicroDrive HDD (340/512/1Gb) -www.ibm.com/storage/microdrive

CF SanDisk Storage card (8-300Mb) -http://www.peak-development.co.uk/

See Peak Development above and SDcard,Toshiba and Sandisk links for SD devices

Nick Barrass - Toshiba TechnicalConsultant

Toshiba’s Technical Consultant’s Information Paper

“WAP's disappointment was caused byindustry failure to manage expectations, andthe main problem was its slowness. This won'tbe a problem with 3G. The 3G Internetexperience will be as good as surfing fromhome, with the added benefit of location-based services making the experience morepersonal.”

Stowbridge believes the design of 3G phoneswill be an important factor in their popularitywith users. “Mobiles have gone from being abusiness tool where appearance didn't matter,to a lifestyle choice where looks are important.It's crucial that users are able to personalisethe look, the style and the Internet experienceof their 3G device. The service provider thatoffers this will win!”

Despite the amount of money invested in 3Glicences, Stowbridge doesn't believe users willbe charged much more for the 3G experience.“People won't be prepared to pay too muchmore. Manufacturers will have to squeeze theirmargins and networks offer large subsidies, soas to ensure an attractive price”, he said.

Because the phones will always beconnected, users can expect to be chargedfor the amount of data they receive andSheedy is not convinced 3G will cost thesame as GSM.

“Early handsets will come at a premium, butthen I expect they'll drop to a level similar tothe cost of GSM models in the last year. Themarket is likely to be segmented, with voice-centric devices available on 'pay-as-you-go'deals. Regular users will probably pay a fixedcharge for services, such as £2 per month fortraffic reports, £10 per month for video-conferencing, or £30 per month for full,unlimited access and services.”

Bodor believes 3G opens up new businessmodels. “Users might choose a service fromMTV which would be heavily ad-driven.

Richardson believes voice recognition willhave come of age by the time 3G arrives,negating the need for keyboards on units thatdouble up as a PDA. “All of a user's datacould be stored on the network, and would beaccessed by voice command. Without akeyboard, the more simple devices could bevery small indeed,” he says.

Dominic Stowbridge, director of Motorola'sapplication development network agrees:“With a voice browser, you'll talk to theInternet and the Internet will talk back. This istheoretically possible today, but with 3G we'llsee many technologies developing to makeuse of the new potential.”

As with today's phones, messaging will be akiller application. Rather than just allowingmessages of 160 characters, 3G users couldattach a picture to create an email postcard.High-end devices will allow video-conferencing and could even employ a tinydigital video camera. Users will haveinformation constantly beamed to theirphones, which could include the latest newsand sports action. “Rather than simply beingtold that a goal has been scored, a fan couldwatch an action replay within seconds,”explains Squires.

Orange is already planning to supplypersonalised news from Ananova within 12-18 months.

3G phones will also be constantly monitoredby the network so operators will roughly knowa user's location, enabling location-basedservices. This could help locate a restaurant,for example, or the closest cab company.

Despite the current shortcomings of WAP,companies are confident that users will beimpressed with what 3G offers. Peter Bodor,public relations manager at Ericsson, arguesthe failure of WAP is down to themismanagement of public expectations, but doesn't see a problem moving forwardwith 3G.

Perhaps loyalty points collected from a certainpetrol station could be used to get free trafficreports,” he suggested.

It seems likely that third-generation phones beavailable sometime in 2002 to coincide withthe completion of the UMTS networks.However, technologies like GPRS and Edge,will provide greater bandwidth. As Stowbridgepoints out, “The rollout of third-generationnetworks will be a progression not a fixeddate. 3G phones could be out before thenetworks are operational, with earlyapplications running through GPRS.”

Technical adventures on the yellow brick roadto the third generation of handhelds andphones

But 3G is like a horse race with rivalcompeting technologies vying for the lead,and the likelihood that some entrants mayprove to be non-runners.

Take 3G infrastructure technologies. The 3Gversion of GSM has been christened UMTS2000 (Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem). An agreement has been reachedbetween existing GSM equipment suppliers,mostly European, and Japanesemanufacturers, that W-CDMA (WidebandCDMA) should form the basis for 3G/UMTS.However, a series of compromises have beenworked out by the ITU (InternationalTelecommunications Union). This leaves Koreaand North America with an alternative optionin the shape of CDMA2000 (a 3G version ofthe existing CDMAOne).

There is also a third 3G option based aroundEdge (Enhanced Data rates for GlobalEvolution) a technology that aims to enableexisting digital networks (ie 2G) to mutate into2G+ networks. The 3G version of EDGE isnow known as GERAN (GSM/Edge RadioAccess Network).

17

The term ‘3G’ has been bandied around

a lot, but what will you actually end up

buying and using?

With third-generation networks two

years away, manufacturers have yet to

announce precise plans for the devices

with which they're planning to ride the

3G wave. The big three, Nokia, Motorola

and Ericsson, have been active in

whetting our appetites with concept

units, even if they’ll probably be more

expensive than the phones we use today.

So what will we be getting for our money? Consensussuggests a similar array of designs and concepts to today'smobiles – there will be the fun lifestyle devices, with the usualarray of money-making, while others will provide morefeatures than today's personal digital assistants (PDAs).

Devices will fall into four categories. “The simplest 3G phoneswill be used mainly for talking and will store all theirinformation on the network, while the second type of mobiledevice will support video-streaming, and will provide the userwith news and web content,” explains Mark Squires, NokiaBusiness Manager.

“More sophisticated models will be information centres, whichlet users download information from the Internet and storedata on the device. Top-end devices are likely to still contain akeyboard, which might be wireless and detachable, and willoffer all the features of today's high-end PDAs.”

The more sophisticated 3G devices will contain memory andrun either Symbian or another capable operating system.

Even though they will be far more powerful than today's GSMphones, UMTS devices are also likely to be smaller, accordingto Ben Richardson, Online Media Manager at Orange.“Peripherals such as IBM's miniature hard drive are alreadyavailable to make very small phones, so 3G phones will besmaller and lighter. However, because a small screen isn'tvery useful we might find that devices fold up or roll up.”

Tim Sheedy, telecommunications analyst at IDC, thinks thatusers will carry several Bluetooth gadgets wirelessly linked to a single 3G transmitter. “You might have one 3G deviceattached to your belt or tie, which would transmit informationto your Bluetooth headphones and Walkman.”

And while all units will include calendar, email and messaging,the function most people are looking forward to is videostreaming. This will be supported by those devices able tooperate at speeds between 384Kbps and 2Mbps.

3G:What will 3G mean to you?New Seamless Network System Expected to Enhance Company’s Overall PC Business

Where does this leave us in late 2000? The major telecomsproviders are struggling to demonstrate that W-CDMAtechnology is already out of the R&D labs and is making anappearance in real life. That's a good thing considering thelarge sums already spent in countries like the UK, Netherlandsand Germany just for the right to build a 3G network. The costof rolling out the necessary 3G infrastructure is additional. Inthe meantime intermediate (2G+) technologies are filling thetechnology vacuum.

The first step in this direction is GPRS (General Packet RadioService) which works over GSM networks. GPRS provides foran IP based, 'always-on' connection in contrast to existingdata over GSM links which are dial-up. So GPRS is effectivelythe mobile equivalent of ADSL versus a modem connection.

In the UK BT Cellnet has already introduced a trial GPRSservice using handsets provided by Motorola and data speedenhancement software produced by Bluekite.com.Consequently with such a setup it is feasible to conduct a full-on (56 Kbit/s alike) HTML browsing session via GPRS. The catch is you need a Windows 98 laptop and GPRSphones do not roam abroad like GSM handsets do.

There are alternatives to GPRS – the most obvious beingHSCSD (High Speed Circuit Switched Data) which Orangealready offers in the UK through Nokia. Nokia has developed ameans of allowing data to travel over existing GSM networksat 14.4 Kbit/s (as opposed to the standard 9.6 Kbit/s). WithHSCSD, the user aggregates or combines more than onetelephone call session.

This technology has allowed Orange to combine two calls,resulting in a 28.8 Kbit/s session while three calls canpotentially offer 43 Kbit/s. Coincidentally although GPRS wasinitially touted as providing 115 Kbit/s, most equipmentproviders now say 40-50 Kbit/s is a more 'realistic'expectation. The disadvantage with HSCSD is that Nokia onlyoffers it via a PC Card. A handset with an infra-red port wouldbe far more useful.

ZD NET News.

19

DIY Broadbandgoes Wireless!Jesse Westgate – Finance Sector, January 2002

Recently there has been a lot of press aboutBT Wholesale announcement to roll out trials ofthe “Plug n’ Play Services starting in January.Basically this benefits the user, as there will beno waiting time for the engineer to turn up, asthe switchover will happen remotely at thelocal phone exchange. Your chosen ISP willarrange for the necessary hardware (Micro filter& Splitter) to be sent directly to you. All you willhave to do is connect your modem andhardware to the existing phone line.

This type of installation should mean savingmoney, due to lower installation and rentalcharges.

How can you go wireless?Using a recent addition to Toshiba’s productline, a new Wireless Box WBG-1000 you couldbenefit from connecting your broadbandconnection without wires to your PC. TheWBG-1000 is a low cost all in one unit thatincorporates an ADSL Modem, 2 x Ethernetports, and Wireless LAN (802.11b) connectivitytogether will in-built firewall capabilities.

So working from home has never been easier.Using your Wireless LAN ready PC you canconnect to the office or Internet withoutplugging additional cables from your PC to thephone line and still experience the high speedsof broadband. Imagine freedom to work fromanywhere in your house without the constraintsof wires!!

Need to know more about Broadband trywww.adslguide.org.uk orwww.btopenworld.com

Quick Guide: What is ADSL?ADSL stands for “Asymmetric DigitalSubscriber Line”. It works by splitting yourexisting telephone line signal into two, one forvoice and the other for data. ADSL technologycan work at up to 8 Mbit/s download, but UKservices are currently up to 2 Mbit/s. Uploadspeeds are 256 Kbps.

Want to know more about the Toshiba Wireless Box? Contact Jesse Westgate on 07770 730823 or email us atplatinum@toshiba-tiu.co.uk, or contact yourtechnical consultant direct – details quoted onthe front page inside cover

Jesse Westgate – Toshiba Technical

Consultant – Financial Services Sector

Toshiba now have a total of tendivisions, including Digital MediaNetwork, Semi conductor company,Power Systems & Services, HomeAppliances and Medical Systems.Toshiba Mobile Communicationshas recently been added to providemobile phone handsets in Europe.

Toshiba mobilecommunications

• High contrast colour screen, whichenhances the mobile data experience for theuser and provides richness of content

• Miniaturisation, offering a high level of functionality in a small device.

The European mobile phone market ismaturing into a content-driven service, withspeed and ease of access the key drivers of success. Toshiba is combining speed,European styling and overall user experience,to give users the best possible access to theadditional services that mobile phonenetworks across Europe will provide.

Toshiba’s European mobile phone operationwill be headquartered in the UK, with facilitiesplanned throughout Europe in Germany,Benelux, Italy, France and Spain. The firstcommercial handsets are due to be shipped in the middle of 2002. The phones will beavailable first as GPRS i-mode models andthen later in 2002 as GPRS WAP mobilehandsets.

With GPRS networks beginning to gain marketacceptance across Europe, the marketpotential for user friendly phones is strong.Toshiba aims to make accessing content andapplications on a mobile handset as easy asmaking a phone call.

Toshiba will launch the new MobileCommunications Division at the CeBIT show in Hannover (13th to 20th March 2002). The new mobiles will be showcased on Stand D75, Hall 26.

The new division combines the company’sconsumer electronics and mobilecommunications experience to give users withswift and stylish access to the growing rangeof content and applications that aredeveloping on the new GPRS, or 2.5G,multimedia mobile phone networks across Europe.

The introduction of GPRS networks willprovide users with an enriched experience on their mobile. From accessing informationabout local restaurants and hotels to playinggames to downloading logos and ringtones topersonalise the phone, users will be able tobenefit from a host of additional informationand services when and where they want them.

In the Japanese mobile phone market theseservices have successfully captured theimagination of many tens of millions of mobilephone users. Toshiba already manufacturesand supplies advanced mobiles designed toaccess these services for mobile networksoperators in Japan such as KDDI and J-Phone.

These partnerships provide Toshiba with adetailed insight into the design and desirabilityfactors that generate successful mass appealcontent and services on a mobile network.

This consumer awareness combines withToshiba’s experience in componentmanufacture, where it leads the market in a number of areas:

• Chipset technology, including MPEG4 whichis a key ingredient in achieving a successfuluser experience in mobile data

• Battery technology, providing convenience,longevity and reliability