Both consumers and business professionals have a need for mobile broadband services. For consumers, mobile broadband provides wireless access to all of the multimedia services they normally access from their home or office using their wireline broadband connection. These services include music downloads, video streaming, gaming, information access (searches, news, weather, financial data) and electronic commerce. For business professionals, mobile broadband provides access to high-speed wireless email, file downloads, and online information through mobile phones, smart phones, and laptop computers.
Mobile broadband can also help operators increase their revenues and profitability. Just as wireline broadband created demand for new multimedia services, the availability of mobile broadband will create demand for new services through wireless networks.
While email and instant messaging are currently among the primary applications for wireless data, faster and more reliable wireless networks are enabling operators to offer new multimedia services tailored for mobile users. As a result, wireless operators have joined efforts with media providers to develop content for mobile handsets. This content has led to the increased use of multimedia services such as music downloads, video streaming, gaming, IP-TV, and location-based services.
Mobile personal communications have rapidly evolved from simple telephony. Today, consumers use their mobile handsets for voice, text messaging, push-to-talk applications, web browsing, and picture messaging. The rapid introduction of new handheld devices, network content, and wireless services will expand mobile communications to include a host of new services such as high-quality video streaming and online gaming.
Delivering digital content to the handset is one of the most compelling applications for mobile broadband networks. Several wireless operators have launched services for downloading digital music, books, and comics. A wide variety of video programming content can be delivered via mobile broadband networks, including breaking news, music videos, sports clips, kids’ programs, and even soap operas.
The widespread adoption of residential broadband services has opened the home phone market to greater competition. A Femtocell is a low-cost 3G access point that connects to an operator’s core network over the consumer’s broadband IP connection. Femtocells will enable wireless service providers to provide a home phone solution.
A wide range of companies, from voice over IP (VoIP) startups to broadband service providers, now offer home phone services. Wireless service providers are positioned to win this market if they can deliver their services to consumers at a cost structure comparable to VoIP services.
Business professionals are embracing mobile technologies as a means to improve productivity and customer service. Mobile broadband services offer traveling professionals the ability to rapidly access email, download sales support materials, and answer customer requests from anywhere within the network coverage area: home, car, airport, or even the local coffee shop.
New push-to-talk services facilitate the rapid connection of onsite customer support personnel with headquarters experts, establishing new standards for customer service.
In addition to providing the underlying infrastructure for broadband mobile network access, mobile broadband technology (1xEV-DO in particular) can also be used to cost-effectively provision fixed broadband data services. In this way, “mobile” broadband enables operators to introduce fixed residential broadband connectivity in areas where the population density or existing wired infrastructure cannot cost justify wireline services.
Subscriber provisioning is simple and cost-effective. New subscribers provision the service themselves over the air using a modem purchased from a retail store or the Internet. There is no requirement to send installation personnel to the subscriber’s premises.
Mobile operators and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) use convergence to expand the reach of their services and applications by making use of already existing broadband IP infrastructure to reach more customers in more places. Femtocells and multimode devices allow users to access network services over multiple networks. A gateway element in the carrier’s network allows the carrier to securely deliver services with mobility, within and between networks, and with quality of service assurance.
