Mobile Network Services

Many of the services offered by the mobile networks are the same or similar to those
of the fixed networks. The original service was voice. The technology in the early
days of mobile networks was not capable of much more than just voice. Technology
both in the networks and in the handsets, has advanced massively over the past 20
years, leading to more complex and sophisticated services. Operators are focusing
particularly on data and data services, hoping that it will be a way to sustain growth
and revenue in the networks. However, with the complexity of these services and
the handsets used to access the service, many subscribers are simply not using them.
A major challenge for the near future is for the networks to create services that the
population of subscribers actually want and for the handset manufacturers to find
a way of presenting the service in a simple and easy to use way.

Basic services. Because a mobile phone network is principally a voice telephony
network, it seems reasonable that some of the services seen in the fixed network
transfer to the mobile systems.

Short Message Service (SMS). SMS is a text-based message service that allows
subscribers to exchange messages of up to 160 alphanumeric characters. This
service was developed as part of the GSM system and has become a very
popular service during the past few years. Recent statistics show that some
networks are handling more than a billion text messages per month. SMS has
evolved from a simple text messaging service to one that allows the transport
of other forms of media, including ringtones, pictures, operator logos, wallpapers,
and screensavers for mobile devices. Many of the services mentioned
here, however, are proprietary to a particular make and model of mobile
phone. There are similar services available today that use different methods
for transporting the media, which tends to be more compatible over the range
of mobile makes and models.

The text messaging service is also finding new applications. SMS short
codes, normally five digits, can be used to interact with TV shows and radio
stations, subscribe to information services, and to make payments for goods
or services.

Mobile data services. Since the advent of digital mobile radio, it has been possible
— at least in theory — to send and receive data from mobile phones.
It has, however, taken many years for data services to become popular. The
problem is that, apart from corporate users, general members of the public
are not interested in buying or subscribing to a “data service” such as dial-up
connections at 9.6 kbps or even more efficient and faster GPRS connections
at up to 40 kbps.

What subscribers want is a useful and engaging service accessible through
a simple and reliable interface. The job, then, of mobile network service providers,
content providers, and mobile manufacturers is to find such a service
and make it available at a price that is appealing. A simple enough statement
to make here, but very difficult to execute effectively, given also that in the
past, subscribers have had bad experiences with data services.

Services that make use of a data connection. Once the mobile equipment and
the network are capable of transferring data at a rate considered reasonable, it
is possible to build applications that will exchange information in such a way
to offer the user a service that he or she may find useful.

Data transfer services. Business users have a different requirement from normal
subscribers. They normally require access to e-mail services, file transfers, and
databases. All these types of services are normally run on portable computing
equipment such as laptops and PDAs (personal digital assistants). This equipment
is often connected to the network using the mobile phone as if it were a
modem; in this way, the applications on the laptop are able to exchange information
through the data pipe provided by the connection