“3G Represents one of the Greatest Opportunities the Communications, IT and Content Communities has ever seen, Unleashing the full Potential of the Mobile Internet and Opening up new Revenue streams and Customer Profitability. 3G will become an essential part of our everyday lives and catalyst for a whole new array of high-speed mobile services, providing personal mobility, interactivity and access to advanced broadband and positioning services anywhere, anytime.” (source: www.marcusevans.com)



That’s all very well and good, but what does it actually mean for consumers? Basically, it’s the third generation of mobile phone technology, offering vastly increased bandwidth and thus (theoretically) a wider and better range of services. Video conferencing. Feature-rich Internet browsing. Downloadable applications written in Java. Bluetooth wireless network integration. It’s all a far cry from my first ever mobile phone, the humble Nokia N100, which had such outstanding features as an LCD screen and 14-number phone book (no names, just numbers, mind you) and much confusion abounds about what exactly is on offer and from whom – and how to go about actually using it.



The epicentre of high technology and electronic gadgetry, Japan, has had 3G networks in operation for about 18 months now – with 5 million subscribers (source: The Observer) Global mobile provider Hutchison Telecoms has secured 3G licenses in the UK, Italy, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Hong Kong, Israel, Ireland and Australia, and recently launched its operations in this country under the banner “Three” Telstra have just launched the advertising campaign for their next-generation network, Loop.



Around the world, network providers are scrambling to provide services faster than you can key in an SMS text message. But don’t go and smash your “brick” yet – word on the street is that while the technology is here, it’s not yet fully implemented and utilised by the handsets currently available. Like any new technology, during the first wave it’s all a bit overpriced, and will stay that way until consumers work out as a whole what they actually want out of this, to attempt to recoup some of the massive expense incurred by the telcos in implementing 3G. The teething problems 3 are having mainly concern video calls, the key element driving their marketing and the element that sets them apart from the other providers. Even offers of pricing caps on audio calls and Internet contect provision are not wooing enough customers into ditching their familiar GSM phones.



Digital mobile heavyweight Vodafone are hesitant about launching 3G in Australia, tentatively floating 2005 as a launch date. Says Vodafone Australia’s managing director, Grahame Mahr: “We will have 3G services here. It’s just a matter of when it’s the right time around price, drive, what customers want and the whole mix. So we watch with interest. We’ve always thought 2005 and haven’t changed our view yet. It would take at least a year to prepare for 3G.” (source: ZDNet Australia) Vodafone Live! is not technically a third-gen network – rather, it enriches the features of the network currently in place – the so-called “2.5G” which incorporates GPRS (General Packet Radio Switch) and WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) with digital voice transmission.



In the midst of the telecommunications upheaval though, Optus have remained noticably low-profile. After a 2001 announcement of a $900 million deal with Nokia, their steam appeared to run out. But Optus assures they are “evolving” towards 3G with a system called Edge (also referred to as Wi-Fi), which has some popularity amongst the GSM-capable regions of the United States. Edge is kind of like the “final iteration” of the current world standard, GSM – building on the technology of GPRS and the newly-ratified 802.11g wireless networking standard. It essentially allows one to sit with a laptop and mobile phone, and be connected to the Internet in a wireless state. Optus expect to roll out this system throughout the course of this year, targetting corporate “hot spots” like airports and major hotel rooms, and plan to have a 3G network in operation in late 2004 or 2005. They are prepared to wait until the research and development curve of 3G handset technology swings upward, and handsets represent better value and functionality for consumers.



Handsets, while ugly and cumbersome at the moment in comparison to some of the sleek, tiny models currently in use around the world, are rapidly developing. Sony Ericsson have just announced the release of the Z1010 – with features like two onboard cameras, 65,536 colour display, Java Micro Edition, MP3/MP4 playback, and a slot for accepting Sony’s Memory Stick Duo. In the meantime, Motorola are set to release the A920, a phone that looks more like a PDA – complete with a touch screen and pen input.



So where does it end? Seemingly, the sky’s the limit. Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo claim to have developed a working “4G” wireless network capable of data transfer at a whopping 100Mbit/sec – the speed of most current PC network cards. Research and technical bodies are already shifting their focus towards development beyond the 3G wave that is crashing upon our shores. Although such development prospects are all pie-in-the-sky for the time being (no standards have been set for any wireless communications beyond 3G) it seems that the days of the big bulky box sitting beside me on the desk are numbered, as are those of the mobile phone in my pocket, which is only good, it seems, for the terribly un-cool purpose of actually talking to someone.