Carriers Must Rethink 3G Wireless Apps

date: 11th January 2001, source: techweb.com

Carriers are in for a rough ride on their quest for third-generation (3G) technology unless they seriously rethink what services consumers will want to use -- and pay for.

So says researcher and consultant Alexander Resources, whose report is the basis of the firm's new seminar, "3G Wireless: Promises and Realities." The seminar is designed to give attendees more pragmatic answers to the key question facing carriers.

And that question is, "'What is going to consume this bandwidth that consumers will be willing to pay for?'" said Jerry Kaufman, president of Alexander Resources. "There's no good answer to that."

Kaufman, along with other industry watchers, question carriers' large expenditures on 3G spectrum and technology, as well as the underlying assumption of consumer demand for mobile multimedia applications enabled by a widened bit stream.

Higher-speed 3G data networks promise quicker mobile access to graphic-rich Web content and more interactive and multimedia wonders, such as streaming video. But Kaufman cautions carriers against banking too much on improved technology.

"It has nothing to do with technology. It's about psychology and usage," he said. Many things about the mobile environment, including how people use devices and where they use them, make it unlikely that 3G apps like video streaming will find a paying audience, said Kaufman.

People driving cars will probably not peruse 3G-delivered graphical content. And even those who are shopping are not likely to watch streaming video on a small, jostling screen, he said.

Kaufman, however, stopped short of an outright condemnation of 3G. Instead, he advocated the development of applications that are more in line with realistic consumer usage and payment models.

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