3G Portal Study presents 'road map to profitability' for operators

date: November 16, 2001

A new study on 3G Portals published by The UMTS Forum provides operators and developers with a clear road map to profitability through the aggregation and delivery of personalised 3G services to mobile end-users.

Subtitled 'A Reference Handbook for Portal Operators, Developers and the Mobile Industry' and available now for free download from the UMTS Forum web site (http://www.umts-forum.org/reports.html), the study argues that industry must focus on selecting the 'best of breed' from today's plethora of standards, platforms and operating systems to create a service environment that is truly portable, transparent and easy to access for business users and consumers alike.

Presenting a snapshot of current trends in mobile portal technologies, standards and services, the study offers guidance to mobile operators, portal operators, terminal manufacturers and content developers that will facilitate the development and adoption of 3G portal services.

The study also urges that synchronisation between the efforts of all industry sectors is vital to the creation of a service environment that encourages use of 3G services and in turn drives revenues for operators. Without this harmonised environment, the study states, developers will not be afforded the best chance to exploit 3G's unique blend of capacity, speed and enriched, interactive service capabilities to best effect.

'The 3G portal occupies a key place in the mobile value chain, sitting between content and the end user', explains UMTS Forum Vice Chairman Josef Huber. 'But unlike today's portals on the fixed Internet that are little more than a jumping-off point to other resources, the 3G mobile portal will have a far more important role to play. In addition to customisation of the end-user's personal profile, it's the place where billing, transactions, security and other entities will be managed.'

'The mobile industry has a formidable challenge in resolving the technical issues to enable data transmission on historically voice-centric networks and devices', warns Huber. 'All parties are now beginning to appreciate the need to work together to resolve the market and technical issues involved - and thanks to ongoing work within 3GPP there is already a clear roadmap that will speed convergence between technical standardisation for UMTS with the needs of the developer community.'

'We will see not just one but a proliferation of different types of portals, dedicated to different service categories', continues Huber: 'Looking further ahead, the 3G portal of tomorrow will be a multimedia switching platform where end users can enjoy total control over their personal access to a wealth of 3G services and applications.'

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