Mobile Applications 2010 The Mobile Infrastructure
Mobile Infrastructure Infrastructure (Merriam-Webster) the underlying foundation or basic framework (as of a system or organization) the system of public works of a country, state, or region; also : the resources (as personnel, buildings, or equipment) required for an activity Mobile infrastructure: Technical level: Physical network, including base stations, land lines, satellites, switching facilities,... Organizational level: Vendors, operators, service providers, application developers, marketing channels And not to forget; Research and development, both inhouse (disclosed) and by independent parties (open)
How it could be A world wide, transparent infrastructure: Location independent Vendor independent Device independent Operator independent Application independent Implication: You can buy any handset from any vendor, using it globally, independent of operator, and install (and remove) and run any application or service, free or not In practice, Internet and personal computing have moved in this direction for the last 30 year (disregarding frequent futile moves from some mayor players in the opposite direction)
How is it, in the real world? A world wide, transparent infrastructure? Location independent? Vendor independent? Device independent? Operator independent? Application independent?
Physical infrastructure A net of cell towers A cellphone or modem radios the nearest towers, saying, basically, "I'm here!" A wire or fiberoptic line carries the call down to the wireless access point The call, gets routed to a backhaul, but sometimes back up the mast to a powerful line-of-sight wireless microwave antenna. The incoming call or data comes back from the backhaul and up through the switch to the antenna, where it then hits your phone wirelessly. If you are moving, then there's a handoff a new cell site transmits the data to your phone, once your phone checks in and says "I'm here."
Location independence? (Coverage) You have to be within the range of cell tower able to communicate and negotiate with your handset World coverage 2005 / 2009
Location independence? (Roaming) Your operator decides which other operators you may use abroad Regulation on roaming charges in the European Union is a part of Politics of the European Union concerning telecommunication industry and aimed on reducing roaming prices for subscribers travelling within European Union and European Economic Area member states.
Location independence? (Roaming II) "KTF, the South Korean CDMA operator, has signed a roaming contract with China Mobile, the GSM operator, despite the fact that their networks are incompatible. At present, there is no handset that is compatible with GSM and CDMA networks. The two operators have announced that they will offer a GSM-CDMA roaming service to their subscribers, by renting compatible handsets to visitors, according to Total Telecom"... (2002) "For a long time Japan has been a place where foreign business travelers and tourists could not use their mobile phones, on account of incompatible networks. This was because rather than adapt the GSM standard, the Japanese Government promoted the homegrown PDC system. Consequently, phone rental shops at Narita Airport and major overseas hubs flourished." (2005)
Vendor independence?
Etc. Device independent application development is in practice inpossible Developing and marketing most often involves expensive and cumbersome verification processes Operators have services, which only apply to their subscribers (e.g. tracking/location) Some handsets are locked to a certain operator Traffic costs (in particular data traffic) vary wildly across operators and subscription types, and are often quite unpredictable
Towards openness? Open Handset Alliance Open Mobile Alliance Linux phones Google Android ("Operating System") International roaming agreements