Newsletter Archive 13

Newsletter 13 - 2000

1. SBC and Nokia
2. IBM is pushing its mobile internet branch
3. AOL and i-mode: What might change the entire mobile internet
4. German kid might have invented a UMTS alternative
5. GPRS might start virus attacks on mobiles
6. UMTS weakens German companies
7. Microsoft' plans in the WAP field
8. KPN and Perot Systems Corp. in a cooperation
9. Phone.com releases color browser
10. Germany's WAP use will rapidly increase
11. The Sex industry on the wireless web

1. SBC and Nokia

The American telecommunications company SBC Communications has agreed to a deal with Nokia. Nokia will supply SBC with a complete wireless infrastructure such as WAP gateway, WAP server and more for the WAP Portals of SBS. With this deal, the future of SBC indeed does look bright. (www.nokia.com (

2. IBM is pushing its mobile internet branch

IBM plans to invest up to a Billion US Dollars within the next 2 years to push its mobile internet branch. The American industry giant wants to hire some 2'500 mobile internet experts (programmers, consultants, networking experts etc. ) to be one of the biggest powers in the WAP world. IBM will also invest in ePartners 2, an investment company which is specialized on mobile internet start-up companies. ( www.ibm.com )

3. AOL and i-mode: What might change the entire mobile internet

AOL and NTT DoCoMo are currently in meetings concerning a possible cooperation. The i-mode technology of NTT DoCoMo has enjoyed an incredible success in Japan since its start in late 1999. More than 8 million people are currently registered users of i-mode in Japan. A cooperation between these 2 giants could mean an extreme change of todays mobile internet: With AOL's 20 million users I-mode could quickly become the dominant technology. (www.aol.com , www.nttdocomo.com )

4. German kid might have invented a UMTS alternative

The German electronics giant Siemens is currently working together with a young German boy who might have found an alternative technology to UMTS. Experts think that the technology is a direct competitor, because of its speed and efficiency. Siemens will help the "wunderkind" with financial funding and the infrastructure. (www.siemens.com )

5. GPRS might start virus attacks on mobiles

The coming of the new GPRS technology might not only have advantages after all. Experts believe that GPRS might allow hackers to start spreading viruses onto mobile phones. For now, most users are safe since most mobile phones and WAP gateways are built very differently. Unfortunately, the more sophisticated and faster WAP will become -with the help of GPRS and later on UMTS- the more will hackers find a way to start attacks on mobile phones.

6. UMTS weakens German companies

The UMTS auction in Germany might not be a knock-out punch for some German companies, but it can hit them hard. The German UMTS auctions will be one of the most expensive worldwide and since the other European companies could pay much less for their licenses, they might just have a big financial advantage after the whole deal is over. Some experts even say, that some German companies might not make any profit for as long as 10 years if they are lucky enough to get one of the licenses.

7. Microsoft' plans in the WAP field

While it has been quiet around Microsoft in matters of the wireless web, Microsoft has been busy working on its mobile internet infrastructures very steadily. The mobile explorer for WAP phones will run on Windows CE. Many big-named companies such as Erisson and Samsung have showed interest in using Microsofts software in the near future. Microsoft is also currently working on a "mobile access and solutions server" which will be able to support wireless as well as speech based applications. (www.microsoft.com )

8. KPN and Perot Systems Corp. in a cooperation

KPN, the biggest telecommunications company in the Netherlands and Perot Systems, the IT giant from the USA, have agreed in a cooperation in the mobile internet and telecommunications field. The 2 companies will create infrastructures and applications for the B2B as well as the B2C market. (www.perot.com , www.kpn.com )

9. Phone.com releases color browser

Phone.com's WAP browser has been the dominating force in its field, but nevertheless can not keep up with the fancy, color displays of I-mode phones in Japan. Now, Phone.com has announced an 8-bit color browser which will support images of the PNG format.
( www.phone.com )

10. Germany's WAP use will rapidly increase

Because of the lowering of WAP tariffs, the start of GPRS in the fall and the tremendous popularity which mobile phones enjoy in Germany the WAP use there will soar. Experts predict that more than 3.5 million Germans will get on the mobile internet by the end of 2000. By now, there are about half a million WAP-capable mobile phones in Germany with steadily and quickly increasing numbers.

11. The Sex industry on the wireless web

The boom of the sex industry on the internet during the last few years has been no secret. Now, the first big sex sites start to show up in the wireless web. Since the payment security and standards have not been established yet, all of it is for free and -unfortunately for worrying parents- also accessible by anyone, no matter what age. However, the bad quality for images and small screen will probably hold up a boom as on the regular internet. ( A small collection of links to adult sites can be found at www.cellmania.com )

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