No conflict will occur between the two in the field of mobile Internet access.
A WLAN (Wireless LAN) operates through an AP (Access Point) and a network card. Within the coverage of the AP, all devices with a wireless network card can access the network.
With the continued upgrade of technical standards, the bandwidth of WLAN has increased substantially, while manufacturing costs have been dropping steadily. Today, the WLAN environment is available in many public areas, for example, airport lounges and cafe stores, and is very convenient to use.
This technology is derived from computer-related industries, while the
3G technology has it root in the telecom industry. As both support
broadband wireless networks, a question emerges: are they competing, substitutable or complementary technologies to each other?
Supporters of the complementation argument believe that, as WLAN coverage is limited and that of 3G much larger, a user might need WLAN when present at a specific outdoor location (e.g., a cafe), but in non-fixed environments, (e.g., in vehicles, on road), 3G would be necessary.
That argument seems to have found a solution for the peaceful co-existence of the two technologies. However, in my view, they are neither competing, nor complementary technologies; they are totally different technologies and cannot be put together for comparison at all.
They are put in comparison because they both provide broadband Internet access in mobile environments. As I have discussed in my previous six articles, the Internet access will not be the mainstream function for 3G
handsets. Without the element of the "Internet access", they suddenly loose the basis of comparison.
Don't forget that 3G handsets are intended for making and watching phone calls. Why do they have to compete with WLAN for the Internet access function? Why do we care so much about this function?
Even if they are put together to compare each other in terms of the mobile Internet access ability, WLAN and 3G have their own respective features. The majority of 3G Internet access devices are handsets, while a small part is smart phones. One thing in common of all these devices is they all look like handsets. As their screens are small, they have to browse websites specially designed for handsets.
When the user browses websites, he/she is usually in a relaxing condition. During a ride, say, he/she can kill time by viewing some soft contents. That is the reason why entertaining contents (e.g., image and ringtone download and
games) have been the most popular items in the handset-based Internet. Handsets are not fit for processing job tasks.
The devices that enable the WLAN mobile Internet access will be computers and
PDAs with the Internet access function. A common feature of these devices is that they all have big screens, which enable accessing Internet websites with standard browsers, and they do not suffer any loss of quality. To display contents with larger sizes, they need higher data rates.
Therefore, most users that access the Internet through that approach would sit tight in front of their computers, or using their PDAs to process business tasks. They seldom linger on soft contents. That is why "data searching" always ranks No.1 among the activities of netizens.
Consumers are well aware how to use their device in hand, although they might not realize why. From that stand of point, 3G and WLAN are still not competing or complementary technologies. They are totally different.
But, is it possible to develop a WLAN-based technology for making phone calls? Will that be a competing technology? As a matter of fact, such technologies have been in the market for a long time. However, due to restrictions in coverage and roaming ability, they can only enable local area communication, for example, being installed in offices as extension sets.
Such a WLAN-based
VoIP is a
mobile internet phone. It is a phone call, but it is transmitted through the Internet, and therefore is very cheap. Enabling all communication activities through the Internet is the goal of the entire world.
For the telecom industry, I can only say that, sooner or later, handsets will be used to dial VoIP calls. That is what really matters. The battlefield of the two similar technologies will be the voice communication, not the Internet access (the users will not care about whether the numbers they dial are VoIP numbers or not).
It seems, however, both 3G and WLAN have a long way to go before the introduction of the mobile VoIP technology. Currently, it is too early to say which one will win.
(
2003/04/27
- By
Digitalwall.com - Way to
China Internet/Telecom )
- Read More
Prev : 3G Time Comes (6) Phones Don't Need to Be Smart
Next : 3G Time Comes (8) Who Are First Users of 3G?
- Today in History
The Mist of 3G in China (4) The Way to Survival for SP - 2007/04/22
Predictions on China Internet Market (8) War of Instant Messenger - 2006/04/23
3G Time Comes (7) 3G Is Nothing to Do with WLAN - 2003/04/27
3G Time Comes (6) Phones Don't Need to Be Smart - 2003/04/20
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