With different drivers for mobile data growth in the next five years,the increasing number of connectivity solutions existing on the handset acts as a catalyst towards the development of next generation applications. VISWESWARAN BALASUBRAMANYAN looks at this trend and elaborates..

Visweswaran Balasubramanyan is Senior Manager at Sasken Communication Technologies Limited. B. Visweswaran has close to 8 years experience working in the areas of 3G and Personal Area Networks. As a Senior Manager with the Central Marketing Group, Sasken Communication Technologies, he is responsible for Analyst Relations at Sasken.

Prior to joining Sasken, Visweswaran was a Senior Architect with the Ultrawideband Networking Group within Intel. Prior to Intel, he had a brief stint at Avedis Microsystems and before that was with Sasken as part of the 3G baseband program. Visweswaran received his MS in Computer Engineering from the North Carolina State University at Raleigh and an ME in ECE from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.He also holds a Bachelor's degree in Physics from Loyola College, Chennai..

Global revenues from mobile data services surpassed US$100 billion for the first time in 2006. Revenues from mobile data increased for all major carriers around the world in 2006 with data contributing between 10-30% to overall revenues. Data revenues were driven primarily through SMS messaging but other mobile data services of note include mobile gaming and picture messaging (also known as multimedia messaging or MMS) with ring tones and music pitching in. Wireless messaging is still the primary driver of data service revenue for wireless carriers, with revenue contributions from non-SMS services ranges from just 1 percent to about 70 percent. The higher increase in SMS traffic compared to revenue does reflect lower SMS tariffs and the greater availability of bundled packages. SMS traffic exceeds 20 billion messages per month worldwide, at an average fee of $.10 per message. Especially with inter carrier messaging now possible the trend behind this growth continues.

On account of these. services booming it does make the operators think twice about their revenue modules as well. Cellular networks support only perminute and flat rate charging models, while packet-based data networks open the door to a host of new revenue options. Linking to multiplayer games, Wireless LAN connectivity, downloading tunes, downloading music and uploading digital photographs attract a per minute/per session charging in addition to volume based charging depending upon Kilobytes exchanged.

Mobile carriers are moving more in to mobile data services as a new source of revenue and means for increasing ARPU. The economics of packet networks differs largely from the economics of traditional cellular networks. If we take a pause and look ahead as to what would be the major drivers for mobile data growth in the next five year years.

Network speed acts as the main driver behind the penetration of wireless data applications. Data rates available to a user have been steadily increasing. The evolution from GSM/GPRS to EDGE and 3G has resulted in data rates in excess of 256 kbps. Further migration to High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and WiMAX promises data rates that are comparable or in some cases more than wired broadband services.

Better user experience warrants consistent hardware and software enhancements. Integration of applications such as GPS, touch screen, voice recognition etc. directly translates to a need for hardware and software to work together in order to provide a better user experience.

Content availability contributes a great deal to the ARPU with artists these days looking at using mobiles for a better connect with their fan base. Music is being released directly as content to mobiles rather through traditional means. The next breakthrough in the content segment is marked by Mobile TV which is starting to appear in several markets with network operators quickly settling upon a common standard. The much touted Web 2.0 is en route to becoming Mobile 2.0.

Less expensive high end handsets goes with the new ask of a today's consumer. The average selling price of mobiles is decreasing but this by no way means a compromise on having limited features. As a matter of fact, features on the phone are increasing with users provided the same price points. Better processing power, better connectivity solutions yet again are propelled by the user wanting to see more in the handset which is no longer limited to just GSM/GPRS.

Pressure on Voice ARPU seems to be more consistent these days. The fall rate of the Voice ARPU is much faster than the growth seen in the data ARPU. The previous drivers discussed ties in to substantiate this. While voice ARPU continues to drop, data ARPU's importance keeps on rising. As 3G is becoming pervasive, so are the non-messaging data applications and that is having a direct impact on carrier's bottom-line.

Shrinking device replacement cycles is a new trend that has caught the industry's attention. Device replacement cycles are prevalent in consumers for various reasons with the more consistent ones being need for additional features, services, style quotient and accessibility. The figures read as 24 months for Western Europe, 23 months for Japan/Korea and 20 months for US/Canada. In 2006, the replacement devices were much larger in number than new device sales. Replacement devices are generally better in terms of features it offers.

We shall now focus on how better connectivity solutions evolving in mobile phones is driving next generation applications development. To tune our focus a little more, we will specifically look at two technologies in the personal area network as drivers. Firstly, a technology with very high penetration in the present handset market that has literally become a must in every phone - Bluetooth. Following that, we have an emerging technology with a high potential disruptive capability that is slowly creeping into the entire space of Mobile commerce - Near field communication (NFC).

Non-cellular connectivity plays a key role in mobile devices today. Due to this trend, silicon manufacturers today are under consistent pressure to deliver more on the same chip area. Mobile devices are beginning to be a centre for convergence and beginning to function like computing devices. The processors are faster with a huge internal memory and a support for an exorbitant external memory providing a base for diverse applications to be developed and deployed. As the mobile device opens up from being just a mere transceiver of voice and data over time slots, it brings about a requirement to transfer data between the mobile device and other devices in the personal area space. Some instances are mobile to PC synchronization (for PIM), connection to a digital camera (for photos and videos)

and other mobile devices (contacts, photos, videos) or even to a T.V (for playing back videos). Traditionally, the only interface available to achieve such interaction was proprietary and required proprietary drivers on the PC to enable data to be exchanged between the mobile handset and the PC or Infrared. This has changed now with recent trends opening up in terms of USB2.0 and Bluetooth. If mobile is to have an ability to support applications such as music players and video playback then it also means that the connectivity solution for enabling such applications should be capable of handling such high transfer speeds. On the other hand, not all applications require a high bandwidth. A new breed of them such as "contactless payment" can be achieved with very low bandwidth, short range connectivity solutions.

The Bluetooth wireless connectivity technology was originally envisioned in 1994 by the Swedish phone equipment maker Ericsson as a way for mobile devices to communicate with each other at short ranges up to 30 feet, or 10 meters. In 1998, Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Nokia, and Toshiba formed the Bluetooth Special Interest Group consortium to develop a royalty-free, open specification for short-range wireless connectivity. Since then, more than 2000 companies have joined the Bluetooth SIG, including virtually all manufacturers of phone, computer, and PDA equipment. While Bluetooth is positioned as a replacement for cable, infrared, and other connection media, it offers a variety of other services, and creates opportunities for new usage models. For instance, it's also a good technology for synchronizing devices. It works quietly, unconsciously, and automatically in the background. ABI Research estimates that the installed base of Bluetooth devices has reached a count of 1 billion and Bluetooth enabled cellular handsets dominate shipment numbers. Stereo headsets are emerging to be one of the drivers of Bluetooth adoption. While the need for a better connectivity solution keeps the Bluetooth adoption rate higher, applications are also taking advantage of this connectivity solution. As a prime example of being a value added service, Mobile TV is one such application which benefits from the large Bluetooth base in terms of user experience. The audio reception and reproduction is much better when Bluetooth enabled stereo headsets are used as compared to the inbuilt speakers of the phone. GPS and aGPS are also on the receiving end of the Bluetooth interface as well. The client GPS software sitting on the phone uses Bluetooth to connect to a GPS radio. Several advantages are realized from such a setup. Firstly it takes away the need for a GPS radio to be built into the phone. Thus GPS radio exists as a stand-alone unit that connects to the phone via the Bluetooth interface. GPS software running on the handset plots position and provides directions based on co-ordinates received from the receiver.

Bluetooth Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are working on improving the bandwidth of the interface which in turn would enable applications that require a much higher bandwidth to run. With the SIGs promising a much faster data rate on the interface, immediately promising applications are huge chunks of data transfer in terms of files (could be full size movies, or complete collection of music). Then there is increased bandwidth in Ad-hoc networking with communicating devices spontaneously forming a community of networks that persists only as long as it's needed and enabling higher interoperable rates, device synchronization driving absolutely seamless connectivity among PDAs, computers, and mobile phones updating information on multiple devices automatically when data on any one device changes, peripheral connectivity (for example car-kits that could provide hands-free packages that enable users to access phones other devices without taking their hands off the steering wheel) and mobile commerce (your Bluetooth-enabled phone can communicate with a Bluetooth-enabled vending machine to buy a can of Diet Pepsi, and put the charge on your phone bill). This generates scope for newer applications to be built with Bluetooth along the lines of the end user demand and increasing data rates.

Near Field Communication Technology or NFC, is a short-range (hands width) wireless technology mainly aimed at usage in mobile phones. With Nokia, Philips and Sony having established the NFC forum in 2004, NFC technology is growing at a rapid pace. Transactions are feasible for the NFC - enabled devices in the proximity distance of up to eight inches; this field proven contact less RFID compatible technology at 13.56 MHz is capable of a data rate up to 424Kbit/s. Shooting down the line of sight requirement NFC complements the use of Bluetooth and enables intuitive initialization of wireless networks. With NFC, in order to make devices communicate with each other, all the user needs to do is to bring them close to each other. With an ability to inexpensively transfer data between laptops, game consoles, computer peripherals, PDAs and digital cameras, NFC would provide yet another way to put new products and services in front of consumers. By building simple smart card features into the NFC chip, a wide variety of consumer electronic devices could use such identification chips, not just intelligent credit cards of pass keys. And with easy integration into the mobile phones the trend of the mobile phone's path towards convergence has been revved up. For example, your NFCenabled mobile phone could offer services that completely substitute the day to day things we carry - electronic keys as against car keys, house/office keys, hotel room keys, etc., electronic money against bunch of currency notes, electronic wallet/smart wallet carrying all your wallet content, electronic tickets against plane tickets, concert/event tickets, travel cards, and identity documents. The application suite is endless and limited only by our imagination.

Contact less payment is feasible at places like subways, toll bridges, kiosks, vending machines, retail outlets, and movie tickets where the consumer is allowed to pay payments as simple as a touch. Interesting avenues open up in the mobile advertising space as well where, for example, a NFCenabled phone when placed next to a product is immediately filled with the product details and specifications. Additionally, special offers that exist for that product can also be provided. As a supplement, it could also provide an avenue for effective and specific mobile search. Product data could be read off a tag and a search could be initiated for getting the best price. Thus NFC acts as a significant driver for next generation wireless applications and could very well change the whole of mobile commerce we know today. The important aspect that has to be stressed again is that NFC is not going to compete against any existing short/medium range connectivity solution in the wireless space but rather enable them to perform much smarter driving much more intense applications. Using the touch of your fingers to compose an e-mail with enormous graphics, enhanced control over billing of your services, getting your favorite game from thin air with a single touch, connecting visually with a photo you have taken with you mobile and finding information about it from huge databases and many more such applications no longer belongs to science fiction. Next generation applications pack a punch and we better be geared for that.