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Towards a Mobile Information Society
Juha YLÄ-JÄÄSKI
Nokia Research Center, P.O. Box 407, 00045 NOKIA GROUP, Finland
Abstract. Mobility and the Internet are the principal global driving forces affecting the convergence of computers,
mass media, and telecommunications. Ultimately end-user needs will dominate the development of services and
applications for a future mobile information society. Seamless solutions which mean interoperability between different
access and carrier networks and between various appliances are required to provide highly usable services. Mobile
phones developing into personal information devices are a natural choice for mass market consumers to access
information and perform transactions regardless of place and time. The combination of mobility and the Internet will
cause the next fundamental change to take place in data communications bringing the Internet into everyone's pocket.
This enables a new dimension to the concept of the Internet in a similar fashion as voice going wireless already has
brought a new dimension into telecommunications for voice traffic.
1. Drivers for a Mobile Information Society
The information society builds on the rapid convergence of computers, telecommunications, and
mass media. Mobility and the Internet are the dominant global driving forces which currently
affect this convergence. The interconnection of mobility and the Internet will result in a
fundamental change in data communications leading to the emergence of a mobile information
society. Wireless and mobile data services will bring the Internet into everyone's pocket.
Through this change, the whole concept of service provision through the Internet will need to be
reformulated similarly as telecommunications already has been changed through voice traffic
going wireless.
Despite the rapid technological evolution, it will be the end-user needs that ultimately
dominate the development of services and applications in the mobile information society.
Technology needs to become the facilitator to allow access to the services and applications with
interaction through simple and user-friendly interfaces. Simple interaction also incorporates a
necessity for seamless solutions which mean interoperability between different networks and a
range of various user appliances.
2. End-user Appliances
Mobile phones are currently undergoing both a differentiation and a transition into a range of
personal information and multimedia devices. It is highly likely that such mobile devices will
become the preferred means of personal communication for all people, as well for voice as for
data connectivity. With mobile phones, end-users have become accustomed to virtual presence in
voice communications, and the possibility for content consumption regardless of place and time
will bring mobility and virtual presence also to data communications.
Mobile information devices present an ideal platform to access mobile information society
services: Through their mobility communication is enabled regardless of place and time, and the
devices are always carried with the user. The personal nature of the devices allows the user to
assume control over a personalised set of services rapidly and through a highly usable interface.
Mobile information devices also form a trusted platform which guarantees secure applications
and maintains privacy.
3. Enabling Platforms
Several industry consortiums are working towards creating open standards for mobile and
wireless software platforms. The purpose of these platforms is to create new markets for the
mobile information society by enabling an efficient development of services and applications
operating on a wide variety of wireless appliances. The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)
defines a uniform technology platform to deliver Internet content and advanced services to
mobile phones and other wireless appliances, and enables applications to scale across a variety
of transport options and device types. Through WAP, also an open and global wireless protocol
specification is created which works across differing wireless network technologies. Symbian's
EPOC operating system, on the other hand, offers a viable and open oerating system solution
with a low power consumption for small wireless information devices.
The Bluetooth radio interface operating in the 2.4 GHz unlicensed band provides for a
wireless short-range link between different mobile devices or components of a single appliance.
The usage models for Bluetooth include cable replacement between PCs and mobile phones
providing e.g. a wireless bridge to an access point for the Internet. Bluetooth may also be utilised
to enable automatic synchronisation of personal information such as calendar data between
multiple terminals.
4. Network Evolution
Global IP mobility is a concept representing a technology evolution path for networks towards
the mobile information society. In mobile networks, the network system evolution shall proceed
along two parallel paths. On one hand the current second generation mobile circuit switched data
services shall be compelemented by Internet Protocol (IP) packet transmission technology. In
parallel, the third generation radio systems are already being designed to support mobile
multimedia and other services which require superior data processing capabilities.
Mobile network evolution is complemented by an evolution originating from fixed IP
networks which are now being transformed into covering wireless access through Wireless Local
Area Networks (WLAN) to cover hot spots such as airports, hotels, convention centres, offices,
and even homes. They provide broadband wireless connection to all data sources such as
corporate networks, E-mail, and the World Wide Web extending utilisation of IP mobility well
ahead of the introduction of third generation mobile networks.
The key requirement to fulfil end-user needs in the future is to provide a seamless access to
services over the different mobile, wireless, and fixed networks. The seamless access must also
take into account both the bandwidth available through different networks and the service or
application which is being accessed.
5. Conclusion
Through the interconnection of the Internet and mobile information devices, a fundamentally
new dimension will be introduced to data communication and Internet services such electronic
commerce, financial transactions, information services and entertainment. The effects of this
driving force are highlighted by an estimate that the number of wireless Internet clients will
exceed that of fixed Internet connections already by the year 2004. But besides the exponential
growth and provision of existing services through new media and access networks, the mobile
information society will modify and create new value chains, open large markets, and facilitate
service provision in a flexible manner.