By SANDRA GITTLEN

The allure of 3G

Network World, 04/24/02

Everywhere you turn, some wireless company is announcing its strategy for "3G." Whether it be products that are "3G-compatible" or services that capitalize on "3G's strengths," you are no doubt getting inundated with the promise of 3G.

But what is 3G? It's simply a catchphrase for the third-generation of wireless services. But what were the first two generations you might ask? Well, the first was based on analog voice signaling and the second featured digital voice encoding.

Now that we're entering the third generation, a bevy of standards and technologies are being strung together to provide advanced wireless services. Some of the features you might see over the next few years include:

* 3G also will afford service providers a way to share usage and rate information without users having to sift through complicated call reports.

Here are some resources from around the Web that will help you get up to speed on 3G and its multitude of capabilities.

* FCC report on 3G

Read the Federal Communications Commission report on 3G, including what the government hopes 3G will offer to users.

http://www.fcc.gov/3G/

* Nokia's 3G Web site

Nokia, which has a great stake in the success of 3G, hosts a series of 3G resources on its site, including a FAQ and a look at the standards associated with 3G.

http://www.nokia.com/networks/systems_and_solutions/whatis_main/1,23779,1,00.html

* Ericsson's 3G information
Ericsson, which also is banking on 3G, describes what the telephones of tomorrow will look like. One feature? Watch your favorite TV clips from your phone wherever, whenever you want.

http://www.ericsson.com/about/publications/kon_con/contact/cont09_01/c09_06.shtml

* A cure for telecom depression, Network World, 02/04/02

Wireless expert Ira Brodsky suggests in his column that the telecom industry should pull itself up by the bootstraps and focus on the benefits soon to be had by the combination of 3G and storage networks.

http://www.nwfusion.com/columnists/2002/0204brodsky.html

* The first bites of 3G wireless are pretty tasty, Network World, 03/18/02

Cool Tools columnist Keith Shaw gives his take on the first signs of life in the 3G market.

http://www.nwfusion.com/columnists/2002/0318cooltools.html

* Wireless in the Enterprise and Mobile Networking newsletters

To keep up with the latest wireless news, check out the archives of Joanie Wexler’s Wireless in the Enterprise Newsletter and Keith Shaw’s Mobile Computing Newsletter. Both writers dig deep into 3G and let you know on a weekly basis how that world is changing.

http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/index.html

What do you think the promise of 3G is? Let me know at sgittlen@nww.com.

 

 

 

 

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Gittlen is Events Editor at Network World.
You can e-mail her at sgittlen@nww.com.