INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMMUNICATIONM U N I C UNION 2002 TS INTERNET FOR A MOBILE GENERATION *21294* ITU INTERNET REPOR Printed in Switzerland Geneva, September 2002 ISBN 92-61-09851-7 This ITU Internet Report, the fourth in the series, has been produced by the ITU Strategy and Policy Unit. Other publications in the ITU Internet Reports series, as well as CD-ROMs, reports and databases available for purchase, include: ITU Internet Reports (previously known as “Challenges to the Network”) ITU Internet Reports, 2001: IP Telephony .................................................................................... 100.– CHF Challenges to the Network: Internet for Development 1999 .......................................................... 100.– CHF Challenges to the Network: Telecommunications and the Internet 1997 ....................................... 100.– CHF ITU New Initiatives series (report and CD-ROM) Creating Trust in Critical Network Infrastructures ......................................................................... 70.– CHF Internet Diffusion in South East Asia ............................................................................................. 70.– CHF Multilingual Domain Names .......................................................................................................... 70.– CHF Licensing of Third Generation Mobile ........................................................................................... 70.– CHF Fixed-to-Mobile Interconnection.................................................................................................... 70.– CHF Other reports and databases (produced in collaboration with the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau) World Telecommunication Development Report 2002 .................................................................. 100.– CHF World Telecommunication Indicators 2000/2001, 2001 ................................................................ 50.– CHF World Telecommunication Indicators Database Single download ........................................................................................................................ 200.– CHF Yearly subscription (updates via Internet)................................................................................. 750.– CHF Direction of Traffic: Trading Telecom Minutes, 1999 (3rd Edition) Report + Database on CD-ROM................................................................................................ 500.– CHF Database only............................................................................................................................. 300.– CHF Telecommunication indicators online These online indicators, together with several of the other telecommunication indicator reports and databases listed above, are available in electronic format from the ITU Electronic Bookshop. Publications can be ordered, purchased by credit card, and downloaded via the Internet at: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/publications/ Please contact the ITU Sales Service for any further information concerning prices, availability, or purchase: Fax: +41 22 730 51 94 E-mail: [email protected] Note: Discounts are available for ITU Member States and Sector Members, and for purchasers from the least developed countries. ITU Internet Reports Internet for a Mobile Generation September 2002 INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION ITU, 2002 Revised Edition – 19 September 2002 International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Geneva All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, by any means whatsoever, without the prior written permission of ITU. Denominations and classifications employed in this publication do not imply any opinion on the part of the International Telecommunication Union concerning the legal or other status of any territory or any endorsement or acceptance of any boundary. Where the designation “country” appears in this publication, it covers countries and territories. ISBN 92-61-09851-7 FOREWORD This is the fourth in the series of “ITU Internet Reports” (previously known as “Challenges to the Network”). The first three editions looked at “Telecommunications and the Internet” (in 1997), “Internet for Development” (in 1999), and “IP Telephony” (in 2001). This edition, entitled “Internet for a Mobile Gene- ration”, examines the possibilities and challenges emerging from the convergence of two distinct sectors of the telecommunication economy, the Internet, and mobile telephony. Chapter one of this report, the Introduction, defines the mobile Internet in the larger context of technological convergence and market demand. Chapter two, Technologies and applications, provides a technical overview of high-speed mobile networks and available services and applications for the mobile Internet. It also examines the competition or co-existence of various network technologies. Chapter three, Market trends, takes a look at the changing landscape and the commercial challenges involved in creating a mass market for mobile Internet services. Chapter four, Regulatory and policy aspects, discusses the hurdles faced by regulators and policy-makers in a converging market environment. Chapter five, Case studies, summarizes a selection of examples taken from country case studies carried out by ITU, looking at how individual countries are approaching, or have approached, licensing and deployment of 3G. Chapter six, Conclusions: Towards a mobile information society, looks ahead to the broader societal implications of the mobile Internet. Some of the research for this report, including the case studies, was carried out under the “New Initiatives Programme”, launched in 1999 (http://www.itu.int/ni). Under this programme, a workshop on the Licensing of third-generation mobile was held in Geneva on 19 and 20 September 2001 (http://www.itu.int/3g). ITU is committed to playing a positive role in the development of the Internet and to extending the benefits of new information and communication technologies, such as mobile technology, to all the world’s inhabitants. This is in line with Resolution 101 of the Plenipotentiary Conference (Minneapolis, 1998), which calls upon ITU to “fully embrace the opportunities for telecommunication development that arise from the growth of IP-based services”. The ITU Internet Reports are hopefully a significant contribution to that commitment. FOREWORD I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report was prepared by a team from the ITU Strategy and Policy Unit led by Lara Srivastava, including Joanna Goodrick, Tim Kelly, Tad Reynolds, and Yoshihisa Takada. The statistical tables were compiled by Tad Reynolds with the assistance of Esperanza Magpantay and Nathalie Delmas. The report was edited by Joanna Goodrick and formatted by Yolanda Azélart. The 3G case studies programme included contributions from Christopher Addy-Nayo, Martin Hilbert, Staffan Hultén, Ben Petrazzini, Audrey Selian, Robert Shaw, Lara Srivastava, Yoshihisa Takada, Pablo Valiente, and Xu Yan. The cover design is by Jean-Jacques Mendez. The report has benefited from the input and comments of many people to whom we owe our thanks. In particular, we would like to thank Chinyong Chong, Martha Garcia-Murillo, Max Henri-Cadet, Kelby Johnson, Eric Lie, Fabio Leite, Micheal Minges, Claudia Sarrocco and Robert Shaw. We would also like to express our gratitude to respondents from public telecommunication operators, Internet service providers, regulatory bodies and national administrations who helped by providing specific information and data related to mobile Internet developments in their countries. Without their assistance, a report of this nature would be impossible. In particular, we would like to thank the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications, Japan, for its generous voluntary contribution which has enabled the case study programme to be expanded. Some of the data contained in this report is taken from ITU’s “World Telecommunication Indicators Database”. The Database is available on CD-ROM, or via the Internet as a subscription service. All of ITU’s indicator reports and databases are available for purchase, on the Internet, at http://www.itu.int/indicators. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of ITU or its membership. II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword .................................................................................................................................................. i Glossary .............................................................................................................................................. vii List of Abbreviations and Acronyms..................................................................................................... xv 1 Chapter One: Introduction.............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 The mobile Internet ................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Convergence: déjà vu all over again?........................................................................ 3 1.3 Challenges to the industry ......................................................................................... 5 2 Chapter Two: Technologies and Applications ............................................................................... 7 2.1 From 2G to 3G..........................................................................................................