Wimax and 3G

The current fascination for 3G services does not abate. I have argued against this time and again because it does not fit in the current scenario. Intel in part is funding Wimax; obviously, it plans to support its chip architecture in the future based on the same. All in the name of profits and obscene profits. For most of the end users, it means escalation of costs for which we have no real use.

The high downloads are mainly for content. It is claimed that 3G services would be able to carry on more voice traffic; this claim can be contested. The current deployment of 3G in Europe has not really excited the consumers. The high costs of the handsets not withstanding.

I have been repeatedly mentioning that it is the plain vanilla mobile services that do suffice, especially when we have such pathetic mobile coverage (less than 9%). For most of the users, the current CDMA technology provides decent 100-120kbps. Perhaps the corporate types would love to flaunt their new toys.

This article is in response to the report that Alcatel is planning to set up a research centre in Wimax in Chennai. Rajesh Jain’s Blog too mentioned a write up from Wall Street Journal and I quote:

“Subscribers to 3G services still account for a small fraction of cellular-phone users in Europe. However, some analysts expect 2006 to be the breakout year for the technology. Ovum, a telecommunications consultancy in London, forecasts that European operators will have registered 63 million 3G subscribers — one in six European cell phone users — by the end of next year, as the sophisticated networks needed to carry the technology finish being rolled out and prices for 3G handsets come down ( Where is the proof?). After the tech-stock bubble burst in 2000, the term “3G” came to embody the once ballyhooed and then derided notion that phones and multimedia content would “converge.” This convergence is finally happening. Today, users in Europe can watch TV, surf the Web, download music and videos and send video messages on their 3G handsets ( Does this have any relevance for India?).
By contrast, wireless services in the U.S. remain more primitive. (Typical Wall Street Journal style!)

Before I end, the biggest problem is that of security. A BBC story reveals the emergence of Mobile phone viruses. Are the anti viruses companies responsible for “leaking out” the viruses? Though it is debatable, the phone viruses affect those handsets, which have Bluetooth and fancy stuff. I believe, in some way, 3G would accelerate the spread of viruses on mobile phones. (Perhaps Linux can prevent that. Please let me know!)