If you ve been thinking of 3G as simply high-speed wireless data, you re going to be unprepared for the coming communications evolution. That s because 3G is about more than wireless data. It s about access access to the communications network by any means, in any place, with the same services and features no matter what kind of access technology is used. That access can be wireline, wireless or IP, but it must be transparent to users, who should be more aware of the services they receive than how those services are being delivered. Unfortunately for wireline carriers, access is increasingly wireless.
People thrive on mobility.
They don t like to be tied to one location. The explosion in wireless telecommunications is proof of that. If people can get the same services via their wireless phones as they get via their wireline phones at a comparable cost, they ll generally choose wireless. Already, we re seeing consumers using their wireless phones as their only phones. Even when it comes to data, people would prefer not to have to look for a place to plug-in to connect.