The Convergence of Telecom and the Internet. People won't do traditional surfing with wireless data technology, but it will be key for information services and messaging. Some 2 billion short messages are sent via wireless devices each month in Europe, which generates a lot of revenue for telecompanies there. But U.S. firms such as Sprint still don't really know how to charge for that service, Hart says. In particular, look for wireless Internet and data transfer to figure heavily into communications with large sales forces in the field, inventory checks, enterprise applications, and even retrieval of sports information and placing of wagers, Wood says.
Speed is a big concern.
Right now, calling up sites and navigating through them can be awfully clunky on a Net-enabled phone, often at modem speeds no greater than 14.4K per second. Fully aware of that, telecom companies with a stake in wireless data technology, including some active in Puget Sound, such as wireless Internet services provider Metricom, are lobbying the FCC for federal preemption of state and local regulations governing erecting antennas and radio towers, according to the Mobile Communications Report. Coverage areas are severely limited by the sparseness of antenna coverage, Metricom CFO Michael Ritter told the publication. While European carriers are largely unified in adhering to a common form of wireless technology, called Global System for Mobile Communication, or GSM, in the U.S. there are three forms, which won't be unified any sooner than 2002, analysts say. Competing standards are also an issue in the development of software to run wireless data devices, though radio signal technology is expected to help ease complications.