THE IP WORLD

Ramdin Chacha zIPs Ahead

It will be the world of "cells" or data-packets. Will IP emerge as the ultimate ubiquitous technology for the convergence?

Arrival of Convergence

The year is 2005. Ramdin Chacha's vision comes true. The Internet has expanded his travel and export business not only to many cities in India, but also across many parts of the world. Luckily, he kept equipping himself with the latest. Being technology-savvy, he familiarized with mobile, PC, and the Internet keeping pace with the time.

Life improved but, as usual, progress brought in its toe its own problems. The technology and Chacha have kept pace meeting the new challenges. Chacha's fondness of communication tools helps him in zIPing ahead, despite such problems. And also to reap full benefits out of the convergence-be it convergence of fixed-mobile or that of computers-communications-content technologies.

WAP: Internet on the Wireless
Wireless has limited bandwidth. Also, wireless devices like mobile phones have limited screen/keyboard size, processing power, and memory space. However, considering the fast growth of wireless as well as Internet users, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) enables the marriage of the two. It is an open standard enabling users to access Internet, information and other advanced services on their wireless devices like mobile phones, pagers, smart phones, etc. WAP micro-browser is a stripped-down Web browser designed for housing inside small WAP-enabled wireless devices and it sets up an interface with the wireless/cellular network.

A WAP gateway-located at the service provider's end-strips down and translates/formats Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) into Wireless Markup Language (WML). WML is suitable for limited bandwidth available on wireless network as well as for less processor and memory resources available on portable wireless devices. WAP devices may need comparatively larger screen to serve as monitor-screen for Internet transactions. However, web pages will be seen as stripped down versions that the user can flip through.

The IP World
The "cells" or packets of data have changed the way telecom works. It made multimedia applications like Video-on-Demand (VoD) possible. Packets allow multiple users to share a single communication channel, resulting in more efficient use of bandwidth. Voice can be also sent as packets of data. The success of the Internet has put Internet Protocol (IP) in the forefront. The open architecture of IP is transparent to standards and back haul methods. Enabling not only voice and data, but also fixed and mobile telephony convergence. As the new 3rd Generation (3G) wireless technologies are also planning to use IP, it is emerging as the ubiquitous standard unifying the communication infrastructure in order to meet the multimedia needs of new millenium.

IP-based Wireless: For Mobile Multimedia in the Pocket
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)-a global open protocol operating with any wireless standard-enables users to access/browse the Internet and utilize on-line services through their mobile phones with limited four or five lines displays. WAP scales down the information to make it suitable for a mobile phone. It will help operators and content providers to build small applications meeting emerging needs of mobile user like Ramdin Chacha. Its various applications include messaging, information services, e-commerce, and on-line banking.
WAP, an important 3G tool, has been tailored to fit a range of different types of portable devices from mobile phones to personal digital assistants and pocket computers-the devices now becoming "information compatible". WAP enables mobile phones with limited displays to browse the Internet.

Bluetooth to Unify
And the complementary wireless technology like "bluetooth"-named after the tenth century viking king Harald Bluetooth known for unifying Denmark-is designed to replace the cable connection between the computing devices/peripherals and communication devices (laptops, digital assistants, printers, mobile phones, home appliances) by universal open-standard low-cost wireless links. Using the 2.45 GHz band, it works within about 10 metre range. One could take a picture with digital camera and send it wirelessly using bluetooth link to a mobile phone, onward to a receiver which downloads the picture on to a PC. One could even pay for a can of Coke from the vending machine using the mobile.

Personal Co-pilot: Moving the Jam
So in 2005, when most metros' traffic speed averages 5 kilometre per hour, Chacha's car may be stuck in the middle of a traffic jam. Yet his cellphone keeps him connected and moving with the world. He calls the airlines to change his flight schedule. He accesses the Internet. He calls his foreign partners and has a videoconference to move ahead. It can even act as "personal traffic co-pilot".
Truly in sync with the world…of the new millenium!

By Niraj K.Gupta, published in Voice and Data, November 1999.