The mobile telecommunications industry is one of the most rapidly growing sectors around the world. This book offers a comprehensive economic analysis of the main determinants of growth in the industry. Harald Gruber demonstrates the importance of competitive entry and the setting of technological standards, both of which play a central role in their contribution to the fast diffusion of technology. Detailed country studies provide empirical evidence for the development of the main themes: the diffusion of mobile telecommunications services, the pricing policies in network industries, the role of entry barriers such as radio spectrum and spectrum allocation procedures. This research-based survey will appeal to a wide range of applied industrial economists within universities, government and the industry itself.

AS SERVICE PROVIDERS START TO BUILD THIRD-GENERATION AND UMTS NETWORKS, THEY NEED A WIZARD TO MAKE SENSE OF ELABORATE PROTOCOLS AND OUT-OF-CONTEXT TECHNOLOGY REPORTS "Excellent coverage: captures the gamut from propagation science to network planning." -- Nikil Jayant, John Pippin Chair in Wireless Systems, Georgia Tech "For those already installing 3G systems, I recommend it be rushed into print." -- Reed Fisher, formerly of Bell Labs and father of the cell phone "Engineers will find this is a much-needed integrated approach to understanding 3G technologies." -- Ken Smolik, Technology Specialist, Banner Witcoff, Ltd. This book gives network managers and 3G workers a select background in spread spectrum technology, empowering them to make real-world design, purchasing, and deployment decisions. Assuming only that W-CDMA is the preferred interface, the authors make a point of grounding 3G technologies in the fundamentals of propagation characteristics, physical layer functionalities, and spectrum requirements, so readers can confidently tackle soft handover, power control, sectorization, and message flows. Written by authors with deep experience in data communications design and development, this jargon-free look at W-CDMA: * Spells out what providers must know to enable wireless data speeds 40 times the current level * Shows how to integrate U.S., European, and Pacific Rim flavors of 3G for worldwide roaming access * Explains how spread spectrum functions best in data transmission * Covers vital links between GSM and W-CDMA systems * Reviews and unpacks IMT-2000 interface proposals Worth its weight in paid consultants to wireless carriers, service developers, systems engineers, and telecom managers, this book opens a window on the implications of the air interface in the next-generation network.

Building on the success of the first edition, Mobile Messaging Technologies and Services offers extensive new and revised material based upon the latest research and industry developments. While early implementations targeted person-to-person messaging, MMS has now evolved to facilitate such requirements as the mass delivery of time-sensitive messages for content-to-person messaging. This Second Edition exploits the technical maturity of MMS as it is poised to generate a wealth of new business opportunities across the mobile communications sector. The author provides the fundamental technical background required for SMS, EMS and MMS, and supports this with industry cutting-edge developments.Contains a revised section on the fundamentals of MMS, including an updated section on GPRS to explain current commercial implementations such as GRX applications. Presents the latest developments in MMS standardization, including the design of synchronized multimedia integration language (SMIL) presentations, Digital Rights Management (DRM), transcoding techniques, postcard service and support of advanced multimedia formats. Describes the processes for standardizing telecommunications services and technologies (3GPP, OMA, GSM Association, IETF and W3C). Provides updated sections on SMS, EMS and heavily revised coverage of the developments in MMS, including MMS interworking and the forthcoming MMS version 1.3.