Zhang Yungao, General Manager, Unicom Horizon, China

In the meantime, China Unicom has launched 2.5G wireless data services based on the cdma2000 1x platform, and has offered a prepaid option for subscription to CDMA services. It also aims to enable its 60 million GSM subscribers to access 1x-based data services with dual-mode handsets.

Data services need to be more user-friendly if mobile users are to adopt the new services that have been developed for 2.5G networks. The mobile portal model fails simply because it imposes too many clicks between the user and the information or entertainment sought -- a much-quoted rule of thumb suggests 50% of users quit their sessions every time a single additional click is added, and most mobile portals require several clicks to access a typical service. A simple solution exists: reduce the number of clicks to make navigation to services simpler, and bring the portal to the handset; move away from the remote portal model, and sprinkle the portal links to services into the mobile handset user interface in locations where they have the maximum relevance.

The Wireless Internet Browser (WIB) takes SIM Toolkit to the next level, enabling operators not only to present applications in a menu-form, but also enabling entry-level handsets to access higher-value Internet content. The WIB lets the SIM card issue commands to the handset using WML. These commands range from displaying menus and getting user input to sending and receiving SMS messages. WIB-enabled services have proved to be far more profitable than standard WAP or plain SMS short code applications, leveraging existing technology such as SMS to increase data traffic and stimulate regular use.

Operators have the choice of three different approaches to softswitch deployment. One is to make all classical telephony services available from the softswitch. Another is for the softswitch to provide interoperability with the traditional PSTN/PLMN/ISDN world, but to provide only certain classical services. The other is to have all sessions in the IP domain, with the emphasis on multimedia and new functions rather than legacy services. China Telecom is introducing softswitching into its network so that it can offer new IP-based multimedia services to its early-adopter customers while, at the same time, maintaining legacy services.