Dialogue: 3G - a natural step for New Zealand

By GRAHAME MAHER*

The third generation wireless system (3G) is a critical part of the future of mobile communication and the present Vodafone New Zealand technologies have a clearly defined migration path to the widely accepted 3G global standards of UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications service) or WCDMA (wideband code division multiple access).

The 3G future of mobile communication will be like the development of computer systems. It was only 10 years ago that PCs had 10MB hard drives and ran at a speed of 66Mhz. Now they have one Gigabyte hard drives and run at 1.7Ghz.

The most critical change in the computer and IT world has been the solutions and applications that people use, such as Windows, MS Office, Lotus Notes and so on.

The key in the IT industry was the development of solutions that were valuable at low speed, such as word processing to replace typewriters. As speeds increased, these then became easier to use.

The mobile world will be the same.

The driver for the use of new technologies will be applications and solutions. The real question and challenge is who can develop these, not who can roll out the networks. Vodafone is the largest operator worldwide, with a presence in 30 countries. This spread will allow it to develop worldwide solutions on its present 2G/2.5G networks. These solutions can then be migrated to 3G technologies as the applications are refined and as extra speed adds value.

The first Vodafone operator to introduce 3G will be in Spain, when Airtel launches its network this year or early next year. The rest of the Vodafone companies will follow, depending on availability of infrastructure and the needs of customers.

Here in New Zealand, Vodafone has led the market with new services and applications. These include text messaging, downloading ring tones, downloading graphics, TXTchat, information delivered to your mobile and the Where's My Nearest service.

A range of business solutions is also making the mobile office a reality. All this is increasing the use of WAP (wireless application protocol) and mobile data in this country.

New Zealand was also the first country in the Vodafone group to introduce the 2.5G technology GPRS (general packet radio service) and Vodafone's global portal Vizzavi.

It was also one of the first countries to auction 3G spectrum. The operators paid a reasonable price for the spectrum, which shows the Government got the timing right and means New Zealanders will have access to future services at a realistic price.

Interestingly, what is overlooked in the present international debate on the cost of buying 3G spectrum is that in countries such as Britain, the value of the spectrum was much higher because of capacity issues.

Third generation is able to handle many more calls than 2G and in the UK extra spectrum is needed simply to serve customer demand.

We do not have that issue in New Zealand or Australia.

The pictures that people paint about services - such as buying tickets, paying bills, locating restaurants and so on - will happen. The key for Vodafone customers is to be able to migrate seamlessly along this path. Third-generation technology will be needed only as higher speed services and applications are wanted by customers.

In New Zealand we are in a position to lead the world by developing solutions for these new mobile services.

Vodafone is already working with more than 200 developers in this area. They already have access to our test network to develop initiatives and soon they will have access to 3G. The big attraction is that these can eventually be exported.

A good example is the TXTchat service. The service, like an internet chat room, was developed in New Zealand and is now being used in Australia and will soon be released in the UK.

Vodafone believes 3G spectrum is valuable and a key requirement for our future.

We are developing solutions, applications and partnerships around the world to provide what our customers want.

This gives both Vodafone and New Zealand a clear strategic advantage - we can join the global community and export our Kiwi knowledge and ability around the world.

* Grahame Maher is managing director of Vodafone New Zealand.