MCommerce: MobileCommerce

1
M-Commerce Mobile-Commerce

• Format of lecture session includes
• What is M-Commerce? Including history
• M-Commerce Applications
• What is WAP?
• Bandwidth explanation
• WAP technical
• Alternatives to WAP
• Future Developments

2
Reading

• Computing or Computing Weekly, online sources -
  lots of content about Broadband infrastructure
  since November 2001
• See also JCWs information boards - one in LC123
  and one just past the technicians - opposite LC109

3
What is M-Commerce

• When we talk about mobile E-Commerce we need to
  classify what that means
• Wireless Devices including mobile phones with
  internet capability
• Wireless networks
• Why does it matter?
• Some Gartner research (from December 2001)
  indicates that about 10 of B2C e-commerce is
  done without a PC

4
What is M-Commerce? History 1

• The rise of mobile data communication - the
  growth of mobile phone users - 500 million users
  in 2000, and growing
• Over 1bn phones by 2002 offering Internet
  services
• Trend towards converging technology
• over the last four years the Internet and
  telecommunications have been converging
• network operators saw mobile services as a huge
  opportunity
• lead by customer demands
• easy access to information anywhere at any time

5
What is M-Commerce? History 2

• Early convergence started when users connected
  their mobile phones to laptop computers using
  infrared connection (IRDA port)
• Attempts were made by some manufacturers to
  integrate the browser itself in the phone
• Nokia introduced Smart Messaging but because it
  was not an open standard and as the device was
  expensive it was not successful
• Java, the Network Computer and Personal Digital
  Assistants (PDAs) have been in the mix as well

6
What is M-Commerce? Current 1

• Telecom operators and database vendors are
  attempt to provide
• broadband wireless communications infrastructures
• common interfaces
• operating systems for mobile computing devices
• Databases on mobiles/PDAs is called the low-end
  server market. Examples -
• SQL Server mobile version
• Sybase SQL Anywhere Studio
• 3Com with Palm operating system

7
M-Commerce Applications 1

• Real time notification of share prices to a
  mobile phone/PDA, e.g. stock market movements as
  they happen
• Share portfolio tracking, so client is able to
  check/purchase/sell shares
• Internet financial data company Hemscott allow
  mobile phone users to trade shares. Group has
  linked up with w-Trade Technologies of America to
  offer this WAP service

8
M-Commerce Applications 2

• News and weather notification/updates via mobile
  device
• Banking - Some banks gave away WAP phones to
  their on-line customers e.g. Nat West Woolwich
  OpenPlan Smile
• However, the take up of WAP in the UK has been
  extremely poor - over promoted?
• Wapathy in consumer market
• Slow and content very limited

9
M-Commerce Applications 3

• Conversely mobile messaging has been hugely
  popular with the public. Short Message Services
  (SMS) - as of April 2001 there are over 1billion
  messages per month in the UK alone!!!!
• Applications using SMS on mobile phone are
  limited by the size of character text message
  that can be sent and there is perhaps an issue
  with security
• Broadband bandwidth will supersede SMS
  limitations
• Email via the internet using WAP phones or PDA
  phones has had some take up

10
M-Commerce Applications 4

• Mobile commerce offers an interactive future
  with-
• two-way applications such as video telephony and
  video gambling (work currently under way on the
  UK lottery)
• one-way multimedia services such as movies on
  demand
• M-Commerce can include the use of mobile devices
  and location based services to facilitate
  conventional transactions - brick and click. UK
  behind on this type of application but not Hong
  Kong!
• Hong Kong e-Coupon service - customers download
  special offers and discounts onto their handsets
  in SMS format
• Customer then enjoys range of privileges upon
  presentation of e-Coupon at the point of sale

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M-Commerce Applications 5

• Wireless Portals
• Companies use the portal to enable their staff to
  keep in touch with enterprise email systems and
  with customer data
• Wireless portals are defined entry points through
  which users of mobile devices can access
  corporate systems
• A recent study by Delphi Group found that more
  than half of the companies surveyed expected to
  use wireless portals to deliver information to
  their workforce in the 2000-2004 period

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What is WAP?

• WAP stands for Wireless Application Protocol - a
  global standard
• It is a solution for usable data communication on
  wireless devices
• It is also an open standard for browsing through
  WAP enabled Internet sites with a wireless device
• The WAP standard is a set of specifications that
  define how the client (mobile device) and a
  server communicate with one another and how a
  user communicates with the mobile device

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What is WAP?

• Why the need for WAP?
• To set a global standard for global services
• promotes convergence
• WAP Forum is the driver for the standard
• Users can access any WAP compliant site with a
  wireless device
• Not controlled by one party
• Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola and Phone.com original
  members of the WAP forum industry association

14
Sample WAP devices

• Ericsson R380 WAP phone

15
Current WAP devices

• The affordable phones currently available on the
  market are GPRS compliant - this has helped to
  increase access speeds to WAP content
• We expect that GPRS will be superseded by the
  more versatile third-generation phones in
  2003/2004 also UMTS compliant phones
• Devices soon become out of date as technology
  advances - there was evidence of downturn in
  device purchasing by UK customers (2001-2003) -
  sticking with what they have got

16
WAP Features

• It is optimised for wireless devices
• The WAP standard was invented for wireless
  devices instead of using existing internet
  technology and to cope with the obvious
  limitations of a mobile device
• Size of screen
• Input facilities of the keyboard and other
  navigational tools
• Limited CPU and memory size
• Restricted bandwidth

17
Bandwidth 1

• Currently limited bandwidth for mobile network
• The speed of most common networks such as GSM
  (Global System for Mobiles) is limited to
  9,600bps, very slow compared to a standard modem
• Higher speeds are now available and in the
  pipeline
• 2.5 generation(two and half G) solution using
  General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)
• 3rd generation (three G) Universal Mobile
  Telecommunications Services (UMTS)
• Vodafone in April 2001 performed their first test
  UMTS voice call

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Bandwidth 2

• GPRS was launched in July 2000 to enable Web
  access over cell phones and devices are available
  which improve speed to a maximum of 28,800bps
• UMTS is a third generation standard and will give
  a massive leap to a maximum of 2mbps (that is
  2,000kbps, for a price)
• UMTS - launch world-wide 2002
• The rights to build a 3rd generation
  infrastructure were auctioned in European
  countries like the UK
• Many telecomms companies gambled on a rapid
  take-up of 3G technologies

19
GPRS reference

• GPRS
• packet based technology
• provides a so-called always on connection
• in reality it sends receives signals in short
  bursts
• Data comms without the high cost of a constant
  connection
• As a result there is no delay when user accesses
  the internet - current WAP phones can take
  minutes to log onto the internet
• see great article on board about GPRS, or at
  http//www.mobileGPRS.com/

20
WAP technical 1

• The main difference between PC browsing and WAP
  browsing is the WAP gateway
• WAP gateway retrieves information for you
• shrinks it into a more compact format
• saves bandwidth before sending to mobile device
• The WAP access server assigns a unique IP address
  to your phone
• You can connect to WAP sites over the network
  that the WAP gateway is connected to
• The gateway uses a WAP stack which augments the
  standard internet architecture

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WAP technical 2 - WAP Stack

• The WAP layers which make up the stack are-
• Wireless Application Environment (WAE)
• Wireless Session Layer (WSL)
• Wireless Transport Layer (WTP)
• Wireless Transport Layer Security (WTLS) and
  Wireless Datagram Protocol (WDP)

WAE WML and WML Script
Bearer network
WSL
WTP
WTLS
WDP
Application Layer
Infrastructure Layer
HTML and JavaScript
HTTP
SSL
TCP/IP
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WAP - Comparison of access
WAP Infrastructure
WAP Gateway
Mobile Network
WAP Phone
Internet
Access Server
Web Server
Fixed Network
Access Server
ISP Infrastructure
PC with web browser
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WAP technical 4

• Instead of HTML WAP uses Wireless Markup Language
  (WML)
• Allows the text portions of Web pages to be
  presented on cellular phones and personal digital
  assistants (PDA's) via wireless access
• WML is an open language offered royalty-free see
  practical link and a filter program can convert
  HTML pages to WML

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WAP technical 5

• Is Wireless E-Commerce secure?
• There is a security consideration
• Not point to point at present - goes through a
  provider - WAP gateway
• Wireless message is encrypted using the Wireless
  Transport Layer Security (WTLS)
• Gets decrypted at switch (Gateway) to decide
  where to send it
• Gets re-encrypted and sent to destination

25
Wireless network security

• July 2001 IBM developed a security monitor to
  ensure hackers and intruders stay out of
  corporate local wireless networks
• Monitor is designed to allow overseers of 802.11
  wireless networks(most common type) within a
  companys building
• Ensures data and email are secure as they ride on
  radio waves

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Alternatives to WAP 1

• I-Mode
• Alternative communication layers
• Bluetooth versus WiFi - Wireless Ethernet
• ADSL (not wireless)

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Alternatives to WAP 2 - I-Mode

• Current number of users is over 22 million
• Provided by DoCoMo (anywhere in Japanese)
• WAP-like but a different standard - uses C-HTML
  (compact HTML) and uses current internet
  technology rather than a WAP stack and gateway
• They seemed to have concentrated on usability and
  service - large number of sites accessible
• They have launched their 3G offering called
  W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access)
  in Europe during May 2001! - way ahead of WAP
  timetable!

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Alternatives 3 - Bluetooth

• Bluetooth - allows wireless transfer of data
  between mobile devices and fixed devices over
  very short distances
• Bluetooth technology is being marketed as an
  alternative to infra-red technology. Infra red
  has one big disadvantage - it demands a
  line-of-sight connection
• see www.bluetooth.com
• see http//bluetooth.ericsson.se/default.asp

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Alternatives to WAP 4 - ADSL

• Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) a
  digital subscriber loop technology using existing
  copper cables from British Telecom
• Always on and quite cheap compared to ISDN
• Drawback? transmits data from the home to the
  service provider at much slower speeds than they
  receive it
• Advantage of wireless over ADSL is that not only
  receives broadband communications such as video
  over the airwaves but also transmits at the same
  high speed

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Future 1 - Broadband

• High speed or broadband connections to the
  Internet are seen as the future of the Internet
• However figures compiled by the OECD reveal a
  wide variation in adoption. Why?
• Plenty of demand for broadband?

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Future 1 - Broadband

• Two main types of broadband
• Digital subsciber-line (DSL) - uses special
  hardware to to turn old-fashioned telephones
  lines into high speed data links
• Cable-modem connections - transmit data over the
  fibre-optic and coaxial cables used for
  television
• Both are always on and replace dial-up modems

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Future developments 2

• Convergence - E-Goggles!
• Frogdesign concept of ski goggles possibly
  already in production, will allow web-surfing via
  a display on the inside of the glasses and a
  broadband internet connection.
• The goggles also come with a built-in wireless
  phone and complete GPS (Global positioning system)

33
Future developments 3

• Bango numbers!
• To get round cumbersome process of entering web
  addresses (URLs) into a WAP phone Bango.net is
  collaborating with mobile phone operators on a
  system which will replace the URL with simple
  numerical codes called Bango numbers
• Advantage - easier to input