New GSM Network Services

Bob Emmerson

The latest European GSM standards will soon bring more intelligence to the network. This will enable network operators to create new services and allow compliant phones to use advanced call-handling features such as intelligent transfer to a wireline phone if the mobile phone cannot be reached, with transfer to cellular voice mail if that second call is not completed. However, many subscribers are not even using the plain vanilla services of the existing network, according to European GSM service providers.

Some GSM vendors attribute this to the complexities of the user interface. "People know what they want to do next with mobile phones. They just don't know how to make it happen," says Ken Blakeslee, Nortel's director of business development and c hairman of the Mobile Data Association. "The first challenge therefore is to deliver devices that make existing services such as messaging, directories, voice mail, and caller identity more intuitive. The next step will provide personal services that can be customized remotely from the network and by the user," Blakeslee says.

Ericsson and Nokia, for example, are addressing this issue with their new PC Cards that carry a complete GSM phone on-board. Plug one of these cards into your multimedia notebook and along with the short messages, faxes, e-mail, and remote access services you have a GSM speakerphone , with your notebook as the user interface of the phone.

Motorola recently showed a "smart phone" that incorporates a notepad, organizer, e-mail, and pen-based interface. AEG Mobile Communication's Teleport 9080 aims to improve the user interface with voice dialing, which lets you make a call without using a keypad.

Nortel Europe is s queezing state-of-the-art computer technology into an intelligent unit it calls the Network Telephone. This pocket-size device incorporates a Java chip set that makes it a thin client communications terminal. It uses a touchscreen that integrates pen input technology and real-time handwriting recognition. Nortel plans to ship the Network Telephone in the first quarter of next year.

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Not Just a Phone

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Nortel's Java-enabled device is designed to deliver e-mail and other information.

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Now Hear This

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Nokia Cellular Card Phone turns your notebook into a wireless speakerphone.