SEMINOR ON M-Commerce (Mobile Commerce)

Submitted By: M.NAGARJUN M.C.A(IIIsemester) Roll no: Y4MC14008 Submitted To: Department of Computer Studies Mahatma Gandhi College (PG courses) Edulapalem, Guntur-522 019.

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CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION

II. SECURITY ISSUES III. APPLICATIONS IV. ADVANTAGES V. LIMITATIONS

VI. FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES VII. CONCLUSION

VIII. REFERENCES

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Introduction

It is widely believed the mobile e-commerce, M – commerce

service will be the next Biggest Growth Area in the telecommunication

market, Representing the fusion of two of the current consumer

technologies:

1. Mobile communication 2. E – Commerce. Whether the ambition forecasts will be realized or not is immaterial;

as and industry, telecommunications is being driven rapidly to wards

this goal.

Mobile Communication: Is now considered a Relatively mature

technology with the move from second to third generation system, and

with the High consumer Acceptance. However, older network

technology are still present in many parts of the world and with the

Associated Security problems coupled with services at are bodily

designed and implemented, the are continued reports of loss, even

where to security of the under laying technology is Relatively sound.

E – commerce: Is a Relatively new technology that is slowly gaining

consumer Acceptance, despite a background of fears surrounding

security issues. An informal poll at a recent telecommunication

conference revealed that around 30 percent of to delegates had mode

use of e – commerce services, but only around 10 percent used then

regularly, demon starting that even those in the Business mode little

use of them. Although are reasons for the lack of uptake are varied,

part of to problem can be Attributed to security fears, reinforced by the

media Attention surrounding every failure.

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M – commerce: Is bringing to gather two technologies, which have a

History security issues. Coupled with to convergence of voice and data

communications, inter connection with extend data net works, and to

issues surrounding the transactions item selves, the potential are

possibly very large indeed.

Technology E-Commerce M-Commerce

Device PC Smartphones, pagers, PDAs,

Operating System Windows, Unix,

Linux

Symbian (EPOC), PalmOS,

Pocket PC, proprietary platforms.

Presentation Standards HTML HTML, WML, HDML, i-Mode

Browser Microsoft Explorer,

Netscape

Phone.com UP Browser, Nokia

browser, MS Mobile Explorer and

other microbrowsers

Bearer Networks TCP/IP & Fixed

Wireline Internet

GSM, GSM/GPRS, TDMA,

CDMA, CDPD, paging networks

Security Issues

Fundamental to the concept of e-commerce is a commercial

transaction between two parties carried out by electronic means. The

applications of this concept are almost limitless but may involve any

thing from a few cents to thousands of rupees in the value. In the M-

commerce domain the bounders will be similarly wide ranging,

although with a greater focus on location based information services.

The Distribution of transaction value may differ.

Experience has shown that wherever something is of value it will

be targeted for attack, even small value transactions are worth

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attacking if the are enough of them. A key element of ensuring security

of M-Commerce service must therefore, be of securing the transaction

itself.

The exact nature of the security issues faced will depend on the

operator’s level of involvement in the transaction. Issues of

responsibility and the liability will be fundamental in establishing

services and managing exposure to loss the question of who is

responsible for a particular aspect is party derived from the deferent

levels of involvement that the net work operator may take in an M-

Commerce transaction.

At simplest level the network operator provides a means of

transaction part and network inter connection for a transaction between

two independent parties, the customers and an M-commerce service

provider. At a higher level of involvement, the net work operator may

provide a hosted M-commerce environment for service providers or

may actually manage a branded service on the part of a retailer and at

the highest level the operator may act as an intermediately in the

transaction and take responsibility for mutual authentication of the

parties and, potentially for facilitating the settlement of financial

exchange.

Transaction: Protecting the transaction parties and their data by

providing at acceptable level of security consumers are all comfortable

with conducting Transaction face-to-face the is a physical exchange of

goods and payment using a trusted mechanism be it cash, cheque or

card. To comfort derives in part from familiarity may people are also

familiar with and trust, mail order transaction by post or over the phone,

even though there are many opportunities for failure in an electronic

world trust is a more abstract concept.

• Do you trust to site you are visiting; do you feel it is what it

claims to be?

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• Can you trust to site with your credit card details?

• Do you trust to site will be able to deliver the good ordered.

The issue of trust also applies in to apposite direction; can the

“customer” be trusted? Are they or an element of their transaction,

potentially fraudulent? When E-commerce becomes mobile the issue of

trust becomes even more serious as the customers is no longer tied to

a physically location. The issue of sub-scrimption fraud that all mobile

network operators have faced now has implication for the M-commerce

service provides, as well as the network operator.

Information: Protecting valuable and sensitive information about

customers. Tele communications companies already hold significant

mounts of valuable and confident information about their customers in

an M-commerce environment, valuable data such as credit card

information encryption keys and digital signature may also be stored.

Inter connections of internal systems and network will increase the

potential for illicit external access, with the potential for internal fraud

being even present.

Infrastructure: Protecting to network infrastructure from attack. These

are considered capacity but it is worth explaining at to out set that to

exact nature of the service simple mended will influence the

involvement of the operator in the finance transaction. Various

payment models have been processing ranging from credit card

transactions between customers and vendor, through to billing of

service direct to the customer’s Telephone bill for collection by the

network operator. These have different impacts on the liability of to

operator.

As operator becomes involves in Transactions, either by

processing payment-extending credit or by acting. As clearing Houses,

their roles will increasingly evolve towards acting as financial

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institutions and they will need to emulate many of the process and

security controls of such institutions.

However M-commerce services are ultimately packaged, there

will be a need to ensure the security and integrity of the underlying

infrastructure increased. Technical protection and isolation of internal

systems and of the net work itself will be necessary in view of the

greater exposure through public net works access. The issues of

protecting customer’s data and financial transactions and of ensuring

the integrity of billing mechanisms and certification services must also

be addressed and not over looked in the rush to develop and launch

new service.

Above all, any technical fix put in place will be use lays with out

appropriate procedural controls. Weak processes and producers can

leave vulnerabilities far languages their those covered by technical

solution the solution their selves are also dependent on procedures to

maintain them. Firewalls, access control, monitoring and detection

systems have little value unless they are configured maintained and

operated appropriately.

Managing Risks: Managing the risks in M-commerce service will

receive a combination of controls, both technical and procedural. One

of the biggest challenges falling operators will be that of ensuring the

Co-Ordination of these controls in a strategic manners to ensure

complete converge understanding the applying the controls effectively

will demand a combination of skills from different security back

grounds, ranging from technical solutions through secure process

design to physical security. On going operational management of the

various processes and systems will also be fundamental to success.

Monitoring and Detection: Fraud monitoring and detection have

become part of the established voke telephone infrastructure. Most

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operators have same from of monitoring, ranging from billing system

based reports through to dedicated fraud detection systems and

monitory systems. And monitory teams these systems are largely

rule or these should-based and analyses switch-based signaling or call

detail records. In the environments based on data where packets and

massages have replaced voice calls, and networks may carry many

types of communications including financial transactions where will the

next generation of monitoring come from there will be the requirements

on operators to monitor the behavior of their customers of service

usage’s and access and of contents itself.

This clearly requires a much broads understanding of security

risks and of the nature of the service being used by customers with out

this understanding it will be impossible to distinguish between

legitimate and non legitimate or unwanted traffic. Again this will require

Co-Operation between operator’s service and content provide to define

responsibilities and the requirements and to ensure appropriate

coverage and protection.

Applications Relationship – Management: Traditionally network operate have

relatively few relationship with other organizations. Network

interconnection and roaming being the two main examples. However,

even in these environmental problems have treason with detention of

responsibilities and consideration of fraud and security issues when

making agreements. In the new era of data services operators will

potentially be confronted by many more inter faces to many more

organizations such a customers, service provides and content

provides.

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Potential security weakness arise from poor Co-Operation, a

failure to communicate, or a lack of clearly defined responsibilities. All

operators should consider these issues, a long side legal and regularity

concerns, in defining service interface and drawing up agreements.

Wireless Public Key infrastructure WAP Security: The wireless

application protocol (WAP) powered identify module provides two types

protection the first is authentication between the client and the server

by means of encryption using ultra long keys of up to 1024 bits. This

encryption can be based on RSA or new generation elliptic curve

algorithms to increase security further for a second level of protection

the module also gamesters the digital signatures required to secure the

applications transaction such as purchases of goods and access to

confidential information on an internet can now be proffstamped with a

totally individual code to guarantee non-repudiation. This externally

power full feature hardly exists in to-days Internet world and has

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typically only been available for specialized applications such as funds

transfer.

Unlike an encryption enabled browser the secret keys that

handled the encryption remain in the users smart card, by definition a

tamper-resistant device, allowing it to be removed and transferred to

other device. Micro soft is planning a secure GSM model for its smart

card for to window operating systems.

Control over the setting configuration and S/W of wireless

handsets. Utilizing Internet and WAP standards for both handsets and

wireless network elements, MMA is designed to enable wireless

network operators to remotely alter specific settings in handset even

after the handsets have been sold.

As WAP – based wireless internet access service come to the

market, MMA will provide carriers with the S/W infrastructure needed to

manage the rapid evaluation of their networks and handset capabilities.

MMA will provide an interactive method for initial provisioning

wireless voice and data services. It will allow carries to update wireless

handset setting and S/W at any time, even months or years after the

handset was purchased. Authentication and encryption will be

provided through the use of Internet standards.

Application of MMA: Wireless handsets contain network specific

settings such as roaming lists authentication keys, and phone numbers

that are provisioned into the handset at the time of manufacturing or

purchases these settings have been difficult and some times

impossible to change once the hand set is in field. By enabling

wireless network operators to remotely alter specific parameters in

handsets even after handsets have been sold, operators can switch

roaming parameters in specific market depending on changing area-

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code splits automatically, and re-program other handset setting. MMA

brings a much higher degree of flexibility that is critical to a careers

success in to days.

Dynamic telecommunications markets MMA will allow carriers to

reduce operating costs and offers more innovative service to their

subscribers. MMA in conjunction with WAP based. Application servers

will enable self-service retail provisioning of handsets subscribers will

be prompted to enter their personal data right from the screen of the

phone, and MMA capable network elements will initiate the required

credit verification and account initialization transactions.

Future Technologies Focusing on the Future Mobile commerce is immersed in a dilemma familiar to other highflying

Internet markets—lots of glowing projections, few customers, non-

existent revenues. While wireless Connections are skyrocketing,

Wireless services—particularly mobile commerce—are stagnant.

Mobile commerce, now dubbed commerce, was once touted as the

wireless industry’s killer app, but has barely scratched the surface of

identifying and deploying meaningful services. As recently as a year

ago, vendors were promoting consumer focused M-commerce

applications that would allow users to purchase products make airline

reservations and check bank balances all over there cell phones.

Transaction fees would be the main revenue source for M-commerce

services, and was considered paramount to the success of the market.

The Yankee Group predicted by 2003, consumers would spend $50

billion a year shopping from their cell phones. However, with 2003 less

than a year away, these numbers seem implausible at best. Analysts

report that consumer demand for mobile commerce solutions simply

have not materialized. “What we are seeing right now with mobile

commerce is a lot of expectation coming home to reality. Not all

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products are ideally sold online. It is not necessarily going to happen,”

said Keith Waryas, analyst for IDC. In addition to lackluster consumer

demand, M-commerce has been based on a shaky business model—

oone that relies on a high level Of transactions from users who are not

ready to participate. Add to that the high price of developing

infrastructure and it’s no wonder so many M-commerce ventures have

foundered. Once high-flying companies such as SNAZ, a developer of

M-commerce software, have gone bankrupt, and many others face the

same fate. Dave cutler, CEO of Curious Networks, a wireless

infrastructure provider, “It is a little bit too early for consumer focused

mobile applications in Mobile E-commerce Expectations Meet Reality the United States. The money is not there yet. You don’t have

a revenue model: You have no one to buy the technology, no one to

use the technology.”

Despite these struggles, analysts remain optimistic about mobile

commerce. With significant changes, they say, the market can begin to

reach its potential. First, enterprises, not consumers, will drive M-

commerce and provide the most lucrative opportunity. Surveys indicate

that enterprises are eager to incorporate mobile commerce into their

operations as a way to cut costs, generate revenue and gain

efficiencies. Applications tailored for mobile professionals will

Enable transactions in the field, and new products, such as cell phones

with embedded bar code readers, will allow users to scan products for

real-time access to information. These new solutions, and still others

under development, will drive the growth of enterprise M-commerce.

On the consumer front, the definition of mobile commerce has

been too narrow. Vendors have focused on transactions, and have

neglected to identify other opportunities or create new, innovative

applications. Wireless information services that deliver email, stock

quotes, travel delays and weather to cell phones are highly desirable,

and should be viewed as an entry point to the consumer. However,

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these applications underestimate the true impact of wireless services.

The future of wireless lies in creating lifestyle-altering solutions that will

lead to a bigger market than can be imagined. For example, some

predict that everyday items, such as passports and wallets, will be

augmented or even replaced by mobile devices that carry proof of

identification, bank balances, and reservation information, and deliver

this information to merchants through a low-cost, wireless network. In

the short term, the challenge for M-commerce will be to convert

investments in infrastructure, applications and services into a

sustainable business. This will require more than just pushing

transactions. Vendors will leverage new technologies, such as location-

based services, to target consumers with tailored products and

services when they want them the most. Transactions will be

embedded in other applications, making them a seamless part of

solving a problem, rather than a discrete action. Finally, the enterprise

will adopt M-commerce services and help to drive the development of

more compelling applications. Ultimately, M-commerce may reach its

lofty goals, but only by solving real problems and offering efficiencies

and conveniences that are compelling for both consumers and

businesses.

The future of wireless lies in creating lifestyle-leathering

solutions that will lead to a bigger market than can be imagined. After

investing millions in infrastructure, software, services and device

development, M-commerce vendors are counting on the market to live

up to the hype. Today’s major wireless players have all made

substantial investments and significant acquisitions in the market over

the last few years. These vendors, and most analysts, believe the

foundation truly does exist for spectacular growth. Goldman Sachs

Equity Research predicts that the number of mobile phone users will

exceed one billion worldwide by 2003. By 2005, 500 million mobile

devices will provide Internet access—a number that surpasses Internet

enabled PCs. Accentor predicts that Western Europe will lead the

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world in mobile connections, with 413 million by 2007, followed by Asia.

The number of U.S. wireless Web users will grow from 4.1 million in

2000 to 96 million in 2005. Based in part on the growth of mobile

connections, M-commerce revenues are forecast to grow

exponentially. While estimates have been pushed out several years

beyond initial predictions, analysts are still confident that the market will

ultimately deliver. According to Jupiter Research, global mobile

commerce revenues will grow from $400 million in 2000, to $22.2

billion by 2005. Asia will lead the pack with $9.4 billion in mobile

commerce revenues by 2005. Western Europe will follow with $7.8

billion and the U.S. will reach $3.3 billion.

Advantages Intend to Use WAP for Purchasing The Mobinet survey concludes that consumers are not convinced of

the benefits and advantages of mobile commerce technology

compared to traditional shopping channels. Twenty-six percent of

consumers in the eight countries cited a lack of interest or perceived

need as the single largest reason for not intending to purchase

products and services through a mobile device. Concerns about

comfort and ease of use, security, and a lack of time were three other

reasons consumer interest in M-commerce has fallen off. This is ironic

as M-commerce vendors promote time savings and ease of use as two

key benefits of M-commerce services. While shopping over a phone

has been largely dismissed in the near term, some consumer

segments still hold promise. Trials in Japan and Europe indicate that a

more enlightened consumer may move from wireless services, such as

short message service (SMS), to more advanced M-commerce

capabilities.

Innovative Consumer Applications

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Pay-per-view Content Mobile operators believe that content is still king,

and that users will pay for the convenience to access it anywhere,

anytime. This conclusion is supported by results from recent mobile

trials. In Japan, Do Como I-mode subscribers pay for content accessed

using their mobile phones, such as paying a small fee to download

Piketon cartoons as screen savers. These small fees add up users pay

only $1 for each screen saver, but millions of subscribers

Change them every few months, generating a significant revenue

stream for Do Como. Operators believe they can generate even more

revenue by selling up-to-date financial news information or sports

scores. Hutchinson Telecom paid $50 million for a three-year contract

to stream clips of British soccer matches to 3G phones, even though

the company won’t have its network in place until the end of 2002.

Ticketing Airline ticketing has long been a paperless transaction, with

airline carriers holding the reservation information in centralized

systems. For other transportation or entertainment events, wireless

services could carry proof of identification and ticketing information for

previously purchased tickets. Using a cell phone equipped with Blue

tooth, a low cost, wireless LAN technology, transportation services or

movie theaters could verify someone’s ID, authorize their reservation

information and check that a ticket was purchased. This would make

ticket less entry into low cost events and services feasible, providing

convenience to consumers, and cutting costs for operators. Shopping

Wireless shopping in its original form was a mirage, and a trying

experience for all but the most determined user. However, a new spin

on shopping could prove successful, by giving shoppers the ability to

access Web-based product information over the wireless network.

Rather then running from store to store to comparison shop, users

could potentially browse for the best price, and check

Availability at a local retailer. By equipping cell phones with bar code

scanners, shoppers could scan an item and wait for pricing and

availability to be delivered to their mobile device. In order for this to

work, wireless shopping would need to eliminate the cumbersome

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menus and cramped text-based screens of previous efforts. EBay

already has set a precedent for this type of wireless information-based

commerce service, by alerting bidders that they have been outbid in an

auction.

Enterprise M-commerce to Lead Market As the market for consumer M-commerce applications has waned,

businesses have moved to the forefront. According to Meta Group

analyst John Brand, “…by 2003, 60 percent of mobile applications will

be driven by internally focused business benefits, rather than

consumer-targeted applications based on novelty functions.” Other

analysts agree. Data monitor predicts that business spending on m-

commerce equipment and integration will grow from $280 million in

2000 to $514 billion in 2004. A 2001 survey by Forrester Research

estimates that 40 percent of the Fortune 2,500 businesses in the U.S.

have equipped or are equipping their workforces with wireless tools.

This optimism is based on a few fundamental facts. Industry

pioneer FedEx long ago proved that a mobile electronic dispatch

system would boost productivity, cultivate customer loyalty, create a

competitive advantage and cut costs. The company’s mobile system,

developed in the 1980’s, has become a case study in the effectiveness

of tracking employees and inventory using wireless services. FedEx

has become the grandfather of M-commerce in the enterprise—due to

its wireless system, employee productivity Skyrocketed, operational

efficiencies reached new levels. Today, many companies are turning to

traditional customized solutions providers, such as EDS and IBM, or

pulling together their own solution from smaller wireless vendors, to

realize the benefits of M-commerce solutions. Customer expectations

for high level of service and support are increasing.

Enterprise Market Drivers Deloitte Research has identified three key

drivers of M-commerce activities in the enterprise. First, the nature of

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the enterprise has changed. The increase in mobile employees and the

trend toward a global workforce has created a physical distance

between companies, workers and the information they need to

accomplish there jobs.Second, a fast-paced marketplace has created

the need to act quickly and respond to changes in real-time. Finally,

using wireless services to manage assets and inventory can cut costs

and increase efficiencies.

These factors make M-commerce services a logical fit for the

enterprise. Instead of viewing M-commerce as discrete transactions,

effective M-commerce applications embed transactions in the context

of a larger solution. For example, in shipping and receiving, M-

commerce applications may help companies to not only identify an

incomplete shipment, but to place a new order, in real-time, for missing

parts. The following are key examples of enterprise functions that can

be impacted by M-commerce. Sales Force Automation: The ability for

sales employees to access enterprise information and remotely place

orders is one of the original target applications for M-commerce. Sales

people can determine inventory levels and delivery estimates in real

time, eliminating the delays associated with most complex orders. By

giving sales people the ability to access critical product information,

sales can be expedited and customers receive accurate information to

make informed decisions.

Field Service: Field service employees have become a costly

luxury for many companies. The ability to use field employees

efficiently, and reduce the time of service calls and repeat visits is

critical to managing costs. At the same time, customer expectations for

high levels of service and support are increasing. M-commerce

solutions allow technicians in the field to accurately diagnose problems,

and frequently solve th-m remotely. By tapping into a company server

through a wireless connection, a field technician can determine a

solution, order parts, check shipping and delivery on replacement

items, and handle unpredictable

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Requests effectively.

Supply Chain Visibility: Manufacturing companies can reduce costs

and improve productivity by using M-commerce applications to locate,

track and manage supply chain resources in a mobile environment.

Wireless solutions on the factory floor are less costly and more

effective than many wired solutions, which are inflexible and cannot be

easily accessed along an assembly line. Factory floor workers can

make decisions, place orders or track materials based on information

gained from wireless solutions.

Shipping & Logistics: In environments where thousands of parts and

supplies are brought in daily, shipping and receiving accuracy rates are

critical to managing the cost of operations. Portable, wireless devices

can be used in shipping environments to allow employees to scan

shipments and maintain accurate counts of materials shipped or

received. Inaccurate shipments can be identified before accessing

order from a corporate mainframe, and comparing it with the actual

shipment unload them.

Operations Monitoring: Many enterprise functions are actually a

series of transactions that are processed throughout a supply chain.

Each order involves processing, shipping, billing, payments, data

transfers, customer profiling, servicing and quality reporting. Each of

these areas represents a potential bottleneck that can halt the progress

of an order or transaction. The ability to monitor and manage all the

steps in the supply chain process through wireless services ensures

that company operations run smoothly, from the factory floor through

accounting and customer service.

Financial Services Proves to be Key Market

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While the areas identified are all logical places for M-commerce

applications, the fact is that mobilizing an enterprise requires a

fundamental change in the way companies do business. Wireless

technology and M-commerce solutions are merely nablers; companies

must till invest in integrating wireless applications into there

businesspractices. Companies will be driven to incorporate wireless

applications for two reasons competition and customer demand in

key industries.

For example, in financial markets, new mobile payment mechanisms

developed by wireless carriers will force financial institutions to counter

with their own mobile payment systems. Banks were among the first to

build WAP sites, in order to shift customers away from expensive in

person interactions. In addition, WAP sites allowed banks to counter

offers from mobile operators, whose billing systems allow them to offer

credit and payment facilities. Financial institutions, often slow to react,

are quickly becoming involved with developing the standards for M-

commerce. Hewlett-Packard and American Express recently joined the

Mobley Forum, a consortium of banks and cell phone makers founded

in June 2000,

Which intends to establish the global rules for M-commerce.

One of the key developments being tested by Nokia, Motorola and

Ericsson, all members of the Mobley Forum, is a mobile phone with two

subscriber identification module (SIM) cards. A SIM card is the small

chip found on credit cards and telephone cards that stores information

or potentially money on the card. By installing two SIM cards into a

phone, banks can operate independently from mobile

Carrier the bank would control one SIM chip; the carrier would control

the other. The new phones could connect a customer in a shop to a

merchant’s payment terminal over a short, non-telephone link; either an

infrared transmission or Blue tooth radio technology. Through the

connection, the customer could pay from money stored on a SIM card,

or authorize an amount to be deducted from his bank account.

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Key Technology Advances Enable M-commerce Predicting the future of any given technology is a tricky business. For

wireless services, the guessing game is even more hazardous than in

other technology segments. Even as analysts’ predictions promoted M-

commerce services as the next big thing, the market was experiencing

a free fall, and many of the most promising players went out of

business.

However, there are a few bright spots on the horizon. Many believe

that several fundamental changes will drive M-commerce services in

the very near future. First, the availability and proliferation of wireless

services, such as SMS, will help pave the way for M-commerce

services. Location-based services will also catalyze the market, giving

merchants the ability to market products, promotions and services to

users based on their physical location. Wireless

LANs will allow users to experience the convenience of mobile

services, and prepare them to adopt those services outside of an

enterprise.

Location-Based Services Location based services use satellites or

radar systems to determine a cell phone’s position, within a few yards.

Unlike other wireless technologies, which were driven by Europe and

Japan, location based services will be offered first in the U.S. The

technology is getting a boost from the U.S. government’s mandate that

emergency services can pinpoint 911 callers on mobile phones.

Wireless 911 location-specific capabilities may be a boon to M-

commerce vendors. Many believe that location-based services will give

them a way to target users with products, promotions and services,

tailored to their immediate needs. There are several different

perspectives on the effectiveness and appropriateness of location-

based services. In a positive scenario, a person, lost in a city, could get

directions, a bus schedule and purchase a bus ticket all through WAP-

enabled services. The same person could check the wireless network

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to determine the location of the person he is meeting, whether they had

reached the meeting spot and, ultimately, send a short message to let

them know his arrival time. The less than positive scenario conjures up

a “Big Brother” quality image. Companies could monitor the locations of

their employees through the cellular network. Undesirable vendors

could clog up cell phones with a stream of unwanted ads and

promotions. A cumbersome commerce system would discourage the

use of wireless methods, and increase reliance on traditional ways to

get information instead of accessing the Internet through the WAP

Interface, users would simply make a phone call and get directions, call

a cab or check in with a co-worker.However, proponents of location-

based services say they will help mobile users make better decisions

by providing information such as traffic information, travel updates and

weather forecasts. Other solutions would allow users to find a local

restaurant, make reservations, check on show times and purchase

tickets in advance. Some of these applications are already in use. In

Helsinki, cellular customers can use their phones to get directions over

both WAP and an automated voice system. In Geneva, directory

assistance

Operators will tell callers the address of the closest restaurant. In Paris,

mobile users can receive text messages when a friend is in a

predetermined range, allowing them to arrange a meeting. The

adoption of these services will be slowed by the fact that they require

an upgrade to a new phone a potentially costly expense for the user.

Without a base of established users and upgraded phones, vendors

will be slow to roll out advanced services to the mass market.

WAP Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is the leading standard for

reformatting Web content for mobile devices. Published jointly by

Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia and Open wave in September 1997, WAP is

a collection of standards that enable wireless application delivery. It

follows conventional Internet protocols when possible, but departs from

them to address the unique requirements of wireless data services.

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WAP facilitates interoperability among different wireless

networks, devices and applications, using a micro browser as client

software, which supports text, graphics and standard Web content. For

example, Warp’s markup language, WML, manages variations in

display technology by providing flexibility in the way information

isDisplayed. In the future, WAP will support streaming media, including

video.

As recently as last year, analysts predicted that WAP would be

used on 7 million mobile phones in 2000 worldwide, and reach 20

million by 2003. Consumer surveys indicated that users would be

willing to browse, chat, shop and bank over their mobile phones.

More recently, a Mobilnetsurvey from A.T. Kearney, a division of EDS,

reported that while the growth in WAP-enabled phones is encouraging,

most transmit data at a frustratingly slow rate of 9.6kbps. Further, a

significant portion of the user base has not activated the Web access

features on their WAP-enabled phones. While the lackluster usage of

WAP may cause some to discount its importance, leading analysts

believe that WAP ultimately provides

The key to wireless Web data services. The spread of WAP enabled

phones is encouraging, and some analysts report that 70 percent of

new handsets are WAP enabled. In fact, A.T. Kearney believes that it

will not be long before all mobile handsets have built-in WAP

capabilities. The question is how long it will take before users on these

devices activate WAP services. The deployment of 2.5G network

services should drive the adoption of WAP services. WAP over 2.5G

networks can reach speeds of 100kbps, compared to today’s 9.6 kbps.

In addition, a younger generation of mobile users, particularly those

with WAP enabled phones, has taken quickly to SMS, leading the way

for the adoption of other non-voice services. According to the Mobile

net survey, 74 percent of WAP enabled handset owners have already

used

Their phones for applications other than voice communications.

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Wireless Advertising The concept of wireless advertising is not new,

but it is a logical place to look for M-commerce revenues. Although the

current revenue for wireless advertising is zero in the U.S., Jupiter

Research forecasts that revenue from ads sent to U.S. cell phones will

reach $700 million by 2005.

Mobile operators were forced to dump their wireless advertising —both

location-specific and non-location based—when their networks became

clogged with the ads. NTT Do Como eventually blocked Spam ads,

although they were very profitable. Customers found the wireless ads

so annoying that they began leaving their mobile phones at home. A

new consortium may assist with the development and deployment of a

wireless advertising strategy that will provide revenue potential, without

alienating users. More than 80 companies have joined the Wireless

Advertising Association, a consortium of vendors lobbying Congress to

allow advertisers to adopt a opt-in policy, giving users the option of

receiving ads or declining their inclusion on lists.

Wireless LANs Just as 2.5G and 3G networks will deliver wireless

data services over a wide area, new wireless LAN (WLAN) standards

will provide wireless services inside, within a local environment. A new

standard, 802.11b, will allow users to tap into WAN’s through mobile

devices wherever they are; be it at an airport, a Starbucks or a local

Sales office. The Yankee Group’s Sarah Kim predicts, “2002 will be a

good year for 802.11b and wireless LANs.”

Wireless LANs are an important development for the future of wireless

M-commerce services. Major carriers believe that customers who

become accustomed to using 802.11b indoors will be more likely to try

mobile 3G services when they become available. New trials will test

this theory. For example, Sprint joined the Wireless Ethernet

Compatibility Alliance (WECA) in 2001, and is expected to offer

802.11b-based services in airports in 2002.

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Summary After years of hype, the entire wireless industry is rethinking

the future of M-commerce. Analysts’ projections are still positive, and

forecast a booming market. The critical question is when and how—

and what segment should be addressed first. Enterprises are clearly

the most lucrative market for M-commerce vendors. Most companies

indicated they are highly motivated to deploy the services. The

potential for cutting costs, streamlining operations and improving their

competitive position will encourage the adoption of M-commerce.

Already, almost half of all enterprises are deploying or plan to deploy

mobile devices to their employees. Even for consumers, M-commerce

services are being refined toUsed pursuant to license. Dash30 is the

independent newsroom powering sites with unique content and

programming. For more information, visit www.dash30.com.

The views set forth herein are those of the author and not necessarily

those of WorldCom deliver real benefits. Unlike previous attempts to

encourage transactions over a mobile phone, new solutions will provide

desirable information, and unique services, tailored for the individual

user’s needs at a specific time. Even with these new directions, M-

commerce services will ultimately be an integrated offering. Instead of

focusing solely on transactions, wireless M-commerce applications will

be embedded into a larger solution, providing compelling benefits for

both enterprises and individuals.

Limitations

• Mobile commerce support depends on the software used in this

area.

• Difficult to choose routing algorithms.

• Protocols stack designed for this is difficult.

• Locate the destination machine is difficult.

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Conclusions

It is very help for use mobile users. This technique is very less

expensive. But it has its own disadvantage. Merits dominate the

limitations.

References

http://www.mobilecommerce.com

http://www.whitepapers.com

http://microsoft.com

IT magazines Computer Vignannam

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