2 Why go mobile Mobile communication allows people to stay in touch with each other at anytime, almost anywhere and through handheld devices. Unconstrained by wires, mobile-system users can communicate while travelling as fast as about 60 miles (100 km)per hour The mobile phone converts the speaker's voice into radio waves that travel through the air until they reach a receiver at a nearby base station. The base station then sends the call through the telephone network to the intended recipient. The initial impetus for developing and marketing mobile telecommunications systems was to offer consumers mobility. At first, many consumers were not enticed by this capability due to its higher cost compared with fixed lines. However, that difference declining as companies create national or regional networks and alliances that offer pricing plans without roaming fees(charges for calls outside the carriers service area Unlike most countries in the world, in the USA, mobile phone users incur charges, whether the call is incoming or outgoing, thus bearing higher total cost. The full-feature capabilities of digital phones along with declining service charges have reduced the importance of pagers in the wireless industry. The introduction of two-way paging(which enables users to receive, store and play digitised voice messages) met with a disappointing response. The cellular phone is far more versatile in companson Short message service (SMS), based on GSM technology, is one of the fastest-groy services in mobile communications today on a global basis Nearly 32 billion messages per month were transmitted globally via SMS in February 2003[2] 2.1 Mobile vs wireless The terms, mobile and wireless, used in the Telecommunications industry, have their own specific meanings, but they share some common characteristics. For example, mobile vs stationary indicates the ability to access while the device is moving. Similarly, wireles vs. wired means ability to access while the device is not physically connected by a wired line In this paper, the reader will find both terms interchangeable. Even though mobile/wireless technologies can transmit voice and data by means of radio waves, infrared rays, microwaves and electromagnetic waves, this paper mainly discusses merely applications utilising radio waves as the medium due to its popularity 2.2 History 3) Digital wireless and cellular roots go back to the 1940s when commercial mobile telephony began or even as early as in the beginning of 1910s when radio transmission was first tested. Compared with the furious pace of development today, it may seem odd that mobile wireless has not progressed further in the last 100 years. Where are our video watch phones? There were many reasons for this delay, but the most important ones were technology, cautiousness and federal regulation. As the loading coil and vacuum tube made possible the early telephone network, the wireless revolution began only after low cost microprocessors and digital switching68 S. Kumar 2 Why go mobile? Mobile communication allows people to stay in touch with each other at anytime, almost anywhere and through handheld devices. Unconstrained by wires, mobile-system users can communicate while travelling as fast as about 60 miles (100 km) per hour. The mobile phone converts the speaker’s voice into radio waves that travel through the air until they reach a receiver at a nearby base station. The base station then sends the call through the telephone network to the intended recipient. The initial impetus for developing and marketing mobile telecommunications systems was to offer consumers mobility. At first, many consumers were not enticed by this capability due to its higher cost compared with fixed lines. However, that difference is declining as companies create national or regional networks and alliances that offer pricing plans without roaming fees (charges for calls outside the carrier’s service area). Unlike most countries in the world, in the USA, mobile phone users incur charges, whether the call is incoming or outgoing, thus bearing higher total cost. The full-feature capabilities of digital phones along with declining service charges have reduced the importance of pagers in the wireless industry. The introduction of two-way paging (which enables users to receive, store and play digitised voice messages) met with a disappointing response. The cellular phone is far more versatile in comparison. Short message service (SMS), based on GSM technology, is one of the fastest-growing services in mobile communications today on a global basis. Nearly 32 billion messages per month were transmitted globally via SMS in February 2003 [2]. 2.1 Mobile vs. wireless The terms, mobile and wireless, used in the Telecommunications industry, have their own specific meanings, but they share some common characteristics. For example, mobile vs. stationary indicates the ability to access while the device is moving. Similarly, wireless vs. wired means ability to access while the device is not physically connected by a wired line. In this paper, the reader will find both terms interchangeable. Even though mobile/wireless technologies can transmit voice and data by means of radio waves, infrared rays, microwaves and electromagnetic waves, this paper mainly discusses merely applications utilising radio waves as the medium due to its popularity. 2.2 History [3] Digital wireless and cellular roots go back to the 1940s when commercial mobile telephony began or even as early as in the beginning of 1910s when radio transmission was first tested. Compared with the furious pace of development today, it may seem odd that mobile wireless has not progressed further in the last 100 years. Where are our video watch phones? There were many reasons for this delay, but the most important ones were technology, cautiousness and federal regulation. As the loading coil and vacuum tube made possible the early telephone network, the wireless revolution began only after low cost microprocessors and digital switching