IntJ Mobile Communication. Vol 2 No.1. 2004 Mobile communications: global trends in the 21st century Sameer Kumar College of Business, University of St. Thomas, Mail #f TMH 343, 1000 LaSalle Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55403-2005, USA Fax:6519624710 E-mail: skumar@ stthomas edu Abstract: The paper presents an overview of the mobile communications ndustry. Many aspects of the industry are analysed including the importance of nobile communications, brief history of the industry and mobile applications such as mobile phones, satellites, other handheld devices, wireless computin and m-commerce. The competitive landscape of the mobile phone market is explored based on competing protocols or standards, airtime carriers and handset providers. Trends and forecasts predicted by experts for the industry are also outlined. The key characteristics of the Us mobile market are compared with that of European and Asian markets Keywords: mobile communications: mobile market; mobile applications m-commerce; wireless computing Reference to thi should be made as follows: Kumar, S.(2004) Mobile communications: global trends in the 21st century, Int. J. Mobile Communication. Vol Biographical notes: Sameer Kumar is a Professor and Qwest Endowed Chair in Global Communications and Technology Management in the Department of Management, College of Business at the University of St Thomas, Minneapolis, Minnesota. His major areas of interests include optimisation concepts applied to supply chain management, information technology, process innovation capital investment justifications and total quality management effectiveness 1 Introduction In the current information era, mobile communications has enabled us to use laptop personal computers linked to the internet without a'wiredLaN. Simply put, if the internet gave us the ability to access any web address on a desktop, mobiles have given us the access at any time and from anywhere. This capability, derived from modern telecommunication technology, is crucial in conducting international business operations Nevertheless, due to various mobile protocols and networks available in different parts of the world nowadays, for example, analogue, GSM, TDMA or CDMA, it becomes challenging for the airtime providers to expand their services across technological compatibility. The developing Third-Generation(3G) standard is attempting to unify all new-generation mobile devices in a single platform. With the new standard, the mobile gadgets may replace desktop PCs, laptop PCs, credit cards or even wallets in the near future[1. Copyright o 2004 Inderscience Enterprises LtdInt. J. Mobile Communication, Vol. 2, No. 1, 2004 67 Copyright © 2004 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Mobile communications: global trends in the 21st century Sameer Kumar College of Business, University of St. Thomas, Mail # TMH 343, 1000 LaSalle Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55403-2005, USA Fax: 651 962 4710 E-mail: skumar@stthomas.edu Abstract: The paper presents an overview of the mobile communications industry. Many aspects of the industry are analysed including the importance of mobile communications, brief history of the industry and mobile applications such as mobile phones, satellites, other handheld devices, wireless computing and m-commerce. The competitive landscape of the mobile phone market is explored based on competing protocols or standards, airtime carriers and handset providers. Trends and forecasts predicted by experts for the industry are also outlined. The key characteristics of the US mobile market are compared with that of European and Asian markets. Keywords: mobile communications; mobile market; mobile applications; m-commerce; wireless computing. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Kumar, S. (2004) ‘Mobile communications: global trends in the 21st century’, Int. J. Mobile Communication, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp.67–86. Biographical notes: Sameer Kumar is a Professor and Qwest Endowed Chair in Global Communications and Technology Management in the Department of Management, College of Business at the University of St Thomas, Minneapolis, Minnesota. His major areas of interests include optimisation concepts applied to supply chain management, information technology, process innovation, capital investment justifications and total quality management effectiveness. 1 Introduction In the current information era, mobile communications has enabled us to use laptop personal computers linked to the internet without a ‘wired’ LAN. Simply put, if the internet gave us the ability to access any web address on a desktop, mobiles have given us the access at any time and from anywhere. This capability, derived from modern telecommunication technology, is crucial in conducting international business operations. Nevertheless, due to various mobile protocols and networks available in different parts of the world nowadays, for example, analogue, GSM, TDMA or CDMA, it becomes challenging for the airtime providers to expand their services across technological incompatibility. The developing Third-Generation (3G) standard is attempting to unify all new-generation mobile devices in a single platform. With the new standard, the mobile gadgets may replace desktop PCs, laptop PCs, credit cards or even wallets in the near future! [1]