Mobile Phones

What is 3G? 3G - or 3rd generation - technology supports the broadband, packet-based transmission of text, multimedia data - such as audio, video and digitized voice - at a high data rate. It will greatly enhance the next generation of mobile communication services, providing always-on connectivity to phones and other wireless communications, regardless of time and place. 3G has been endorsed by major standards bodies and manufacturers. WCDMA is the leading 3G standard. It has been endorsed by all major OEMS and operators.

What does 3G mean for developers? 3G is another network pipe, so in most cases developers do not need to explicitly program for it any more than they program for a GSM or GPRS network. However, the enhanced bandwidth and the always-on nature of 3G removes some practical limitations on the types of services that developers can deliver.

What services will 3G enable? No single 3G application will dominate the market. High-speed content like video-on-demand, multimedia and always-on Internet access are just a few possibilities. Nokia believes Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) will be one of the first successful services on the market.

Is 3G too far out to make application development profitable? The 3G network roll-out is in process, but the applications that will work best over 3G already work on today's networks. MMS, OTA download of Java applications, and browsing applications are already in use today. As 3G bandwidth becomes more widely available, developers can enhance existing applications with richer graphics and other data-intensive services.

When will WCDMA 3G networks be available? Nokia is already rolling out its 3G network solutions. The first Nokia WCDMA and EDGE networks will be launched commercially during the second half of 2002.

Current Market Situation The current market share held by the 4 major producers of mobile communications in the 3rd quarter of 2002 was as follows: 1. Nokia ÐŽV 35.9% 2. Motorola- 14.4% 3. Samsung- 10.6% 4. Sony-Ericsson- 4.8% For the past 3 years, the mobile communications industry has taken a significant downturn. The value of the market has decreased in the region of billions of euro.

The downturn of the industry can be attributed to three main causes: 1. Investors have somewhat lost confidence in the hi-tech industries and hence now the trailing mobile communications industry 2. Market Saturation experienced by the mobile industry 3. The product life cycle of the 2G mobile phone has progressed to the decline stage, resulting in a significant drop in sales Until