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,

Windows, Unix, Symbian (EPOC), PalmOS,

Operating System
Linux Pocket PC, proprietary platforms.

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

Phone.com UP Browser, Nokia

Microsoft Explorer,
Browser browser, MS Mobile Explorer and
Netscape
other microbrowsers

TCP/IP & Fixed GSM, GSM/GPRS, TDMA,

Bearer Networks
Wireline Internet 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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