Edited by author 09-03-2003 05:04 AM
When the GPRS standard was first proposed, sceptics said that it didn't have the capacity that a serious service would need. Now, it turns out that some carriers are finding it hard to meet existing demand and are switching data services off.

The first to admit to doing this is Globe Telecom in the Far East...

Talking with the CEO of Cellglide the issue is that the network operators have not learnt the lessions of their fixed counterparts in terms of datanetworks and traffic shaping.

Just like the SMS boom we have seen the networks release GPRS without the necessary network tools to allow easy use. Thus we have a situation that sees a cell become congested with as few a 4 users. Any one remember the launch of GPRS by Cellnet a few years ago. The FT and Telegraph were so impressed at just what a SNAFU it was that they devoted a quarter page to highlight just how poor GPRS was. Since then we have had more and more handsets released, the MNOs have overhauled their Portals to match the ability of "fast" data and from what I can see done little else to inprove speeds. The standard answer from my provider is that "you are billed by the byte sir and the network transfer data when capacity allows so regardless of how long it take for the page to load it still costs the same." and they wonder why I prefer to use my Laptop in a Hotspot!

The larger issue as I see it is that any move by the network operators to reimpose a walled garden approach will be to stifle and effectively eliminate any form of third party provision of services. Whether these be third party IM tools, or entertainment based services, or any other service which runs over the GPRS/WAP bearer.

If customers cannot access content providers who are located externally to the MNO environment, then the effect is to kill off the market prior to it's start. (or is this their plan?)

With third parties releasing new services every month, this poses a serious threat to small and medium sized businesses.