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Issue No. 30 (January – February 2005)
Mary Bina Over the past 30 years, telecommunications have enjoyed three major changes, each a real epoch. The first, in the '70s, was digital, the second was packet switching, and the third was wireless. Each spurred some fundamental innovation: the first launched multimedia, among other things, the second, "always on" connectivity, and the third, functional mobility. Today’s wireless landscape is shaped by two parallel and seemingly unrelated initiatives: one triggered by mobile carriers – 3G mobile networks – and the other driven by the computer industry – wireless local area networks. 3G networks, on the one hand, are far from being considered a real generational shift since their delayed deployment and market launch have jeopardized their potential. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), on the other hand, by following a different deployment mode and organizational structure, have created promises for a revolutionary shift. Download List of working papers |