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Is Your Wireless Network Slowing You Down?

Posted on: Wednesday, 5 December 2007, 06:00 CST

Does your wireless network let you do what you want to, exactly when you want to do it? We're talking about the cool stuff -- gaming, video and music downloads, and instant social media connections.

Or, is your wireless network frustrating, taking so long to load a web site, you forget why you wanted to go there in the first place? Or, playing video so slowly you'd see more action watching paint dry?

Sound about right? Want more from your wireless network? You're not alone. Check this out -

JUST THE FACTS

Research from focus groups+ in the U.S. and Japan compiled by Nortel* (NYSE: NT) (TSX: NT) and consultant CSMG ADVENTIS** found tech savvy consumers are frustrated by the data limitations of most wireless networks today. They'd actually pay more to be better connected -- more connections, faster connections -- and free of download drudgery.

Listen to a podcast with CSMG's Susan Simmons on the research findings. Add your opinion to it by participating in a survey or commenting on what your dream wireless network would do at Nortel CTO John Roese's blog.

Here's more of what the research found and what participants said:

 --  Consumers do a lot now with their mobile devices beyond voice and     simple text but would probably do a lot more if they had access to     faster wireless networks.     --  "It would be cool if you could take a video on your phone and then         post it on YouTube instantly. Like take a picture on your phone and         put it on your MySpace and not have to go through downloading it to         your computer and then putting it up...That's why I never really do         it -- it would be much better if you could put it straight there."     --  "The one thing I would pay for is having the music library in my         car and to be able to -- on a digital camera -- get pictures onto         your computer, on the Internet or something. You take a video and         put it on the Internet, something like that." --  Young people want social networking available when they are on the go     because these sites are how they stay connected with their friends.     They want to be notified when friends are nearby and be able to access     things such as music and messaging on online profiles.     --  "[Mobility] would be nice for social networking things, to get         together a group of friends. As soon as they come within a certain         radius -- 'Oh, they are here.'  That would be nice." --  Consumers want unique capabilities, specifically designed to make     mobile use simple, without the hassle of scrolling and flipping across     screens with multiple passwords.     --  "A lot of websites aren't formatted to [display] on your phone         either.  It doesn't look like what it looks like normally." --  Users want Hyperconnectivity (http://www.hyperconnectivity.com/). They     want everything that can be connected, to be connected for seamless     access in devices, like cars, MP3 players and cameras, and they are     willing to pay for it.     --  "Any way you can link your electronics together would be a good         thing. Somebody takes a picture and then before you know it, it's         on the Internet for anybody to see."     --  "I think the engine [wireless remote diagnostics] would be good,         too. The music thing, like music straight to the in-dash thing --         what would be really cool is if you can just play whatever you         want."

4G WIRELESS NETWORKS TO THE RESCUE

Scott Wickware, vice president of marketing and strategy for Nortel's Carrier Networks, says: "The consumers in our focus groups told us very clearly that they are frustrated with their current mobile services. This shows us there is demand for 4G wireless networks that will open the door to the era of Hyperconnectivity. Consumers want their wireless networks to make things like web browsing, social networking, and real-time television simple to access wherever they are. The key question is whether operators will be ready to meet these demands."

Listen to Scott explain more about the new era of Hyperconnectivity and how 4G Mobile Broadband technologies such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), WiMAX, Ultra-Mobile Broadband (UMB), and IMS are up to the challenge.

-- Podcast - The Need for Speeds and Feeds Part 1 with CSMG's Susan Simmons

-- Podcast - The Need for Speeds and Feeds Part 2 with Nortel's Scott Wickware

-- Podcast - Nortel on 4G Strategy Part 1 - Why 4G?

-- Podcast - Nortel on 4G Strategy Part 2 - OFDM/MIMO... So what?

-- Podcast - Nortel on 4G Strategy Part 3 - 3G v 4G: Where the rubber hits the road

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT NORTEL AND 4G

-- Video - The Nortel Story (YouTube)**

-- Podcast - Nortel CTO John Roese on the Telecom Industry in a Hyperconnected World

-- John Roese blogs on 4G: Strategy and Tactics, and Nortel's 4G Strategy (guest blog by Richard Lowe, president of carrier networks at Nortel)

-- Nortel customer, Quad-Cities Online, chronicles the creation of their WiMAX network**

-- Feature - WiMAX - 4G Mobile Broadband for a Hyperconnected World

-- Flash Demo - What is 4G?

-- Position Paper - Boost multimedia with 4G mobile broadband (pdf 116 kb)

+18 Focus groups were conducted in New York City, Seattle, Washington DC, Tokyo, and Osaka across the following age groups: high school students, college students, post-grad young adults, established workers, and highly informed consumers known as Prosumers

*Nortel, the Nortel logo and the Globemark are trademarks of Nortel Networks.

**This is a 3rd party link as described in our Web linking practices.

Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=641655

 Media Contact: Karen Monaghan 613-763-1133 Email Contact Call or e-mail to arrange an interview  

SOURCE: Nortel

Source: MARKET WIRE

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