Wireless network operators, or carriers, are under intense competitive pressure. They must generate ROI on the massive investments that they've made to roll out data-capable networks. Specifically, carriers must compensate for flat-to-waning voice Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). Right now, they are counting on the fact that enticing data services will significantly drive ARPU growth. At the same time, these carriers must reduce the costs associated with providing data services and reduce churn. They can do this by identifying and offering services that present consumers and businesses alike with compelling value. Such services will then be deemed worthy of monthly recurring usage.

To date, wireless-data-service experiences have been intolerable. To put it mildly, they are slow, hard to use, and prohibitively expensive. To make matters worse, they have no applications beyond e-mail that can appeal to consumers, mobile professionals, and enterprise users. The end result has been abysmal adoption rates and limited usage.

Although the future seems bleak, all is not lost. The industry has recognized the technology shortfalls that have led to this predicament. It has responded with the introduction of foundation technologies, which are designed to enable sophisticated data applications. To prove this point, consider what happened in 2002. Last year brought faster GPRS/CDMA 1xRTT networks and powerful smart wireless devices. The devices are running full-blown operating systems with 1990s-class desktop-computing power.

These smart devices enable a variety of new software techniques. In turn, the techniques offer new opportunities for carriers to deliver data services. These services boast a phenomenal user experience and more affordable pricing through optimized network usage.

To craft a compelling customer value proposition, it is key to understand why users have been slow to adopt—or reluctant to use—wireless-data services on an ongoing basis. In part, the reason stems from the industry's failure to deliver on the key purchase drivers for mainstream wireless-data services. Customers want simple and convenient usability and affordable service plans. They are also looking for relevant applications that will target their unmet needs while they are on the go.

With regard to usability, the handheld devices connected to wireless networks have relied almost solely on browser-centric solutions. These solutions provided the primary method for accessing network data. Unfortunately, the browser model was specifically designed for the PC environment. It has inherent limitations when deployed on limited-capability handsets.

A browser must, for example, maintain a live connection to a server to be useful. It also has to maintain that live connection for the duration of time that it takes to complete any given task. Moreover, getting cut off mid-task requires the user to go back to the beginning and start over. There is simply no way to store information "offline" or for the user to resume where he or she left off.

Ease of use, on the other hand, demands access to a keyboard, mouse, and full-size monitor. Imagine reducing the screen size, however, from full screen to approximately a tenth the size of a traditional full screen. Browsing was specifically designed and optimized for rich data-entry mechanisms and a full-sized screen. Consequently, browsing on a handheld device—without a sophisticated data-entry device or a large screen—presents an intolerable experience for most consumers.

These basic tenets serve as implicit requirements for the successful deployment and use of the browser client-server model. But in reality, it only truly "works" on a PC.

EASY DOESN'T MEAN USABLE
Because they were motivated by time to market, companies targeting the wireless data market chose the easy and obvious path of placing browsers inside voice-centric handsets. That way, they could quickly offer a wireless data solution. Today, however, user frustration and abysmal adoption rates prove that this approach is fundamentally flawed when it comes to usability.

This result is a well-known fact in the wireless market today. It has led to limited new user adoption of wireless-data services, as well as limited uptake of wireless-data services from existing voice subscribers. In addition, carriers are currently unable to generate meaningful revenue from data services.

To solve this problem, developers came up with the alternative approach to enabling basic handsets. These handsets typically have less than 8-M Flash and 2-M RAM, along with minimal processing capability. Yet they would be enabled to download and run self-contained, "thin-client" plug-in applications. This idea caught on quickly and showed great promise. Unfortunately, virtually every handset manufacturer has created its own proprietary implementation for deploying these types of applications on their handsets. Moreover, many of them have chosen to write their own proprietary extensions so that they can take full advantage of their device capabilities.

For developers, this means that they potentially have to write very complex platform-specific code for every handset that they want to support. It is a huge challenge to write one application that can run on any handset. Due to this problem, the technique is now only targeted for simple, lowest-common-denominator applications, such as games and entertainment applications.