Debate is continuing in New Zealand about whether the deployment of fibre to all homes is affordable. While the talking continues, Qualcomm is pushing mobile broadband as an alternative. Dene Mackenzie reports.
The expected vast improvement in broadband download speeds will be the catalyst for a revolution in data and devices, Qualcomm Australia and New Zealand country manager Robert Hart says.
WCDMA (wide mobile broadband) download speeds were set to go from 3.6 megabits per second (mbps) to 7 mbps soon and, by next year, they were set to increase to between 21 mbps to 28 mbps.
In 2010, speeds could be up to 34 mbps but Long-Term Evolution (LTD) speeds, which could come in before 2011, could be up to 100 mbps, he said in an interview.
"That is an enormous improvement and devices to support that sort of speed, along with business applications, are being developed now."
Asked what sort of devices he meant, Mr Hart said data specific computers with a mobile data card would be the first devices off the rank for people who wanted high transfer rates.
The transfer of video files would be almost effortless.
For PCs, it would be no different than connecting to a cable.
Then would come the handsets capable of the high broadband speeds, in some form or another.
Some of those handsets were not invented yet, but as the success of Facebook and Myspace showed, people were prepared to try new technology as it arrived.
Wireless and fibre broadband were complimentary but, in some cases, mobile was the more practical solution, he said.
In an office, a fibre connection would allow a lot of people access to the server.
But out of the office, a tablet PC with a wireless connection could allow people to write down notes, have them converted into text and downloaded to the server.
Nowhere in the world had the sort of data speeds Mr Hart was predicting, but by next year 28 mbps would become standard in many countries.
Telecom New Zealand was introducing a WCDMA network this year, and Vodafone was rolling out its 3G mobile network to 97% of the country.
Once that happened, progress would be very fast, he said.
Qualcomm was also working on television for mobile phones.
Only available in the United States at present, Qualcomm had signed content agreements with major broadcasters and mobile phone companies.
The phones had a tuner chip which allowed users to watch television.
If they liked a recipe from a cooking programme, viewers could have it emailed to their phone or they could have the whole clip sent to the phone and stored to watch later.
Also, Qualcomm was working on better Internet browsing for mobile phones.
While many Internet sites could be viewed on phones, usually sites were so small to view they were almost impossible to use.
The company was working on programmes, particularly for Internet banking, that were specifically designed for small screens and easy to use.
When the new speeds arrived, video chatting by phones was likely to become standard.
"Pretty much anything available for a fixed PC can be translated for mobile," he said.
Qualcomm regional manager of Internet services Mantosh Malhotra said healthcare was another area the company was investigating.
Diagnostic services and access to doctors through mobile phones were becoming increasingly popular in remote areas where access to health services was not easy.
Medical records could be stored and accessed by mobile phone and doctors contacted if required.
Robert Hart and Mantosh Malhotra were in New Zealand to talk at the Tuanz After 5 events in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.
