Ray Van Eng (10/03/97) By early 1998, GTE Corp. will test market web telephony service with the help of M-Power Corp. and Spyglass Inc. The trial will involve 1,000 GTE customers in one of GTE's major customer areas in California, Florida, Texas or Washington state. Neither location nor pricing has been decided. Spyglass' Prism server software is said to be able to convert any web page on the fly to fit the 5"x4" display of screen phones which will come in cordless or tethered versions and will sell for about $250 to $350 apiece.
As cellular phones are becoming more like palmtop computers, new web technology such as HDML (handheld device markup language), a scale-down version of the HTML web page display specification is forthcoming in serving emerging new markets. With broadcasters like ESPN and ABC Network creating web material using HDML, AT&T is launching in New York its PocketNet service and a smart phone to display HDML content using a special Internet browser from Unwired Planet, called UP.Browser. Bell Atlantic and GTE MobileNet are also interested in staking out a presence in such a market and will offer service packages priced at $20 to $30 a month. Currently, there are about 50 million mobile phone users in the U.S. Industry experts believe that CDPD (cellular digital packet data) rather than the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) technology will be used to access HDML web pages as CDPD is more efficient in transmitting data. |
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phones can also be used for regular voice communication as well as visual
voice mail, online directory searches and Internet telephony.