Telephones should be used for talking

The FT says that telephones are for talking and all the other flashy data services are just that. It is also something that the networks have acknowledged in as much as they are tarrifing third generation services lower than those of existing ones in an effort to speed the upgrade.

I a discussion last night about wireless we agreed that voice is the one service that you have to provide on a allways on basis. A chief executive can cope without access to his email or his corporate accounting systems he cannot function without a telephone. The other issue about complex communication systems is that they are an ecology that is interdependent so that when a network plugs in a new component they are quite likey to knock out a number of services because they do not understand cause and effect. This is why we have had to wait so long for the launch of 3G.

As someone who has spent all his working life in wireless telecoms I can remember back to the point almost 20 years ago when Racal and BT launched mobile phones and the evolution seen until today we have come to a point when advance sees us having to regress in order to progress rather than Darwinian evolution.

I for one am looking forward to the next few months as the Networks balance the two systems and discover what the consumer will pay for as an individual and as a business.