WoWMoM 2002 3G vs WiFi

1
WoWMoM 20023G vs WiFi

• Jean-Pierre Hubaux
• Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne
• http//lcawww.epfl.ch

2
The Current Situation

• The telecom industry is in deep trouble, and 3G
  is a major reason for this
• Cumulated debt of 750b ()
• Overcapacity estimated at 250b ()
• Massive layoffs more to come
• Crisis of the corporate research model (Bell
  Labs, ATT Labs, Research labs of European
  incumbent operators,)
• () The Economist, Technology Quarterly,
  September 21, 2002

3
The mistakes on 3G in Europe(my personal view)

• Develop over-confidence (success of 2G)
• As a first result, borrow money until all banks
  get scared
• As a second result, be obliged to propose
  applications with dubious social value (match
  making, games,) try to exploit the
  psychological weaknesses of human beings (e.g.,
  the need to show off)
• Be confused about mobility and portability ?
  desperately look for a killer application
  requiring high bitrate while moving
• Ignore history (ATM)

4
ATM vs IP, situation in 1992
5
3G vs WiFi, situation in 2002
nevertheless, 3G will probably not be confined
to a backbone technology
6
Both 3G and WiFi will be around for many years

• Possible titles of papers to be submitted in the
  near future
• Seamless Hand-off between 802.11 Access Points
  and cdma2K Base Stations
• Secure WiFi Roaming Based on the 3G
  Authentication Infrastructure
• SmartFrog Multi-hop Access to UMTS via
  Bluetooth Scatternets

7
What can the research community do to increase
the credibility of our field ?

• Stop considering that ubiquitous computing is a
  goal per se
• Focus instead on real problems, possibly in
  collaboration with non-techies examples
• The digital divide in developed countries
• The lack of connectivity of rural areas in
  developing countries
• The number of casualties due to road accidents
  (e.g., Fleetnet project)
• The implications of Information Technology on the
  environment (e.g., Challenge on Environmental
  Design, presented at Mobicom 2002)
• Design flexible (or ad hoc -) solutions, to cope
  with the high unpredictability of the future