How will 3G data services affect the enterprise?

Don't underestimate 3G data services, industry experts say. These offerings will tie mobile laptops and voice/data smartphones into corporate networks with something approximating a useable desktop computing experience.

"Mobile broadband laptops are a Big Deal," says Rajeev Chand, director of wireless research for Rutberg & Co., a San Francisco investment bank. "It's driving real traffic for carriers."

That's because enterprises are using 3G to do real work. A recent survey by Chadwick Martin Bailey of 114 IT decision makers at companies with 1,000 or more employees found that 48 percent said they're using 3G services, and that another 22 percent plan to start within the next 12 months.

"There's no 'killer app' for 3G," says Paul DeBeasi, senior analyst for wireless and mobility, Burton Group, technology research and advisory company. "But it does mean easier access to information, faster customer response times to customers, always-available access to databases, and increased job and work flexibility."

"3G" refers to EVDO (Evolution-Data Only) and HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access), with downlink speeds of 500K to 700Kbps, and uplink speeds of 60K to 100Kbps. Enhanced 3G networks, such as EV-DO Revision A and HSUPA (High-Speed Uplink Packet Access) improve the uplink by about three times that speed, and offer about 1Mbps download speeds.

This is a far cry from 100Mbps Ethernet to the desktop. But most of the applications running over that cable don't require anything like 100Mbps. 3G networks, in effect, let you take your "desk" with you.

"It's not like plugging into an RJ-45 jack, but we're getting closer all the time," says Craig Mathias, a Network World blogger and tester, and principal for Farpoint Group, a wireless and mobile consulting firm. Mathias says anything you can do in the office you can now do outside the office with 3G...provided you have coverage, provided the mobile carrier has the needed capacity, provided you have the right handheld.

"It means that field applications can become 'richer,'" says Tom Henderson, a Network World Clear Choice tester and managing director for ExtremeLabs, a technology testing and research lab in Indianapolis. "You can have more multimedia [in applications] without latency issues, and it permits a lot more tools and applications on the device." The corollary is that the Web sites accessed by 3G mobile users will be able to make more use, and more sophisticated use, of rich media compared with static HTML pages, he says.

"This seems like an obvious migration to me," says Ken Dulaney, a vice president covering wireless for Gartner. "Enterprise IT will move to 3G simply because the [mobile] operators will move it there. 3G will enable more data from laptops, and will improve some handheld experiences where browsing is important."