Tony, this is a very interesting mail.
Could I ask you did you notice an improvement in the time it takes to access
WAP sites when you started using a GPRS enabled handset ?
One of the vaunted reasons for i-mode superiority over circuit-switched WAP
is speed of access to content from clicking the handset until the content
arriving back, am interested in what you perceive as a user in HK. How many
seconds does it take typically for a response ? While there is significant
variation depending on network traffic, I assume, i-mode spits back a
response within 4 to 6 seconds from clicking. From my experiements, I sense
that the access time is much faster from the second page of a site, while
the first page can take significantly longer, perhaps others on this list
can explain why this is.
I find J-Phone`s J-Sky to be noticably slower than i-mode.
THks in advance,
Philip Greenan
Network365 Japan
-----Original Message-----
From: keitai-l-bounce@appelsiini.net [mailto:keitai-l-bounce@appelsiini.
net]On Behalf Of Tony Chan
Sent: Tuesday, July 03, 2001 3:20 PM
To: keitai-l@appelsiini.net
Subject: (keitai-l) Re: GPRS content question -- please help!
Here in Hong Kong, all the operators now operate WAP services, and GPRS
is essentially the same except over a packetized core netowrk. Some
operate so-called, walled gardens, which do not allow users to go
outside content hosted within an operator's network while others have
some kind of open gateway which allows users to wander outside and visit
sites on the Net in general, such as DoCoMo-partner, Hutchison Telecom.
It's strictly a policy and business issue. Some operators have a
strategy to keep control over its content either to (hopefully) get some
share of the revenue from it, or to use the content as a competitive
differentiator (we have it and they don't angle). Some operators don't
care and allow their users to go anywhere they choose on the Web (the
more is better than less attitude). So whether or not a GPRS user can or
cannot access a particular site is determined entirely at the operator's
discretion, usually at the routing table of the GGNS or SGNS, or
whatever it is that supports a GPRS on the core network is called.
The other factor that could restrict a GPRS user's access to Web sites
is bandwidth. While most mobile operators operating wireless Internet
services will have some kind of bandwidth to the local Internet exchange
to route traffic to local content sites, there is no guarantee that they
will install any international (often very expensive) bandwidth to
support users who want to access overseas Web sites, for example, an
i-mode users trying to acces a Chinese newspaper Web server located in
Taiwan. As far as I know, DoCoMo have put in this international link
since a friend of mine actually downloaded the Telstra page in Australia
while in Tokyo, proving that the request from the i-mode browser can
find its way to the server Downunder and vice versa. Without an
international link, even an operator will an "open" policy, like DoCoMo,
would not be able to provide access to overseas Web sites. Also, some
operators might have this link in place, but it is so small that more
than a handful of users at a time would bring traffic to a standstill.
Economically, it is very hard to justify the expense of international
bandwidth just for a handful of users. Also, even though DoCoMo
generates revenue on every bit of traffic, including those going to
unofficial sites, their margins for international i-mode traffic would
be dramatically reduced (if they get margins at all from it) by their
provision of the international link.
John Floss wrote:
>
> Hi folks,
> Ok, here's something that is stumping me, so please go
> easy on me as I know it's probably an easy answer:
>
> On Jphone and i-mode, the content (i.e. websites) are
> viewable over the phone AND over a normal web browser
> (though through a browser things might look odd with
> the c-html).
>
> Now, if I am NOT an i-mode registered/bonafide i-mode
> provider, i-mode folks can still get to my site by
> typing in the url, right? yes. It might be a little
> more difficult for users as my site is not one of the
> sites accepted by the venerable docomo corporation
> (what the heck does it take to be a member of their
> elite crew of sites anyway...) but nonetheless, users
> can reach my site by typing in the url.
>
> Now, here is my problem: What About GPRS? Does anyone
> know if a GPRS handset user in another country can
> easily access NON-accepted sites from their own
> telecom provider? I am planning on launching some
> sites in China and Taiwan when GPRS is in full effect
> and some people have told me that if I am NOT a member
> of China's or Taiwan's ELITE crew of accepted sites,
> users WILL NOT be able to see my site. This sounds
> incorrect asd I assume users can just type in any URL
> and go visit those sites (as long as they are using
> code viewable by the respective handset browser).
>
> Can anybody shed light on this GPRS handset issue?
>
> Thank you for your time.
>
> J.F.
>
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Received on Tue Jul 3 12:57:21 2001