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Tomw Communications Pty Ltd - Media Release

Mobile data next tech wreck

19 July 2001, Sydney, Australia: The next generation of digital mobile phone technology could bankrupt application developers, makers and telcos according to Internet consultant Tom Worthington. A Visiting Fellow in the Department of Computer Science at the Australian National University and Director of Tomw Communications Pty Ltd, Mr. Worthington presented at the Internet World Australia 2001, in Sydney, today.



"Development of high speed third generation mobile telephone technology has stalled. The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) has not proved a commercial success . Next generation 3G phones are planned to be used for video, an application which has already proved a flop on wired networks."

As an alternative to unimaginative products from the mobile telephone companies Mr Worthington half-jokingly suggested children's groupware may be the killer application for mobile data:

"In the chaos of what is a family dinner there is a loud beeping from under one of the children. Little Joan pulls out the brightly coloured wireless kiddy-net PDA she has been sitting on and switches on the screen. "Mum, Jane says that the soccer training had to be moved and Thursday was the best day the group calendar could schedule. But can you sign my screen to tell the teacher it is okay to miss art class?"

Spinoffs from research into making the web accessible to the disabled can make useful mobile web devices, Worthington claimed:

"New generation of smart wireless web devices can provide a good service using the existing mobile phone bandwidth and using simple adaptation of existing web standards. Australian companies can capitalise on research in this field by Australian academics. The same technology is compatible with the new Australian standard for interactive digital television. New products can be quickly developed while major companies around the world flounder under the billions of dollars in debt they accumulated from investing in dead-end WAP and 3G technology."

In 1999 Worthington was elected a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society for his contribution to the development of public Internet policy. At the Australian National University he is presenting courses on wireless Internet and web site design using the latest international standards. In may he presented a free seminar on e-Commerce for Small Business, sponsored by the Federal Government's Business Entry Point.



Media Enquires:
Tom Worthington FACS, Email: tom.worthington@tomw.net.au Tel: 0419 496 150 International: +61 419 496 150
More details:

This media release with links to referenced material is available on-line at: http://www.tomw.net.au/media/20010719.html

TomW Communications Pty Ltd, PO Box 13, Belconnen ACT 2617, Australia
E-mail: tomw.communications@tomw.net.au Ph: 0419 496150 A.C.N. 088 714 309

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