Overview

In recent years, cellular telephones have emerged as a must-have appliance among mobile professionals and consumers alike, growing in popularity every year since they were first introduced more than 15 years ago. Cellular telephones, once considered a status symbol by many, have become an integral link to our telecommunications infrastructure in support of an increasingly mobile society. Their widespread use for both voice and data communications has resulted from significant progress made in their portability, network services availability, and the miniaturization and declining cost of chips, memory, and other components. These factors combined with a widespread public understanding of how mobile communications can enhance business and personal communications, as well as contribute to personal security have resulted in the sustained high growth of cellular telephone usage.

As the wireless industry continues to expand, network operators must be able to offer advanced services to subscribers. A number of value-added services have been introduced in recent years. They serve two purposes: they give service providers the means to distinguish their offerings from competitors, and they benefit subscribers by giving them more reason to sign up with or continue using a particular operator.

Value-added services are implemented by subsystems that are integrated into the existing wireless infrastructure. Such systems are offered by the major switch manufacturers such as Lucent Technologies and Northern Telecom (Nortel). The value-added services market has also attracted a number of smaller, independent vendors that specialize in such areas as credit screening, call accounting and billing, inventory management, and fraud prevention.