Up to now, we have seen the various techniques used in a wireless communications network. This includes the general radio-based systems, the modulation techniques and the access methods, and the different forms of access such as Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), and Global System for Mobile (GSM). Each of these chapters covered the benefit and the market of the systems throughout the world. Moreover, we saw the growth sector for each of the services. However, none of the topics thus far has dealt with the real issue. Instead, the coverage showed the use of a voice network strategy that the carriers have followed. And why not? The carriers went where the market was, where the revenues justified the investments and the overall demand. Voice was always the driving force behind most of the networks because it constituted more than 90 percent of the revenues derived from the networks. However, one cannot say that data would not be equally as beneficial because the networks were not built to satisfy the data communications demands. Moreover, immediately after data was introduced into the cellular and GSM markets, it became obvious that the speeds were too slow and the connections were unreliable. Without major innovation, data transmission on the wireless networks would clearly never happen. This meant that the suppliers needed some form of motivation to make the investments in data.

Over the last 25+ years, we have seen an...