Transcript of What is mobile Commerce? The term Mobile Commerce, mCommerce has been used to describe a variety of...
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- What is mobile Commerce? The term Mobile Commerce, mCommerce
has been used to describe a variety of transactions conducted
through mobile devices connected through the wireless network.
Wireless networks like GSM, GPRS, TDMA, CDMA and UMTS enable the
mobile device user to access a variety information stores on
databases on connectivity providers, other service providers, and
information providers, including information stores on web
servers.
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- The term mobile device is used here to refer to devices like:
*Cellular phones *Hand-held computers such as *palmtops, tablets
PCs, etc. *Messaging/pager devices *Laptop computers *Personal
digital assistants (PDAs)
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- Mobile commerce can be defined as any electronic commerce
activity conducted over the wireless network through mobile
devices. According to Tarasewich, Nickerson, and Warkentin (2002),
mobile commerce includes all activities related to a (potential)
commercial transaction conducted through communications networks
that interface with wireless (or mobile) devices. It is the
exchange of information, goods and services through the use of
mobile technology.
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- Mobile Commerce is thus concerned and influenced by evolution
in the following aspects: *Availability of information, goods and
services. * Mobile devices and applications capable of effective
and efficient interaction and rendering of goods and services. *
The movement of information goods over a reliable network or
bandwidth.
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- Benefits of Mobile Commerce: Vencent Cerf, the Internet
pioneer, predicted several decades ago that the internet is likely
to become so ubiquitous that it would disappear. The wireless
network connected Internet is making this prediction come true.
Handheld devices, like the blackberry, work on the internet mode,
and users of these devices continually receive and send electronic
mail, These handheld products have already made ubiquity a
reality.
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- The dream sequence of yesteryears science fiction, such as, a
refrigerator keeping track of inventory inside and sending alerts
to a mobile users devices for refills, are all virtual
possibilities today. The capability of monitoring household gadgets
and turning them on and off while on the move has all been made
achievable by mobile company connectivity.
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- Mobile commerce is all about integration of wireless networks
accessed through handheld devices and internet. Much of the
benefits offered by internet and electronic commerce are offered by
the mobile commerce as well. Since the customer using the handheld
device comes through specific wireless network through which the
location can be identified. The location identifiable connectivity
offered by mobile commerce not only enhances the benefits made
available but the electronic commerce but additionally helps in
providing more relevant content.
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- The round the clock (24X7) availability offered by the internet
is also available to mobile commerce users. This benefited many
users of electronic commerce as they could conduct their business
and access information at convenient times and from the confines of
their homes or any other place, provided it had internet
connectivity.
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- The handheld device user, connected to a wireless network, can
also meet the information access and transactions need round, the
clock from any place, even while on the move. Mobile commerce
extends the anytime access paradigm offered by the electronic
commerce to that of anytime and anywhere access.
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- In the mobile network connection, handheld devices successes
the wireless network through the connectivity provider covering the
current location. Thus, it is easy to identify the physical
location of the handheld device user at a particular moment. This
added knowledge about the physical location of the user provides
the additional ability of customizing contents and offering
location specific services.
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- Mobile service users can receive customized alerts, pointing
them to the stores, friends, and restaurant in the vicinity of the
user. A mobile user trying to locate an ATM teller can contact the
banking service provider which in turn can download the location of
the nearby ATM centre.
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- Mobile commerce offers a greater deal of flexibility in
accessing the information through a personalized mobile
environment. Timely information, such as flight availability and
flight schedules, can be obtained even at the last minute. The last
minute on-the-move access offered by mobile commerce extends
electronic markets further as the last minute availability
information often leads to immediate purchase.
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- Mobile devices, as they remain connected all the time and in
possession of the user, can also be used for delivering time
critical as well as emergency information. SMS based notification
and alert services can be put to use to inform users of changes in
flight schedules, stock prices, etc.
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- The very nature of wireless infrastructure assists in
identifying mobile users in certain specified geographic regions.
Thus, region specific promotion or information dissemination can be
easily accomplished in the mobile commerce environment.
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- Mobile commerce offers better opportunity for personalization
of information and delivery of content that is relevant to the
mobile user. The mobile user can transmit the profile of services
it is interested in at the moment. Based on the current location
and the specific profile, the information can be customized to a
match the user requirements in that local area.
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- For example, advertisers can deliver discount coupons that can
be cashed in and around the location of the mobile location of the
mobile user on the wireless handheld device. If the user requests
information regarding certain products, the advertiser can deliver
the wireless coupons of stores that stock the targeted
products.
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- In other words, mobile commerce offers advertisers an
opportunity to deliver time sensitive, geographical region specific
information along with promotional discount coupons anytime,
anywhere. The capability obviously enhances the reach and
effectiveness of the cyber market.
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- Electronic commerce payment models require third party
mechanisms such as credit cards. Mobile commerce, on the other
hand, can utilize the mobile device itself for payment purposes,
and payments made on the device can appear as part of the phone
bills. Users can thus pay for parking meters, taxis, petrol, etc.
through the mobile device. Pepsi and Coke have already experimented
in Japan by letting people charge the cost of drinks to their phone
bills.
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- Impediments in mobile commerce: Mobile device Handheld devices
commonly used today include phones, and palm sized computers. The
very nature and purpose of these devices offers a limited screen
size. In web browsing users can get a rich experience of browsing
the product details on 800X600 pixel sized screens with rich colors
and a tool set to offer 3-D and even video experience.
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- The graphic user interface of the web browser offers the point
and click interface. Handheld devices provide a great deal of
flexibility and mobility in accessing the information, they have
far lesser convenient user interface when compared to personal
computers. Mobile devices offer menu based scroll and click
interface.
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- The physical lightness and small-size of the device poses
limitations in the development of convenient input and display
interfaces. Additionally, mobile devices also have limited
computing power and memory and storage capacity. As a result, they
are unable to run and support complex applications.
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- Incompatible Networks; The cellular networks evolution in the
past decade has created multiple competing protocol standards. In
the United States much of the mobile networks deployed have been
using Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) and Code Division
Multiple Access (CDMA).
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- On the other hand, much any European nations and, the
Asia-Pacific region adopted the General System for Mobile
Communication (GSM). In India, most of the early cellular phone
operators adopted GSM while the later entrant, reliance InfoComm,
has adopted the CDMA for wireless networks. Although the
interconnect arrangements do exist between the multiple players,
yet mobile commerce application builders have to be aware of the
heterogeneity of the network protocols and ensure that the
application is able to operate seamlessly.
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- Bandwidth Access wireless networks use the frequency spectrum
for exchanging information. In order to promote healthy competition
amongst wireless operators and judicious use of limited spectrum,
regulatory bodies control spectrum. In India, frequency spectrums
were initiall allocated and regulated by the Department of
Telecommunication (DoT). The Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India(TRAI) was later set up to manage the spectrum.
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- Security Concerns: Mobile commerce operates over wireless
networks making it more vulnerable to intruders compared to wired
infrastructure. In the wired network, the intruder has to gain
physical access to the wired infrastructure while in the wireless
network the intruder can be anyone with the ability to receive
signals on his wireless intrusion device.
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- Also, from the technology standpoint, the wireless
infrastructure is faced with the following security related
concerns: Since handheld device have limited computing power,
memory, and storage capacity, it is difficult to deploy 256-bit and
higher key encryption schemes without severe degradation
performance.
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- The atmospheric interference and fading of signal in wireless
channels causes frequent data errors and sometimes even
disconnection. A disconnection in middle of a financial transaction
can leave the user unsure and distrustful. Frequent handoffs as
users move from cell to cell also add vulnerability.
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- Authentication of mobile devices prior to carrying out any
transaction is a major issue. In case of GSM, the Subscriber
Identity Module (SIM) is used for storing the cryptographic keys,
of its unique identity called International Mobile Subscriber
Identity (IMSI). The authentication server of the wireless GSM
network stores the matching key and the IMSI of the subscriber as
well.
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- Calls and short messages in the GSM are handled by the SIM
rather than in mobile station holding the SIM card. The wireless
networks can thus authenticating the SIM card. This mechanism of
authentication is one way where the network is capable of
authenticating the SIM but a SIM user cannot be authenticating the
network. A sound commerce environment requires that both sides
should be able to authenticate each other.
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- The disconnection and Hand-off issues pose additional problems
in trying to maintain the identity of the mobile device and
authentication of it being in order. As stated earlier, it is far
easier to intercept a Communication over wireless networks. The
encryption mechanism may make it harder to decipher but inability
to user higher key lengths for encryptions increase the degree of
vulnerability.
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- Competing Web Language Mobile devices cannot handle full
fledged Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) documents. In order to
offer web access and offer similar services, two competing but
incompatible standards have emerged. The mobile devices that adopt
Wireless Access Protocol use Wireless Markup Language (WML) for
mobile commerce applications, while the NTT DoCoMOs iMode devices
use a condensed version HTML (cHTML).
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- In order to enable voice access and interface for displaying
web content, VoiceXML, a new markup language, has also emerged.
Incompatible standards make the task of mobile commerce application
and service providers even more complex.
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- MOBILE COMMERCE FRAMEWORK Mobile commerce applications require
a reliable wireless network infrastructure to move the information
and execute transaction in a distributed environment. These
applications also rely upon two key component technologies,
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- i.e., the information publishing technology necessary for the
creation of suitable digital content that can be browsed through
handheld devices with limited memory, storage, and processing
capabilities; and information distribution technology to move
digital contents and transaction information over wireless
networks. Thus, in the mobile commerce framework, network
infrastructure forms the very foundation while publication and
distribution technologies are the two pillars that support the
creation of distributed mobile commerce applications.
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- In addition to technological infrastructure and applications,
for electronic commerce to flourish it is essential to have a
business service infrastructure. The business service
infrastructure companies of directory services, location and search
services, and trust mechanism for private, secure, reliable and
non-repudiable transaction along with online financial settlement
mechanism, that operate over the network.
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- The multi-layered architecture of electronic commerce,
comprising of essential blocks, has been shown in Fig. 15.1.
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- The framework describes various building blocks enabled by
technology for creating new market and market opportunities. The
building elements of the mobile commerce architecture are described
as follows:
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- Wireless Network Infrastructure: The combination of several
technologies such as the availability of digital communication
through hand held devices, embedded operating software for
processing information, and digital connectivity through wireless
networks are all essential requirements for mobile commerce
applications to operate.
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- Wireless networks have evolved from the basic voice only radio
based analog transmission and have acquired the digital voice and
data transmission capability. Wireless networks today are capable
of achieving 2 Mbps data rates. The following Table describes the
evolution of the wireless networks.
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- GenerationChannelsSwitching Mode ExamplesData Rates 1GAnalog
VoiceCircuit Switched AMPSN/A 2GDigitalCircuit Switched GSM9.6 Kbps
Packet Switched CDMA 2.5GDigitalPacket Switched EDGE GPRS 384 Kbps
171.2 Kbps 3GDigitalPacket Switched CDMA2000 WCDMA
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- The early mobile telephone devices were basically analog voice
only devices that offered voice communication using cellular
telephony. The first generation, referred to as 1G in short, use a
product of the analog cellular telephony developed in 1978 and
deployed during the 1980s. 1G technologies were designed to
transmit voice phone calls from wireless handsets. These calls are
sent in the clear, and are easy to intercept using a scanner.
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- In the cellular mode of communication large geographical
regions are identified and allocated to service providers. The
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) handles the allocation
and other regulatory issues, such as how many players can operate
within a specific area. Each of service provider is allocated a
separate frequency sub-bands within the overall frequency
allotment. Service providers operating in a particular region
divide the entire region into smaller area called cells.
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- The cellular communication system consists of the components:
the handheld device, the transceiver within a cell, and the Mobile
Telephone Switching Office (MTSO). The service provider places an
antenna at the center of the cell. The transmission and reception
pattern of the antenna, also called antenna pattern or footprint,
is such that it covers the entire cell. These antenna footprints
are usually circular in shape. However, on the map they are
depicted as hexagons for convenience as they offer an orderly
pattern, as shown in fig. below.
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- Advanced Mobile Phone System (IG) The base station offers the
following minimums functionality: Transmission and reception of
signals from mobile device Support for full duplex communication
Intercommunication among base stations Interconnection with the
controlling MTSO, which in turn may connect to Public Switched
Telephone Networks (PSTN) for transmitting the mobile calls to
landline and landline to mobile.
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- Each base station is connected to the MTSO through one of the
following ways, depending upon the cell traffic capacity, terrain,
and distance between the MSX and cell. Through a high-capacity
copper telephone line, e.g., a T1 carrier line; Through a
fiber-optic cable; or Through a point-to-point microwave
relay.
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- In essence, the controlling MTSO for a base transceiver station
offers the following functionality: Switching function for the
calls i.e., cell-to-cell, cell-to- landine Handover of mobile
(Travelling) device from cell-to-cell with no disruption Data
collection for accounting and billing purposes Coordination of
monitoring and backup facilities.
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- In essence, the controlling MTSO for a base transceiver station
offers the following functionality: Switching function for the
calls i.e., cell-to-cell, cell-to- landine Handover of mobile
(Travelling) device from cell-to-cell with no disruption Data
collection for accounting and billing purposes Coordination of
monitoring and backup facilities.
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- In the AMPS, the handheld device or the mobile unit contains a
modem that can operate and switch between many frequencies. The
device also consists of three identification numbers. Electronic
Serial Number: The manufacturer places a 32-bit identifier that is
difficult to tamper with, and usually attempts to modify it result
in self-destruction. Mobile Identification Number: This is the 10
digit mobile telephone number of the device, represented and stored
in 34 bits on the system.
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- System Identification Number: This is a 15-bit number that
identifies the operator with whom this device is associated. The
number also determines whether the device is native to the operator
or in the roaming mode. In case of roaming mode, authorization
needs to be obtained from the associated operator.