Wednesday, October 27, 2004
3G Using is believing
Oct 20, 2004
3G Using is believing
By Alfred Siew
Congratulate us. We got to test out the 3G technology each of the three telcos will be rolling out by the end of the year.
Armed with the (still somewhat bulky) phones, we made video calls to friends, watched live TV on the phones and downloaded files from the Net at broadband speeds. The verdict: It's as fast and as powerful as it has been made out to be.
Even the coverage offered by SingTel, which let us try its service islandwide, surprised us pleasantly.
From Toa Payoh to Bedok, a live TV show streamed flawlessly. When we made calls from an underground tunnel - an expected blindspot for 3G networks - the network didn't stutter and cut us off in the middle of a call.
Our road test is not a scientific signal test, which telcos do with their measurement equipment fitted to land rovers.
We set out to experience what being in a 3G world will be like. Can we really talk and see our loved ones clearly? Will phone surfing be so slow as to test our patience? And more important, can we talk to our digitally 'slower' compatriots, still hanging on to 2G phones
If you're detecting some wryness here, that's because 3G has come in for some flak in places where the technology is already in use.
But we're pleased to say that we're happy with our road test.
Early adopters will be thrilled by the speed - up to a theoretical 384Kbps - compared to about 40Kbps available on general packet radio service (GPRS) now.
This is the speed that makes everything possible. It is also what MobileOne and StarHub showed in demos set up specially for Digital Life.
Less confident than SingTel, they did not let us test their services islandwide. Guess for them, 3G is still pretty much a work-in-progress. Still, the services they had looked good.
SingTel
Coverage: Although only two-thirds of the islandwide network is up, coverage is good - even in areas outside the CBD.
Never mind the street-level coverage requirement set by the regulators, SingTel even has the Bedok underground link between the MRT station and town centre covered, judging from 3G calls made there. During a car ride through the CTE tunnel, a live TV stream of Channel News Asia didn't break up at all.
Video calls: Generally watchable, though not as smooth as pre-recorded videos streamed over the network. Pictures tended to be a little pixelated when we watched them on the Sony Ericsson Z1010 phone. Expect some lag too.
Video streaming: Very impressive. Smooth transmission. A live TV stream from Channel News Asia looked like 'real TV'.
Speedy surfing: As good as on a PC connected to broadband. We plugged in a Sony Ericsson Z1010 and downloaded files from the Net at speeds of between 15 and 30KB per second.
MobileOne
Video streaming: Smooth videos, like the other two operators. M1 showed music videos streamed to the phone and they were not jerky like videos on a 2G phone.
Video calls: They can be made from PCs too. What you need is a notebook, a webcam and a special 3G card that is plugged into the PC. With this set-up, we called a 3G user while seated in front of a notebook at the MobileOne office. Not bad, if you are on the road, and your boss wants to meet you -?? just power up your notebook, load the video-conferencing software and you're ready.
Speedy surfing: Fast. At a demo at M1's Jurong office, we downloaded a file from www.download.com at 40KB (that's kilobytes, not kilobits) per second. That means a 2.4MB file takes a minute to download. Considering that a cable modem offers about 15KB per sec to 50KB per sec, depending on how congested the overseas server is, 3G is fast. Or downright speedy if you compare it to a 2.5G, which crawls along at about 4KB per sec. Okay, there's no telling if M1 tweaked the network to produce such speeds. But the result shows what 3G has always promised: high-speed downloads.
StarHub
Video streaming: Live TV is very impressive. StarHub showed a demo of a live CNN stream. The picture was smooth and the sound clear (if you plug in a headset). Think about how much pay TV content StarHub has and it's clear how powerful the phone can become - a TV set on the move.
We also saw a recorded Jay Chou music video, which was encoded at 120Kbps and looked particularly good. A 2G phone would have struggled with unclear pictures.
Video calls: We made phone-to-phone calls on the Motorola A835 phone, which though bulkier, seemed to offer better pictures than the Sony Ericsson Z1010 used by both SingTel and M1.
Speedy surfing: Pretty brisk. We tried downloading a file from www.download.com when we met StarHub in the evening (when the United States servers may be busy), and we managed about 15KB per second.
THE VERDICT
The technology looks good. Operators now have to fine-tune their network coverage.
# Expand coverage: Though they are required to offer 3G to only 95 per cent of the 'street level' access in Singapore, they'd do well to quickly expand their coverage to underground carparks, shopping malls and other public places.
Users won't like to be cut off while travelling down an escalator to a basement food court.
# Seamless handover: It's a pity we could not test the services provided by M1 and StarHub outside the confines of their offices. Because if anything irritates people used to a seamless GSM network, it's kinks like dropped calls and lack of coverage.
Operators have to ensure that calls are handed over from a 3G to a 2G network seamlessly. Or 3G will seem like a downgrade because it can't even let people talk properly!
At least, by rolling out services later than their European counterparts, operators here have learnt some lessons. For one, they know 3G has little time for teething pains: people won't want to spend money on something that is full of bugs.
# Price: Operators will have to decide soon on price -?? will 3G be offered buffet-style like one operator, Hutchison, is offering worldwide? Or will people have to pay for each Real Madrid goal they watch on their phones? Can you mix and match plans as is the case for cellphones now so you won't be paying for features you won't be using
# Bottom line: If 3G is too expensive, users won't be too forgiving about the bugs that are bound to crop up. In fact, if operators can let people try the service for free - it's not commercial grade after all - for as long as possible, people may come to appreciate it more.
Okay, we're geeks and we don't expect everyone to be a 3G convert after reading this. But as it matures, the technology looks like it can be a hit. Just like people laughed at the first mobile phones that looked like bricks, users of 3G phones will look pretty stupid to others. We, however, think it's the height of cool.
Additional reporting by Billy Teo
3G Using is believing
By Alfred Siew
Congratulate us. We got to test out the 3G technology each of the three telcos will be rolling out by the end of the year.
Armed with the (still somewhat bulky) phones, we made video calls to friends, watched live TV on the phones and downloaded files from the Net at broadband speeds. The verdict: It's as fast and as powerful as it has been made out to be.
Even the coverage offered by SingTel, which let us try its service islandwide, surprised us pleasantly.
From Toa Payoh to Bedok, a live TV show streamed flawlessly. When we made calls from an underground tunnel - an expected blindspot for 3G networks - the network didn't stutter and cut us off in the middle of a call.
Our road test is not a scientific signal test, which telcos do with their measurement equipment fitted to land rovers.
We set out to experience what being in a 3G world will be like. Can we really talk and see our loved ones clearly? Will phone surfing be so slow as to test our patience? And more important, can we talk to our digitally 'slower' compatriots, still hanging on to 2G phones
If you're detecting some wryness here, that's because 3G has come in for some flak in places where the technology is already in use.
But we're pleased to say that we're happy with our road test.
Early adopters will be thrilled by the speed - up to a theoretical 384Kbps - compared to about 40Kbps available on general packet radio service (GPRS) now.
This is the speed that makes everything possible. It is also what MobileOne and StarHub showed in demos set up specially for Digital Life.
Less confident than SingTel, they did not let us test their services islandwide. Guess for them, 3G is still pretty much a work-in-progress. Still, the services they had looked good.
SingTel
Coverage: Although only two-thirds of the islandwide network is up, coverage is good - even in areas outside the CBD.
Never mind the street-level coverage requirement set by the regulators, SingTel even has the Bedok underground link between the MRT station and town centre covered, judging from 3G calls made there. During a car ride through the CTE tunnel, a live TV stream of Channel News Asia didn't break up at all.
Video calls: Generally watchable, though not as smooth as pre-recorded videos streamed over the network. Pictures tended to be a little pixelated when we watched them on the Sony Ericsson Z1010 phone. Expect some lag too.
Video streaming: Very impressive. Smooth transmission. A live TV stream from Channel News Asia looked like 'real TV'.
Speedy surfing: As good as on a PC connected to broadband. We plugged in a Sony Ericsson Z1010 and downloaded files from the Net at speeds of between 15 and 30KB per second.
MobileOne
Video streaming: Smooth videos, like the other two operators. M1 showed music videos streamed to the phone and they were not jerky like videos on a 2G phone.
Video calls: They can be made from PCs too. What you need is a notebook, a webcam and a special 3G card that is plugged into the PC. With this set-up, we called a 3G user while seated in front of a notebook at the MobileOne office. Not bad, if you are on the road, and your boss wants to meet you -?? just power up your notebook, load the video-conferencing software and you're ready.
Speedy surfing: Fast. At a demo at M1's Jurong office, we downloaded a file from www.download.com at 40KB (that's kilobytes, not kilobits) per second. That means a 2.4MB file takes a minute to download. Considering that a cable modem offers about 15KB per sec to 50KB per sec, depending on how congested the overseas server is, 3G is fast. Or downright speedy if you compare it to a 2.5G, which crawls along at about 4KB per sec. Okay, there's no telling if M1 tweaked the network to produce such speeds. But the result shows what 3G has always promised: high-speed downloads.
StarHub
Video streaming: Live TV is very impressive. StarHub showed a demo of a live CNN stream. The picture was smooth and the sound clear (if you plug in a headset). Think about how much pay TV content StarHub has and it's clear how powerful the phone can become - a TV set on the move.
We also saw a recorded Jay Chou music video, which was encoded at 120Kbps and looked particularly good. A 2G phone would have struggled with unclear pictures.
Video calls: We made phone-to-phone calls on the Motorola A835 phone, which though bulkier, seemed to offer better pictures than the Sony Ericsson Z1010 used by both SingTel and M1.
Speedy surfing: Pretty brisk. We tried downloading a file from www.download.com when we met StarHub in the evening (when the United States servers may be busy), and we managed about 15KB per second.
THE VERDICT
The technology looks good. Operators now have to fine-tune their network coverage.
# Expand coverage: Though they are required to offer 3G to only 95 per cent of the 'street level' access in Singapore, they'd do well to quickly expand their coverage to underground carparks, shopping malls and other public places.
Users won't like to be cut off while travelling down an escalator to a basement food court.
# Seamless handover: It's a pity we could not test the services provided by M1 and StarHub outside the confines of their offices. Because if anything irritates people used to a seamless GSM network, it's kinks like dropped calls and lack of coverage.
Operators have to ensure that calls are handed over from a 3G to a 2G network seamlessly. Or 3G will seem like a downgrade because it can't even let people talk properly!
At least, by rolling out services later than their European counterparts, operators here have learnt some lessons. For one, they know 3G has little time for teething pains: people won't want to spend money on something that is full of bugs.
# Price: Operators will have to decide soon on price -?? will 3G be offered buffet-style like one operator, Hutchison, is offering worldwide? Or will people have to pay for each Real Madrid goal they watch on their phones? Can you mix and match plans as is the case for cellphones now so you won't be paying for features you won't be using
# Bottom line: If 3G is too expensive, users won't be too forgiving about the bugs that are bound to crop up. In fact, if operators can let people try the service for free - it's not commercial grade after all - for as long as possible, people may come to appreciate it more.
Okay, we're geeks and we don't expect everyone to be a 3G convert after reading this. But as it matures, the technology looks like it can be a hit. Just like people laughed at the first mobile phones that looked like bricks, users of 3G phones will look pretty stupid to others. We, however, think it's the height of cool.
Additional reporting by Billy Teo
# posted by MiDBA @ 10/27/2004 01:03:00 AM 
