Critical Success Factors for M-Commerce
22.11.1 Speed
Today, most digital cellular users are limited to
circuit-switched data at about 9.6 kbps, sufficient for text-based
messaging and limited file transfer. This is where desktop Internet
users were in 1994, when there were just 4 million host computers
on-net compared with more than 60 million Internet hosts worldwide in
October 1999. The next move in the circuit-switched world is high-speed
circuit-switched data (HSCSD), running at 57.6 kbps. This is sufficient
for fully functional Web browsing. However, as underlined by analysts
such as Gartner Group's Dataquest, HSCSD is an early adopter scenario
that gives operators a competitive edge with corporations. Essentially,
it is profiled for bulky data transfers.
Conversely, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is
quick and agile. As a packet-switched bearer, it promises "always-on"
service at up to 115 kbps (for practical purposes). At the same time,
it sits comfortably on the migration path to Enhanced
Data for GSM Evolution (EDGE), running at up to 384 kbps. So, although
speed may be a concern for WAP surfers now, technology will enhance
that in the very near future. [14]
22.11.2 Billing
The WAP gateway has been profiled to gather
extensive billing detail for each transaction, e.g., the download of
content (both volume and time), universal resource locators (URLs)
visited, and other typical events during a WAP session. This
information is stored in a generic, flexible format in a billing log.
This, in turn, interfaces to a mediation platform, which translates it
into valid call detail records (CDRs) and passes them to the billing
agency or credit card company's billing system. The billing could be
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Transaction-based, where the services are paid according to service usage, with different prices possible for different services
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Subscription based, with a monthly fee
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Flat rate, with one price for all
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Free, where the content provider may pay the operator for the airtime
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A combination of the four billing options
The billing log receives "billable events" from the
event manager. The gateway's billing data interface requires only minor
tuning to adjust its data formatting for different billing systems. In
short, the WAP gateway's flexibility enables operators to introduce and
bill for new services easily without having to make changes to their
existing billing systems. However, service roaming is difficult if
transaction-based billing is used. The Holy Grail is turning the
handheld device into a payment device or the equivalent of an
electronic wallet. As we move toward the third-generation (3G) mobile
standard, also known as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
(UMTS), an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) standard for
voice, video, and Internet services licensed in Europe in 2000 and
deployed in 2002, airtime is packet-based with an emphasis on content.
The billing possibilities are
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Monthly fee (similar to the Internet model)
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Amount of data, or time based
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Commercials
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Service transactions
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A combination of these options
Billing is a very market-sensitive problem and one
solution is not possible. Without a doubt, the biggest change will be
more choices, and in the end, markets will decide between free versus
price for M-commerce.
22.11.3 Security
Security is optional in the WAP standard, but is
clearly mandatory for E-commerce providers and users. It may be
implemented initially at the Wireless Transport Layer Security
(WTLS) level of the WAP stack. This is the wireless version of
industry-standard Transport Layer Security (TLS), equivalent to the
widely deployed Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) 3.1. As a recent Baltimore
Technologies white paper notes, it provides a secure network connection
session between a client and a server, and it most-commonly appears
between a Web browser (in WAP's case, the handset micro-browser) and a
Web server, which can be an existing Internet server that is also
WAP-enabled.
Full participation in E-commerce requires that the
additional security elements of verified authentication, authorization,
and nonrepudiation aree addressed. In real terms, this implies
integration with public key infrastructure (PKI) systems that are
already deployed and with new systems in the future. In the wireless
arena, these systems will be defined in WAP. [15]
Citing the growth in usage of wireless devices, Richard Yanowitch,
VeriSign's Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, said that his company
plans to provide "a complete trust infrastructure to the wireless
world." Key to the plan is an arrangement whereby Motorola will include
VeriSign technology in the browsers that run on Motorola mobile
telephones. Other companies endorsing VeriSign's plan include RSA
Security, BellSouth, Sonera SmartTrust, and Research In Motion. These
companies will leverage the technologies in their own products and
services. For instance, technologies and services available from
VeriSign include:
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Microclient Wireless Personal Trust Agent code
for embedding in handheld devices to enable seamless use of private
keys, digital certificates, and digital signatures available to device
manufacturers now.
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Short-lived wireless server certificates,
"mini-digital certificates," according to officials, that are optimized
for authentication of wireless devices and services.
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A gateway-assisted Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
trust model to enable network service providers to substitute wireless
certificates for SSL certificates.
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A gateway-assisted public key infrastructure roaming model to enable small-footprint devices to digitally sign transactions.
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Subscriber trust services for secure messaging and transactions using wireless handheld devices.
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Server/gateway trust services designed to allow
electronic businesses operating wireless servers and gateways to
deliver secure applications.
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Developer trust services for digitally protecting downloadable content.
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Enterprise trust services for wireless, B2B, and B2C applications such as banking, brokerage, healthcare, and messaging.
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Service provider platforms for network operators and applications service providers to offer VeriSign wireless trust services.
Transaction services offered include Wireless
Validation Services for real-time certificate validation, and Wireless
Payment Services, which enable wireless payment applications. [16]
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