Essential Mobile-Commerce Technology

Wireless Networks

Network infrastructure provides essential voice and data communication capability for consumers and vendors in cyberspace. As part of the evolution from electronic commerce (EC) to mobile commerce (MC), it is necessary for the existing wired network infrastructure, i.e. the Internet, to be augmented by a series of wireless networks that support mobility for end users. Wireless networking technologies are advancing at a tremendous pace and each represents a solution for a certain phase, whether 1G, 2G, and 3G, in a particular geographical area such as the United States, Europe, or Japan. In this section, they will be categorized in terms of their radio coverage as wireless local area networks, wireless metropolitan area networks, or wireless wide area networks.