Telecom 99: Gates predicts explosion of wireless Internet

Microsoft CEO Bill Gates demonstrated a Windows based Internet mobile phone developed by Microsoft and predicted an explosion in demand for wireless Internet applications.

During his keynote speech at Telecom 99, Gates showed a prototype of a large screen GSM mobile phone running Windows CE and capable of Internet browsing, email and calendaring.

Gates said wireless Internet technology would lead to the development of a wide variety of connected devices, from low-end devices such as digital cameras, to high-end smart phones.

"We believe these scenarios will excite users, and in the same way the PC took off by word of mouth, we believe the demand for these things will explode without needing a lot of marketing," said Gates.

"At the low end you have very simple devices like a light switch, or a pager or a cellular phone with just a microbrowser that uses a simple layer of software and relies on the servers to do the hard work. This is a new area for us, including the smart card capabilities that are being offered for GSM mobile phones and for PC authentication, that allow you to get rich services via the Internet," he said.

"The first of these services is authentication, but beyond that you need directory and messaging capabilities, all of which are run on the Internet, so the user doesn't have to think about where those services actually are," he continued.

Services demonstrated on Microsoft's smart phone included email, sent directly to the phone using the Exchange messaging server; Web browsing, demonstrated with a search for restaurants in Geneva; and ecommerce, where credit card purchases could be made using the phone, protected by secure socket layer (SSL) technology in the browser.

Gates also praised Bluetooth, the radio technology that will connect smart devices, as an excellent wireless standard. He said this technology will appear in mobile phones and home appliances, letting users control devices such as hi-fi speakers with their phones. Microsoft has, however, opted not to include native Bluetooth support in Windows CE.

Last week Microsoft announced a trial of a Web-enabled mobile phone developed in partnership with BT, with hardware developed by Samsung Electronics and Sagem. The phone has a microbrowser that gives Internet access without the need for an operating system.

Microsoft described that phone as a lower-end Internet phone that would be complemented by higher-end smart phones, like the one demonstrated today.

During the speech Gates briefly mentioned that the Windows 2000 operating system would be released "very, very soon." He also said the PC market is still growing rapidly and should not be underestimated. This follows comments from IBM chief executive Lou Gerstner earlier this week, who restated his view that the PC era is over.

"For intelligent appliances, whether TV sets, digital cameras or high-end copiers, there's imbedded software that needs to connect with the same standards and understand what the format looks like for all the different information. So by taking rich content technology, those devices become a lot more capable," said Gates.