Asia Unplugged: The Wireless and Mobile Media Boom in the Asia-Pacific
March 27th, 2006
This ‘study of wireless ecosystems and regional communication discourse of Asia-Pacific’ is not a book on technology. It is about the direct and indirect impact of the growth of wireless/mobile in the region. Nearly 36% of mobile phones of the world were in Asia in 2002, and the figure is likely to cross 50% by 2007. Seven of the ten most profitable wireless operators today are from Asia. Asia is indeed ‘at the cutting edge of wireless information society’. The book under review documents the rapidly expanding and changing mobile/wireless Asian market by bringing together 21 experts from the Asia-Pacific region to look at different aspects of the subject (T. C. A. Srinivas Raghavan, in a review of the book pointed out that this ‘very speed is an enemy of a book like this’, as it is likely to be outdated rapidly).
This introduction to digital data transmission, modulation, and error-correction coding, together with the underlying communication and information theory is an all-inclusive text suitable for all those connected with Mechanical Engineering or Computer Science. Equal emphasis is given to underlying mathematical theory and engineering practice. Not meant to be an encyclopedic treatise, the book offers strong, accessible pedagogy.
The Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) offers a consistent set of services to mobile computer and phone users and numerous different radio access technologies will co-exist within the UMTS system’s core network – security is, therefore, of the utmost importance.
Mobile communications bring profound changes to our everyday lives. The launch of 3rd generation mobile systems in 2001 in Japan, and from 2002, throughout the rest of the world, will enable us to communicate at anytime and anywhere, by using a variety of services which have until now, only been available to fixed network users. By the end of 2003, there are expected to be over one billion mobile telephones in use around the world, which surpasses the number of fixed telephone lines projected for that date. Written in an easily accessible style, UMTS: Mobile Communications for the Future will prove indispensable reading for all those working in the area of mobile communications.
“…this volume should be acquired by college and university undergraduate and graduate libraries supporting degree programs in computer science, telecommunications, and business.” (E-STREAMS, April 2005)
Presenting complex subjects without getting into advanced mathematics, Wireless and Mobile Data Networks gives students and professionals a comprehensive overview of major wireless network architectures and standards. 
Since the turn of the twentieth century, telecommunications has shifted from traditional voice transport to data transport, although digitized voice is still a large contributor. Instead of an evolution of existing transport standards, a revolution was necessary in order to enable additional data-related transport.
