Just when you think you have finally mastered the Internet, the technology industry introduces the wireless Internet to simplify your life. The wireless Internet allows a computer or mobile phone to connect seamlessly to the Internet or a network to which the user has access. Recently, there appears to be an explosion in the wireless industry as technology and computer companies rush to offer the latest in products and services. Sprint PCS and joint ventures of Microsoft and Ericsson, and Microsoft and Qualcomm Inc. have all introduced wireless Internet services. This is a mere fraction of the companies that now offer wireless Internet services.

GoAmerica, Inc., a provider of wireless Internet services, notes that the market for wireless services has become "increasingly competitive." The company plans to use some of the proceeds from its upcoming IPO to acquire and implement new automated subscriber airtime monitoring systems. "We expect that we will compete primarily on the basis of the functionality, breadth, quality and price of our services," the company states in its Form S-1 registration statement. GoAmerica acknowledges that many of its competitors have an advantage technically and financially in addition to having greater marketing and distribution resources. "The widespread adoption of industry standards in the wireless data communications market may make it easier for new market entrants and existing competitors to introduce services that compete against ours," the company notes.

An oft-cited barrier to e-commerce and wireless data services is the security of confidential information. MasterCard and Sonera, however, may have hurdled this issue. Sonera SmartTrust Ltd. ("SmartTrust") and MasterCard Int'l. have launched a joint venture that will allow MasterCard customers to make secure payments by mobile telephone. Under the agreement, SmartTrust will enhance its secure wireless e-commerce solution to support MasterCard payment products by using SmartTrust's digital signature and encryption technology. Once implemented, customers will be able to conduct a variety of mobile banking services using their cell phones. SmartTrust is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sonera, a leading international mobile, data and media communications company.

According to Peter Matthews, a computer science graduate student and current technology director for a Web-based Japanese firm, the wireless Internet is not a recent phenomenon. "People want the convenience of communicating any time, any place but don't want the burden of having to do it. I think that the idea most likely began to crystallize when people realized and saw the relative success of cellular phones. The industry began to say that maybe this is possible," he said.

The emergence of the wireless Internet is indicative of how much the Internet has changed in the decades since it was first introduced. Since its market introduction it has grown to include over 5,000 networks. According to Int'l. Data Corp., a research firm that forecasts worldwide international markets, use of local area networking ("LAN") globally is projected to increase to over four million units by 2003. The firm also projects that LAN revenues will reach $1.6 billion in the same year.

Aironet Wireless Communications, Inc., a company that provides wireless LAN solutions designed to provide wireless network connectivity and Internet access, has noticed an increase in the number of companies entering the wireless industry. Like GoAmerica, the company acknowledges that the amount of competition in the industry may have adverse effects on its future success. The company uses advanced radio frequency and data communication technologies to wirelessly connect users to data networks which range in size and complexity from enterprise-wide LANs to home networks. According to Aironet, some of the competitive factors in the wireless LAN market include brand name, the size and scope of the distribution network and the adoption of emerging industry standards.

The company may have been referring to Microsoft's recent announcement that it has joined Ericsson in partnership to develop end-to-end solutions for the wireless Internet. The partnership will focus on building, marketing and deploying solutions that use MS Windows NT Server and Ericsson's infrastructure and mobile Internet technology. The companies hope that the joint venture will provide wireless operators access to reliable and feature-rich communications and mobile data infrastructure. "Bringing together Microsoft's strengths in Internet enterprise messaging software and our leadership as an open communications solutions provider of mobile voice and data will offer tremendous ease of use for consumers all over the world," Ericsson's president, Kurt Hellstrom said.

Recent developments including certain industry standard adoptions for wireless LANs, and the availability of wireless single piece PC card adapters have resulted in the emergence and growth of wireless LAN and the wireless Internet industry. According to Int'l. Data Corp., the number of international Internet users is expected to increase to 500 million by the end of 2003. Communication technology has gone from the rotary telephone to cordless phones to mobile phones. Thus, it would seem as if the wireless Internet is merely a natural progression in the evolution of the Internet.