Cross-cutting effects – people’s lifestyles and mobile connections
Fourth generation (4G) mobile communication systems are expected to be implemented around 2010. Worldwide, research in the field of fourth generation (4G) mobile communication has been going on since the past 6 years. The technology is still evolving but countries are already beginning to commit to implementing it. India has said it will jump from 2G to 4G bypassing 3G technology. China, Korea and Japan are jointly developing 4G phones; China will implement 4G technology for the Beijing Olympic Games. WiMax technology is on its last legs because it does not support VOIP. Data transfers will take place at LAN speeds of up to 100 Mbps, and the world is looking to 4G technology to change the way people do everyday business. Once the technology develops, the handset used for 4G mobile communications will be an all-in-one device for use in mobile phones. Education, Arts and Sciences ¢ Business activities outside the office ¢ Network games and music/video content downloads ¢ Video calling ¢ Merchandise purchasing and settlement ¢ Daily life Work Nursing and healthcare Emergency medical treatment Disaster management.
People’s lifestyles and mobile communications
Fourth generation mobile communications systems could have a greater impact on people’s lives, leading to changes in lifestyles and transforming our living environments, the way we work and our social system. 4G mobile phone systems are likely to widely and deeply penetrate our daily lives, to create a new information and communication environment in our society. The use of mobile communication services is taken for granted in people’s daily lives, and their behavior may change significantly from traditional behavioral patterns. It will enable people to study, play, work and shop literally anywhere they want. As a result, people will be freed from the constraints and constraints of space, and will be able to choose more freely where they want to be. Schools, offices and homes will not disappear as physical space, but the importance of “place” and “space” can be much different from our traditional thinking, and a major shift in Business structure, especially in consumer-oriented industries, the emergence of new businesses. The service offering may, to varying degrees, turn into a structure where “the user is served” rather than “users are asked to go out to receive the service”. Mobile government services and distance education are likely to be provided as an application on mobile networks only. Although it may be difficult to achieve a complete online medical service immediately, an environment where doctors with advanced mobile medical devices visit patients’ homes to provide treatment using private mobile services is considered feasible enough. Expanding markets for a wide range of products often used in daily life, including mobile terminals, information devices, home network, smart vehicles, etc.
It may not be an exaggeration to say that the service that has radically changed people’s lifestyles in the past decade is mobile communications such as cellular phones and PHS. Ten years ago, cellular phones were still too expensive and bulky to carry around, and thus were only used by a limited number of business and other users. After the explosive growth in the late 1990s, mobile communications have turned into the most used means of communication for many users. Moreover, with the creation of email and content services, that is, ringtones, games and other applications such as web information services for cellular phones, mobile communication has brought a lot of fun and convenience to people’s daily lives, and even caused it. Some changes in the balance of power between different information media.
In the next ten years, mobile communication services are expected to make further progress and have a greater impact on people’s lives, leading to changes in lifestyles and transforming our living environments, the way we work and our social system. Due to the advancement of mobile services, mobile 4G systems are expected to be widely used in our daily lives and more closely related to them than today. For example, through the use of the six mobile terminals equipped with comprehensive settlement capabilities, people will be able to use mobile devices as a secure electronic settlement of purchases they make from shops or vending machines in the city. If strong authentication of individuals becomes a reality through biometric authentication technologies, people may be able to access a variety of services including administrative services for local governments from their mobile terminals at hand. The remarkable improvement in data transfer rates will allow users to get and enjoy video software, advanced game contents, etc., in an instant regardless of their location.
Business mail transactions with huge data attachments can be done without any stress in mobile environments, which can make the word “business office” obsolete. People will be able to receive necessary navigation information in a simple way whenever they go out and may no longer feel uncomfortable due to lack of information. In addition, if there are abnormal situations, such as an accident or natural disaster, people will be able to instantly make the necessary communications from almost anywhere, which will improve safety standards in our lives.
As shown above, mobile 4G systems are likely to penetrate widely and deeply into our daily lives, to create a new information and communication environment in our society. The use of mobile communication services will be taken for granted in people’s daily lives, and their behavior may change significantly from traditional behavior patterns.
Traditionally, people have used many spaces of life with different functions or importance (home, school, workplace, bank, supermarket, hospital, to name a few) for specific purposes. However, mobile services can provide many of these functions beyond spaces. In other words, it enables people to study, play, work, and shop literally anywhere they want. As a result, people will be freed from the constraints and limitations of space, and will be able to more freely choose where they want to be.
This is a shift from a “space-based lifestyle” with many restrictions to a freer and more flexible “object-oriented lifestyle”. Of course, schools, offices, and homes will not disappear as physical space, but the importance of “place” and “space” can differ a lot from our traditional thinking.