2000-2004
Following the London Agreement in 1999, the GCF began to significantly influence the mobile telecommunications market in 2000, facilitating the deployment of handsets during a period of rapid expansion.
In the five years that followed, the number of device vendors and certified devices surged, from just two brands (Nokia and Motorola) certifying 12 devices in 2000, to more than 20 brands certifying nearly 120 devices by 2004. During this period, only 20 device vendors managed to certify devices with GCF, mostly from Europe, Japan, and a few from North America and Korea.
Five brands dominated the market: Nokia, Motorola, Sagem, Panasonic, and Ericsson, accounting for more than two-thirds of all certifications. But the dominant handset supplier was the Finnish powerhouse: Nokia.
From circuit-switched to packet-switched
Mobile internet access, initially based on WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) standard, was slow and unwieldy, arguably due to the limitations of the underlying network technology rather than any inherent flaws.
Users didn’t have to wait long for enhancements, as the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) started rolling out as early as 2001. In fact, the first handset to support GPRS, the Motorola T260, was certified by GCF in November 2000.
While GPRS wasn’t the first packet-switched mobile technology, it marked a surge in popularity for packet-based networks — underpinned by international standards and GCF-certified devices. The shift from circuit-switched to packet-switched technology with GPRS was a critical evolution for the industry. GPRS provided data rates of up to 114 kbit/s. Its raw speed wasn’t groundbreaking, but the efficiency of its packetbased system, along with an ‘always-on’ user connection, revolutionised the mobile internet experience.
Mobile internet moves on
Once GSM/GPRS networks were established and users had experienced web browsing on their mobile phones, the next step was to enhance functionality and speed. With ‘always-on’ connections in place, mobile email became another crucial application. An early device designed for email was the Nokia 9210 from the Nokia Communicator series, which received GCF certification in June 2001. It provided a sophisticated user experience with a colour display and a full QWERTY keyboard, powered by an ARM processor.
GPRS soon evolved into EDGE, an advanced coding and transmission technique that could triple GSM/GPRS speeds, reaching up to 384 kbit/s. Significantly, EDGE could be implemented on existing GSM/GPRS networks with minimal hardware or software changes in the core network, thus simplifying the upgrade process for operators.
Open OS arrives
The true significance of the Nokia 9210 was not immediately apparent; it was the first smartphone to operate on the Symbian OS and to be certified by GCF. While the 9210 was a pioneer, it was the Nokia 7650 that truly broke new ground as the first mass-market smartphone on the Symbian Series 60 platform. Developed from Psion’s initial platform, Symbian OS led the way as an open operating system that supported third-party application downloads. It dominated as the premier smartphone OS until the end of 2010, laying the groundwork for the likes of iOS and Android. Although Symbian’s app selection was not as extensive as that of its modern counterparts, it established the concept of third-party applications and an open platform for smartphones. Another notable feature of the Nokia 7650 was its built-in digital camera, which could capture top-quality 640x480 images and store them in its 4MB internal memory. In June 2003, it also became the first camera phone to be certified by GCF.
3G ahead
We cannot reflect on this era without touching on the advent of 3G. Although NTT DoCoMo in Japan commercially launched it as early as 2001, the 3G standard saw a protracted rollout by network infrastructure providers and device manufacturers, leading to delayed market entry and gradual adoption.
3G did not formally specify data rates, but the standardised UMTS (WCDMA) technology could reach up to 384 kbit/s. For megabit speeds, the industry awaited the introduction of HSDPA and HSUPA for enhanced downlink and uplink, respectively, with a subsequent evolution to evolved HSPA technologies, also called HSPA+. This led to consumer confusion, as various data rates were all marketed under the ‘3G’ banner.
GCF certified its first 3G-capable device, the Novatel Wireless Merlin U630 PCMCIA data card for laptops, in December 2004. This certification marked the start of a trend, as 3G eventually overcame its initial slow adoption to become the dominant mobile technology in the following years.
This text is part of the booklet "A Foundation for the Future: 25 years of GCF", available for download here.