By Any Other Name
It's a deceptively simple question: What qualifies as mobile IM? What about SMS? Short Message Service for cellular networks does involve messaging and mobile devices. However, SMS is not mobile IM because it lacks the key attributes of IM, namely presence information, buddy lists and a session orientation.
And though today's wireless e-mail systems deliver e-mail in close to real time, and wireless e-mail users often engage in back-and-forth messaging that closely resembles the instant variety, this is not mobile IM. As with text messaging, e-mail does not provide the recipient's presence status, nor an expectation that he will immediately see the message.
The three main categories of mobile IM available today are the extension of consumer-oriented IM services like AOL IM, Google Talk, MSN Messenger and Yahoo Messenger to mobile devices; the extension of enterprise IM systems, such as those from IBM and Microsoft, to mobile devices; and operator-hosted service offerings. We're also seeing innovative gateways that riff on Research In Motion's middleware approach. Hybrid methods, such as running IM over SMS, should be approached with caution.
Operator-hosted IM is most common in Europe and Asia. U.S. providers aren't yet offering IM services, instead seeking to promote and enable the third-party services, such as AIM and Yahoo, that are already firmly entrenched in U.S. markets.
Subsea cable alternatives can provide a level of comfort for those concerned about disruptions. Realistically, they will continue to play a small, but critical role in the short term.
Maintaining existing network infrastructures often incurs huge technical debt before newer technologies are adopted over time.
Amid ongoing regional uncertainties, telecom infrastructure in the Middle East has expand to include terrestrial low-latency network infrastructure, which offers resilience and agility in navigating political complexities without relying solely on undersea networks.
