In their report, ‘3G Portal: A Reference Handbook for Portal Operators, Developers and the Mobile Industry,’ the UMTS Forum argues that the industry should focus on selecting the ‘best of breed’ from today’s plethora of standards, platforms and operating systems to create a truly portal service environment.

Unlike the portals on the fixed Internet that merely provide a starting point, the 3G portal will have a greater role to play, says Josef Huber, vice chairman of the UMTS Forum. "In addition to customization of the end-user’s personal profile, it’s the place where billing, transactions, security and other entities will be managed."

The UMTS Forum predicts that by 2010 the worldwide revenues from 3G services will exceed $300-billion annually.

The realization of a multi-billion dollar sector will only materialize if all parties work together to resolve the technical issues to enable data transmission over traditional voice-centric networks and devices. However, Huber is encouraged by the work being done within 3GPP. "Thanks to the ongoing work within 3GPP there is already a clear roadmap that will speed convergence between technical standardizations for UMTS with the needs of the developer community," he says.

The 3G Portal study provides a snapshot of the current trends in mobile portal technologies as well as standards and services in order to guide mobile operators, portal operators, terminal manufacturers, and content developers in their efforts to develop 3G portal services.