It would be hard not to be aware of the importance of XML as a means of exchanging and managing data. It seems to me XML is the successor to Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). The technology may alter and with it its application, but some underlying concepts and issues remain the same.

While EDI undoubtedly worked (and still does), my experience a few years ago was that EDI was hobbled by proprietary standards. The data schema used by many providers was created specifically as a proprietary product so that copyright law could be used to restrict its use to paying customers and to exclude competitors.

There is absolutely nothing to stop dominant suppliers doing the same with XML. However, there are a number of projects working towards standardising data structures where the rights are based on the open source model. It is essential that, for XML to achieve its potential, standards must be agreed and made available to all with no licensing restrictions.

Of course if customers accept proprietary standards in the marketplace then all the restrictions that accompany them will apply. If an application is dominant then the industry tends to mould itself to its proprietary standards, leaving the owner of those standards in a strong position to control innovation and development.

Where standards have evolved, customers should insist on adherence, to facilitate interoperability with other apps and service providers. This will also reduce reliance on a particular supplier, which should boost competition. Suppliers should not be afraid of open standards. The value of an application should be in the processing, not the data structure.

On an entirely different note, for the past two months I have been using a 3G data card and, while I accept there are limitations imposed by physics, I fail to understand why, in north London, I have to hang out of my loft window to get a sniff of a 3G link.

The software provided is unbelievably buggy and latency on my provider's network is a major problem. Also, why does a product for business use need to have all its restrictions removed on request? Supposedly, it is to protect our children, not that I'd let a child anywhere near my business laptop. If the censoring technology worked reliably it might be of benefit.

This is not new technology, yet there are major wrinkles that need to be ironed out. Coverage may be a question of demand versus cost in locating transmission masts, but the software and the service itself should work. This data card is the only PCMCIA card that has blue-screened my laptop when I've forgotten to properly eject it. That indicates poor programming.

It isn't surprising that 3G has had bad press. My product is immature and should never have been released. If this is indicative of the whole market then rival technologies, like WiMax, will consign 3G to the bin. When it works 3G is great, but I want to be able to rely on it.