tent or reliable. Next-generation mobile technologies promise greater data capabilities, but it will be several years before such networks are operational. As a result, there are limits to which applications can be made Chapter 3 - Automating the Internet Infrastructure Supply Chain available to mobile devices. Menu-based interfaces that only require text can be supported with current technology, which leaves some doors open for transaction- and information-based eBusiness applications. The key to delivering application functions and data to a mobile device on today's mobile networks is content transformation technology. Content Transformation Content transformation refers to the technologies and processes used to convert general Web content to formats mobile devices can understand and display. Such technologies are critical to mobile eBusiness. For example, the customer service Web-interface discussed above would require a content transformation server to manage interactions with various types of mobile devices and deliver the Web interface in the formats they require. Similarly, any mobile Web interaction currently requires this kind of technology to bridge the gap between mobile networks and the Internet. Therefore, content transformation servers are critical to a mobile provider's Web offerings, and are an integral part of the OSS platform. Content transformation is a relatively simple concept. Though implementations vary among vendors, the basics are fairly consistent. A content transformation platform is a specialized proxy server that provides a gateway between the Internet and a mobile network. The server intercepts requests from mobile devices intended for the Internet. Then, it looks at something called "user agent information," which is stored in the HTTP header. This information tells the server the type of requesting device, its required native data format or the type of microbrowser it employs, and the capacity of the device's data connection. Once again, there is no standard mobile equivalent for H