SIM manufacturer and developer Gemalto demonstrates an application it has built for Facebook on the SIM – allowing non-smartphone users to access Facebook.
Insight Report: In-Building Mobile Broadband
Mobile Europe’s Insight Reports are an in-depth report service addressing key issues across the mobile sector.
Produced six times a year in partnership with leading analysts, the 20 page Insight Reports focus on the issues vital to the industry, meeting the research needs of time-poor executives.
May 2011 Edition – In-building mobile broadband
This report will look at options for operators to provide in-building mobile broadband access, within the context of their overall network infrastructure.
Particular attention will be paid to how operators can provide efficient mobile broadband coverage within large enterprise buildings and structures.
How will in-building wireless strategies be affected by the rollout of next generation networks, including LTE?
What impact will the re-farming of 900MHz?
Is enough consideration given to in-building requirements in network planning, design and operation?
Issues covered will include:
a.. The market drivers for providing in-building mobile broadband coverage
b.. What business models are enabled, and likely to succeed?
c.. Analysis of technologies – including pico and femtocells; DAS/repeater-based approaches; WiFi access and offload.
d.. Analysis of which companies provide solutions in this area
This edition of Mobile Europe will have bonus distribution at the The Femtocells World Summit 2011 and TETRA World Congress 2011.
For fuller information on the marketing opportunities including, advertising, thought-leadership articles, webinars, and video interviews please contact Shahid Ramzan +44 (0) 207 933 8980, shahid.ramzan@mobileeurope.co.uk
Deadline 8 April 2011
Distribution – Delivered within the printed edition of Mobile Europe to over 7,500 senior executives within European Mobile Operators and a digital version delivered to 11,556 readers globally.
Web Audience – hosted and promoted online to 24,000 + monthly unique visitors of Mobile Europe www.mobileeurope.co.uk
Mobile music revenues to reach $5.5 billion by 2015, although growth threatened by online piracy – report
A new report published today by Juniper Research forecasts that music consumed on mobile handsets will generate $5.5 billion annually in 2015, a rise of $3.1 billion from 2010. The report finds that mobile music is becoming an increasingly important part of the digital music sector, which is propping up a failing industry hit by over a decade of widespread online piracy.
Since the popularisation of P2P file sharing at the end of the last century, the music industry’s sales have gone into free fall, as consumers rejected the physical distribution of music in favour of easier, but illegal means of acquiring it. The industry response was initially slow, but legal digital distribution services, such as Apple’s iTunes are now blossoming, and mobile handsets are increasingly becoming the key platform for them.
Mobile Music Opportunities report author Daniel Ashdown argues: “Initially, PC downloading and sideloading to MP3 players was the only way to go; but the development of mobile devices has now reached the point where they match the technical specs of dedicated MP3 players. Add in connectivity – just one click to buy and download – along with all the other smartphone features, and there is no competition between the two. This is why sales of Apple’s iPhone are going to outstrip its iPod in the not too distant future.”
However, the report warns that piracy still remains a significant threat – both online and on the mobile. Juniper Research finds that P2P file sharing is slowly migrating to the mobile, with BitTorrent applications now available on Android Market, for example. With the rollout of 4G networks about to increase, the report recommends that the graduate response – enacted by legislation in many countries – be strongly enforced and expanded to mobile networks.
Android to accelerate convergence in consumer devices, says research
There will be an installed base of 140 million Android portable devices, including smartphones and tablets, by the end of 2011, according to IMS Research forecasts. The market intelligence firm says the recent unveiling of Google’s Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) operating system for tablets, along with enhancements to the Android Market website, will do much to enhance growth prospects for the segment.
“This provides an exciting opportunity for pay-TV operators, which have traditionally been tethered to the living room, to expand the reach of their brands to multiple portable platforms with apps development,” says Anna Hunt, principal analyst and author of the IMS Research’s Convergence in Home Entertainment report. “In total, Apple OS and Android OS were present in nearly 125 million connected devices shipped in 2010 and this is only expected to increase in 2011. Such reach into consumers’ hands means more operators will be developing apps that enable subscribers to purchase and consume content on new portable platforms and explore new convergence applications, such as controlling your on-demand service on the TV set via the smartphone.”
“Handset vendors made a number of smartphone announcements at Mobile World Congress, as well as demonstrating new tablet devices” stated Bill Morelli, research director for Mobile Technologies at IMS Research. “These devices are critical to the multi-screen strategies that mobile network operators and content providers are hoping will encourage widespread uptake by consumers.”
The Bridgewater Intelligent Broadband Controls Cookbook
Are your data subscribers hungry for bandwidth? Are their appetites for data services growing exponentially each year? What is your recipe for mobile data profitability in 2011—and beyond?
Download The Bridgewater Intelligent Broadband Controls Cookbook – 8mb
Bridgewater Systems profiled recipes for mobile data profitability at Mobile World Congress
In a showcase of the potency of “intelligent broadband controls” in mobile and convergent networks, a ‘cookbook’ of use case ‘recipes’ – using the ‘ingredients’ of service, policy, subscriber and device controls – formed the core of Bridgewater Systems’ presence at Mobile World Congress 2011 in Barcelona.
The centerpiece of the theme was an extensively researched white paper, the Bridgewater Intelligent Broadband Controls Cookbook. It explains how intelligent broadband controls can be used to achieve specific objectives including: transforming networks to meet mobile data growth demands, innovating with new services to drive customer loyalty and new revenues, while optimizing existing networks to ease congestion.
The Bridgewater Intelligent Broadband Controls Cookbook features a number of pioneering recipes including tiered services, new pre-paid services, machine-to-machine (M2M) services, customer loyalty programs, intelligent offload, and policy-enabled video optimization.
David Sharpley, Senior Vice President, Bridgewater Systems said: “Bridgewater Systems has unparalleled experience in delivering intelligent broadband controls solutions to operators around the world and we are at the forefront of leveraging these controls to create new, flexible services that delight subscribers and increase operator revenues. With pressure increasing dramatically on networks due to the growth of mobile data, coupled with the real need to deliver service innovation, Mobile World Congress 2011 is the right forum for us to unleash these capabilities to global operators.”
Chetan Sharma, Founder and President, Chetan Sharma Consulting added: “In terms of service model evolution, we are still in the early stages of the ecosystem development. As we move to an all-IP 4G network infrastructure, we are likely to see further innovation so that the service models keep the correlation between the network costs and consumer needs in harmony. Mobile operators will have to continuously figure out ways to enhance consumers’ lives with mobile data services and to extend customer lifetime value. The operators’ core competitive advantage will come down to how they manage their networks and consumer expectations over the course of this decade.”
Download The Bridgewater Intelligent Broadband Controls Cookbook – 8mb
How operators can overcome barriers to the cloud
NEC offers IT and network expertise, plus revenue-share business model
Jaime Serrano, President and CEO of NEC Iberica, tells Keith Dyer that carriers are on the search for new revenues and business models and that the cloud is the right way ahead.
NEC is making the deployment of cloud services its main strategy for the international market, he adds, and is well-placed with its IT and network assets to provide the capabilities operators need. “There aren’t too many companies that can combine IT expertise and high market share in IT together with network technology knowledge,” he says. “NEC has both things.”
Additionally, NEC is investing in the operator cloud infrastructure itself, offering revenue-share business models to help service providers to deploy cloud infrastructures.
“We are betting on this business, in the sense that we are able to invest in the infrastructure for the carriers and we are putting in place revenue sharing models. In the early stage of this business I believe that these kinds of services are the key, and the companies that are able to launch at the beginning – they are going to be successful in the end.”
Finally, Serrano talks about his lead customer Telefonica’s commitment to cloud services.
(This is a sponsored video)
Not getting very far with ZTE’s LTE-A demo
ZTE had an LTE-A demo showing at MWC. We thought we might be able to show you some of it but we didn’t get very far. However, we were told that the demo was on ZTE’s SDR platform, was showing up to 1Gbps downlink, and also that ZTE is the leading company in this area…
Luxottica selects Vodafone to manage global mobile communications
Luxottica Group, a global leader in premium fashion, luxury and sports eyewear with a strong brand portfolio including Ray-Ban and Oakley, with over 6300 optical and sun retail stores across the world, today announced that it has selected Vodafone to manage its mobile voice and data services in 24 countries.
Under the two and half year agreement, Vodafone Global Enterprise, the business within Vodafone which manages the communications needs of its largest multinational customers, will supply Luxottica’s global wholesale and retail workforce with over 5,000 mobile connections, devices and a range of managed mobile services.
The agreement will make it simpler for Luxottica to manage its global mobile communications more cost effectively.
“This is an important agreement with one of the world’s biggest telecommunications companies”, commented Andrea Guerra, Chief Executive Officer of Luxottica Group. “We required simplicity and functionality and Vodafone has focused on this need to deliver worry-free business communications services. We believe that Vodafone is the right partner to help us succeed in an increasingly connected world”.
“Multinationals like Luxottica are increasingly looking for ways to streamline and simplify the management of their mobile services while driving greater cost efficiencies,” said Vittorio Colao, Chief Executive, Vodafone Group. “Our fully managed services enable customers to identify cost savings and drive operational efficiency at the same time as providing employees with first class telecommunications. This in turn will enable Luxottica to compete at the highest level and keep a sharper focus on the world of fashion eyewear.”
GSMA to lead on NFC interoperability – protect operators’ position
The GSMA has said it will take a leading role in developing “the necessary certification and testing standards to ensure global interoperability of NFC services”. The GMSA said that interoperabilty of NFC is critical to ensure the widespread adoption of NFC, so that services will work regardless of device or network type.
“As we have seen, the adoption of different approaches to NFC will only serve to fragment the market,” said Franco Bernabè, Chairman, GSMA and CEO, Telecom Italia. “By uniting around a single standardised approach to mobile NFC and by collaborating across the entire ecosystem, our industry will continue to develop the compelling services that customers demand.”
The GSMA’s aim, on behalf of its operator members, is to try to make sure that deployments of mobile NFC use the SIM as the secure element to provide authentication, security and portability.
This is far from the first time the GSMA has pushed for a standardised approach to NFC. In November 2008, the organisation was calling for NFC-enabled handsets, using the secure SIM, by mid-2009. This time around the organisation has enhanced that push by producing a list of operators who will commit to the launch.
The operators include América Móvil, Axiata Group Berhad, Bharti, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, KT Corporation, MTS, Orange, Qtel Group, SK Telecom, SOFTBANK MOBILE, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telekom Austria Group, Telenor and Vodafone. A statement said the operators have “voiced their commitment” to implementing Near Field Communications (NFC) technology, and intend to launch commercial NFC services in select markets by 2012.
“NFC is perhaps best known for its role in enabling mobile payments, but its applications go far beyond that,” said Bernabè. “NFC represents an important innovation opportunity, and will facilitate a wide range of interesting services and applications for consumers, such as mobile ticketing, mobile couponing, the exchange of information and content, control access to cars, homes, hotels, offices car parks and much more.”
