Mobile handset power requirements are currently growing at a significantly faster rate than handset battery capacity, according to IMS Research. And the resulting gap between power available to users and the power required by a growing number of handset features threatens to slow the connected and mobile lifestyle consumers are increasingly embracing, it says.

IMS goes on to say that handset power capacity limitations spell trouble for a number of players across the entire mobile handset industry.

"Handsets with dead batteries don't use very much data or talk time. That's bad news for network operators looking to drive ARPU. Similarly, consumers are unlikely to pay a premium for features that they know will only drain their battery, which places downward pressure on handset selling prices for handset OEMs," commented IMS Research analyst, Chris Schreck.

"There are two key drivers of increased power consumption among handset users," Schreck added. "First, consumers are doing more with their handsets than ever before. Mobile data and application use has skyrocketed in recent years. Secondly, the types of features currently being included in handset designs, not to mention those on the horizon, require more power to operate than ever before. Faster processing speeds, higher data throughputs, and more vivid displays all escalate a handset's power requirements. Even with a 1500 mAh battery, which is the high water mark in the industry at the moment, our estimates show many smartphone users only have a battery life of 6 hours."

Potential solutions for this power gap are coming from all four corners of the mobile handset industry, including new display technologies, more power efficient silicon design, and new battery chemistries, each of which have varying market potential. However, given the pace at which power requirements are increasing, it is unlikely that any one technology will completely address the need for more power in mobile handsets, says IMS.

fg microtec, provider of FMC and UC client technology, has today announced a worldwide partnership with Siemens Enterprise Communications Group (SEN), a specialist in Unified Communications Solutions for the enterprise, to further develop Siemens' OpenScape MobileConnect platform. 

SEN's OpenScape product family includes open IP telephony, fixed mobile convergence (FMC) and IP-based unified communications (UC) solutions. fg microtec's FMC client is part of Siemens FMC offering, and its integration allows Siemens customers to use their mobile phones intuitively with the OpenScape MobileConnect platform.

With fg microtec's FMC client, Siemens' is bringing FMC and unified communication tools such as messaging, voice, presence and location-based communication simply via a mobile phone to its customers. 

In addition, since fg microtec's Fixed Mobile Convergence client also behaves as a mobile extension for the HiPath family of telephony systems, it supports the seamless handover between a Wireless LAN (VoIP) or cellular network, and users can take their office phones with them wherever they go. 

The partnership aims to cover a wide range of mobile platforms based on fg microtec's expertise, including Windows Mobile, RIM BlackBerry to Nokia S60 platforms.

"As mobility becomes universal throughout the enterprise, we must identify ways to deliver the advantages of UC to an increasing number of mobile devices. Working in partnership with fg microtec, we can offer a mobile client to our customers, which will enable them to access their OpenScape solution wherever they are," said Marcus Birkl, Vice President Mobility Solutions, Siemens Enterprise Communications Group.

"We are excited to be part of the OpenScape success story. As our products are used by more and more Siemens customers, we receive valuable feedback from a large installed base. Our focus is to improve the quality of our client and support Siemens' customers in cutting mobile costs and improving efficiency," said Robert Mirbaha, CEO, fg microtec.

iPass, a provider of enterprise mobility services, today announced that it has partnered with Ireland's largest telecommunications supplier, eircom, which will be giving iPass customers access to over 1,000 Wi-Fi hotspots around Ireland through the iPass Mobile Office service. The partnership was formed in response to enterprise customer demand for coverage in and around Ireland's major cities and airports including Dublin, Cork and Limerick.

Likely to be the most popular location, says iPass, Dublin Airport currently ranks amongst the 10 busiest airports in Europe, welcoming well over 20 million passengers each year. Other locations around Ireland will include hotels, cafés, public hotspots and entertainment venues such as racecourses.

iPass Mobile Office unifies mobility management over any Internet connection to optimise mobile access as well as control the cost of mobility, particularly by significantly reducing 3G data roaming costs outside of the home country.

"eircom is committed to bringing the highest quality wireless Internet to its customers and partners. With iPass, people coming to Ireland will be able to conveniently log on and get high-speed, reliable Internet access no matter where they are, be it coffee shops, train stations, pubs or airports — especially Dublin Airport, the largest in Ireland," said Eamonn Condon, Head of Broadband Operations, eircom.

Before becoming fully integrated, the eircom hotspot network will complete the iPass Enterprise Ready certification process. This involves testing the hotspots for high availability as well as interoperability with policy and security tools, including a comprehensive range of virtual private networks, personal firewalls and anti-virus software packages.

"Demand for business grade connectivity throughout Ireland has grown substantially within our multinational customer base," commented Azadar Shah, Sales Director, UK & Ireland, iPass. "As the largest operator in Ireland, eircom is of clear value to iPass and we are thrilled to add them to the exhaustive list of world-class operators who have joined the iPass network."

iPass Mobile Office, with iPassConnect as its unified user interface, now also offers broad device support ranging from Windows 2000, XP, Vista and Apple Mac to Windows Mobile, Symbian smartphone and most recently, the iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry. This will enable organisations to standardise on this single service worldwide and eliminate expensive-to-manage patchwork of local, regional and individual solutions, further lowering IT costs. The iPass Wi-Fi footprint encompasses close to 140,000 business-ready broadband venues, including 555 airports and more than 137,000 Wi-Fi hotspots.

Nokia and Dopplr have announced today that Nokia has acquired Dopplr Oy, a privately-held mobile service provider for international travelers. Dopplr has a team of seven people with offices in London and Helsinki.

The Dopplr team brings to Nokia's Services unit know-how in creating internet-based communities and showing their journeys, experiences and tastes collectively on the web.

The acquisition does not change the current Dopplr service which is available at Dopplr.com and on platforms where Dopplr is integrated.

Huawei has announced that its IPTime mobile backhaul solution has successfully participated in interoperability tests conducted by the European Advanced Networking Test Center (EANTC). Huawei's solution comprises PTN packet transport equipment, NE40E full service router, and CX600 MAN service platform.

Several aspects of Huawei's IPTime mobile backhaul solution were tested, including global interconnect, mobile backhaul and managed Ethernet services. The tests verified IPTime's capability in end-to-end 1588v2 high-precision clock synchronization and mobile backhaul functions, such as TDM CES and ATM PWE3.

"This test has confirmed the interoperability of Huawei's IPTime mobile backhaul solutions," said Mr. Zha Jun, vice president of Huawei Network Product Line. "As the industry has entered into an All-IP era, operators are deploying converged networks using equipment from different vendors. As a preferred partner to fully support operators' All-IP network transformation, Huawei is committed to providing advanced solutions with high interoperability to build All-IP based mobile backhaul networks for operators worldwide."

With Huawei's IPTime mobile backhaul solution, operators are said to be able to simply and flexibly deploy telecom networks using optical fibers, microwave links, and copper cables, and accelerate time-to-market of new services. This solution, featuring 1588v2, also enables operators to reduce TCO (total cost of ownership) in cellular backhaul network and smoothly evolve to LTE (long-term evolution) network in the future.

A new survey published today by the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) is said to confirm that 53 operators in 33 countries have committed to deploying HSPA Evolution (HSPA+) systems.

According to the GSA, HSPA+ brings features to WCDMA/HSPA networks and terminals that offer HSPA+ clear benefits including higher data speeds and capacities, improved operation times, longer terminal battery life, faster response times (lower latency), and extended network coverage area. HSPA+ is realized by a software upgrade to current HSPA network infrastructures.

The GSA survey confirms that 25 HSPA+ commercial systems are in commercial service in 19 countries. 24 HSPA+ networks are capable of a peak downlink data speed of 21 Mbps, using 64QAM modulation. One network supports a peak downlink data speed of 28 Mbps, which is made possible with the use of Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology. Several more HSPA+ network deployments are on-going.

System performance improvements and efficiencies introduced with HSPA+ mean a greater number of customers benefiting from mobile broadband access, who will typically experience 5 – 8 Mbps and enjoy a better mobile broadband experience.

Alan Hadden, President of GSA said: "WCDMA/HSPA is the fastest growing mobile technology ever and the undisputed system of choice for mobile broadband. Several operators have now launched or are deploying HSPA+ and most others are considering it. We anticipate there will be around 40 commercial HSPA+ systems launched by year end, possibly even more, and the trend continuing in 2010."

HSPA+ systems are now commercially launched in Australia, Austria, HSPA+ Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sweden, Turkey, and the USA.

A second related survey by GSA – The GSA HSPA Operator Commitments survey – updates the global status of HSPA network deployments and launches worldwide, and is also published today. It confirms that the number of operators committing to HSPA deployments, and the number of commercial networks now in service, have both increased by more than 33% year on year. Also, the majority of HSPA networks today support a peak downlink speed of 7.2 Mbps or higher. 92 networks i.e. around one third, have commercially launched HSUPA for high speed data uplink performance.

Key findings of the report include:

329 HSPA network commitments in 135 countries/territories
– Americas: 27 countries
– APAC: 27 countries
– Europe: 52 countries
– Middle East/Africa: 29 countries

283 commercial HSPA operators in 119 countries/territories.

– Americas and the Caribbean: Argentina, Aruba, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela

– APAC: Australia, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Guam, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Japan, Macau SAR, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, S. Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand

– Europe: Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Cyprus (Northern), Czech R, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madeira, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovak R, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, UK, Ukraine, Uzbekistan

– MEA: Angola, Bahrain, Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Israel, Kenya, Kuwait, Lesotho, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Reunion, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Syria, Tanzania, UAE, Uganda

144 commercial HSPA networks (over 50%) support 7.2 Mbps peak or higher downlink speed

102 operators have committed to HSUPA; 92 HSUPA operators commercially launched in 46 countries

25 HSPA+ networks are in commercial service

219 out of 329 HSPA network operator commitments (over 66%) have also committed to EDGE

Nokia Siemens Networks has displayed a complete, live Ethernet-based wireless mobile backhaul solution at Carrier Ethernet World Congress (CEWC) in Berlin. The new approach is said to provide a cost efficient, environment friendly answer for operators who need to dramatically increase capacity and switch to a simpler, packet-based transport network.

The demo was said to be fully incorporated in the interoperability test bed of the European Advanced Networking Test Center (EANTC). The approach of combining Carrier Ethernet transport (CET) with microwave radio in a zero footprint – taking up no additional space – backhaul site solution eliminates the need for a separate indoor unit for the microwave radio.

"The result of no additional shelter equipment, space and power consumption can reduce site costs by up to 25 percent, with the side effect of a high ecological value for the customer," said Tamas Major, portfolio manager for mobile backhaul at Nokia Siemens Networks. "This test revealed the interoperability of our solution in terms of synchronization which is major step for the applicability of mobile backhaul deployment based in carrier Ethernet."

Whereas alternative approaches still require additional aggregation devices and multiple boxes at the base station sites, Nokia Siemens Networks says it offers a built-in Carrier Ethernet engine in its FlexiPacket Microwave Radio solution. The CET feature set allows network and transport sharing to be realized with strict guarantees for all parties – in particular hard quality of service (QoS) and full support for next generation mobile services and applications.

The interoperability demonstration was publicly accessible on the EANTC stand at CEWC and comprised products such as FlexiWCDMA BTS, a modular 3G base station with inbuilt Ethernet interfaces, FlexiPacket Microwave, and Symmetricom's TimeProvider 5000 as IEEE1588-2008 master clock – all connected to a multivendor Carrier Ethernet network.

3 UK  has today launched a free SIM which allows Skype-to-Skype calls and instant messages (IM) for free from a mobile phone to other people on Skype.  From a compatible, unlocked 3G handset anyone can use Skype via the 3 SIM, whether or not the phone is from 3, for free.

"Earlier this year in a world first we opened up our network and enabled our customers to access Skype," said David Kerrigan, Head of Internet Services at 3 UK. "Expanding this offer, our SIM launch makes it possible for anyone with a 3G handset to take advantage of free Skype calls without conditions or restrictions.   It's simple – if you want to talk on mobile for free, just pop in a free 3 SIM and give it a go."

"The expansion of our relationship with 3 indicates another leap forward in providing people across the UK with free internet calling on their mobiles," said Russ Shaw, General Manager EMEA for Skype. "The demand for mobile access from people who use Skype has never been higher and Skype, in partnership with 3, is committed to developing new ways to provide people with an enhanced experience."

Currently, 3 UK says its growing Skype community of 355,000 users enjoys 58.9 minutes each of free Skype-to-Skype calls every day.

3 UK also says that it has found that regular Skype users:

  a.. Are more likely to stay loyal to 3 than non-Skype users
  b.. In addition to calling their Skype contacts, use more traditional voice minutes than non-Skype users
  c.. In addition to using Skype IM, send more SMS's than non-Skype users
  d.. Are more likely to browse the internet on their mobile
  e.. Are higher margin customers
  f.. Are twice as likely to access social networking sites as non-Skype users