A new mobile payments entity, created by the acquisition of two existing m-payments providers, using venture capital funds, aims to exploit the growing market in using a mobile phone as the payment mechanism for purchases of digital and virtual goods online.
VC-backed Boku’s aim is to create a new standard for the mobile, by bringing bank-grade mobile payments to the Web.
The company has secured $14 million funding led by Benchmark Capital, and has acquired Paymo, based in San Francisco, and Mobillcash business, originally founded in the United Kingdom. The two mobile payments companies have a potential global reach of over 1.6 billion users in 50+ countries on 170 mobile operators, a Boku statement said.
“We’re very excited about the future of Boku – with Mobillcash’s European success, Paymo’s international reach, and stellar additions to the management team, the company is now very well positioned to lead the mobile payments market,” stated Danny Rimer, Partner at Index Ventures.
“These acquisitions help Boku continue its mission of building a global operator-supported mobile payments service and enables our partners capitalise on the rapid growth of the multi-billion pound online virtual goods and microtransactions markets,” stated James Patmore, Managing Director of EMEA.
Patmore told Mobile Europe that the market for online payments via mobile is being driven by the rapid, global growth of social networks, virtual goods and games, the popularity of mobile applications, and the large number of unbanked customers who have access to mobile phones, but not credit cards or bank accounts.
He said that Boku’s chief advantage over other attempts to create mobile payments services, such as PayPal’s mobile offering, is that the time is now right for such a service.
“The market is ready for online purchases using a mobile phone,” he said. “People are buying social events and engagement, not just content,” he said.
The mobile phone, because it is trusted and secure, can carry out the authentication process easily, adding items to a user’s mobile bill.
“We bring merchants to mobile operators, and access to markets and revenues streams that they don’t currently have,” Patmore said.
He also claimed Boku’s easy user experience gave it an advantage in the mobile payments market.
BOKU splashes payments cash
Spin3 helps enable 777Mobile casino in the Ukraine
Leading full service mobile gaming solutions provider Spin3, enabled by Microgaming, an online gaming software provider, has translated its mobile casino offering to enable mobile casino operator and existing client 777Mobile to enter the Ukrainian market. Its new Ukrainian language mobile casino system represents the tenth language supported by Spin3.
In a move that will make 777Mobile's casino games available in the Ukraine for the first time, Spin3 has translated three of its most popular mobile casino games into Ukrainian – Roulette, Blackjack and the progressive Major Millions slot game. Spin3 has also integrated the Ukraine's leading web payment system, WebMoney , into its system. WebMoney enables players to buy pre-paid credits, using either the internet or a WebMoney Kiosk, located in various public places such as shopping centres and cinemas. WebMoney registers credits to the players' accounts and can be used to play at any time.
Matti Zinder, Head of Spin3 said, "In the current economic climate, our clients are searching for ways to expand their offerings and capitalise on the potential of new markets. 777Mobile's strategy goes beyond the UK and Western Europe to the previously untapped Ukrainian market. It was important to localise every aspect of the player experience – from the game's help and instruction pages right through to the way they deposit, top-up and collect their money. In this way, we have been able to fully support 777Mobile's ambitions of entering one of Eastern Europe's most promising markets.
"We are committed to supporting our clients' ambitions for growth. When their strategies point towards new markets that offer significant promise, we will develop the games and payment systems to make that move a success."
Ofer Koren, 777Mobile CEO said, "The Ukraine is a market that we have been looking to enter for some time now because of its enormous potential. Being able to expand our mobile casino services into this region is a great achievement. We partnered with Spin3 in 2007 because of its ability to understand and meet our business needs whilst enabling us to offer our customers the most innovative games in Europe's leading markets. In Spin3, we have a partner that will go to extraordinary lengths to help us grow our business."
All three games will be available through Spin3's GameWire platform from June 2009. Ukrainian is Spin3's tenth language offering, joining English, Spanish, German, French, Swedish, Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Danish.
Option launches new iCON 505 HSPA USB modem with TeliaSonera in Sweden
Option.N.V., a wireless technology company, has announced the launch of a brand new HSPA+ USB modem – the iCON 505. The new USB modem is sold by TeliaSonera Sweden as of this month and offers TeliaSonera's broadband users the possibility of staying connected, using the fastest network of their choice, wherever they go.
With maximum download and upload speeds of 10.2Mbps and 5.76Mbps, the iCON 505 is said to be uniquely upgradeable, allowing it to evolve as networks move towards faster HSPA+ speeds. With a simple firmware upgrade it will soon offer download speeds reaching 14.4 Mbps, and it can easily transfer large files or handle high-quality streaming media at speeds that match or exceed those found on traditional fixed line Internet connections in many homes and offices.
Designed in Europe and being the first USB modem in Europe to be powered by the Icera Livanto baseband chipset, the iCON 505 is quick and easy to set up and offers outstanding reliability and excellent usability.
Jan Callewaert, CEO at Option, comments: "The new iCON 505 is a good example of Option delivering highly sophisticated wireless technology in a very fast, compact, simple to use and reliable product. The new iCON 505 meets the evolving needs of our customers in a timely way."
iCON 505 features include:
- Download speeds of up to 10.2Mbps and upload speeds of up to 5.76Mbps
- Upgradeable to higher download speeds.
- Compact (6cm) and ultra light (29g) design
- Easy installation with Option's Plug ‘n' Play technology
- Functional easy-grip finish
- Multimode HSUPA/HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE/GPRS/GSM compatibility
- Multiple communication ports for simultaneous data call and network coverage reports
- USB 2.0, backward compatible to USB 1.1
Connect launches for Email Continuity for mobile phones and handheld devices
Connect has today launched an upgraded version of its Email Continuity service that enables users to send and receive email through mobile phones and PDAs. Connect's Email Continuity, launched last year, was developed to provide SMEs with 24/7 access to their email, if their Exchange server was out of action. However, at the time, the only way to access emails was via a web browser which made it too slow to run on most PDAs. Now the upgraded Email Continuity service allows the service to be used on mobile phones, including iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Google's Android. Prices start from £43 a month for up to 10 users.
With the current economic climate, small businesses are reluctant to replace aging servers so making them vulnerable to server failure. Most of these enterprises are also hugely reliant on ensuring 24/7 access to email – according to recent research by Connect, 42% of IT directors at small to medium sized businesses, said that they would face redundancy if their company had no access to email for more than 24 hours.
Mark O'Dell, Director of New Technology at Connect, said: "As the use of mobile devices in the commercial world gathers pace, it is important that SMEs ensure that their staff can have 24/7 access to email and other key applications. This is likely to be even more critical for employees who are based outside their offices. That is why this new, upgraded version of our Email Continuity enables employees to carry on working if the unforeseen happens – from a short term email server failure to a major disaster.
"In the past, this kind of technology was only available to very large organisations that had the resources to have a comprehensive business continuity solution in place. However, it is now possible for the smallest of enterprises at a fraction of the cost."
3 and Nokia Siemens Networks complete radio technology upgrade and demonstrate Ireland’s first roll out of I-HSPA
3, the mobile and broadband operator, and Nokia Siemens Networks have demonstrated the I-HSPA technology and announced that the upgrade of the radio technology to enable higher broadband speeds has been completed in Ireland.
Nokia Siemens Networks' I-HSPA (Internet High-Speed Packet Access) technology is currently being rolled out as part of the National Broadband Scheme, and will be extended to 3's existing network in Ireland. It is the first commercial deployment of I-HSPA in Ireland.
The strategic agreement with Nokia Siemens Networks, will see 3 offering consumers and businesses in the NBS coverage areas and their existing network, access to high-speed and high capacity broadband services, operating on 7.2Mbps technology, upgraded during 2010 to operate on technology of 14.4Mbps. The project uses I-HSPA, the innovative flat network architecture optimized to carry huge volumes of data traffic, with its all-Internet Protocol (IP) backhaul.
To prepare for I-HSPA technology and the National Broadband Scheme 3's WCDMA network has been totally replaced with Flexi base station technology by Nokia Siemens Networks in just one year – nearly 2 years quicker than the original estimate.
The new broadband network will build on 3's new WCDMA/HSPA radio and packet core networks, allowing the service provider to build on the existing investments. I-HSPA also provides greater scalability and a smooth evolution path to the future mobile architectures "Long Term Evolution" (LTE).
Commenting on the demonstration, David Hennessy, Chief Technical Officer of 3 said: "With our demonstration today, 3 and Nokia Siemens Networks are bringing this cutting edge technology to Irish consumers in what is a world first, helping to build Ireland's leadership credentials in the knowledge economy. 3 are the network which continues to drive change and address the growing demand in the Irish broadband marketplace.
"For a contract such as this, it was essential that we have an easy to implement, cost effective, and highly scalable wireless technology platform – as that would not only address our immediate needs, but also serve as a strong foundation for future expansion. I-HSPA made the most sense, since it offers, and is also extremely cost effective, and offers a path to future upgrades."
"Across the world, wireless technologies are helping service providers break through traditional access barriers in rural areas to bring consumers in these areas into the digital fold. I-HSPA allows the benefits of broadband and wireless access to be combined and extended as a robust service," said Richard Kitts, customer business team head Hutchison global at Nokia Siemens Networks. "It also brings significant operational benefits to service providers and is thus the right choice for initiatives such as this."
Roaming hub offers full service vision
Swiss roaming services provider Comfone has given its corporate identity a wash and brush up in a bid to portray itself as a full-service roaming hub provider for mobile operators.
With roaming revenues under threat from regulation and competition, it is becoming more important that roaming service providers move from traditional models based on providing signaling services to value added roaming services, Mathias Prüssing, Comfone CEO, said.
Prüssing said, “All service providers are trying to go from signaling providers to moving up the value chain to become integreated roaming solution providers.”
He said the company, which operates as a clearing hub between 140 operators worldwide, provides a managed solution to operators, who currently tend to operate their own IN roaming platforms.
“The economic news on the one hand and regulatory constraints on the other meant that roaming revenues are sharply decreasing,” he said.
Bringing a centralised virtual home environment capability, as well as steering of roaming services, as well as fraud prevention and assurance, would offer operators reduced cost of operation as well as a chance to increase roaming revenues, he added.
“If you look at the landscape, we are really one of very few companies that can offer a full service roaming experience in a centralized hub.”
Operators missing a trick on back-up services
Mobile operators that offer mass-market back-up, restore and security services to their subscribers will benefit from increased customer loyalty and revenues, Mformation’s commercial director, Rob Dalgety, told Mobile Europe.
At the moment, most such solutions are aimed at the enterprise Dalgety, said.
“We have yet to see anybody go to the mass market to offer this type of service in a platform-based way,” he said.
O2’s Bluebook, which offers users back-up and restore services for their digital data, such as photos and contacts, had a “high profile” Dalgety said. But there was little else on the market.
The opportunity for mobile operators is to be able to offer customers a service that will see automatic back up of contacts and data files, as well as remote lock and wipe, encryption and other security services.
As the most common churn point is a lost phone, such a solution could easily reduce churn, Dalgety said, and many may consider paying a small amount for such a service, as part of the insurance many subscribers already buy to cover lost handsets.
Yet mobile operators face a “service threat” from external players, such as Microsoft’s MyPhone service, as well as from the handset manufacturers themselves through their appstores. Dalgety said that the advanatage of using a mobile device management platform like mFormation’s is that the operators already have the capability in the network to offer services to a complete range of handsets and OS platforms.
Mformation commissioned research from Coleman Parkes that found that 82% of people fear that if their phones were lost or stolen, someone would use the information stored on them for fraudulent means. 90% of those questioned are worried about the loss of their personal data if a mobile device were to go missing, with 72% admitting that the personal information stored on their devices would be difficult to replace. In addition, 40% of respondents even said that losing a mobile would be worse than losing their wallet.
“Operators need to step up to the mark to make sure that their customers are getting the service they expect in terms of security, data recovery and phone setup,” said Dalgety.
Wrexham & Shropshire selects Icomera for on-train passenger Wi-Fi
Icomera, a provider of cellular broadband gateways, has announced that Wrexham & Shropshire railway will offer free Wi-Fi services to rail passengers on all trains running between Central London and the UK Midlands. The train operator will install Moovbox M200R mobile broadband gateways to provide Internet connectivity to passenger carriages, while also provisioning power outlets for laptops, netbooks, phones and other devices. The Icomera Moovbox will connect the trains to the Internet using multiple next-generation 3G HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) connections from Vodafone and Orange, at speeds up to several megabits per second. Wrexham & Shropshire is a joint venture between Renaissance Trains and Laing Rail, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, providing direct trains from Wrexham, Shrewsbury and Telford to London Marylebone.
"We aim to provide passengers with the very best environment in which they can work or play during their journey with us, " said Andy Hamilton, Managing Director of Wrexham & Shropshire. "Free Internet access is an extremely attractive service for both business and leisure travelers, and the Icomera Moovbox has enabled us to upgrade our fleet cost-effectively with the very latest in communications technology."
The rugged Moovbox M200R gateway supports two simultaneous cellular connections, providing aggregated bandwidth to the train from different mobile networks. Furthermore, utilizing patented SureWANTM intelligent routing technology, the gateway offers seamless switching between networks as the train moves along its journey, ensuring an always-on connection without interruption to the passenger or on-board systems. The Moovbox M200R is the industry's first rail-certified industrial router to support dual cellular connections with seamless switching, and meets the stringent EN50155 rail standard for shock and vibration, environmental conditions, electromagnetic emissions, and power voltage transients.
"Free on-board Wi-Fi is rapidly becoming expected by today's tech-savvy travelers," said Peter Kingsland, SVP Business Development at Icomera. "But the challenges of delivering a persistent connection are significant. On the Wrexham & Shropshire trains, SureWAN invisibly manages the Vodafone and Orange 3G HSPA cellular links so that should one go down due to network coverage issues, the other link elegantly steps in without interruption. Our technology has been successfully deployed by large operators such as National Express in the UK, SJ in Sweden and Arriva in Denmark, and we are delighted to welcome Shropshire & Wrexham as our latest Moovbox rail customer."
Sales of low-cost mobile phones to reach 700m by 2014, as operators look to emerging markets for growth, says research
A new report from Juniper Research forecasts that, between 2009 and 2014, annual sales of low-cost mobile handsets will rise by 22% to over 700 million.
Operators and device manufacturers are increasingly looking to emerging markets, to fuel future growth. The development of very low cost handsets and devices are critical to achieving this aim.
Efforts by industry players to lower the TCO (total cost of ownership) for devices and services to below $5 are already reaping benefits in markets such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. Meanwhile, players such as Nokia are developing invaluable content-driven services that will encourage first-time mobile users to keep on using their devices and improving their standards of living.
According to the Low-Cost Handsets Report author Andrew Kitson: "With around 80% of new mobile users set to come from emerging markets over the next six years, it is essential that operators and vendors work together to dilute the price barriers associated with mobile technology and to provide ongoing support through the development of specific social and personal services, such as Nokia's Life Tools suite. However, it is clear that commercial success will only be achieved if operators adopt revolutionary new business models and if governments can be persuaded not to place excessive taxes and duties on device sales and imports."
Other findings include
- The Africa & Middle East region will account for the largest annual shipment volume by 2014, with its 166 million low-cost handsets representing 24% of all sales that year and up by 54% over the term of the forecast period
- With smartphones projected to account for 27% of mobile device shipments in 2014 (up from 13% in 2008), the market is effectively polarising into two groupings – entry-level and high-end devices: this means that the market for mid-range devices is being squeezed and vendors of such devices (such as Motorola) are suffering
Synchronica launches self-care push email solution for businesses
Synchronica, an international provider of mobile email and synchronization solutions, has launched an affordable, industry-standard push email and synchronization middleware enabling enterprises to connect entry-level devices to their corporate networks. Synchronica Mobile Gateway Enterprise Edition is a self-care solution that works on a wide variety mobile handsets, so employers do not need to invest in a fleet of expensive new Smartphones in order to cascade mobile email down the organisation.
Synchronica Mobile Gateway Enterprise Edition is targeted at SMEs, as well as the middle/junior management layers in large enterprises where it can complement existing Smartphone-based solutions. It is available immediately from the Synchronica website and can be purchased, downloaded and deployed on a mobile phone fleet within a few hours.
The cost-effective solution provides carrier-grade security, reliability and scalability and has already been selected by a major Indian bank for its middle and junior management tiers. The bank is in the process of deploying Mobile Gateway Enterprise Edition to an initial 10,000 employees, to supplement the Smartphones used by executive staff. Synchronica now expects this approach to be replicated in other businesses.
Kathryn Weldon, Principal Analyst – Enterprise Mobility at Current Analysis said: "What makes Mobile Gateway EE different from other enterprise mobile email offerings is that it works on almost any phone in use today. This makes it ideal for today's tough economic conditions, because businesses do not need to spend a fortune on new handsets and expensive contracts to cascade mobile email through the organisation and realise productivity gains."
Carsten Brinkschulte, CEO of Synchronica added: "We felt there was a gap in the market for a low-cost, business-grade mobile email and synchronization solution that could be installed on the corporate network and managed internally as an alternative to a hosted solution. In today's climate, where the focus is on improving employee productivity and keeping costs down, an affordable self-care mobility solution hits the right spot. Our solution can cost about half as much per year as competing options and is an ideal supplement enabling Smartphone-like functionality on entry-level devices."
Mobile Gateway Enterprise Edition includes a Microsoft-Windows installer, allowing businesses to install and host it on their own servers.
