The global market for Mobile Web 2.0 will be worth $22.4bn in 2013, up from $5.5bn currently, according to a new report by Juniper Research. Embracing social networking & User Generated Content (UGC), mobile search and mobile IM (Instant Messaging), Mobile Web 2.0 provides a framework for delivery of collaborative applications, further enhanced and contextualised via LBS (Location Based Services).

In its latest report – ‘Mobile Web 2.0: Leveraging ‘Location, IM, Social Web & Search' – Juniper says it examines how a fundamental shift in Internet usage patterns is shaping Mobile Web development, driving subscriber adoption and forcing structural changes within the industry. At the core of this evolution is the user as a creator and consumer of content (i.e. the prosumer), and the ‘social web' – which describes a wide variety of social computing tools enabling users to develop detailed Web identities, create online communities and communicate with like-minded individuals.

"Combining the power of the social network map – namely: ‘who I know, how I know and where I know' – with that of mobility, presents the greatest opportunity for revenue generation of any of the applications as defined within Juniper's Mobile Web 2.0 framework," states Ian Chard, Juniper Research Analyst and author of the new report. "The phone is carried with us most of the time and contains a huge amount of personal data, making it a logical extension for the social network and a host of other collaborative Web 2.0 applications being mobilised."

Other findings from the reportare said to include:

– Total global revenues for mobile social networking/UGC will rocket from $1.8bn in 2008, to $11.2bn in 2013, accounting for 50% of the market, while growth in mobile search and mobile IM will be more measured
– Service revenues will account for the lion's-share of total Mobile Web 2.0 revenues, although mobile advertising represents a significant opportunity
– Far East & China, Western Europe and North America dominate the global market for Mobile Web 2.0, but will be surpassed by the developing regions over the forecast period
 
Despite the new opportunities for players across the value chain, Mobile Web 2.0 creates fresh challenges over and above those typically associated with mobilising Internet applications. MNOs must adjust to advertising-sponsored strategies and accommodate partnerships with Web-based players, while device manufacturers and technology vendors must somehow find the means to stitch together what is at present, a highly-fragmented market. Any player in Social Web is also subject to regulatory measures concerning privacy and data retention, says
Juniper.

Ceon Corporation has announced that Nordisk Mobiltelefon AB (NMT), a provider of mobile broadband services covering Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Poland and Ireland, is operational with the Ceon Product Control Center (PCC) product lifecycle and catalogue management software solution.

Ceon PCC is the centralised product management system at NMT as well as the operational product catalogue that is referenced by various order capture front-ends. NMT is utilising the PCC Order Negotiator Web Services API (ON API) to integrate PCC with the CRM, Web Shop and Reseller Ordering applications. The ON API executes defined product configuration and validation rules as part of responding to product content requests from the ordering front-ends, and calculates quotes for given product configurations as well.

"Ceon Product Control Center is a enabling us to rapidly, in some cases in a matter of hours, define and launch new offerings", said Thomas Norberg, CIO of Nordisk Mobiltelefon. "The PCC product modelling approach, the integration facilities, and the alignment of PCC with our standards-based systems architecture has allowed us to complete the initial deployment and integration of PCC within months."

"The initial phase of the implementation has involved integrating PCC with our ordering systems. Subsequent phases will leverage PCC to support fulfilment and billing processes as well."

"Being operational at Nordisk Mobiltelefon is a significant milestone for Ceon, and we are pleased with the rapid progress we have made this year in completing multiple deployments of our Product Control Center application ," said Peter Burke, CEO of Ceon.  "We look forward to continuing to support Nordisk achieve its business objectives through the subsequent phases of deployment and delivery of enhanced functionality in future releases."

The latest survey of GSM/EDGE network deployments by GSA, the Global mobile Suppliers Association, is said to highlight the continuing expansion of GSM/EDGE networks and services across the globe. The survey results are summarized in a new EDGE Fact Sheet, confirming that EDGE networks are now commercially launched in 147 countries, compared to 113 countries in May 2007.

EDGE is now widely available throughout Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For example, EDGE is now available in several new markets in Africa. Throughout the world, many operators have made significant investments to enhance the capacity and coverage of existing networks, often extending EDGE capabilities to their full GSM coverage area.

The GSA survey identified 363 EDGE network commitments in 165 countries (May
2007 = 287 commitments, 142 countries), including 313 EDGE commercial network launches in 147 countries (May 2007 = 223 launches, 113 countries).

A major driver for EDGE deployments is the capability provided to network operators to offer high speed Internet access to their customers. Over 60% of HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) network operators have also deployed EDGE for service continuity and the best user experience of mobile broadband services.

GSM/EDGE, a software enhancement to GPRS networks, is a mature global technology supported by a well developed ecosystem. The number of EDGE enabled user devices, including phones and PC datacards/modems, is estimated to have more than doubled in the same period to over 1,200 products now launched. The first commercial EDGE network was launched in June 2003. Over 75% of GPRS operators have since committed to the EDGE enhancement, delivering significant data traffic and revenue growth.

Ericsson and Dell have teamed up to allow Dell's next-generation laptops that to support seamless roaming on tri-band HSPA mobile broadband networks. Dell will offer built-in HSPA mobile broadband modules from Ericsson beginning in Q2 2008.

HSPA is the world's most widely deployed mobile broadband technology, with more than 185 commercially deployed networks available around the world serving more than one billion subscribers.

"Consumers are increasingly utilizing notebooks to access the high-capacity services that they have typically experienced only through a wired or WiFi connection," said Mats Norin, Vice President, Mobile Broadband Modules, Ericsson. "We are excited to work with Dell to give consumers and business users the freedom and flexibility to access internet in the way they want it, wherever they are.

"Dell's model is uniquely capable of putting the technology and wireless service in customers' hands. Teaming with Ericsson to offer built-in HSPA in our laptops ensures Dell delivers on the basic assumption that one can access critical information anytime, anywhere, with the speed and rich content that we have all come to expect," said John Thode, Vice President Small Devices, Dell Consumer Group.

Ericsson's mobile broadband modules provide the end user with a solution for broadband access on-the-go. Said to be seamlessly integrated with and optimized' to work within the notebook, the built-in mobile broadband module is also claimed to provide superior downloading and uploading performance and takes less power from the battery.

BT has today announced a new managed network solutions agreement with O2 that will see BT Wholesale provide and manage high speed connectivity between the majority of O2's base stations and its core national network in the UK.

Under the terms of the five-year agreement, BT will design and deliver a cost-efficient and flexible solution that enables O2 to manage the predicted increases in network traffic caused by new bandwidth-intensive handsets, reducing the need to invest heavily in significant and advanced network upgrading. 

The agreement takes advantage of BT's new 21st Century Network-enabled Ethernet service. The new, next generation, carrier class service provides communications providers with scalable bandwidth to meet increased demand flexibly, with costs matching actual traffic and revenue increases. This agreement is sadi to allow O2 to avoid capital investment risk, while benefiting from the economies of scale and national reach that BT Wholesale offers.

Nigel Purdy, Head of Networks Engineering, O2 UK said: "In working in partnership with BT Wholesale, we have a solution that takes care of our growing access and bandwidth needs while enabling us to realise greater cost efficiencies. It allows O2 customers to experience a better mobile broadband experience and significantly reduces our access transmission whole life cycle costs."

Sally Davis, chief executive of BT Wholesale, said: "Communications providers want to secure revenue growth from new services without risking upfront capital and operational investments.

"Consumers are increasingly using mobile devices to access and send data such as photos, video, gaming and high speed web browsing.  These bandwidth-hungry applications put considerable strain on backhaul networks. BT is able to design, tailor and manage the access network and cater to the demands that O2's customers are increasingly putting on the network."

Bubble Motion, a specialist in 'voice SMS', has announced an agreement with Turkcell, the mobile communications provider in Turkey, to launch its voice SMS service, KonusGonder.

The partnership means that all Turkcell subscribers will be able to record and send short voice messages to their friends, families or business contacts, in a similar manner to sending text messages. BubbleTALK is said to offer a more instantaneous, personal and language-agnostic alternative to text messaging, mobile email, and traditional mobile voice calling.

Turkcell plans to use the KonusGonder service to provide an innovative and unique Value-Added Service to its subscribers. The introduction of the BubbleTALK service is claimed to have been attractive to mobile operators because of its simple, revenue-generating service which eliminates the need for any additional network infrastructure.

"Turkey is a large, rapidly-growing market, so working with Turkcell, one of the most progressive and well-respected operators in the region, is an important step in establishing our market leadership, as we have in other regions," stated Bill Crawley, Vice President, Sales at Bubble Motion.

Cenk Serdar, Chief of Value Added Services at Turkcell, commented: "Turkcell is one of the most innovative operators in the world and has always recognized the benefit in working with innovative partners. With Bubble Motion we have been able to jointly bring voice SMS to the Turkish market in a very short timeframe. Our customers love to talk and love to send messages, so voice SMS is the perfect complementary product to sit alongside our very popular text SMS service. Early indications and user testing show that voice SMS will be very popular in Turkey and will be a real hit with our customers."

Thomas Clayton, CEO & President of Bubble Motion commented: "We are excited to announce this deal with Turkcell, and begin our aggressive expansion into Europe.  This is the latest in a series of partnerships for us, helping operators differentiate their offerings with a unique, popular service and enabling consumers to communicate more efficiently and impactfully while they are mobile."

The cost of network equipment is a serious threat to the continued growth of an otherwise promising mobile broadband market, according to mobile strategy consultant Omnitele of Finland. In effect, mobile operators could pay up to several hundred EUR per broadband subscriber in network CAPEX alone – more than ten times the benchmark CAPEX per voice subscriber, it claims.

Omnitele says that in particular traffic-dependent infrastructure software license fees are a threat to mobile broadband profitability. "When data traffic increases, it quickly becomes very expensive to upgrade and expand the networks. This is a clear threat to the mobile broadband business case," says Mr Antonios Drossos, Vice President of Omnitele.

The popularity of mobile broadband flat-rate services with HSPA is driving the market forward, but operators also need to have a clear strategy to limit extreme usage, Omnitele says. "Broadband operators are faced with entirely new technical and commercial challenges compared to 2G. They need to move the business forward but at the same time must limit extreme usage that degrades services or requires disproportional network investments," says Senior Consultant for Omnitele, Pal Zarandy.

Omnitele advocates that detailed techno-economic business models must be developed to tackle new broadband challenges effectively. In 2G it has been relatively easy for operators to estimate voice CAPEX and related costs, while mobile broadband services require much tighter links between the technical and commercial aspects of the business. Omnitele says that this approach is needed to make sure that profitability can be sustained.

The findings, as well as a guide to taking on new mobile broadband challenges, are presented in Omnitele's latest White Paper titled "Mobile Broadband – ensuring sustainable profitability" available for download at www.omnitele.fi

Telekom Austria has chosen Tribold to provide its centralized product catalog and management capability, a move that will centralize the disparate product catalogs currently in place at the communications services provider.  The new platform will allow for the creation of new products and services across product lines and feature configurable products and add-ons to allow Telekom Austria's marketing team to create customised service offerings.  The centralized product catalog will ensure operational savings and efficiencies and reduce the time to market for new services, says Tribold.

Tribold's Product Portfolio Manager suite will integrate fully into Telekom Austria's BSS/OSS applications, providing a single, comprehensive view of product information across Telekom Austria's service offerings and automating the process of product management end-to-end.

Helmut Leopold, managing director, Platform and Technology Management, Telekom Austria, commented: "A centralized catalog is essential in effective product management in the increasingly competitive world of communications.  Frequent and rapid new product introduction is central to retaining a competitive advantage, acquiring new customers and retaining existing ones.  The disparate nature of our existing product related information in different BSS/OSS systems was clearly having an impact on our ability to deliver new services quickly and cost-effectively.  Centralized product catalog plays one of the cornerstone roles in the transformation of our comprehensive BSS/OSS landscape." 

Mario Huterer, director, Marketing Wholesale and Platform Management, Telekom Austria, said:  "We undertook a thorough evaluation of the product management solutions and Tribold was better than other competing options in almost all of our evaluation criteria. This centralized product catalog gives us the possibility to structure our marketed products out of a very much reduced number of streamlined 'basic' products and to drastically optimise our production efficiency.  I'm happy that we've got a mature product life cycle management solution that will meet our immediate needs and support us in creating and capturing quickly new market opportunities."

Simon Muderack, COO of Tribold, added: "Communication service providers across the globe are recognizing that an integrated centralized product catalog is the foundation upon which to build effective and efficient product management.  Without a single view of product data across the business, a CSP is going to find that its competitors are bringing new, valuable services to market more quickly and, through that, offering improved products to existing subscribers and winning new customers.  We look forward to continuing to work with Telekom Austria to deliver substantial and quantifiable benefits in the areas of time to market and cost to market."

The second European 2.6GHz spectrum auction concluded this week in Sweden and, with auctions coming up in other European countries, including the UK, Austria and the Netherlands, the outcome of the Swedish auction provides information on the price that operators will pay for 2.6GHz spectrum throughout Europe, says research specialist Analysys Mason.

The Swedish auction concluded at a price of EUR0.13/MHz/pop, with unpaired spectrum going for just below EUR0.04/MHz/pop and paired spectrum for EUR0.16/MHz/pop.

"Clearly prices fetched at the 2000/2001 European UMTS auctions, especially in the UK and Germany, are unlikely to be repeated. On the other hand, operators are reporting a rapid uptake of mobile broadband dongles, and new WiMAX players may be eager to enter the arena, suggesting that prices may still be substantial," says Bart-Jan Sweers, Strategy Consultant at Analysys Mason.

Despite being significantly below the UK and German UMTS auctions in 2000, the prices achived in the Swedish auction were considerably higher than the recent Norwegian 2.6GHz auction (EUR0.03/MHz/pop).

"Interestingly, the Swedish auction may be a more reliable indicator of prices in other upcoming European auctions than the Norwegian auction. The reason for this is that the competitive situation in Sweden, with four mobile players, is more representative of the situation in most European countries than the Norwegian two-player market," says Sweers. "Still, there are plenty of specifics in the Swedish situation that should lead to caution when using this auction result as a benchmark."

For example, taking the viewpoint of a bidder for paired spectrum in a country that adopts the CEPT band plan (2 ´ 70MHz of paired spectrum plus 50MHz of unpaired spectrum), two factors need to be taken into account when considering the Swedish outcome.

Firstly, just as in the Norwegian case, Sweden has a very low population density compared to most European countries. Consequently, it has a relatively low traffic density, leading to lower spectrum demand and hence lower prices. Secondly, later auctions may be affected by rising expectations in the industry regarding the uptake of mobile data and the anticipation of LTE approaching commercial availability.

Bidders for unpaired spectrum also need to factor out the effect of the PTS's decision to auction the unpaired spectrum in one block. This decreased the liquidity of the spectrum, and potentially decreased its value.

"Some European countries (e.g. the UK and the Netherlands) plan to deviate from the CEPT band plan by using a flexible band plan, in which the split between paired and unpaired spectrum is not fixed but varies according to demand at auction. In theory, this will enable a more efficient allocation of spectrum among FDD and TDD operators, and therefore could lower prices overall but at the same time could lead to higher prices for paired spectrum. The Swedish result suggests that competition between bidders for paired and unpaired spectrum will be minimal, given that the price fetched for unpaired spectrum was four times lower than for paired spectrum," says Sweers.

Having suggested that the Swedish auction may ultimately prove to be at the lower end of 2.6GHz auction prices, it is important to stress that operators should remain conservative in their assessments of spectrum value.

The upcoming 2.6GHz auctions are not the only way for operators to prepare for future demand, says Analysys Mason. Refarming of 2G spectrum, the digital dividend and general easing of spectrum restrictions improve the supply side of spectrum, while femtocells may well relieve any capacity issues. Operators should therefore carefully consider such alternative options when valuing 2.6GHz spectrum, it says.