From a GSMA press release, the usual stuff about 850mhz but good info about NextG trials.
"There are now more than 18 HSPA networks at 850MHz worldwide. The GSMA expects that number to continue to grow as operators in the Americas look to upgrade their GSM networks operating at that frequency. According to Wireless Intelligence, there are now 309 million GSM connections at 850MHz worldwide. "Using the 850 MHz spectrum band, Telstra rapidly deployed a highly advanced nationwide mobile broadband network - the Telstra Next G™ network," said Mike Wright, Telstra's Executive Director of Wireless. "This week, we will commence the world's first network trial, with our partner Ericsson, of HSPA+ at 850MHz, providing speeds of 21 Mbps and beyond. We are planning to commence deployment of network download speeds of up to 21 Mbps by the end of this year."
Speed it up!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Hooray to Optus
In another forum I've been accused of being a Telstra-lover so to prove this is not the case I'd like to give Optus a big pat on the back for their recent announcement of $315m investment in expanding the coverage and speed of their HSPA network. Optus aims to reach 98% of the population by the end of 2009 and progressively give speeds of up to 42mbps.
So, Hooray. This will bring increased competition in the marketplace, offering greater choice and driving ongoing innovation of mobile services available to consumers.
This is a fairly predictable move by Optus, however while they are playing follow-the-leader behind Telstra, this is not necessarily a bad thing and as the challenger, this is what you'd expect. Thats my beef though, I don't think Optus has any other choice as the second-largest player in the market to match the technology evolution of its largest competitor, though kudos again to Optus for not waiting too long to do so.
However, if Optus don't start thinking about what mobile internet really means to their customers and to their business, they will struggle in the future. Just matching Telstra is not enough, Optus needs to innovate, not just replicate.
I love ALL mobile operators!
So, Hooray. This will bring increased competition in the marketplace, offering greater choice and driving ongoing innovation of mobile services available to consumers.
This is a fairly predictable move by Optus, however while they are playing follow-the-leader behind Telstra, this is not necessarily a bad thing and as the challenger, this is what you'd expect. Thats my beef though, I don't think Optus has any other choice as the second-largest player in the market to match the technology evolution of its largest competitor, though kudos again to Optus for not waiting too long to do so.
However, if Optus don't start thinking about what mobile internet really means to their customers and to their business, they will struggle in the future. Just matching Telstra is not enough, Optus needs to innovate, not just replicate.
I love ALL mobile operators!
NextG the World Beater
Sol Trujillo recently touted Telstra's 3G services as generating $20 more per user per month than their 2G offering. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,23651210-5013040,00.html
Supporting the 'incumbent' is always a fraught exercise however this underpins what I think is the main theme of the mobile industry.
Mobile operators ultimately use the same network technologies, however Telstra has understood in delivering the mobile-world to consumers, you need to give them compelling content and services that are tailored to work on the mobile, not just 'internet access'. Telstra has understood this with Foxtel MobileTV, BigPond music and a plethora of other services and their ARPU shows they are reaping the benefits.
People will consume mobile services, they love them and they're willing to pay, telco's just need to provide them and do it well.
Supporting the 'incumbent' is always a fraught exercise however this underpins what I think is the main theme of the mobile industry.
Mobile operators ultimately use the same network technologies, however Telstra has understood in delivering the mobile-world to consumers, you need to give them compelling content and services that are tailored to work on the mobile, not just 'internet access'. Telstra has understood this with Foxtel MobileTV, BigPond music and a plethora of other services and their ARPU shows they are reaping the benefits.
People will consume mobile services, they love them and they're willing to pay, telco's just need to provide them and do it well.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Imaginings
The thing I love most about the mobile industry is the fact that it continues to prove people wrong.
There were times (and some still live in those times) where we couldn't fathom all the things that we now do with our mobile phones.
Imagine a world where I can make phone calls from anywhere, with NO wires.
Imagine a world where I can send messages to my friends without having to ring and disturb them.
Imagine checking the weather, movie times and bus timetables when I'm out with friends.
Imagine doing my emails on the train to work without having to unfold my laptop.
Imagine having one device in my pocket that can play my music, take photos, surf the internet, make phone calls and show me on a map where I am and where to go.
Madness I tell you, madness.
What about watching the news or other TV programs, live without having to be in front of my TV
What about messaging my friends in real-time instead of asynchronous messages back and forward
Buying things with my phone instead of carrying a wallet
Checking my bank balance without going to a cash-machine
Projecting a screen and keyboard from my phone instead of carrying a laptop
GSM connections took 12 years to reach 1 billion, a further 2.5 years to reach 2 billion and 22 months to grow to 3 billion. That is the fastest growth of any industry, ever.
Where will we be in 10 years?
There were times (and some still live in those times) where we couldn't fathom all the things that we now do with our mobile phones.
Imagine a world where I can make phone calls from anywhere, with NO wires.
Imagine a world where I can send messages to my friends without having to ring and disturb them.
Imagine checking the weather, movie times and bus timetables when I'm out with friends.
Imagine doing my emails on the train to work without having to unfold my laptop.
Imagine having one device in my pocket that can play my music, take photos, surf the internet, make phone calls and show me on a map where I am and where to go.
Madness I tell you, madness.
What about watching the news or other TV programs, live without having to be in front of my TV
What about messaging my friends in real-time instead of asynchronous messages back and forward
Buying things with my phone instead of carrying a wallet
Checking my bank balance without going to a cash-machine
Projecting a screen and keyboard from my phone instead of carrying a laptop
GSM connections took 12 years to reach 1 billion, a further 2.5 years to reach 2 billion and 22 months to grow to 3 billion. That is the fastest growth of any industry, ever.
Where will we be in 10 years?
Monday, April 28, 2008
So Long CDMA
An event this auspicious can't be left without mention. Today is the day that Telstra will close its CDMA network.
Australia is finally joining most mobile operators in the world in using GSM (or officially WCDMA) technology to deliver their network, rather than CDMA which is used in very few markets (less than 14% of the total mobile phones users in the world are on CDMA).
Former CDMA users will see major benefits in better technology evolution and access to a better range of handsets at more competitive prices. Telstra will see the benefits of harmonising its platforms and the whole mobile eco-system will benefit from the Next G technology which is a major evolution in mobile data services.
Coverage issues for regional users will plague Telstra for some time, as will handset availability because of the 850mhz spectrum being used (see earlier posts) but even those issues can't stop progress.
Australia is finally joining most mobile operators in the world in using GSM (or officially WCDMA) technology to deliver their network, rather than CDMA which is used in very few markets (less than 14% of the total mobile phones users in the world are on CDMA).
Former CDMA users will see major benefits in better technology evolution and access to a better range of handsets at more competitive prices. Telstra will see the benefits of harmonising its platforms and the whole mobile eco-system will benefit from the Next G technology which is a major evolution in mobile data services.
Coverage issues for regional users will plague Telstra for some time, as will handset availability because of the 850mhz spectrum being used (see earlier posts) but even those issues can't stop progress.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Morphing Mobiles
Checkout Nokia Morph http://www.nokia.com/A4852062
Its a concept Nokia has developed using nanotechnology which allows a mobile device to change shape.....it may be a glimpse into the future or it may just be another crazy idea with no legs, you decide.
Its a concept Nokia has developed using nanotechnology which allows a mobile device to change shape.....it may be a glimpse into the future or it may just be another crazy idea with no legs, you decide.
Instand Messenger for Mobiles
A few operators around the world are already offering MSN and Yahoo messenger on your mobile (checkout 3 xseries), however there's also a lot more that are dragging their heels. From a user perspective, IM seems like the next evolution of SMS, allowing a lot more features, in particular seeing the presence settings of your friends (online, away, busy) but it also comes with a whole lot of barbs for Mobile Operators, which as in most cases such as these are around the charging model for traditional IP services.
IM is more relevant now than ever due to the very fast move to broadband capable networks, however if mobile operators allow you to have IM in its current form, the theory is that you'll stop sending sms messages which generate between 10-20% of total usage revenues for many developed-market operators today.
The GSM Association has a major campaign in-place to establish a GSM operator community standard for IM, http://www.gsmworld.com/personal_im/. The program is about setting the conditions (technical and business-model) for offering IM services to mobile customers. Their basic principle is that with somewhere between 2 and 3 billion people with a GSM phone, they have a bigger community of potential IM users than MSN and Yahoo and therefore should be able to influence the business model.
Many mobile operators don't want to go down the path of interoperating with MSN and Yahoo because it won't allow them to use a Calling-Party-Pays model. This means instead of getting revenue per message they would only get revenue from you connecting to the internet and opening up your IM client. There's not many mobile operators who will happily swallow that, particularly as it will not only be a missed opportunity but also a big cannibilisation of their current sms revenues.
The whole concept of calling-party-pays and how it relates to internet usage/IP services on a mobile phone is a massive issue for the global industry and IM is an excellent, tangible example of the paradoxes hich exist. There are signs however of a shift, whether intential or not with the proliferation of the wonderful new 2gb for $15 usb dongle plans that are springing up everywhere around the world.
Mobile operators continue to fight hard to prevent themselves from becoming mobile-network based ISP's, but I think there's a growing trend in the industry towards accepting this and a focus on getting as many users on as possible, after all its not a bad business! More on this one later.
IM is more relevant now than ever due to the very fast move to broadband capable networks, however if mobile operators allow you to have IM in its current form, the theory is that you'll stop sending sms messages which generate between 10-20% of total usage revenues for many developed-market operators today.
The GSM Association has a major campaign in-place to establish a GSM operator community standard for IM, http://www.gsmworld.com/personal_im/. The program is about setting the conditions (technical and business-model) for offering IM services to mobile customers. Their basic principle is that with somewhere between 2 and 3 billion people with a GSM phone, they have a bigger community of potential IM users than MSN and Yahoo and therefore should be able to influence the business model.
Many mobile operators don't want to go down the path of interoperating with MSN and Yahoo because it won't allow them to use a Calling-Party-Pays model. This means instead of getting revenue per message they would only get revenue from you connecting to the internet and opening up your IM client. There's not many mobile operators who will happily swallow that, particularly as it will not only be a missed opportunity but also a big cannibilisation of their current sms revenues.
The whole concept of calling-party-pays and how it relates to internet usage/IP services on a mobile phone is a massive issue for the global industry and IM is an excellent, tangible example of the paradoxes hich exist. There are signs however of a shift, whether intential or not with the proliferation of the wonderful new 2gb for $15 usb dongle plans that are springing up everywhere around the world.
Mobile operators continue to fight hard to prevent themselves from becoming mobile-network based ISP's, but I think there's a growing trend in the industry towards accepting this and a focus on getting as many users on as possible, after all its not a bad business! More on this one later.
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