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.

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.