World Congress

18. Rob Conway, CEO, GSM Association

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 10:41:00 -0400

What makes him powerful: Not just a technology cheerleader or lobbying presence, the GSM Association trade organization has emerged under the leadership of Rob Conway as a major force in the worldwide development of the GSM platform. Since spearheading the GSMA's evolution to a board-led structure in 2003, Conway has established the group as a pivotal contributor to the creation and launch of new wireless services spanning from IM to video to the mobile web, nurturing an ecosystem that connects across networks and international boundaries. The GSMA also has taken the lead on introducing voice and text services in emerging markets, and at last count more than 3 billion subscribers--roughly a third of the overall global population--now use GSM products and services. The group's membership roster has accelerated in tandem with GSM's growth, and presently totals more than 700 operator members (including AT&T, T-Mobile USA and dozens of regional U.S. carriers) and 200 manufacturer and supplier associate members in 218 countries--in all, GSMA affiliates represent 86 percent of mobile phone connections worldwide.

But the GSM Association is about more than scale. Conway works side-by-side with member companies and other industry leaders on initiatives that impact all facets of the marketplace, from public policy to strategic initiatives to new revenue opportunities. GSMA efforts of note include the Personal Instant Messaging program, the GSMA Development Fund, Mobile Money Transfer (in partnership with Western Union) and the 3G for All campaign. Conway also masterminded the GSMA's signature event portfolio, highlighted by the annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona--the 2008 conference attracted more than 55,000 visitors in all, and generated more headlines than any other wireless industry trade event during the calendar year. Look for the GSMA to continue playing a significant role in 2009 as Conway and his staff gear up for an inevitable skirmish with EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding, who has vowed to cut the costs of cross-border text messages by more than 50 percent. And although the global economic crisis may impact attendance at next year's Mobile World Congress, there's little doubt it remains the place to be for anyone with a vested interest in the wireless industry's future.

Verizon Wireless spurns Android for LiMo

Brian Dolan — Wed, 14 May 2008 11:34:06 -0400

Verizon Wireless announced its membership in the LiMo Foundation open handset consortium, committing to introduce across its handset lineup devices based on the group's mobile Linux operating system. During a conference call Wednesday morning, Verizon Wireless vice president of network Kyle Malady said that while the carrier will continue supporting rival operating systems including Windows Mobile and RIM, it expects the LiMo Platform to gradually emerge as its OS of choice: "We're not adopting mobile Linux to the exclusion of other operating systems--we will continue supporting an agnostic approach," Malady said, forecasting Verizon will require many months of development before introducing Linux-based devices. He expects the company to unveil LiMo-based feature phones sometime in 2009, from there scaling up to smartphones.

According to Malady, Verizon's decision to embrace the LiMo Foundation OS over Google's rival Android platform is predicated in large part on the availability of commercial LiMo handsets. At the Mobile World Congress 2008 event in Barcelona in February, LiMo formally announced handsets including Motorola's Moto U9, Moto Z6w, Motorokr Z6 and Razr2 V8, NEC's FOMA N905i and FOMA N705i, Panasonic's FOMA P905iTV and FOMA N7051, and Samsung's SGH-i800. Reference and prototype LiMo handsets from LG, Aplix and Purple Labs were also introduced.

The LiMo Foundation on Tuesday announced eight new members in all, with Korean operator giant SK Telecom and open-source software development initiative Mozilla among the other marquee additions. The organization now boasts a total of 40 members worldwide. "This announcement supports a broad industry shift towards openness and collaboration," said LiMo Foundation executive director Morgan Gillis during the conference call, declaring "Openness will ignite the mobile Internet."

For more on the Verizon/LiMo announcement:
- read this release

Related articles:
Verizon Wireless promises open access by late 2008
Is 'open network' just marketing hype?

Can Garmin find a home for nuvifone?

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 06:59:54 -0400

Garmin debuted its GPS-centric handset, nuvifone, earlier this year just before the Mobile World Congress show, but now the company claims that "a number of wireless carriers in our primary markets" are interested in carrying the new phone. Many carriers already offer substantial location-based services developed by Garmin's myriad competitors, which could make finding a home for the GPS device in the U.S. a tough sell.

For more on Garmin's nuvifone:
- read this article from Kansas City Star

North America and India boost Ericsson's Q1

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 06:59:57 -0400

Ericsson's first quarter results included a 55 percent drop in net income to $446 million, but still managed to beat analysts' expectations thanks to the networks division and increased sales in North America. The company's first quarter also included a restructuring charge of about $134 million. Total sales grew 4.8 percent to about $7.4 billion, which topped the average analyst's expectation of $7 million. Ericsson also noted that India was now its second largest market.

For more on the Q1:
- read this Ericsson Q1 press release

Sprint's CTO attacks LTE

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Sprint CTO Barry West went on the offensive against LTE proponents during a keynote at the Wireless Communications Association conference in Washington, D.C. yesterday: "As many of you may know I became a U.S. citizen a few years ago, which has since given me time to think on the events of 1776. I wonder if the founders of this country ever thought: 'To hell with a revolution--what we need is a long term evolution!' Just a thought."

The pugnacious tone seems to be an answer to Vodafone Group CEO and LTE champion Arun Sarin who has given similar keynotes at both the Mobile World Congress and CTIA Wireless shows that belittle WiMAX and offer it a place within the LTE standard.

West admitted he was in "attack-mode" yesterday, but explained that he was "sick and tired of WiMAX being attacked." The WiMAX 802.16e standard was completed in 2005 and now, three years later, WiMAX is launching, while LTE is still in the standards process, West noted.

"We have a significant time to market advantage over LTE and that means competition among the chipset vendors is already good. We have 16d or 16e deployed in some 110 countries." We have 19 companies offering chipset solutions, which is even more than GSM, West said. We have 28 device makers building devices [that will run on a WiMAX networks] and 29 infrastructure vendors, he continued. "All of that leads to aggressive pricing. The world is building WiMAX. It is not going away."

West also addressed some of the comparisons between the spectrum Sprint is using to offer WiMAX services and the recently auctioned off 700 MHz spectrum. "There has been some discussion over which is better: 700 MHz or 2.5 GHz, but I've never met a megahertz I didn't like." Running WiMAX on 2.5 GHz requires Sprint to have north of 20,000 sites, West said, while using 700 MHz would require significantly less. West said that the 700 MHz spectrum, however, cannot handle the capacity that 2.5 GHz can.

"I've heard it said that 700 MHz spectrum is beachfront property, but on the rising tide of demand [Sprint] would much rather be on higher ground" with 2.5 GHz. -Brian

Related Articles:
See our complete 700 MHz Auction coverage
West: Xohm breaks the mold

Sony Ericsson ships 22.3M phones in 1Q

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:59:57 -0400

A slowing economy and rising component costs didn't stop handset maker Sony Ericsson from reporting a 2 percent increase in handset shipments. The firm said in first quarter 2008 it shipped 22.3 million handsets, a 2 percent increase year over year. However, the company also reported that pre-tax profits for the quarter were $308.1 million, down from $795.6 million in fourth quarter 2007 and $574.9 million a year ago. Net income for the quarter $211.1 million a decrease of 48 percent from the year ago quarter of $403.27 million. Average selling price decreased to $192 down from $195 in fourth quarter.

The drop in profits wasn't a surprise thanks to the company's revised forecast last month that indicated its profits would only be in the $239.5 million to $319.3 million range.

The company blamed the decrease on higher research and development costs. President Dick Komiyama said that the company expects to see some positive results from its new products that it announced in the first quarter, including the Xperia X1, a high-end multimedia convergence phone based on Windows Mobile that will launch in the second half of the year. To that end, the company also released two new HSDPA handsets for the European market, the Z780 and the G502, both of which come with Google Maps for Mobile.

For more:
- see this press release about the company's earnings
- see this release on the new phones

Related stories:
Hands-on with Sony Ericsson's Xperia. Sony Ericsson story
Mobile World Congress: SE's Windows device. See this Sony Ericsson article

Hands-on with Sony Ericsson's Xperia

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 06:59:54 -0400

Just about the most hyped handset to come out of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona earlier this year, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, a white labeled HTC phone, comes equipped with a hiptop-style slideout keypad that has a gliding motion to it. The device runs Windows Mobile 6.1 but manages to cover up the OS with a number of user-selectable custom skins--including one for Google users and one for world travelers. The UI runs on a 800 x 400 resolution touchscreen that was running slowly during our demo at CTIA, but Sony Ericsson has yet to announce a release date for the handset outside of "late 2008."

For more on the Xperia X1:
- see this photo slideshow

Arun Sarin brings MWC speech to CTIA

Brian Dolan — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 14:25:13 -0400

Vodafone Group CEO Arun Sarin kicked off the second day of the CTIA Wireless show here in Las Vegas by explaining to the audience that Virgin Group CEO Richard Branson's keynote yesterday was partially an April Fool's joke.

"Richard Branson regaled you with ideas about Mars yesterdayÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ but I have to remind you: Today is April 2nd and we're going to get down to business right away," Sarin said to applause and laughter.

The timeliness of Sarin's speech, however, ended right there. While his lead-off keynote speech wasn't a carbon copy of the one he gave at Mobile World Congress two months ago, the vast majority of the speech was. Here were the key redundancies:

WiMAX should become part of the LTE standard.
We need fewer mobile operating systems.
Carriers must not allow themselves to become bit pipes.
The time is now to invest in our networks in order to reap the upside of the mobile Internet, or someone else will see that upside instead.

Check out our coverage of Sarin's speech at Mobile World Congress to relive the magic a third time.

Sarin did give a few updated statistics about the Vodafone Group:

There are 25 million 3G customers in its footprint
1.5 million Vodafone subscribers are on the mobile Internet
Vodafone subs have streamed 2.5M YouTube videos
Vodafone subs have completed 92 million searches through its mobile Google search offering
Four million Vodafone users have subscribed to the carrier's Vodafone at Home service, which allows users to pay landline rates when close to home.
Nearly 3 million Vodafone users subscribe to the enterprise version of that service, which allows them to pay landline service prices when near work.

While Sarin lauded the stats, he said that the numbers are less impressive than the fact that users are demanding these services. -Brian

Click here to see photos of today's keynotes.Ã‚Â

Handset maker Modu rakes in $100M

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 07:59:56 -0400

According to a report in Israeli business publication Globes, wireless start-up Modu has raised $100 million in its latest round of funding, which valued the company at $150 million before the money. Dov Moran founded Modu 18 months ago. Moran also started msystems, which he sold to SanDisk for $1.6 billion. Modu has already raised $20 million from Genesis Partners, Gemini Israel Funds, SanDisk and Moran himself.

Modu made a big splash at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona with its modular mobile device. Modu allows users to move its 1.4 ounces modular device into various modu "jackets" and "mates."

Check out this video for a teaser on the Modu device.

For more on the funding:
- read this report from Globes

Analyst: Dell to launch smartphone soon

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 07:59:57 -0400

Analysts are once again clamoring for Dell to launch a smartphone soon. Strategy Analytics' director of wireless device strategies Neil Mawston told MacWorld the development of smartphones would be a logical step for Dell to expand its presence in the mobile market. Mawston pointed out that Apple, HP and Toshiba are already in the business of smartphones and PDAs, so the competitive threat and market itself are just too big to ignore. While the rumor that claimed Dell would launch a Google Android-powered smartphone at Mobile World Congress last month never came to fruition, the company could still launch such a device or ink a deal with Microsoft for Windows Mobile. Mawston also noted that Dell needs to replace its Axim PDAs, which it killed off last year.

According to a recent report from ABI Research, one in three phones sold in 2013 will be a smartphone. Smartphones will increase from the 10 percent market share they have now to 31 percent market share in five years, according to the report.

For more on Dell's rumored smartphone plans:
- read this article from MacWorld

Video: Interview with Symbian CEO Nigel Clifford

Mike Dolan — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 17:00:46 -0500

Nigel Clifford, CEO of Symbian, speaks with Bloomberg news at Mobile World Congress about Symbian's announcement of the 53% jump in Symbian based mobile phone shipments.

Trend: Wireless spats to spur patent regulation?

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 06:59:54 -0500

According to an interesting piece of analysis from the UK's Register, Broadcom CEO Scott McGregor told the publication that because of the recent increase in the number of patent lawsuits related to the wireless industry, patent regulation in the U.S. is ripe for change.

"Patent enforcement has gone too far," McGregor said at Mobile World Congress last week. "It's time to see an adjustment in roll-forward royalties, where people have a business model predicated on charging royalties several times on the same component."

The Broadcom vs. Qualcomm patent lawsuits last year were some of the highest profile spats for the industry, which makes McGregor's comments all the more interesting.

For more on the patent regulation trend:
- read this article from the Register

When will the tide turn for mobile content?

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 07:00:00 -0500

Last week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona I was hoping to hear some positive news in the mobile content space. Unfortunately I was sorely disappointed.Ã‚Â

Instead I heard a lot more of the same complaints that have been plaguing the mobile content space for the past year. Growth is flat and mobile operators are still demanding a big chunk of the revenue share making it impossible for many mobile content firms to stay afloat. The direct-to-consumer model--once thought to be so promising--is not the moneymaker that many firms thought it would be because marketing to consumers is no easy task particularly if you don't already have brand awareness. Porting applications to devices is still costly and cumbersome but a necessity if you want to work with any of the tier 1 mobile operators.

In all, I heard a lot of frustration in the voices of the mobile content executives. What was once such a promising and exciting segment of the wireless business has turned into an arena full of dissatisfaction and disappointment.

But there are a few signs of hope on the horizon. Many are excited by the prospect of open networks in the U.S. and are hopeful that Verizon Wireless' pledge to open its network to any device and application in late 2008 will be a boon for the mobile content industry.

Others are hopeful that developments like Nokia's Ovi mobile Internet platform and Sony Ericsson's PlayNow platform will help drive more consumer adoption of mobile content and allow for more entrants into the mobile content space that until now has been very tightly controlled by the operators.

I certainly hope that between now and CTIA Wireless 2008 (April 1-3) there are some positive developments in mobile entertainment that will get us out of this gloomy place.Ã‚Â There are two developments that I've been anxiously waiting for and have yet to see come to fruition:

1. AT&T's much-heralded launch of MediaFLO's mobile TV service. It was originally supposed to launch at the beginning of the year. Rumors then swirled that it would launch earlier this month but that never happened.

2. Verizon Wireless' launch of Real Networks' Rhapsody America's music service. Last August Real Networks announced it would merge its Rhapsody music service with MTV's Urge music service and it would be distributed by Verizon Wireless.Ã‚Â It was expected to debut in early 2008. When asked about the status, Real Networks defers all questions to Verizon Wireless and so far Verizon hasn't responded to my inquiries. -Sue

The 4G vision keeps evolving

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 06:59:59 -0500

The 4G vision keeps evolving

As I mentioned on Monday, 4G was a hot topic at the Mobile World Congress. Nearly every discussion I had with operators and vendors at the show was peppered with the terms LTE and WiMAX.

What is becoming crystal clear is that 4G is not just a discussion about a network technology where consumers will have a bigger and faster pipe. 4G is a technology, business model and ecosystem overhaul in which operators will no longer be selling airtime packages and handsets but instead offer consumers an all-IP network experience for many types of consumer devices. I have heard this vision touted before but I think I'm finally starting to understand all the implications. Not only will this mean a different pricing structure and provisioning system for the devices and services, it also means an overhaul of the current retail model.

No longer will consumers just walk into carrier and agent retail stores to buy their devices and sign up for a network contract. Instead, all big-box retailers will sell 4G-capable devices that will likely have self-provisioning mobile broadband features similar to how you buy a computer today, turn it on and have the ability to immediately get access to the Internet. Accenture partner Ragnar-Miquel Myhrer told me that many of the operators are looking at ways to expand their current retail presence. One way of doing that may be through partnerships with big-box retailers such as Best Buy and others. Big-box retailers have already become valuable distribution players for handsets but Myhrer expects their relationship with the operator to become even more important in the coming years.

Another key relationship for operators will be that with consumer electronics device makers. If the vision of 4G is to have LTE or WiMAX incorporated into all types of devices--not just handsets and laptops--operators will have to become more tightly integrated with the companies that make digital cameras, gaming devices, etc. Right now, those relationships don't exist but that is changing.

Here are some other tidbits I picked up at Barcelona:

--One (anonymous) analyst's description of the news earlier in the week that Nortel and Motorola may combine their networking units. "Two losers don't make a winner."

--"Those are just rumors and we don't comment on rumors." Motorola Inc. senior vice president and general manager North America wireless products Fred Wright on the possible combination of Motorola and Nortel's networking units.

--"Big box retailers are looking at a joint venture for the 700 MHz," Accenture partner Ragnar-Miguel Myhrer.

--Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs response to other panelists on the "Ubiquitous Networks" keynote assessment that LTE is the next world standard: "We will continue to drive multiple technologies to assure innovation. But we will support what operators are interested in providing." -Sue

P.S. FierceWireless will not be publishing on Monday due to the holiday. We will see you back here on Tuesday.

Rumor Mill: Intel investing $2B in Sprint/Clearwire

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 06:59:58 -0500

Rumors are circulating once again that Sprint Nextel will spin off its Xohm WiMAX broadband unit and form a joint venture with Clearwire. The Street.com is reporting that the deal between the two firms will include a $2 billion investment from Intel Capital.

If this rumored deal actually goes through, it will give a much-needed vote of confidence to WiMAX. Many companies at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona said much of WiMAX's future was resting on Sprint's Xohm business. Without Xohm, mobile WiMAX may not be anything other than a niche play.

Find out the latest on Xohm at the FierceWireless co-located event "4G and Beyond" on April 2 at CTIA Wireless 2008. Barry West, CTO of Sprint and head of the Xohm unit will be a keynote speaker and will provide a status update on Xohm. Here's a link to the agenda.

For more on Sprint and Clearwire:
- See this Street.com report

Related stories:
FierceWireless 2008 predictions "Sprint and Clearwire will merge their WiMAX networks." Story
Analyst: Sprint and Clearwire to reunite? Story

Touch trend affects keypad crowd

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 06:59:55 -0500

At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona earlier this week, Digit Wireless seemed happy that the industry is currently obsessed with touchscreen technology for mobile devices. That's not because Digit makes touchscreen technology--far from it. Digit Wireless is the company behind fastap technology, which is an approach to keypad design that integrates a raised set of alpha keys and a lowered set of number keys, supported by error prevention software. Fastap-enabled handsets are geared toward that middle 70 percent--not the emerging market crowd or the BlackBerry toting heavy data user.

Digit Wireless says it has seen a lot of interest since the launch of the iPhone, because consumers, carriers and handset makers are once again looking to provide a better user interface for handsets and touchscreens are too expensive for the mid-range user.

Digit Wireless' new CEO Robert Blumenthal said that touch screen feature phones are sometime limited by the technology. "The Prada phone, for example, is too sensitive," he said. Blumenthal and other Digit executives agree, however, that fastap is targeted at the middle 70 percent of wireless subscribers: Not the upper 15 percent or bottom 15 percent.Ã‚Â -Brian

ALSO NOTED: Watch a WiMAX demo;FCC Chairman Martin talks about the 700 MHz auction; and much more...

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 06:59:50 -0500

> Watch this video demo from the Mobile WiMAX Acceleration Group. Video

> FCC Chairman Kevin Martin says the 700 MHz auction was "transformative." Article

> AT&T has closed on its $2.5 billion acquisition of wireless spectrum covering 281 license areas from Aloha Partners. Article

> Miss out on some of the news from the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona? See all our coverage here.

And Finally... Feeling the post-Valentine's Day blues? Write your relationship obit.

Dumb pipe nostalgia at Mobile World Congress

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 06:59:59 -0500

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Dumb pipe nostalgia at Mobile World Congress

"What begins in fear ends in folly," the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge once wrote. That should be a key takeaway for carriers departing the Mobile World Congress today. The conference grounds are ripe with the three words all network operators fear most: The Dumb Pipe. Most carrier executives made use of that magical phrase this past week in Barcelona. But why?

"Twenty-five years ago Microsoft was a puppy," explained Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son.Ã‚Â "And everyone said 'ah, you are cute!' But then they became huge in the PC space, and the guys that made the computers, and built the infrastructure didn't make much money. If the mobile industry is not careful the same thing will happen, and carriers will become dumb pipes,"Ã‚Â he said.

"In the endÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ technology is not what matters: it's services, it's applications, it's experiences," Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin said during his keynote Tuesday. Carriers must offer subscribers a variety of ways to communicate--like SMS, email or social networking sites--the carrier must "be in all these places." He added: "We must not allow ourselves to become bit pipes and let somebody else do the services work."

Just as the carriers' fear of becoming a dumb pipe is one elephant the industry can't seem to push out of the room, it's worth noting that mentions of the Apple iPhone declined significantly at this year's show. Panelists talked about the rise in popularity of touch screens, the importance of user interfaces and the big push to bring the desktop Internet experience to the mobile platform. However, they rarely mentioned the handset that has done so much to evangelize these three trends. After an entire year barraged by iPhone news, the attendees didn't need to hear it.

One high profile carrier speaker never gave aÃ‚Â "dumb pipe" warning. Instead, AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega detailed the myriad options that AT&T subscribers have for mobile content services after quickly rushing through a few slides with iPhone usage statistics.

De la Vega didn't give a dumb pipe warning during his keynote address because iPhone users have already turned AT&T's EDGE network into one. The iPhone's applications are managed by Apple and other Internet service providers. AT&T just needs to keep the network up and running.Ã‚Â

So maybe Coleridge's quote doesn't apply here. Maybe the fearsome "dumb pipe" metaphor really is as tired as it sounds. Maybe the carriers' folly is already evident here at Mobile World Congress: No one addressed the power thatÃ‚Â Apple has wrestled from carriers the world over. The carriers'Ã‚Â folly was in trying to resurrect the specter of one elephant in the room, while ignoring the presence of another. -Brian

AT&T: 13% of subs own a 3G device

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 06:59:58 -0500

During his keynote appearance Thursday at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, AT&T Mobility president and CEO Ralph de la Vega championed consumer choice, beneficial partnerships and technology integration as the essential components for digital content success, stating "Customers must be able to get content when they want it and how they want it." De la Vega also called Apple's iPhone "a game-changer," noting that since AT&T exclusively launched the device in mid-2007, mobile data consumption has grown dramatically. "There isn't a device that's easier to use," de la Vega said. "[The iPhone] proves that price resistance is only as strong as the user experience is weak."

Enhanced devices and improved user experiences are driving AT&T mobile data across the board. De la Vega said that 13 percent of all AT&T customers now own a 3G device, with another 12 percent owning integrated devices--subscribers on 3G devices yield ARPU 20 percent higher than 2G users, with owners of integrated devices generating ARPU that's 120 percent higher.

For more on de la Vega's keynote:
- read the full article over at FierceMobileContent

ALSO NOTED: AT&T taps Alcatel; China Mobile trials LTE; and much more...

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 06:59:50 -0500

> AT&T taps Alcatel-Lucent for UMTS/HSDPA network build-out. Release

> China Mobile will join Verizon Wireless and Vodafone in their trials of LTE. Article

And finally... Check out our ever growing round up of handset photos being showcased at Mobile World Congress. Slideshow