Let me introduce myself: my name is Anne Morris and I have just taken over as the editor of FierceWireless:Europe. My remit is to continue the excellent work begun by former editor Paul Rasmussen, providing you with the top stories from Europe's mobile industry in two weekly email newsletters and online.
Paul used his final editorial to muse over the dramatic changes he has witnessed, and covered, during the first five years of FierceWireless:Europe. In my years (more than I care to mention!) working as an editor and journalist, it has been fascinating to watch telecoms in general morph from something that only geeks talk about into cool technology--ranging from smartphones and tablets through to high-speed data services and apps for every occasion. "Even my granny knows how to use it" is now a frequent refrain as mobile has moved into the mainstream.
I began my telecoms life at CommunicationsWeek International, a fortnightly publication that some of you may still remember. My interest in mobile technology, which was often regarded as something of an upstart in the fixed world of some of the early telecoms publications, was sparked by the early clashes between those backing GSM and CDMA, as the two technologies tried to assert their dominance in the global market. I remember the first time Qualcomm came to Mobile World Congress (then 3GSM) in a bid to spread the CDMA 1X gospel in Europe, and later witnessed the announcement of its decision to stop investing in ultra-mobile broadband (UMB) technology.
Since then, LTE has gained the upper hand and now we have seen deployments across the world. Indeed, operators such as EE in the UK are already talking about LTE Advanced, which for many is "true" 4G technology.
(As a brief aside, I was an early and at times vocal opponent of the use of "4G" for LTE services; LTE is an extension of 3G technology, after all. It's hard to stop the marketeers, though, and 4G appears firmly entrenched as the term for today's LTE networks.)
What is certain is that the world of telecoms is now unrecognisable from my first days as a magazine copy editor, mobile communications has proved to be a fascinating ride as technologies have come and gone and consumers behave in ways that often catch operators unawares. For example, over-the-top (OTT) services, that curious phase, is a development we now talk about as being both an opportunity and threat to mobile operators, although the growing consensus is that operators should be trying to join or cooperate with OTT players and not beat them.
In the coming weeks and months, issues such as LTE networks and services, operator data traffic management and spectrum strategies, OTT challenges and key developments among Europe's largely troubled telecoms equipment manufacturers will be just some of the topics that will continue to dominate our European coverage.
If you have any story ideas, comments or any thoughts about general market issues I would, of course, be delighted to hear from you. I hope you continue to enjoy the read. --Anne