Analyst Show Flashes from Mobile World Congress 2008 - Barcelona
Current Analysis is providing coverage of the 2008 GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The world's biggest mobile-focused trade show, Mobile World Congress pulls in thousands of visitors and exhibitors marketing their offerings and, more importantly, their vision of the market. To sort through these potentially conflicting messages - and determine their impact on the near-term competitive landscape - Current Analysis has a full complement of analysts on-site covering the entire wireless value-chain: mobile infrastructure, mobile services, mobile devices, enterprise mobility. Highlights from Show Update reports appear below. Clients with subscriptions to the respective modules can read the full report by clicking the Client Access links. |
Contents
GyPSii Offers Mobile Carriers an Alternative to Yahoo!’s oneConnect
| Analyst: Bernt Ostergaard | Wireless Services - Europe | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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February 10, 2008 - A new social networking platform designed specifically for the mobile phone, GyPSii, will go live at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Uniquely among social networking applications, GyPSii is designed with the features and capabilities of the mobile phone in mind, and offers location based search for people, places, content and events. GyPSii will go live with a global footprint across multiple handsets, geographies and communities of interest, following a successful three month public beta trial with users, worldwide.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Very positive on GyPSii’s launch of its global, location-based mobile-specific social networking platform, because it does not presuppose a carrier or handset maker support to work, but provides a strong incentive for them to promote the service in order to get a share of revenue and present a credible alternative to over the top (OTT) players like Yahoo!
• Vendor Importance: Very high, in fact critical to GyPSii, which is a start-up combining several business entities with just this one product, which will need high usage levels to attract significant advertising income unless manufactures and carriers support it.
• Market Impact: High on the global social networking market where carriers struggle to find an acceptable position in the value chain. Showing real support for the GyPSii business model could set the pattern for similar manufacturer-carrier-content provider relationships in the sector.
T-Mobile Offers Up Vague Outline of 2008 Mobile IM Push
| Analyst: Emma Mohr-McClune | Wireless Services - Europe | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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February 12, 2008 -- T-Mobile will launch a mobile instant messaging service later this year in key European markets. Customers will be able to enjoy real IM chat on their mobile phone using their favourite instant messaging provider. Agreements have been signed with providers of Windows Live Messenger, ICQ, AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), and Yahoo! Messenger, bringing together the largest IM communities with a ‘near-seamless’ communication experience between mobile and PC users.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Positive on MusicStation Max, as this hero-device approach will almost certainly strengthen Omnifone’s brand profile and reputation among its key European carrier channel target. Omnifone is aggressively pitting this device-centric initiative against Nokia’s up-coming ‘Nokia Comes With Music’ launch, allowing carriers an operator and 3G-centric approach to unlimited music and device bundles.
• Vendor Importance: Very high to Omnifone, as this launch and strategic partnership with LG Electronics for MusicStation Max devices marks a new strategic direction for the former subscription-music, solutions service provider. This highly innovative move is all but guaranteed to bring the vendor more European carrier relationships in 2008, following on from commercial deployments with Telenor Sweden and Vodafone UK.
• Market Impact: High on the European mobile market, as this initiative, together with the anticipated ‘Nokia Comes With Music’ launch will fundamentally change the way consumers think of mobile music download services and related pricing. The prospect of receiving ‘unlimited music downloads’ for the life of a service contract, bundled together with a voice, text and data tariff and a new device is attractive is an attractive, all-in-one idea.
Omnifone Unveils MusicStation Max Device – A ‘Nokia Comes With Music’ Killer
| Analyst: Emma Mohr-McClune | Wireless Services - Europe | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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February 12, 2008 – Omnifone announces MusicStation Max, together with a handset manufacturer partner LG Electronics. The first LG MusicStation Max device is scheduled to launch in H1 2008, together with a European mobile operator. It is planned as an all-in-one device, plus data, voice and text tariff, together with Omnifone’s unlimited mobile music download service.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Positive on MusicStation Max, as this hero-device approach will almost certainly strengthen Omnifone’s brand profile and reputation among its key European carrier channel target. Omnifone is aggressively pitting this device-centric initiative against Nokia’s up-coming ‘Nokia Comes With Music’ launch, allowing carriers an operator and 3G-centric approach to unlimited music and device bundles.
• Vendor Importance: Very high to Omnifone, as this launch and strategic partnership with LG Electronics for MusicStation Max devices marks a new strategic direction for the former subscription-music, solutions service provider. This highly innovative move is all but guaranteed to bring the vendor more European carrier relationships in 2008, following on from commercial deployments with Telenor Sweden and Vodafone UK.
• Market Impact: High on the European mobile market, as this initiative, together with the anticipated ‘Nokia Comes With Music’ launch will fundamentally change the way consumers think of mobile music download services and related pricing. The prospect of receiving ‘unlimited music downloads’ for the life of a service contract, bundled together with a voice, text and data tariff and a new device is attractive is an attractive, all-in-one idea.
Sun Claims Industry First with NEBS-Approved 64-Thread Server
| Analyst: Joe McGarvey | Carrier IP Telephony | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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February 12, 2008 – Sun Microsystems announced the Sun Netra T5220 server a carrier grade, 64 thread rackmountable NEBS Level 3 approved server. Based on the UltraSPARC T2 processor and powered by the Solaris 10 Operating System the 2U, 20-inch deep platform supports 64 virtual servers in a single box. Six PCI slots and four Ethernet interfaces provide for I/O support. The Sun Netra T5220 is available now and entry level pricing starts at $14,995.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Positive on Sun’s announcement of its new NEBS Level 3 approved server, the Sun Netra T5220, because it will provide a pre-approved next-generation platform for equipment vendors and development partners to architect their next-generation products and services. The ability to support multiple virtual servers will make it an ideal platform for Service Delivery Platform (SDP) and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) architectures, which require a high degree of closely coupled yet separate components, such as application servers and media gateways. These qualifications will help to make the T522 a platform of choice for equipment vendors and systems integrators.
• Vendor Importance: Moderate to high to Sun Microsystems, as it needs to keep bringing new and innovative platforms to the market to maintain a strategic advantage associated with combining a high-performance platform with quick time to market. As Sun’s common off the shelf (COTS) products become increasingly powerful in terms of performance and features sets, they offer vendors a practical alternative to product development paths similar to the ATCA platform approach.
• Market Impact: Moderate to high on the CIPT market segment because many products in this category are already based upon SUN Netra technology, such as the Cisco BTS 10200 and NSN hiQ 8000 softswitches. In addition, numerous platform endorsements are being embraced by companies such as Alcatel-Lucent and development partners and members of the SUN-P partner ecosystems will help to make this a platform of choice for carrier deployments for products and services.
Tekelec Puts Mediation and Migration Strategy on Display
| Analyst: Joe McGarvey | Carrier IP Telephony | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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February 11, 2008 – At the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona, Tekelec demonstrated practical transition strategies that enable service providers to delivery open, optimal and secure services in complex next-generation and IMS networks. The demonstrations included the company’s 2G/3G messaging and SMS security solutions, performance management technology, service mediation and orchestration and Tekelec’s Open IMS solution, which was demonstrated with third-party applications.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Slightly positive on Tekelec’s showcasing of various NGN-to-IMS migration and mediation technologies at the Mobile World Congress show, as the GSM wireless event is an excellent venue for Tekelec to draw attention to its unique approach to the next generation and IMS markets. Through the demonstration of various signaling, service mediation and migration technologies and approaches, Tekelec has an opportunity to broadcast the intricacies of its IP transformation strategy to a large audience of carriers and partners. The company could have accentuated the point, however, if it would have augmented the technology demonstration with new product introductions.
• Vendor Importance: Moderate to high to Tekelec, which badly needs to re-establish a footing in the next-generation telecommunications market after selling off its switching group to GENBAND in 2007. The sell off to GENBAND helped to create the perception that the company was washing its hands of next-generation technology and was receding back to the familiarity of its flagship signaling technology. A showcase of its NGN technologies and strategy at the Mobile World Congress could put Tekelec back on the radar screens of carriers struggling with scaling their NGN networks or contemplating a migration to an IMS architecture.
• Market Impact: Low on competitors in the IP transformation and IMS markets, as Tekelec’s approach to the space is largely complementary to the plans of major telecommunications equipment providers. Though the company does compete in terms of service orchestration technology and core IMS session control technology with multiple vendors, Tekelec is largely pushing an open IMS strategy that is designed to mesh with the product portfolios of industry leaders.
Motorola Launches Three More Nondescript Phones
| Analyst: Avi Greengart | Mobile Devices | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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February 11, 2008 -- At Mobile World Congress, Motorola, Inc. introduced the Z6w, a device with both cellular and WiFi network compatibility, as well as two new W series handsets that emphasize value and quality. Motorola also showcased other recently announced products, including the ROKR E8 and MOTO Z10.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Negative on Motorola’s Mobile World Congress phone launches, because it would appear that Motorola’s product roadmap is embarrassingly threadbare at a time when the company desperately needs a whole line of hits. The Z6w brings WiFi/UMA to the company’s slider form factor and may be a modest success at T-Mobile, but the W161 and W181 are not differentiated in terms of style or function. Motorola needs multimedia phones that can compete with Apple’s iPhone, LG’s Voyager and Viewty, Sony Ericsson’s Cybershot and Walkman, and Nokia’s Nseries line. Motorola needs entry-level handsets that can compete with Nokia phones designed with great insight into emerging market use cases, including menus in 70 different languages. The Mobile World Congress launches will not help a bit.
• Vendor Importance: High to Motorola, particularly its handset business, because the company is losing money, it is under attack from restless investors, and it badly needs not just a single hit, but strong efforts in multiple categories.
• Market Impact: Very low on the consumer handset and smartphone markets, because Motorola’s new products bring absolutely nothing new to the table. Motorola is late to the UMA party, and the market for entry-level handsets is extremely competitive. Unless the W161 and W181 are priced unusually low (no pricing was provided), they will struggle against superior efforts from Nokia and lower-priced devices from Chinese vendors such as ZTE.
Sonus Jumps into FMC Game with Unveiling of mobilEdge Platform
| Analyst: Joe McGarvey | Carrier IP Telephony | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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February 11, 2008 – Sonus Networks unveiled wireless technology – the mobilEdge -- designed to allow mobile operators to rapidly increase their average revenue per user and leverage their existing high-speed data networks to delivery new services to mobile handsets. The new product increases coverage of 2.5G and 3G mobile multimedia services and is designed to help operators delivery quadruple-play services and expand their wireless networks without investment in legacy radio access network equipment.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Slightly positive on Sonus Networks’ introduction of its mobilEdge Broadband Mobile Convergence (BMC) solution, as the new product enables the company to leverage its April 2007 purchase of Zynetix, as well as its existing product line. The mobilEdge is essentially an integration of the Zynetix mobile switching technology into Sonus’ market leading GSX media gateway platform. The product announcement catapults Sonus into the heart of the fixed mobile convergence (FMC) movement, an arena that is extremely crowded with several vendors taking an alternative approach to Sonus’ strategy.
• Vendor Importance: Moderate to Sonus, as the company is looking to push its core media gateway technology into a new market segment, increasing the appeal of its platform to mobile operators and service providers operating both fixed and mobile networks. Given the current embrace of IMS, it is likely that it will take more than a year for a serious demand to emerge for the mobilEdge product line. In the meantime, Sonus can count on its traditional market for the GSX platform – core network providers – to generate revenue.
• Market Impact: Low to moderate on the segment of the FMC market that is focused on providing an access platform to enable operators to deliver a core set of services to multiple types of access networks. Sonus is entering a market that is already crowded with competitors that are looking to delivery similar features as the mobilEdge platform, as well as additional functionality, such as security gateway capabilities. Sonus’ approach to the market, using its media gateway platform as a vehicle, is unique but not particularly threatening to the competition.
NDS Simplifies Mobile TV Content Security with Unified Platform
| Analyst: Yoav Schreiber | Digital Media Infrastructure | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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February 11, 2008 -- At Mobile World Congress 2008, NDS is demonstrating its Unified Headend (UHE) architecture that provides a single point of content rights and business management for mobile TV platforms. The solution supports both DVB-H for Open Security Framework and OMA BCAST Smart Card profiles, and it has been integrated with the Thomson SmartVision service platform and Electronic Service Guide (ESG), LG handsets, and Gemalto SIM cards. The platform combining NDS’ content security and Thomson’s DVB-H headend and ESG technology is available as an off-the-shelf solution.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Slightly positive on NDS using the Mobile World Congress 2008 event to demonstrate its VideoGuard Unified Headend (UHE) architecture for mobile TV, because it enables the company to advance the business case for mobile TV services with a partner-based offering for managing the secured delivery of TV services and applications to multiple mobile consumer electronic (CE) devices. NDS is demonstrating an end-to-end solution that delivers a single business management platform to enable operators to cost-effectively meet consumer demand, which increasingly vocalizes the “any content, over any network, to any device” mantra.
• Vendor Importance: High to NDS, as the company is looking to expand its reach from its leading digital pay-TV market share, where it commands roughly 83 million active smart cards as well as over 76 million cumulative middleware deployments. The partner-enabled solution, which includes Thomson’s SmartVision platform and Electronic Service Guide (ESG), LG handsets, and Gemalto SIM cards, enables NDS to demonstrate its convergence platform, which implements the DVB simulcrypt standard by supporting both DVB-H OSF and OMA BCAST mobile security profiles from the same platform.
• Market Impact: Moderate on the mobile TV market, and specifically the content security segment, since although NDS is claiming an industry first with its commercially available secure mobile TV convergence platform, NDS is in fact joining rivals such as Irdeto and Nagravision that have already achieved live deployments or trials with their mobile TV content security solutions. An operator endorsement would have further solidified the customer viability of the NDS solution.
Yahoo! Demo’s oneConnect – You Will Never Walk Alone Again
| Analyst: Bernt Ostergaard | Consumer Broadband Services - Europe| Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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February 12, 2008 - Yahoo! demonstrates oneConnect for a spring 2008 launch in the U.S. followed by launches across Europe and Asia. The communications aggregator included the following features: socially-connected address book, integrated mobile messaging, status of contacts, Pulse (what friends are up to), favorite contacts, Social contact card, location-sensing technology, and an open communications platform to communicate via IM, SMS and social networks.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Slightly positive on Yahoo!’s unveiling of its oneConnect service, a mobile communications and social networking aggregator, because Yahoo! has the credentials to attract users and its first mover advantage could generate substantial Web traffic thus improving its appeal to more online advertisers.
• Vendor Importance: Very high to Yahoo!, because it is slipping behind other major over-the-top (OTT) players like Google and eBay. This is potentially a unique offering that will spawn many clones, but Yahoo! is well positioned to maintain the lead.
• Market Impact: Very high on social networking communities that lack a unifying capability across the plethora of different sites. It is a bold move with global intentions that will face significant resistance from privacy advocates, political elites and other social networking sites that will resist the relegation to a feeder role.
Mobile Carriers and Vivienne Reding Spar Over Roaming Data Pricing
| Analyst: Bernt Ostergaard | Business Telecom Services - Europe | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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February 11, 2008 - From April 1st, 2008, TeliaSonera makes it much cheaper for customers to use mobile data in Europe. The new roaming service EuroConnect will dramatically lower the prices of mobile data services. Initially, EuroConnect will be introduced in the TeliaSonera mobile networks in the Nordic and Baltic countries and with other selected mobile operators in various European countries. The service is based on a flat rate model resulting in between 50 and 70 percent lower prices.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Positive on the announced 50 to 70% reductions in roaming data pricing by TeliaSonera and other operators, because they realize that selling mobile data services to business users is heavily hampered by high traffic tariffs. Most mobile operators have now got content services to offer making them less reliant on high traffic costs.
• Vendor Importance: Very high to mobile carriers’ business services where content service revenues need to kick in quickly to offset significant lower roaming data costs.
• Market Impact: High on European mobile business services where carriers face significant revenue loss to external content providers unless they can get captivating unified comms services launched.
Sony Ericsson’s XPERIA Does Windows
| Analyst: Avi Greengart | Mobile Devices | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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February 10, 2008 -- Sony Ericsson announced the XPERIA X1, a smartphone designed to address the growing need for a premium, converged mobile experience. The X1 is the first Sony Ericsson device with Windows Mobile, and it combines a three-inch wide VGA display, a 3.2MP camera, a full QWERTY keyboard that slides out of the metal-finish body, and extensive connectivity including HSUPA for the U.S. and Europe, quad-band/EDGE, Bluetooth, and WiFi. The X1 will be available in H2 2008; no pricing or carrier partners were announced.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Positive on Sony Ericsson announcing XPERIA, a series of smartphones based on Microsoft’s Windows Mobile OS, because Sony Ericsson’s high-end business-oriented smartphones were losing ground, and it needed an iPhone competitor. Sony Ericsson is positioning the XPERIA line against Apple, LG, Samsung, and Nokia’s promised touchscreen smartphones, not RIM. Still, to be a player in the productivity smartphone space, third-party application availability – or the ability to develop those applications in-house, for corporate developers – matters. In this regard, Windows Mobile has long had a lead over Symbian generally and Symbian UIQ in particular. The form factor, features, and UI overlay of the X1 are all well thought out, but Sony Ericsson will still have a tough time differentiating its Windows Mobile phones in a crowded field. HTC offers two different overlays on top of Windows Mobile on the market already, and there are phones built on the OS from Motorola, Samsung, HP, and even Palm.
• Vendor Importance: Moderate to Sony Ericsson, particularly its handset business overall, because the bulk of the company’s efforts have been focused more on upper mid-tier feature phones bearing the Walkman or Cyber-shot brands, with entry-level phones and Symbian UIQ multimedia smartphones filling in the edges. However, competitors are doing a brisk business in prosumer smartphones that bridge the personal-professional divide (Nokia’s revamped Eseries has been extremely popular in Europe, and RIM’s BlackBerry line leads in the U.S.), and Sony Ericsson could not afford to miss the wave of high-end touchscreen phones.
• Market Impact: Moderate on the smartphone market, because this is a strong effort from Sony Ericsson and the first time the company could get U.S. carrier distribution for its smartphones. However, it will be challenging for XPERIA to stand out as the market is quite crowded already, and Sony Ericsson does not have the tight ties to content that Apple’s iPhone does with iTunes.
ip.access and NEC Femtocell Hubs Are up against Wireless USB
| Analyst: Bernt Ostergaard | Consumer Broadband Services - Europe | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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February 11, 2008 -- ip.access showed two second-generation femtocell wireless HSPA nodes with Ethernet connectivity. This follows Cisco’s minority 5% investment in ip.access to develop customer solutions. ip.access also launched two nanoGSM picocell models that deliver voice, GPRS and EDGE data. With 30% of mobile calls made at home, operators can increase revenues by deploying femtocells. An ARPU gain of EUR 11 per month would more than cover the EUR 100 fully subsidised cost of a femtocell.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Slightly negative on the development of femtocell solutions in Europe as demonstrated by ip.access, NEC, Huawei and others, because the business case is far from clear. While the technology is pretty stable and consumers can use their normal GSM handset, OSS/BSS issues between mobile operators deploying the femtocell hubs with very high capacity and the backhaul DSL or WiMAX operators providing connectivity with no QoS from the home to the mobile carrier remain unaddressed.
• Vendor Importance: Very high to ip.access, whose equipment is being trialled by several European operators, and where no solutions are yet in sight for commercial deployment. Further delays may relegate the technology to history and customized solutions.
• Market Impact: Moderate on the mobile data market, where high data tariffs today inhibit growth in this sector. Allowing consumers to communicate via high-speed wireless indoors could be an attractive FMS proposition. However, it will take a long time for the organizational kinks to be worked out of this solution.
NSN Offers to Solve Network Problems Before They Occur
| Analyst: John Marcus | Telecom Infrastructure Services | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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February 11, 2008 -- Nokia Siemens Networks Services is launching a new customer care offering with the addition of “Care goes ProACTIVE.” This active engineered service can identify upcoming faults in the network and initiate resolution actions before the actual fault occurs. The service is designed to significantly improve quality of service for operators and their end-users through a “predict, prevent and improve” model.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Positive on Nokia Siemens Networks’ (NSN) launch of a new proactive fault maintenance service, because the offering responds to growing demands from operators for their network suppliers to take a more active role in the ongoing operations and maintenance of the network, and to provide customer care services driven more by overall network and service performance than by simple repair or replacement of individual faulty boxes.
• Vendor Importance: Moderate to NSN Services, because while the new “Care goes ProACTIVE” service is an enhancement to its existing preventive maintenance service, the new offering has the potential to improve its overall competitiveness in post-deployment technical services by offering a new model for network maintenance. Among most telecom infrastructure vendors, the goal is for services to evolve from standalone check-box feature items in the equipment sale to fully-featured products of their own. Innovative capabilities such as its “predict, prevent and improve” model can help NSN to achieve that goal, even in maintenance and support services, an area still tied closely to the sale of the products they support.
• Market Impact: Moderate on the technical services segment of the telecom infrastructure services market, because NSN has made its first new service launch in maintenance and support, or network care, since it established its joint venture between Siemens Networks and Nokia Networks last April. Competitors such as Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco and Motorola have all made reference in their service agendas, each in their own way, to network-level services--something that is clearly being driven by the demands of operator customers looking for network care solutions that address business issues first and foremost. With its “Care goes ProACTIVE” launch, NSN joins in with its own unique approach.
Tellabs Strengthens Its Integrated Mobile Solution with New xDSL-Capable 8607 Access Switch
| Analyst: John Marcus | Carrier Infrastructure | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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February 11, 2008 - Tellabs introduced its 8607 access switch, the newest member of its 8600 Managed Edge System. The 8607 delivers DSL and G.SHDSL capabilities and supports a hybrid mobile backhaul model that can leverage existing TDM circuits for voice traffic while off-loading high bandwidth data traffic onto an xDSL backhaul network. The 8607 handles all mobile traffic types and is environmentally hardened to handle extreme conditions.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Positive on Tellabs’ new 8607 Access Switch, since it adds the ability to support various DSL technologies with its IntegratedMobile solution. With the addition of the 8607, Tellabs’ mobile operator customers can send mobile traffic over nearly any technology, including fiber, copper, ADSL and G.SHDSL, as well as microwave-based backhaul facilities. The new capabilities are significant since they support a growing trend by mobile operators to leverage any infrastructure technology, wireline or wireless, to support the massive growth in data bandwidth required to support mobile broadband services.
• Vendor Importance: Moderate to Tellabs, since the new platform brings additional strengths to its overall IntegratedMobile solution set, which is comprised of multiple 8600 series access switches, the 8800 MSR series routers, the 8000 Network Manager, plus various transport platforms. The new 8607 adds the ability for mobile operators to tap into the massive xDSL infrastructure capacity to transport their growing mobile data traffic. Supporting G.SHDSL is especially interesting since the technology supports symmetrical data streams over copper at rates up to 2.31 Mbps, and can transport T1, E1, ISDN, ATM and IP signals, which enables it to transport multiple generations of mobile traffic.
• Market Impact: Moderate on the mobile backhaul market, since the ability to connect to DSL/G.SHDSL infrastructures to satisfy mobile data backhaul requirements offers potential relief for bandwidth constrained mobile backhaul networks. The move has been somewhat limited due to concerns over using a shared infrastructure not known for its quality of service attributes – although that is changing with newer xDSL technology deployments. The initial application would most likely be to continue to transport voice traffic over the existing TDM infrastructure while off-loading high bandwidth data traffic onto the xDSL infrastructure. The approach appears to be of interest to North American mobile operators primarily, but once proven, could be useful on a global basis.
Telefonica Invests in Innovation
| Analyst: Emma Mohr-McClune | Wireless Services - Europe | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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February 11, 2008 -- At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Telefonica announced the formation of a EUR 20 million per year venture capital programme to invest in innovative and entrepreneurial technology companies. To date, investments have been made in mobile advertising solutions specialist Amobee, user recognition innovator GestureTek, and multimedia social networking specialist Kyte. By the end of 2008, there will be approximately 10 to 12 companies in Telefónica’s strategic portfolio.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Slightly positive on Telefonica's venture capital programme and its first three key investments, as a long-term bet on joined-up innovation. Telefonica has chosen wisely, hitting the hot buttons for mobile services: advertising, user interface innovation and social networking.
• Vendor Importance: High to Telefonica, as this program will allow the operator better competitive equity with Vodafone and Orange, as well as vendors such as Nokia, which have been investing in mobile start-ups for some time. This program will send the right signals to the wider mobile Internet ecosystem; specifically, Telefonica/O2 is ready to invest in a common vision.
• Market Impact: Moderate on the European wireless market, as Telefonica is just one potential source of capital for start-ups. However, its experience in Latin America adds an interesting, global dimension to the story.
NextPoint Delivers Latest Version of IPX Proxy
| Analyst: Joe McGarvey | Carrier IP Telephony | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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February 11, 2008 -- NextPoint announced the availability of its enhanced IP Multimedia Exchange (IMX), which supports the deployment of IP services based on IMS. The platform is in compliance with implementation agreements and standards from the 3GPP, ETSI-TISPAN, GSMA, and MSF. In addition, NextPoint announced the completion of interoperability testing of the IMX with carriers in Asia and Europe. The IMX product is based on third-generation software and incorporates session routing and ENUM functionality from NextPoint’s flagship session management product.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Slightly positive on NextPoint’s announcement of the availability of an enhanced version of its IP Multimedia Exchange (IMX), an SBC-like component of the GSMA-defined IP Packet Exchange (IPX), as the product will eventually play an important role in the end-to-end delivery of fixed-mobile convergence (FMX) applications. The immediate demand for a session management device (known as an IPX proxy) that helps to enable mobile and fixed carriers to exchange IMS-based traffic seamlessly is not clear. By announcing general availability of the IMX, as well as the completion of interoperability trials sponsored by the GSM Association (GSMA), NextPoint is indicating that it will be able to offer a viable solution when the market demand increases.
• Vendor Importance: Moderate to high to NextPoint, as the announcement enables the company to continue to claim mind share leadership in this sector of the SBC market. NextPoint, recently formed with the merger of NexTone and Reef Point, was the first major SBC maker to bring attention to the IPX initiative. The news also strengthens NextPoint’s overall FMC story, which had been primarily written by the Reef Point half of the business. The enhanced IMX, which was developed at NexTone, sends a message that the combined company offers a multi-faceted approach to mobile networking solutions.
• Market Impact: Low to moderate on the overall SBC and security gateway market, as the NextPoint announcement does not include any evidence that the new version of the IMX platform has attracted new customers. The IPX was originally designed to enable interoperability of IMS-traffic between mobile operators. With so few operators deploying services based on IMS at this point in time, rivals of NextPoint that have not introduced an IPX proxy will have significant opportunity to do so in the future.
Vodafone Unveils M-PAISA Mobile Payments Service in Afghanistan
| Analyst: Emma Mohr-McClune | Wireless Services - Europe | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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February 10, 2008 -- The Vodafone Group announced the launch of M-PAISA in Afghanistan, in conjunction with its local partner, mobile services provider Roshan. The service will allow the B2B community to move money within Afghanistan, including to employees, by sending SMS text to a central server. Customers can deposit and withdraw cash at local M-PAISA agents, including Roshan retail outlets. The service also features an IVR voice-activated system.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Neutral on Vodafone Group’s launch of M-PAISA in Afghanistan, because Vodafone currently has no investment in Afghanistan, nor does the service offer strong alignment opportunities with Vodafone’s international mobile remittance venture, targeting migrant workers in the UK. The Vodafone Group is gaining experience in emerging-market money transfer services, but it remains to be seen how well these services can tie in with international remittance services, not piloting with Citibank in the UK.
• Vendor Importance: Moderate to the Vodafone Group, as this launch allows the operator to extend the same service concept of its successful M-PESA service in Kenya to a second emerging market. This launch could well be followed by other M-PESA/M-PAISA launches in other emerging markets – notably India – where Vodafone is looking for growth.
• Market Impact: Very low on the European wireless services market, as this service launch has no immediate impact on competitors at this point. The Vodafone Group is gaining experience in the area of mobile payments – both domestic and international payments. However, this initiative may grow more significant in the mid-term, as the Vodafone Group aligns its UK-piloted international money transfer service with the M-PAISA initiatives in Kenya and now Afghanistan, allowing migrant workers in Europe to send money home.
NewStep Cozies Up to Oracle’s Service Delivery Platform
| Analyst: Joe McGarvey | Carrier IP Telephony | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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February 6, 2008 -- NewStep Networks has integrated its real-time communications session management capabilities with the Oracle Communication and Mobility Server, a component of the company’s Service Delivery Platform (SDP) and Oracle Fusion Middleware. The combined solution is designed to offer converged voice, video, presence, and data communications services to customers looking to leverage multiple service network capabilities and enhance end user communications experiences. The alliance does not include a reseller relationship.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Positive on NewStep Networks’ integration of its communications session management technology with components of Oracle’s Service Delivery Platform (SDP), as the collaboration assists NewStep in advancing toward its goal of increasing its technology’s utility in the application layer of service provider networks, as well as extending the company’s potential addressable market. The collaboration with Oracle, which is essentially a reference relationship in which Oracle will recommend the NewStep technology to potential customers, enables NewStep to leverage Oracle’s growing customer base in the telecommunications market.
• Vendor Importance: Moderate to high to NewStep, which has established the broadening of its software technology beyond the role of overseeing the seamless handoff of voice traffic as a chief objective in 2008 and beyond. The company’s collaboration with Oracle, as well as a previous agreement with Microsoft, aligns NewStep’s growth opportunities with two of the largest software/application providers in the world.
• Market Impact: Low on the voice call continuity (VCC) and overall FMC markets, as the alliance is not exclusive, leaving rivals in the market to seek similar arrangements with Oracle. In addition, the ground that NewStep is seeking to capture – supplying hooks into the carrier network for third-party applications to leverage – is being pursued by a large swath of competitors with session control expertise looking to tap into the Web 2.0 and Web services markets.
Ericsson Takes a Swipe at WiMAX with TDD-LTE
| Analyst: Peter Jarich | Wireless Infrastructure | Client Access |
Announcement Summary
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January 30, 2008 – Ericsson announced the demonstration of LTE functionality in both frequency division duplexing (FDD) and time division duplexing (TDD) modes. Based on the same base station platform, TDD speeds of more than 90 Mbps on the downlink were showcased using 2X2 MIMO. Where FDD operations support operators with access to paired spectrum allocations, TDD supports unpaired spectrum assets.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Positive on Ericsson’s time division duplexing (TDD) mode LTE demonstrations, because while most LTE demonstrations have focused on paired spectrum, many operators around the world have access to unpaired spectrum they’d like to leverage for 4G services. Ericsson’s demonstrations send a clear message: LTE in general (and Ericsson, in particular) is ready to support those operators. Yet, while this message is important for competing with WiMAX (which as been focused on TDD from inception), if the rest of the LTE industry remains focused on paired and frequency division duplexing (FDD) spectrum, it will be hard to get a full ecosystem up and running (including devices) no matter what Ericsson can do with its base stations.
• Vendor Importance: Moderate to Ericsson, because if the vendor is correct in its claim that 90% of all mobile spectrum is paired, then it should be able to support most mobile broadband applications with FDD mode LTE. Regardless, the fact remains that TDD spectrum allocations do exist around the world and – at present – WiMAX is the only widely accepted mobile broadband standard to address them. Since Ericsson has opted to ignore mobile WiMAX as a 4G technology, it needed to find some way to support operators with TDD spectrum, or cede the opportunity to WiMAX vendors.
• Market Impact: Low on the wireless infrastructure market, because its been known for some time that LTE (as a technology) would support TDD as well as FDD operations. Given Ericsson’s absence from the WiMAX space, it’s no surprise that the vendor would support TDD-mode LTE. Of course, as the discussion around LTE heats up (and the market gets closer to commercial solutions), Ericsson’s demonstrations could push operators looking at WiMAX to consider LTE while engaging Ericsson’s competitors about their plans for TDD-based LTE.
