Offload: The Sleeper Theme
of Mobile World Congress 2010

| Feb 4, 2010 | Wireless Infrastructure | Market Advisory Report

| Analyst: Peter Jarich, Research Director, Telecom Infrastructure

Mobile World Congress will soon be upon us – giving mobile network operators the first opportunity of 2010 to get their wares in front of a broad set of potential customers and competitors.

As with any major trade show or conference, it’s important to arrive with an expectation of the major topics and themes. Why? To help guide an investigation into the technologies that will drive operator thinking. To help identify the important content amidst all of the announcements and press releases that are bound to drop at the show. To help us direct our questions to vendors and operators in an attempt to assess competitive positioning.

The major network technology issues to take center stage in Barcelona this year are fairly evident. We identified these in our 2010 prediction piece from earlier in January (please see Mobile Infrastructure Trends: Ten for 2010, January 4, 2010). They will all be represented and addressed at Mobile World Congress this year. Absent from this list, however, is a theme that stretches across multiple technologies: offload.

Vendors and operators may not always refer to it by the same name. Some will refer to it simply as “offload.” Others will call it “traffic offload” or break it down into a technical enabler such as “local breakout.” Regardless, it’s an important topic for operators and one that it already being targeted by vendors. And, to the extent that it may not always be highlighted or called the same thing, it’s all the more important to explore.

| Client access - Report in Wireless Infrastructure | More information

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