"So, how many of us actually have an iPhone?" conference chairman Abraham Joseph asked delegates at the opening of Visiongain's iPhone: An Independent Conference in London on Thursday.
Silence. Cue the tumbleweeds.
"None then," he conceded.
Given the rate of attendance at the event, that was hardly surprising. At that stage in proceedings there were just six of us in the auditorium... perhaps another sign that the U.K. telecoms industry is not enamoured with Apple's must-have handset.
Numbers later swelled to around 10, with one iPhone user among us. Maybe things livened up later in the day. Unfortunately I didn't have time to stick around and find out.
One anecdote from an audience member in this morning's session was worth noting though.
An attendee shared the fact that a friend of his daughter - a girl of 11 or 12 years of age - was recently given an iPhone for her birthday. She returned the handset within a couple of weeks because without Bluetooth capability she was unable to share music and content with her friends in the playground, and this made the phone effectively "useless" to her. Not quite the epithet Apple was aiming for...
For more from the conference, including stats on the vendors that have suffered the most from the iPhone's launch, and more thoughts on future incarnations of the device, see Total Telecom.
MTS switches on Russian 3G network
MTS, Russia's dominant mobile operator, Wednesday launched its 3G network in St Petersburg.
According to a report by Reuters, the company plans to spend a total of $1.6 billion on its high-speed mobile network through to 2012, and expects to generate $2 billion in revenues from 3G services in Russia by 2011.
MTS has also eyed up 3G launches in Uzbekistan in the first quarter of 2009, in Armenia before the end of next year, and at some point it plans to switch on a network in Belarus.
A Total Telecom reporter is on her way back from the launch in St Petersburg at this very moment, so look out for more details on our Website in the very near future.
According to a report by Reuters, the company plans to spend a total of $1.6 billion on its high-speed mobile network through to 2012, and expects to generate $2 billion in revenues from 3G services in Russia by 2011.
MTS has also eyed up 3G launches in Uzbekistan in the first quarter of 2009, in Armenia before the end of next year, and at some point it plans to switch on a network in Belarus.
A Total Telecom reporter is on her way back from the launch in St Petersburg at this very moment, so look out for more details on our Website in the very near future.
Tackling the GRC issue
Total Telecom has just published a white paper summarising UK telecom operators attitudes towards Governance, Risk & Compliance. Although not full of surprises, it's interesting reading, reassuring the operators take this very seriously, and great news if you work for an IT company.
However some of the biggest / most significant causes of compliance failure are people, so maybe the opportunity is for the training companies...
Download it for free from the Total Telecom white paper section
Ericsson to the rescue
At Ericsson's Capital Markets Day this week, CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg said the company's first priority following the massive earthquake in Sichuan had been to ensure that Ericsson's China-based staff and their families were safe and well.
It transpires that the vendor also provides emergency mobile communications in regions affected by natural disasters such as these: On a tour of a model "cell site" at Ericsson headquarters on Thursday, our guide wanted to show us the emergency response GSM vehicle the company sends to troubled parts of the world, only to find the van being packed up in readiness for shipment to China. The guide explained that Ericsson pays for the emergency service itself, although political difficulties sometimes mean the van languishes in customs for several weeks...
It transpires that the vendor also provides emergency mobile communications in regions affected by natural disasters such as these: On a tour of a model "cell site" at Ericsson headquarters on Thursday, our guide wanted to show us the emergency response GSM vehicle the company sends to troubled parts of the world, only to find the van being packed up in readiness for shipment to China. The guide explained that Ericsson pays for the emergency service itself, although political difficulties sometimes mean the van languishes in customs for several weeks...
Here come the girls...
At Ericsson's Capital Markets Day in Stockholm this week, one financial analyst asked Ericsson's CEO if it is possible to make it onto the Swedish vendor's board if you are, a) not a man, and b) not Swedish.
Carl-Henric Svanberg had to concede that Ericsson's management board does largely comprise Swedish men. But he stressed that more women are now coming up through the ranks, and also noted there are a few non-Swedes now in leading management positions.
The analyst may have had a point, but on the male/female question, perhaps Svanberg should have thrown the question back to the audience of largely male financial analysts...
Carl-Henric Svanberg had to concede that Ericsson's management board does largely comprise Swedish men. But he stressed that more women are now coming up through the ranks, and also noted there are a few non-Swedes now in leading management positions.
The analyst may have had a point, but on the male/female question, perhaps Svanberg should have thrown the question back to the audience of largely male financial analysts...
World Communication Awards, Open for Entry, Deadline June 2008
World Communication Awards, Open for Entry, Deadline June 2008
Why say it ourselves when someone is doing it for us! Have you started working on your entries for this years World Communication Awards - read this little summary on Awards Intelligence (wonder if they run awards for the best award ceremony:-)?) or go direct to the World Communication Awards website. This year we celebrate 10 years.
If you want to see who won last years winners, check out the winners photo's here
Fancy sponsoring - email rob.chambers@totaltele.com
Why say it ourselves when someone is doing it for us! Have you started working on your entries for this years World Communication Awards - read this little summary on Awards Intelligence (wonder if they run awards for the best award ceremony:-)?) or go direct to the World Communication Awards website. This year we celebrate 10 years.
If you want to see who won last years winners, check out the winners photo's here
Fancy sponsoring - email rob.chambers@totaltele.com
MySpace to share user details with Yahoo, eBay
The mysterious technology initiative that had us guessing yesterday has been unveiled: MySpace is going to allow its members to share their profile data with the likes of Yahoo and eBay.
This means that users can have their photos and music interests appear in Yahoo Instant Messenger, or on their eBay profile page, said a report from Dow Jones.
"There's this concept that social networks are walled gardens…We're taking those walls down," said Amit Kapur, chief operating officer of MySpace in the report.
The sites taking part in the scheme have a combined 150 million users, and reach 85% of U.S. Web surfers.
Something tells us that while users will enjoy the opportunity to enhance their eBay image and perhaps attract that extra bid, the biggest winners are likely to be the advertisers, who will be able to build a more detailed picture of consumers' tastes and buying habits (participation is optional, of course).
Read the full story on Total Telecom.
This means that users can have their photos and music interests appear in Yahoo Instant Messenger, or on their eBay profile page, said a report from Dow Jones.
"There's this concept that social networks are walled gardens…We're taking those walls down," said Amit Kapur, chief operating officer of MySpace in the report.
The sites taking part in the scheme have a combined 150 million users, and reach 85% of U.S. Web surfers.
Something tells us that while users will enjoy the opportunity to enhance their eBay image and perhaps attract that extra bid, the biggest winners are likely to be the advertisers, who will be able to build a more detailed picture of consumers' tastes and buying habits (participation is optional, of course).
Read the full story on Total Telecom.
MySpace to announce new tech initiative
News Corp.-owned social network MySpace is today going to announce a major new technology initiative.
Having unveiled separate music and video distribution deals in April, it's unclear as to what MySpace could possibly have in store for us this time.
What is clear though, is the recent news that Murdoch is expecting his Website to miss its revenue growth forecast by about 10%.
According to the Guardian, advertisers are still undecided about the commercial value of online friend-making.
So maybe News Corp.'s new technology initiative revolves around cattle-prods being administered to advertising executives whenever they decide to put their wallets away.
Whatever MySpace has to say, you can be sure to read about it on Total Telecom.
Having unveiled separate music and video distribution deals in April, it's unclear as to what MySpace could possibly have in store for us this time.
What is clear though, is the recent news that Murdoch is expecting his Website to miss its revenue growth forecast by about 10%.
According to the Guardian, advertisers are still undecided about the commercial value of online friend-making.
So maybe News Corp.'s new technology initiative revolves around cattle-prods being administered to advertising executives whenever they decide to put their wallets away.
Whatever MySpace has to say, you can be sure to read about it on Total Telecom.
100,000 not out
Today represents something of a milestone in Total Telecom's history: we have just added the 100,000th article to the website.
That's 100,000 news and analysis pieces in 11 years - certainly something to be proud of. And much of that content is still available to view today in our vast archive.
Story number 100,000 - European incumbents in process of transformation - looks at the cultural changes taking place at Europe's main telecoms players, as software becomes an increasingly important part of their businesses and revenue streams evolve.
It seems apt that such a forward-looking piece that brings together the opinions of telcos such as BT, France Telecom and Telecom Italia should fill the 100,000 slot. Here's to the next 100,000!
That's 100,000 news and analysis pieces in 11 years - certainly something to be proud of. And much of that content is still available to view today in our vast archive.
Story number 100,000 - European incumbents in process of transformation - looks at the cultural changes taking place at Europe's main telecoms players, as software becomes an increasingly important part of their businesses and revenue streams evolve.
It seems apt that such a forward-looking piece that brings together the opinions of telcos such as BT, France Telecom and Telecom Italia should fill the 100,000 slot. Here's to the next 100,000!
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