I've had some interesting chats recently with vendors, operators and analysts focused on the mobile TV market. There's little doubt that the hype surrounding mobile TV in 2006, when Italian operators rushed out DVB-H networks in time for the World Cup, has well and truly disappeared. It was not possible to maintain enthusiasm for networks that simply were not feasible to build for reasons of spectrum availability and cost.
It may be the case that 3G mobile TV take-up so far is not exactly impressive. But you'd be wrong to think that companies have given up on broadcast services as a potential winner. Mediaflo is still pursuing its dream of a "Mediaflo service provider" outside the US, and US-based MobiTV is planning to bring its technology to enable services outside the US.
Further, the 3GPP has continued to evolve standards for mobile broadcast TV. Indeed, Release 8 includes a new definition called integrated mobile broadcast (IMB). IMB now includes IPWireless' TDtv technology, which proposed making use of TDD spectrum to deploy MBMS. What IMB does, says IPWireless, is bring TDtv into the 3GPP fold, and thus makes it a much more interesting proposition for 3G mobile operators.
The name TDtv will disappear. But IPWireless hopes to play a major role in enabling IMB services, and indeed plans to bring the first chipset onto the market.
Nortel mulls sale of Turkish unit
Canada's Nortel Networks is considering selling its 53.13% stake in Turkish operation Nortel Netas, the Ihlas News Agency (IHA) reported Thursday, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
The sale of the unit is a "strategic option" to Nortel, the IHA said.
Istanbul-based Nortel Netas provides telecoms networks solutions.
The sale of the unit is a "strategic option" to Nortel, the IHA said.
Istanbul-based Nortel Netas provides telecoms networks solutions.
Europe more cautious than US - Verwaayen
The European market for telecoms network equipment is lagging behind the U.S., according to Alcatel-Lucent CEO Ben Verwaayen.
"Europe is where the U.S. was a quarter ago - cautious," Verwaayen said at a press conference today.
The Franco-U.S. vendor published its second-quarter results this morning, swinging to a small net profit of €14 million and reiterating that it aims to improve its full-year operating result.
See Total Telecom for more on that story, plus results announcements from a number of the big hitters in the telecoms space, including BT, Motorola, France Telecom and Telefonica.
"Europe is where the U.S. was a quarter ago - cautious," Verwaayen said at a press conference today.
The Franco-U.S. vendor published its second-quarter results this morning, swinging to a small net profit of €14 million and reiterating that it aims to improve its full-year operating result.
See Total Telecom for more on that story, plus results announcements from a number of the big hitters in the telecoms space, including BT, Motorola, France Telecom and Telefonica.
Global handset market improves in Q2
The worldwide market for mobile handsets improved slightly in the second quarter of the year, compared to Q1, according to new figures from Strategy Analytics.
The analyst firm plans to release its Q2 handset vendors market shares tomorrow - keep an eye on Total Telecom for those.
The analyst firm plans to release its Q2 handset vendors market shares tomorrow - keep an eye on Total Telecom for those.
Problem apps on mobile networks
I went to an interesting round table with Alcatel-Lucent last week on how mobile networks are being stressed by increased data usage. One point that might surprise some is that the company says it finds apps such as email and LBS are in fact more problematic for mobile networks than video streaming and P2P.
This is because although video and P2P send a greater volume of data over the network, their use is predictable and they actually use fewer resources because they are not constantly making requests to the network. Push email, on the other hand, is constantly making requests to the network, often with no actual result, thus using up valuable resources on the signalling and wireless side where is no need to do so.
Alcatel-Lucent's Michael Schabel comments that in his experience, volume is frequently not the cause of wireless network problems. The most problems are caused by applications or devices that make very inefficient use of the network resources. So the important thing for operators is to discover more about what is actually running over their networks, when and where, and adapt their networks accordingly.
This is because although video and P2P send a greater volume of data over the network, their use is predictable and they actually use fewer resources because they are not constantly making requests to the network. Push email, on the other hand, is constantly making requests to the network, often with no actual result, thus using up valuable resources on the signalling and wireless side where is no need to do so.
Alcatel-Lucent's Michael Schabel comments that in his experience, volume is frequently not the cause of wireless network problems. The most problems are caused by applications or devices that make very inefficient use of the network resources. So the important thing for operators is to discover more about what is actually running over their networks, when and where, and adapt their networks accordingly.
O2's exclusive Apple deal set to end in September
Various rumblings have suggested recently that O2's exclusive agreement to sell iPhones in the UK will not be renewed.
It is understood that the multi-year contract signed in the summer of 2007 between the two companies ahead of the UK launch of the first iPhone included a two-year break clause.
"O2 and Apple might not renew their exclusivity deal...it's up for renewal in September," someone told Total Telecom this week.
Mobile operators have been stocking up with the latest touchscreen smartphones in a bid to keep up with the coveted iPhone ever since it first launched - including O2 this week.
Despite a noticeable N97-shaped hole in its portfolio, O2 this week announced separate deals to sell the Palm Pre as well as Samsung's Android-powered Galaxy i7500 in the U.K.
What with regulations forcing Orange to sell unlocked iPhones in France, and the FCC reviewing the impact of exclusive handset deals on smaller carriers in the U.S., will we eventually see an end to exclusive handset deals altogether?
It is understood that the multi-year contract signed in the summer of 2007 between the two companies ahead of the UK launch of the first iPhone included a two-year break clause.
"O2 and Apple might not renew their exclusivity deal...it's up for renewal in September," someone told Total Telecom this week.
Mobile operators have been stocking up with the latest touchscreen smartphones in a bid to keep up with the coveted iPhone ever since it first launched - including O2 this week.
Despite a noticeable N97-shaped hole in its portfolio, O2 this week announced separate deals to sell the Palm Pre as well as Samsung's Android-powered Galaxy i7500 in the U.K.
What with regulations forcing Orange to sell unlocked iPhones in France, and the FCC reviewing the impact of exclusive handset deals on smaller carriers in the U.S., will we eventually see an end to exclusive handset deals altogether?
New subs figures from DoCoMo
NTT DoCoMo recorded a net increase of 112,400 mobile subscribers in June to take its total customer base to 54.86 million.
The Japanese mobile operator reported its latest monthly stats on Tuesday.
A massive 50.27 million of the total were customers of its FOMA 3G service, the operator revealed.
The Japanese mobile operator reported its latest monthly stats on Tuesday.
A massive 50.27 million of the total were customers of its FOMA 3G service, the operator revealed.
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