Save the date: #Regulatory Summit

Total Telecom is delighted to be working with ETNO to produce our first ever Regulatory Summit in Brussels on the 30 May 2012.

The full agenda will be published shortly, with speakers including leading regulators and senior executives of international telecom operators.

The first confirmed keynote is Georg Serentschy, Chairman of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC). BEREC comprises the heads of 27 National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) and forms a group through which they exchange expertise and best practice and offer opinions on the functioning of the telecoms market in the EU.

The Regulatory Summit will be free of charge for Policy Makers, ETNO members and qualifying members of the press. There will be a limited number of additional seats available for a small fee.

To find out more visit www.totaltele.com/regulatorysummit

New World Order - #BRICS and more

There's a good article from the Guardian's David Smith on the rise of Africa. It flags how this is at least in part being fuelled by investment from China, which fits well with a pattern we know and understand in the telecom industry - you only need to look at the number of recent articles on Total Telecom referencing either ZTE or Huawei and Africa to know this is true.

This is also likely to be a theme at our next Breakfast with Total Telecom event, that focuses on high growth markets, and amongst the speakers boasts BT Global Telecom Markets (GTM) General Manager (Asia Pacific, North America, Middle East and Africa), Stephen Kelly, who is addressing The Carrier opportunity in Africa.

However it will be interesting to see how far the debate expands into the more concerning issue of the future, both for the currently emerging markets, and for the entire planet, as flagged in todays ars technica article, Hot, crowded, and running out of fuel: Earth of 2050 a scary place.

To join the debate, register to attend the Emerging Markets breakfast briefing on the 10 April 2012.

Doing the double? #WVA12

The final two shortlists have just been revealed for the 2012 World Vendor Awards, bringing with them some interesting dynamics, both for CEO of the Year and for Best Brand. We'll find out who triumphs on the 26 April 2012.

First up we have three contenders for CEO of the Year. The potential double here sits with Alcatel-Lucent CEO, Ben Verwaayen. Ben has the almost unique distinction of being in the running for this gong, having been a previous winner of the top award at the WVA's larger sibling, the World Communication Awards, where in 2005 he was named Most Influential Person (forerunner to the CEO category) as CEO of BT Group.

Up against Ben we have Hans Vestberg of Ericsson, who arguably has one of the toughest jobs in telecoms having recently revealed reduced targets for the company, and  Jeff Gordon of Syniverse, who amongst other things leads a company playing in the fast growing IPX arena.

The other shortlist to be revealed is the other industry voted category, Best Brand. A slightly different angle here, but last years Best Brand, Ericsson, are in the running again, along with the company with the most valuable hardware brand in this years Top 500 Telecom Brands, Cisco. Also in the chase are 2010 winners, Juniper Networks, Syniverse, and who could under estimate the power from the East in the shape of ZTE?

To view all the shortlists, visit www.worldvendorawards.com and make sure you book your seats to avoid disappointment on the night!

Google preps minicab debut

At first glance it might appear as if Google's U.K. team has found a money-spinning use for some of its spare Street View cars: carting the good people of south London between, let's say, stations, airports, theatres and couriers at any hour of the day.

Until of course you realise the taxi firm is called Gooogle Cars; then the additional 'o' inspires thoughts like "oh my, this lot will surely be sued one day for trademark infringement", and even perhaps a brief Carry On-style skit:

Google lawyer: "Gooogle driver, take me to the courthouse!"

Gooogle Driver: "Funny, I thought it was you who was taking me to the courthouse..."

...And so on ad infinitum.

Ever the optimist, I for one hope Google sees an opportunity to repair some of the damage to its "Don't be evil" reputation and immediately picks Gooogle Cars to fulfil all of the Internet giant's south London personal transportation needs.

Unlocking the growth potential in Emerging Markets, how do you overcome the challenges?

If the past 12 months are an indication of the future, 2012 looks set to be another exciting and unpredictable year for both business and technology. At the forefront for many Telco’s at the moment, is how to unlock the growth potential in emerging markets, however there are several hurdles to be overcome according to some of the top execs in India, Africa and Brazil.

Mobile operators in some of the world’s largest emerging markets claim that the high cost of devices is preventing them from extending services to millions of unconnected would be customers. “SIM card penetration in India stands at 74% but in real terms less than 50% of the population has a mobile phone”, said Rajiv Bawa, head of Telenor India, at the latest Mobile World Congress Show in Barcelona. This leaves a potential market of 600-700million people without mobile connections for operators to target.

Mary Lennighan wrote in a recently published article on www.totaltele.com that, In China too, smart phone penetration is only 10%, Android based smart phones are being adopted at a rapid rate by consumers and although people are embracing the mobile internet with over 354million subscribers, a staggering 89% still use 2G connections. The story is similar in Brazil, where Claro generates 15% of its revenues from mobile internet services; however penetration of mobile broadband capable devices is just 12%.

The biggest challenge according to Marco Quatorze, VAS and International Roaming Director at parent company America Movil, in these markets is to “work with the diversity of its customer base, where the potential market ranges from subscribers using mobile data services on smartphones connected to LTE Networks, to those who live in areas without electricity”, bridging this digital divide in these regions is top of the agenda for several Telco’s.

The other challenge also arises from a lack of spectrum harmonisation, offering devices which are capable of operating on multiple platforms ranging from 2G to LTE is difficult but could be the turning point in terms of unlocking potential customers and extending mobile penetration in these regions. The next wave of growth could be spurned by an increased focus on innovation. Roll out of new products and investment in expansion of data services and value added services such as M-Pesa or other mobile financial solutions, and indeed mHealth, which according to the GSMA will generate £1.2billion by 2017, are expected to create significant growth.

Much has been made of the opportunities presented by the BRIC economies, but for Telco’s looking to explore opportunities outside of their domestic markets these are not the only emerging markets to watch; Breakfast with Total Telecom, taking place on the on the 10^th of April will examine some of the hottest high growth-markets globally and explore how opportunities vary with location.

Speakers include:

·         Tom Homer, CEO-EMEA, Telstra International

·         Stephen Kelly, General Manager - Asia Pacific, North America, Middle East and Africa, BT Global Telecom Markets (GTM)

·         David Molony – Principal Analyst – Ovum

·         James Tooke – Head of Strategy and Development – Cable & Wireless Communications

·         Laurent Viviez – VP and Partner – AT Kearney

Breakfast with Total Telecom is free for operators and services providers. Find out more about participating or sponsoring at www.totaltele.com/breakfast, or for more in the Emerging Markets space, come along to Total Telecom Wireless World on the 13 & 14 June 2012.

Contact : breakfast@totaltele.com

Breakfast has been served #LTE

Today's LTE Breakfast with Total Telecom was a great success, with seats at a premium at the Institute of Physics on Portland Place.

We were delighted to have fantastic speakers and panellists including Kevin Baughan of Virgin Media Francesco Liberatore (JonesDay)and Dan Warren of the GSMA, and would pass on our thanks to iBasis and UK Broadband for sponsoring the event, and sending along their CTO's for the panel: Ajay Joseph (iBasis) and Philip Marnick (UK Broadband)

We promoted the hashtag #TTLTE and had some active Twittering going on - thanks especially to AT&T's Rebecca Atherley, for a steady stream of Tweets. It was also great to see a number of participants in the room who had flown in especially for the event, including three from North America. It just goes to show that a niche event can really work for many people.

The next event will Emerging Markets on the 10 April. Operators can register for free. Find out more about participating or sponsoring on our website www.totaltele.com/breakfast or for more in the LTE space, come along to Total Telecom Wireless World on the 13 & 14 June 2012.

Available on iPad - but don't tell anyone

You can read the March issue of Total Telecom+ on your iPad other tablet or most #Smartphones, but on second thoughts you'd better not.

Post Barcelona, editor Mary Lennighan examines who is going to pay for the network that supports the latest devices that were the talk of the town at Mobile World Congress.

Elsewhere in this issue we look at the growing market for MVNO's as China Telecom follow the lead of Turkcell, launching an MVNO geared at ex-pats, whilst Alun Lewis looks at how some companies are starting to take the plunge with Cloud based unified communications.

As ever, you can read this months Total Telecom+ for free in multiple formats, including:
> Online digital viewer
> Simple PDF download
> Tablet edition

Register for Free: #LTE Breakfast

There are a few places remaining for next week's #LTE Opportunities Breakfast Briefing, hosted by Total Telecom and sponsored by iBasis and UK Broadband. The event is FREE of charge for telecom operators and service providers, who can register online at www.totaltele.com/breakfast

Already attending....

We all ready have a great line-up of speakers and participants, so why not register to attend and join in the discussions around:

• what is true 4G and how do we get there
• where do Small Cells fit in the LTE picture
• spectrum allocations and re-allocations

View the full agenda HERE

These events have proved a fantastic forum for focused discussion and networking with peers who share common interests with you. Previous participants have given great feedback, including Colin l’Anson of Hewlett-Packard who said “Good conference, smart format. Well worth the time spent.” So don't take our word for it, register today and come along!

14 March 2012 

8:30 - 11:30am

76 Portland Place, London

Contact: breakfast@totaltele.com

#Infographic: Who will be CEO of the Year

Voting is open for the 2012 World Vendor Awards #CEO of the Year, so who are the contenders? The infographic below reveals the contenders...

Cast your votes at www.worldvendorawards.com 

or go straight to the form on SurveyMonkey

UK finally gets LTE !! UK Broadband first to launch TD-LTE Network

UK Broadband, the PCCW owned company on Wednesday switched on its TD-LTE Infrastructure, becoming the first organisation in the UK to do so. Not only that, it also became the first-TD LTE network worldwide to operate in the 3.5GHz spectrum band.

The network, based on equipment provided by Huawei is mainly for demo purposes as the company seeks to attract potential customers, however its rollout plan will see it build additional network in areas where customers require 4G LTE, with a commercial launch slated for May this year

Nicholas James, CEO of UK Broadband, was quoted in an article published on www.totaltele.com this week, by Mary Lennighan as saying “we will be announcing a city build in a couple of weeks”, he also went on to mention that “by June of next year” UK Broadband would be launching a Huawei Smartphone that will run both on its frequency and in the 2.6GHz band, as well as on standard 3G networks to provide full coverage.

The company also stated that many potential wholesale customers are waiting in the wings to test out the new network, having waited for a few years to see what UK Broadband would do with its sizeable spectrum holdings. The announcement brings the UK another step closer to the launch of 4G LTE internet.

Total Telecom is delighted that UK Broadband will be sponsoring at Breakfast with Total Telecom’s LTE opportunities event on the 14^th of March, in London. CTO, Philip Marnick will be speaking at the event for the first time, post UK Broadband’s announcement on Wednesday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, with further insight into the company’s plans for its LTE network.

With industry experts from Virgin Media, GSMA, iBasis, Ovum and Jones Day also speaking at the breakfast, do not miss the opportunity to be part of this event and join in on the discussion. Registration is free for operators/service providers and carriers, availability is limited so now is the best chance to confirm your participation. Click here to register, alternatively email breakfast@totaltele.com.