Telecommunications (International Edition) articles from February 2002

Telecommunications (International Edition) archives from February 2002

What happens post bubble? (Commentary).(Editorial)
February 1, 2002... Stephen McClelland, Editorial Director, Telecommunications[R] International "The message in many markets seems to be: get big and get strong, or get out." It's winter in the Northern Hemisphere, and at least a year into the global...

Liquidity concerns over bandwidth trading. (Global).
February 1, 2002... The high-profile collapse of Enron Corp is another sign that the bandwidth trading market is drying up. Despite the efforts of the US energy company to branch out into bandwidth trading, one of the reasons it failed was a lack of liquidity in...

Mobile advertising needs to get personal. (Western Europe).
February 1, 2002... "Mobile advertising will be one of the most important revenue generators for mobile operators," insists Cyriac Roeding, European chair of the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA). "In 2G, mobile advertising was an additional revenue source for...

The 'triple play' gamble. (Europe).
February 1, 2002... Is the 'triple play' strategy adopted by cable operators a flawed business model? Looking at the mounting debts and slowing subscriber growth of both NTL and UPC, it's tempting to conclude that it is. After investing heavily in digital upgrades...

New man at the Eircom helm. (Ireland).
February 1, 2002... It's a major plus in any new job to know that you hove been headhunted by the boss. And that's apparently the case with Philip Nolan, the 48-year-old former head of the UK public utilities company, the Lattice Group, who has just taken over as...

3G roaming for Vodafane. (News in Brief).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Vodafone has reported that its subsidiaries in Spain (Vodafone) and Japan (J-Phone) have successfully conducted the 'world's first 3G roaming call'. It was made between Vodafone's chief executive in Spain, John de Wit, and the president of...

MMS momentum. (News in Brief).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2002... Ericsson has won its first contract from Vodafone to supply multimedia messaging software. The companies have agreed a schedule that will see commercial availability of the service in Europe from the middle of this year. Vodafone will initially...

The Israeli/French connection. (News in Brief).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2002... Inovia Telecoms, a provider of multi-service access gateways and subsidiary of Israel's ECI Telecom, has been chosen by France Telecom as its supplier of xDSL-based solutions within its home market for an additional three-year period. Inovia's...

Orange looks on the bright side. (View from the Top).
February 1, 2002... It's probably the most famous strapline in mobile marketing history -- 'the future's bright, the future's Orange'. But after France Telecom's acquisition of Orange plc assets last year, the future is not only projected as being bright, but...

Lessons from Japan: NTT DoCoMo has wisely adopted a step-by-step approach to service provisioning. (3G strategies).
February 1, 2002... It's what you're used to but only a lot faster. OK, that might be a simplified version of the FOMA sales pitch on the Tokyo high street but it's not far off the mark. FOMA, which stands for 'Freedom of Multimedia Access', is the '3G'...

Strategising for submarine telecoms: Can submarine telecom overcome its current problems and hit growth once more? (PTC Roundable).
February 1, 2002... The submarine telecom community faces arguably the most challenging times of its entire history. After a period of boom, the industry has seemingly entered a downturn affecting everyone in the value chain of telecom service delivery from...

How to minimise the 3G risk: By accurately forecasting data usage, it will help the 'pure' 3G players to roll out their networks cost effectively. (3G Networks).
February 1, 2002... If 'pure' 3G players are to have any chance of making a significant profit, they must get their network rollout plans right. Needless to say, the network and marketing challenges confronting a 3G operator with no legacy infrastructure will...

Regulatory clouds gather over LBS: The European commission and operators are on a collision course over location-based services (LBS). (Location Based Services).
February 1, 2002... Should Europe follow the US example and regulate the provision of LBS? Opinion is divided -- the EUROPEAN COMMISSION says yes and mobile operators say no. The dispute, which has increased in intensity over recent months, centres on...

No unified view: Opinion is divided as to whether mobile operators can target the entire business market with unified messaging. (Unified Messaging).
February 1, 2002... Mobile operator executives are pulling their hair out in a continuing effort to find value-added services (VAS) that will reduce churn, increase ARPU and enable them to ride the very rough times that still lie ahead. One VAS that industry big...

In defence of WAP: The WAP standard is one element in the bigger mobile internet picture -- it will not, by itself, determine the fate of GPRS and 3G. (The WAP Factor).
February 1, 2002... The success of the mobile internet market is not dependent on one thing only. Marketing, handset development, attractive content, packet-based networks and appealing tariffs are all important variables in the equation. WAP, the wireless...

Out with the old, in with the new: Mobile operators moving into the 2.5/3G space will not survive if they simply tinker with their legacy billing systems -- a radical overhaul is required. (Billing Systems).
February 1, 2002... A customer-centric billing system is essential if mobile operators are to prosper. As everyone knows, the mobile marketplace has changed markedly over the last few years. Cellular penetration is now at saturation point in most developed markets...

Who's ready for GPRS? GPRS can breathe new life into mobile operators' ailing ARPU levels, but only if the terminals are user-friendly, the services are attractive and the pricing is right. (GPRS).
February 1, 2002... With voice revenue projected to shrink in the near future, GSM mobile operators are turning to GPRS to keep their business growing. The theory goes that the Faster data speeds and 'always on' capability enabled by GPRS will kick-start the...

Resurgence of SIM: One ray of light in an otherwise depressed telecoms market are SIM cards which, despite a current fall in growth, look set to make a comeback. (Smart Cards).
February 1, 2002... Although SIM cards have shared in the general downturn of the telecoms market, the overall outlook remains positive for the smart card technology. The introduction of 2.5/3G and the switch to e-commerce and value-added services (VAS) via mobile...

PTC weathers the storm: PTC 2002, Hawaii (13-17 January). (Conference Watch).
February 1, 2002... Are e-commerce models different in Asia-Pacific, and if so, why? What is the likely future for the international operations of some Asia-Pacific carriers? (*) If you want to ask and answer questions like these, the annual PTC conference is...

CMG wireless data solutions. (Smart MMSC).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... CMG has introduced the Smart MMSC (multimedia messaging service centre) system developed to cater to the needs of operators for entry-level MMSC functionality. CMG adds that Smart MMSC can be upgraded to Power MMSC or High Performance MMSC to...

Inovia telecoms. (SAM480).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2002... SAM (subscriber access multiplexer) 480, a high-density DSLAM, inherits the features of Inovia's multi-service xDSL solution, Hi-FOCuS, and adds density and mass-deployment capabilities (it supports 2,880 subscribers on a single rack). It...

Civcom. (SFS Technology).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Civcom has released its SFS (solid free space) technology that, according to the company, provides the foundation for high-performance multi-function all-optical switches. SFS is based on free space propagation architecture with proprietary...

Telindus and Axerra Networks. (Solutions for Services over IP and IP/MPLS).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Telindus and Axerra Networks have announced a global integrator agreement designed to furnish a set of solutions that enable service providers to offer both legacy and emerging services over IP and IP/MPLS (multi-protocol label switching)...

ISTAR telecoms. (Geographic Datasets).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... ISTAR has launched a new range of geographic datasets designed to meet the needs of UMTS operators and manufacturers. The range includes datasets that provide accurate, reliable information on the urban environment says ISTAR. The company also...

Tektronix. (TDS6604 Digital Storage Oscilloscope).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The TDS6604, according to Tektronix, is the 'world's fastest real-time' DSO (digital storage oscilloscope) with a 6GHz bandwidth, 20GS/s sample rate on two channels and 10GS/s sample rate on four channels simultaneously. It is a high...

Agilent technologies. (Network Analyser).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The network analyser is a test tool that helps companies troubleshoot increasingly complex networks and services while reducing the costs associated with downtime says Agilent. According to the company, it is the only solution on the market...

Anritsu. (Measurement Capability on Digital Mobile Radio Transmitter).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Anritsu has introduced two measurement software packages to add cdma2000 and [theta]4DQPSK capabilities to its MS86O8A/MS8609A digital mobile radio transmitter tester. The new software, when used in con junction with Anritsu's existing W-CDMA...