Content is the key to Mobile TV

Persistently declining voice revenues, exacerbated by the need to pay off expensive 3G licences, mean that operators will seize any opportunity to generate data revenues. Mobile TV and video provides many revenue streams and, with the right content strategies and business models in place, promises to have mass market appeal.

Despite the well-documented convergence that is now taking place in order to facilitate the provision of mobile TV and video services, there is a fundamental difference between the telecoms and television industries; whereas the telecoms industry has been technology-led, the television industry has been content-led. It is becoming apparent that the provision of quality content and the strength of brands will be what drives uptake of mobile TV, rather than technology per se. Although technology is an important enabler, content is what is really important. Mobile operators must adjust their focus to this end.

If players in the value chain do not get their content strategies right, mobile users will simply not be interested in mobile TV. In a nutshell, content must be compelling. This is the core theme of a new management report from Informa Telecoms & Media, which brings together the latest research and current market information from around the world.

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DoCoMo Tests WiMAX And HSDPA Handovers.

Just as the world starts to catch up with Japan…DoCoMo has applied for a license to test WiMax network (IEEE 802.16e) for its mobile customers. The trial is intended to determine:
–Assess throughput and wireless transmission characteristics according to the distances between a handset and base station, and handset moving speed.
–Verify the optimal wireless parameters and base station allocations to obtain maximum results.
–Assess the possibility of interference from existing satellite communication systems, such as WideStar
–Confirm continuous connections during handover within the WiMAX system or between WiMAX and other systems, such as HSDPA.

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PayPal for mobile in beta

eBay's online payment service PayPal launched a mobile payment service that includes person-to-person money transfers and "Text To Buy," which allows users to order products through SMS that they see advertised "on a poster, in a magazine, at an event." PayPal's mobile debut has long been expected, but the Text To Buy feature was a surprise to many. To try out PayPal Mobile:

• Go to PayPal.com and sign in.
• Add a new phone to your profile and mark it as a mobile.
• When prompted, confirm that you would like to use it to make payments.
• Enter a PIN number.
• An IVR system will call your phone and ask you to type the PIN in.
• Make payments.

For more information on PayPal Mobile: read this blog

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3G mobiles 'change social habits'

Increasing use of 3G mobile phones can change the way people communicate and create new social trends and tribes, a behavioural study has suggested.

The study said the combination of still and video cameras on modern phones, and the advent of high speed data transfer, can inspire a generation of users.

Bloggers, film-makers and clubbers all benefit from 3G phones, it said.

Analysts Future Laboratory said the report was the first ethnographic survey of 3G use across the UK.

3G is the next generation of mobile phone technology, offering a wide range of high speed mobile services, including video calling and messaging, e-mail, games, photo messaging and information services.

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Siemens and Nokia Help T-Mobile Build HSDPA Wireless Network

European cell phone giant, T-Mobile, is working together with Siemens and Nokia to enhance its mobile phone network, and speed up 3G mobile data services in Germany and Austria.

Siemens is the main supplier for the project, but Nokia will also be supplying some equipment for the new HSDPA network, which will bring true broadband speeds to mobile phones.

“Starting with Germany and Austria, T-Mobile customers can now use their notebook or mobile phone to surf in the Internet at DSL (digital subscriber line) speeds and download large volumes of data such as movies or large e-mail attachments faster than before,” said Siemens in a statement.

Existing 3G services have failed to generate mass-market interest in Europe, but T-Mobile is hoping that the faster HSDPA network will create more interest in advanced mobile data offerings.

The new network will be up and running by the end of May, with initial data transfer speeds of up to 1.8 Mbps, compared to 384 kbps with the existing technology. Further upgrades should see the T-Mobile network boosted to 3.6 Mbps by the end of the year, and doubled to 7.2 Mbps shortly thereafter.

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UK: Skype and Hutchison 3 Group launch 3G datacard

Skype has struck a deal with Hutchision 3 Group, the 3G mobile operator (UK) last month to provide its VoIP services to the 3 mobile subscribers, which enables the customers to make cheaper VoIP calls.

This service was launched 13th of this month. The new datacard available from £ 39.99. 3 has bundled a special starter pack provided by Skype. The starter pack includes the Skype software, a Skype headset and a Skype starter voucher.

Users hoping to get the card at the cheapest price - £ 39.99 will have to opt for the Web and Office 512 package priced at £45 per month. However users will get half a Gb of data bundled in each month.

The Skype and Hutchison 3 brands compliment each other, representing innovation and high value offerings to consumers. This partnership will enable Hutchison to directly tap into the 75 million people using Skype across the Hutchison territories and promote to them the benefits of using Skype on Hutchison’s networks.

Related News:
Skype news
Silicon.com News article
3G Portal News Read more!

SurfNoise launches mini-ads for mobiles

Voice advertisement company, SurfNoise has launched a mobile marketing service called PocketSpots that will create mini audio commercial campaigns for MP3 players and mobile phones. The company urges clients to keep their ads under 10 seconds long and rely on intrigue for their pitch. PocketSpots charges between $100 and $900 per commercial tag.

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SurfNoise launches mini-ads for mobiles

Voice advertisement company, SurfNoise has launched a mobile marketing service called PocketSpots that will create mini audio commercial campaigns for MP3 players and mobile phones. The company urges clients to keep their ads under 10 seconds long and rely on intrigue for their pitch. PocketSpots charges between $100 and $900 per commercial tag.

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Microsoft, Telstra to demo DVB-H in Australia

Microsoft, Telstra and Broadcast Australia will provide the country with a look at DVB-H enabled mobile TV at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. The announcement follows Telstra's recent launch of its Big Pond mobile 3G and broadband service. The demo will broadcast seven channels of live coverage of the games. Microsoft will provide specially enabled Windows Mobile handhelds and the content will be broadcast using Windows Media 9 compression. Broadcast Australia will provide the transmission infrastructure. The games were originally called the British Empire Games and include a wide variety of sports.

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WiMAX to complement 3G/4G networks...

Pioneer Consulting's new report, The Impact of 3G & 4G Wireless Technology on Carriers' Network Development Strategies, concludes that WiMAX will have a significant role to play in the evolution of mobile networks. A survey of manufacturers and network operators indicates that they are making plans to incorporate 4G technology as a value-adding adjunct to existing mobile infrastructure and services.

"WiMAX has received a lot of negative publicity recently," says Julian Rawle, Managing Partner, "but when you look beyond the hype and anti-hype, there is a viable business case for the fixed standard and maybe also for the mobile standard."

Instead of characterizing the evolution of 3G and 4G mobile technologies as a battle to the death between species, the report highlights the potential for complementarity between the various technologies which reside under the 3G and 4G "umbrellas". Pioneer's Managing Partner, Howard Kidorf, commented, "In modeling scenarios for 4G development, we found that accelerated growth in demand for 4G stimulates interest in broadband wireless applications which also has a beneficial impact on demand for 3G."

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SMS Interop Agreements Made Easier

The GSMA has developed a new hub-based structure to support cross network SMS traffic that will make it much easier to set up inter-working agreements between operators and bring on world wide SMS interoperability.

The first proof of concept trial for SMS delivery via a new open hub approach has been successfully completed by Orange, SFR, Proximus and TIM working with hub providers Belgacom and Telecom Italia Sparkle. Next, the GSMA is to launch a large scale SMS ‘hubbing’ trial with a broad range of operators and hub providers.

As the growth and volumes of SMS continues to take operators by surprise, they have been forced to find ways to shortne the time consuming process of setting up bi-lateral inter-working arrangements between each other.

Currently operators must negotiate agreements to exchange SMS between each other one by one. The GSMA’s new structure means operators will only have to connect once to a hub to reach all the other networks connected to that hub. Moreover, through interconnect arrangements between hubs, they will be able to reach operators connected to other hubs. This combined solution ensures that operators and their customers will benefit from the highest level of service quality (including protection against spam), security, billing and settlement while maintaining the independence of each operator to determine its own pricing structures.

Groundbreaking With MMS

The hubbing approach has already been successfully proven globally for MMS with regional hubs established in Asia, North America and Europe linking over 110 operators delivering commercial MMS services in 58 countries. In addition to text messaging, the GSMA is now extending this approach to other key applications.

“Newer entrants will find this simple one-hub-connection an easy way to manage their SMS inter-working traffic and relationships” said Mr. Roberto Vannini, member of the GSMA’s Executive Committee and head of business innovation and technologies at Telecom Italia (formerly TIM Italy).

The main SMS hub providers on the market are Belgacom, Telecom Italia Sparkle, Syniverse Technologies, CITIC and Mobile 365.

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CeBIT 2006.

CeBIT is all set to start on 9th March 2006. For those who dont know what is CeBIT.
CeBIT is the world's biggest, and one of the world's most important, computer expos. It is held in Hanover, Germany, each spring and is a barometer of information technology.
The name CeBIT stands for Centrum der Büro- und Informationstechnik (Center for office and information technology) and was traditionally the CeBIT part of the Hanover Fair, a big industry trade show held every year. However, in the 1980s the information technology and telecommunications part had grown so big that it was given a separate trade show starting 1986, held four weeks earlier than the Hanover Fair.
So, lets wait for the big event and see what its going to promise for telecommunations/mobile/wireless fields.

CeBIT Website

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Google News Mobile launches in beta

Google launched a mobile version of its Google News service that allows users with Web-enabled handsets to "access top headlines, browse through news categories, or search for exactly the stories you want--all in a phone-friendly format that's easy to read and navigate." Search results are links for relevant stories from "multiple" sources, but only those that are specifically designed for viewing on mobile devices--a move that should prompt many news sites to get with the mobile program. Users of PDAs, smartphones or mobile devices that can view HTML pages can access the entire Google News index of 4,500 sources the same way as the traditional desktop version. The offering is currently in Beta and is only available in English, but Google says the service will expand to other languages soon.

Check the Google News FAQs Read more!

O2 partners with InfoSpace for games over i-mode

InfoSpace has signed a deal with O2 to provide classic British pub games using the i-mode service to U.K. users. The partnership for the "iPub" games channel will include mobile game offerings like Pub Pool, Pub Fruity and Pub darts among others. The site will offer mobile consumers access to InfoSpace's iPub channel on its i-mode site for £3. InfoSpace will collect its revenue from subscription-based services billed directly through the user's phone bill. i-mode is a flexible business model that facilitates both subscription based and non-subscription based content.

The partnership forms part of i-mode's unique content structure through which InfoSpace will be able to quickly develop and deploy sophisticated, secure commercial content to consumers. It allows InfoSpace to expand its revenue opportunities by selling its content through O2's generous revenue sharing model. InfoSpace will collect its revenue from subscription based services billed directly through the user's phone bill permitting it to concentrate on its core business. i-mode is a flexible business model that facilitates both subscription based and non-subscription based content.

InfoSpace runs and manages every aspect of the iPub channel delivered through O2's network. This means that InfoSpace can leverage its extensive experience in the merchandising and promotion of games, music, TV and video to provide consumers with a bespoke "pub" experience.

For more see this press release Read more!