Ubiquitous Korea

Korea IT Times
Magazine (January 2005/Vol.7)

Cover Story : Along with our story on President Roh Moo-hyun's summit diplomacy, the theme that The korea IT Times has adopted for our January 2005 issue is that of "Ubiquitous Korea", i.e., the advanced leved of mobile communications technology that now characterizes the Korean IT industry. We pursue this theme in an interview with information and communication minister, Chin Dae-je as well as interviews with the commissioners of Korea's three Free Economic Zone authorities (...) + Source here

MIC: In Van of 'U-Korea' Constuction

The Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) has gone a long way toward a 'U-Korea' , that is the construction of a 'U-biquitous Society'.

Minister of Information and Communication Chin Dae-je, said in an interview with Korea IT Times, "As global competition is becoming fiercer than ever before due to a speedy development of IT technology and a rapid change in its environment, the nation needs to make preparations earlier than other countries.

"In particular, it is very important to find out a new strategy to effectively cope with the recent IT mega trend for the nation's second take-off toward a rapid growth, Minister Chin said.

The ubiquitous society refers to a society armed with intelligent networks, up-to-date computer technology, and other advanced infrastructure.

Minister Chin explained, "It means a society where all people can enjoy benefits of state-of-the-art IT at anywhere and anytime. To realize such a society, the government has adopted a new strategy, called the construction of the 'U-Korea' .

In other words, the 'U-Korea' means that the development of IT technology as well as IT service exists not only for growth in the industrial and economic sides, but for life culture revolution that brings about a revolutionary change in the comprehensive national life.

The minister said that to enter into a 'U-Korea' society, a balanced development among three elements of the IT service, including infrastructure and technology, should be made.

In line with this, the ministry has been actively pushing for the "IT839 strategy' in a bid to achieve the 'U-Korea' in the near future.

Minister Chin commented on the construction of 'U-Korea' and the "IT839 strategy in preparation for the ubiquitous era in the following interview with Korea IT Times.

Q: First of all, could you comment on MIC's efforts in preparation for the ubiquitous era that is being frequently mentioned recently?

A: MIC is propelling the construction of the 'U-Korea' through the "IT839 strategy in preparation for the ubiquitous era, a new paradigm of informatization.

The 'U-Korea' means a national strategy to enter into a ubiquitous society where all people can enjoy benefits of state-of-the-art IT through intelligent networks and ubiquitous computing technology.

To become a top-level IT country, it is very important for the country to prepare a foundation for new growth by creating new value added on the basis of established IT performance.

In terms of the IT industry, the government and business circles should pursue a joint strategy to preoccupy the global market by securing related core technologies in an early stage and by actively fostering new IT fields in consideration of the growth potential as well as competitiveness.

In the informatization sector, MIC is also striving to enhance national competitiveness by improving the nation's quality of life and innovating society's interaction with new IT technology development as well as environment improvement.

Through the "IT839 Strategy, the government is exerting its best efforts for creation of services with high value added, construction of infrastructure, and technology development.

Q: What is the meaning of the "IT839 strategy, a core strategy for the construction of the 'U-Korea' And do you expect any tangible results in the IT industry and the national economy through this?

A: The "IT839 strategy refers to a strategy for the development of the IT industry that nurtures eight communication broadcasting services, three state-of-the-art infrastructures (networks), and nine IT new growth engines synthetically.

In the case of the IT industry, the introduction and activation of new services are closely linked with the expansion of investment in infrastructure and the development of state-of-the-art machinery, tools and content industries.

Accordingly, MIC is planning to introduce eight kinds of services, including WiBro, DMB, and Internet telephone, to the field of telecommunication broadcasting service earlier than the nation's foreign competitors.

In addition, the ministry is propelling the "IT839 strategy to produce world top-class products and enhance competitiveness of nine new technologies products, such as next-generation mobile telecommunication, home network, and digital TV. It also plans to attract investment in three infrastructure, such as BcN, U-sensor network, and Ipv6 as a means of bolstering the nation's telecommunication broadcasting service field.

Namely, MIC is making a strong push for the "IT839 strategy as a driving force for growth of the IT industry that is rushing up to an unlimited competition. Like this, the "IT839 strategy is expected to play a great role in driving the nation after 5 to 10 years.

If the "IT839 Strategy's propelled without a failure, the volume of the IT service market will soar from 43.3 trillion won in 2003 to 53.3 trillion won in 2007. The entire IT industry production is also forecast to increase from 209 trillion won in 2003 to 240 trillion won in 2004, and further to 380 trillion won in 2007.

With the anticipating rise of exports in the IT industry from $70 billion in 2004 to $110 billion in 2007, it is expected to play a pivotal role in helping the nation achieve a $20,000 per capita gross domestic product (GDP).

Q: We understand that the "IT839 strategy's a technical roadmap to the 'U-Korea' . Please explain what the "IT839 strategy's and why it is necessary.

A: The "IT839 strategy is a strategy that connects service, infrastructure (networks), and nine new growth engines organically. Through a competition policy, the "IT839 strategy is to induce quality competition and to nurture the world-class products by beefing up the competitiveness of nine IT new growth engines.

In the past, the government created new domestic demands by introducing the CDMA mobile telephone service and created fierce competition among domestic companies. As a result, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics were able to occupy the world market, which had been led by Nokia and Motorola.

Like the CDMA case, the"IT839 strategy is a national project for the IT sector to greatly contribute to attaining $20,000 in per capita GDP by nurturing it as the national economy's new growth engine.

Source here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

+ DMB Goes Into Full Service This Year

The digital mobile broadcasting (DMB) goes into full service this year. Customers of the service can experience the newly introduced handheld media while related industries concerned with displayers, broadcasting systems and equipment, as well as video contents, are highly expected to contribute to the revitalizing of the nation's economy by creating new markets.

By the year 2010, it is estimated that the DMB industry will create a total of 1.4 trillion won in the domestic market in the service sector and a 1.3 trillion won market related with manufacturing DMB diplayers.

The DMB services, which can be divided into ground-wave and satellite DMBs, will go into service in the first half of this year. In the case of satellite DMB, TU Media of SK Telecom has already been chosen as the service provider and is scheduled to begin broadcasting services on May 1. As a leading partner of a consortium with a capital of 137 billion won, TU Media plans to operate a total of 38 channels that include 14 TV channels and 24 radio channels.

In the case of ground-wave DMB, the service providers for the Seoul metropolitan area will be determined in early March and begin broadcasting in the first half of this year.

While the broadcasting of satellite services will be the second of its kind after Japan, Korea will open the door for the world's first commercial operation of ground-wave DMB broadcasting, thus allowing it to make inroads into both the Chinese and European markets.

As an industry highly anticipated to strengthen the competitive power of the nation after semiconductors and CDMAs, DMB is expected to be a trend-setter of the social and cultural life, bringing about considerable change in the pattern of viewers through the interactive medium.

In the meantime, the Korean Broadcasting Commission recently decided on an overall policy for the selection of ground-wave DMB service providers. The commission will receive applications for a broadcasting license and make final selection of six service providers in early March this year for their operations in the Seoul metropolitan area.

In the manufacturing sector, meanwhile, leading electronics companies such as Samsung, LG Electronics and Perstel are all planning to produce various types of DMB displayers in the first half of this year.

Adoption of Korean standards in the bag

In a recent interview with local media, Yim Chu-hwan, president of Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), stressed that it will be paramount for DMB service providers to access quality contents in order to capture the interest and loyalty of DMB viewers, saying that the services to be delivered by both the satellite and ground-wave are almost identical.

In the meantime, the ground-wave DMB technology developed by ETRI is attracting worldwide attention following its successful trial runs in France, Britain and Brazil. The technology transmits video and audio data based on "Eureka-147", the widely adopted digital and audio broadcasting standard in Europe.

Last year, the World Forum for Digital Audio Broadcasting (World DAB) decided to submit a proposal to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) for the adoption of Korean ground-wave DMB as a European standard. In view of the fact that most proposals made by World DAB have been adopted by ETSI, it is regarded by many that the adoption of the Korean technology by ETSI is a foregone conclusion.

Source here

DMB (ctd)

Korea IT Times
Magazine (January 2005/Vol.7) > Covery Story

Part1 : DMB & WiBro to Lead Next-Generation Industry in Korea
Yim Chu-hwan, President of the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI)

ETRI Plays a Leading Role in Spread of DMB

Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) and WiBro (Portable Internet) business will boost our hope of attaining a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of $20,000, Yim Chu-hwan, president of the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), said in a special interview with the Korea IT Times, adding that the hottest issue of the IT industry in 2005 seems to be the DMB business.

Noting that Korea has been active in initiating world standards, Mr. Yim pointed out that the government should make the necessary marketing efforts to convince other countries including advanced nations or underdeveloped countries to adopt them.

By doing so, he emphasized that this was the way to export DMB or WiBro terminals or services. In conjunction with this, ETRI has engaged in technological development since 2002 in anticipation of the fact that a mobile TV will emerge as a core service. Along with its R&D efforts, ETRI has been promoting efforts at toward international standardization of DMB services at international trial performances, Mr. Yim said.

As a result, he said that Korean DMB technology has been adopted as the European standards. This means that domestic DMB equipment as well as service companies will be well positioned to make inroads into the world DMB market.

In addition, Korea's DMB international trial performance group has successfully held demonstrations in China, Brazil, Britain, and France, after starting in Bayern, Germany, the site of the 2006 World Cup, in October 2003.

Yim stressed that in 2005 ETRI will also make every effort toward completion of DMB service technology. He said ETRI will take the initiative in promoting the Korean DMB paradigm in world markets. At the same time, ETRI plans to promote its international standardization activities more aggressively with a view to positioning Korean DMB as a global rather than simply a European-affiliated type of technology.

In the following interview with the Korea IT Times, Yim Chu-hwan, president of ETRI, explains ETRI's leading role in preparing for the launch of Digital Multimedia Broadcasting.

Q: First, please explain the concept of DMB.

A: In a word, DMB is a mobile broadcasting receiver that enables the user to see and hear TV broadcasting while moving or traveling.

Moreover, WiBro, to begin in 2006, is a type of portable Internet. Accordingly, a MDB user will be able to use Internet while on then move.

Q: What is ETRI's role in relation to DMB and what sort of hardware as well as services will be developed by ETRI?

A: Above all, ETRI won's spare any effort in the form of technical support to enable DMB services to be commercialized as early as possible. Just about everyone in the world is used to mobile communications. Once TV broadcasting becomes available in a mobile format, the response from the market will be explosive!

The number of DMB subscribers at home is expected to grow rapidly with a yearly rise of 191 percent, while the total number of subscribers forecast to surge from 400,000 in 2005 to over 10 million in 2010. Overall, the outlook seems very positive.

To date, DMB technology is being developed as an Audio & Video (AV) medium, with strong emphasis on the faithful recreation of voice and image. Having an eye on the fact that DMB technology also is a digital technology, ETRI has already embarked on an R&D program to make an all-round information service available by uniting state-of-the-art IT technologies.

Q: What kind of impact do you think DMB will have on industry and society in general?

A: Once DMB succeeds in making its way into the European market, its market will expand greatly with the 2006 FIFA Germany World Cup providing the momentum. Once it catches on in Germany it will just be a matter of time before the same happens in the surrounding countries of Britain, Italy and Switzerland. We envisage something similar happening in China once the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics gets underway.

With this kind of impetus from the opening of the European and Chinese markets, the world DMB terminal market is forecast to expand by 137 percent per annum to $3 billion by 2012.

The spread of DMB technology will lead to the exports of terminals, application solutions as well as contents. Accordingly, its economic ripple effect is unlikely to be small as the diffusion of DMB technology is expected to enhance Korea's relative importance in the world communication and broadcasting fusion market. Once DMB service is commercialized, it will improve convenience and quality of life for many since people will be able to access broadcasting service irrespective of location.

Q: What will be the effects of its advance into overseas markets?

A: To obtain the most desirable results, the industry as well as the government should embark upon an aggressive marketing effort to persuade other countries to adopt Korean standardization.

In this regard, we understand that President Roh Moo-hyun and Minister Chin Dae-je of the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) have made many efforts to convince foreign countries to adopt DMB as their broadcasting mode during their overseas visits.

Now that DMB broadcasting equipment is cheaper than current equipment, developing countries will be able to cut down on expenses sharply. In the years ahead, DMB will be the broadcasting mode of choice for audiences of sporting events.

Q: How do you rate the prospects of the domestic DMB market?

A: I think that DMB catch on once full-scale broadcasting commences during the first half of the year.
It is important to create a climate whereby foreign governments will feel comfortable using this standardization, and here obviously is a role for diplomacy by the Korean government. DMB and WiBro will be the two greatest sources of wealth in the not-to-distant future.

Q: What are major business projects for ETRI in 2005?

A: In 2005, the core of ETRI's research and management activities will be the 'nine IT new growth engines' project designed to boost the value added of the IT industry. They include next-generation mobile telecommunications, digital TV/broadcasting, home networks, IT SoC, embedded S/W, S/W solutions as well as digital content, next-generation PCs, and telematics To make a total of 11 are an additional two: Backbone Concentrator Node (BcN) routers and Ubiquitous-Sensor Networks (USN).

These are new fields of technology through which Korea aims to achieve its goal of a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of $20,000.

DMB and WiBro technologies that have succeeded in their trial performances, and are the fruit of the research that developed the 'nine IT new growth projects.'

Sony Ericsson RADIDEN: a phone with AM/FM/TV tuner for NTT DoCoMo

Mobile-review.com
News | Wednesday 31 August 2005
Author: Selivanov Sergey Translation by: Anja Rytchkova

Today the Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo has introduced new phone RADIDEN produced by Sony Ericsson Mobile Communication. The model is notable for its AM/FM and TV tuner.

The RADIDEN is made in an unusual design. The front panel has a 1.9” 160x128x65K TFT transflective screen, and the back side carries tuner control elements: 7 programmable buttons and a loud speaker. I’d note that you can use the tuner even when the phone is off.

The handset supports i-mode and e-mail client. Measuring 117x49x22 mm the RADIDEN weighs 122 g. It lasts for 320 hours standby, 120 minutes in talk mode, 20 hours in AM mode, 14 hours in FM mode and 13 hours in TV mode. Currently NTT DoCoMo RADIDEN represents a proto, and serial phones are expected this autumn.

Source here

LG Electronics introduced CDMA/GSM/GPRS phone supporting DMB/ DMB broadcasting

mobile-review.com
News | Wednesday 31 August 2005

LG Electronics introduced CDMA/GSM/GPRS phone supporting DMB [ 10:27 ]

Author: Selivanov Sergey Source: AVing Translation by: Anja Rytchkova Send news to friend Discuss in forum

Complying with the plan to release new 3G handsets LG Electronics has introduced another multimedia W-CDMA/GSM/GPRS phone supporting DMB-broadcasting. According to the company, the new model is the world first WCDMA DMB phone, and it will be promoted mainly in Europe.

The phone is equipped with a 2.2” rotating screen and Mobile-XD Engine graphical chip for high-quality DMB-broadcasting. Brand new technology applied in this phone is an original DMB-antenna integrated in the headphones and able to receive programs in VHF range (30 – 300 MHz).

Under the tentative data, the new handset will be able to provide 3 hours of DMB play on a single charge. LG Electronics is expected to show its CDMA/GSM/GPRS/DMB product at IFA 2005 exhibition, which starts on September 2 in Germany, and during the World Football Cup 2006.

Source here and here
















~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

++ Related

tensilica.com
Press release | January 17, 2005
Tensilica Xtensa Processor Powers World's First Digital Broadcast-Enabled Mobile Phone From LG Electronics

Korean Consumer Electronics Giant Jumps Ahead in Emerging Mobile Broadcast Market with Help from Tensilica

SANTA CLARA, Calif., USA, January 17, 2005 – Tensilica, Inc., the only company to automate the design of optimized application-specific configurable processors, today announced that LG Electronics has used the Xtensa® configurable processor core to deliver the world's first mobile phone capable of receiving digital broadcast signals. Compatible with the “Terrestrial digital-multimedia-broadcast” (T-DMB) system, a broadcast system currently being rolled out in Korea, the new mobile phone is powered by a sophisticated digital media processor which was designed using the Tensilica Xtensa processor core and design environment.

The new LG phone allows consumers to watch television programs, while using normal dialing functions simultaneously. Other mobile devices, such as PDAs, have featured broadcast capabilities, however, this is the first small form factor device to feature both broadcast capabilities as well as dialing functions. The new SOC can also be applied to notebook computers, PDAs and car terminals, speeding the adoption of the T-DMB standard.

“Mobile broadcasting is the next evolution in mobile product design, and should see tremendous growth in the coming year,” stated Dr. Choon Lee, Vice President of LG. “By using the Xtensa processor and automated design environment, we were able to cut design time significantly and be first to market with this exciting new technology. Moreover, we are now well positioned to take the lead in the fast growing T-DMB market.” Based on its experience with this first SOC, LG has also signed a second license for an Xtensa processor for their next-generation DMB-2 phone

T-DMB broadcast services in Korea are expected to be rolled out in the first half of 2005. LG is working to establish the Korean T-DMB standard as a global standard. Korea is believed to have a significant lead in the drive to bring mobile broadcasting to market.

“LG is leading the world in the development of this exciting T- DMB technology, and Tensilica is proud that our Xtensa processor played such a key role in their SOC design,” stated Steve Roddy, Tensilica's vice president of marketing. “We look forward to working with them on their SOC for DMB-2.”
About LG Electronics

Established in 1958 as Korea's pioneer consumer electronics company, LG Electronics is a major global force in Electronics and Information & Communications products. More than 55,000 employees working in 73 overseas subsidiaries and marketing units around the world, strengthen LG Electronics' core competencies in three main business companies: Digital Appliance, Digital Display and Media, and Telecommunication Equipment & Handset. The Digital Displays and Media Company provides core technologies and cutting-edge digital products such as Digital TVs including PDP and LCD TV and digitally integrated products like AV products, optical storage, set-top boxes, and home servers. LG Electronics' goal is to enable the intelligent networking of digital products that will make consumers' lives easier than ever. For more information, please visit www.lge.com
About Tensilica

Tensilica was founded in July 1997 to address the growing need for optimized, application-specific microprocessor solutions in high-volume embedded applications. With a configurable and extensible microprocessor core called Xtensa, Tensilica is the only company that has automated and patented the time-consuming process of generating a customized microprocessor core along with a complete software development tool environment, producing new configurations in a matter of hours. For more information, visit www.tensilica.com .

Source here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cellevision Starts Breaking Into Daily Lives
The Korea Times | By Kim Tae-gyu | Staff Reporter | 07-26-2005 19:36

The buzzword in the South Korean mobile phone market is ``cellevision,’’ the video-on-the-go services that deliver television to cell phones.

Local handset makers continue to pump out new models that sport mobile broadcasting capacity and cellevision services are catching on with the nation’s tech-savvy users.

TU Media yesterday said more than 100,000 have signed up for its satellite digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) services in less than three months after its commercial debut.

``This is an important milestone since our customer base indicates that satellite DMB is taking firm root here in Korea,’’ TU Media spokesman Heo Jae-young said.

Korea’s top mobile operator SK Telecom and its affiliate TU Media launched the world’s first satellite DMB offerings with cell phones in early May.

Satellite DMB enables people on the road to enjoy crystal-clear video, theater-quality audio and data with handheld devices like cell phones or in-automobile terminals.

TU Media currently offers nine video channels like drama, sports, games, news, music and movie as well as 25 audio broadcasts. The firm will add a pair of data channels next year.

The offerings are available at 20,000 won of one-time subscription fee and the monthly rate of 13,000 won plus satellite DMB-enabled cell phones.

``We aim at attracting 600,000 subscribers this year. Although it is a tall order, we are optimistic that we can attain the goal considering the continuing momentum awaiting us,’’ Heo said.

He added the increasing number of satellite DMB-capable phones, the DMB expansion by mobile operators and the enrichment of the broadcasting content would serve as building blocks of its success.

Glittering Array of New DMB Phones

Currently, only five satellite DMB-specific phones are available on the market.

Included in the lineup are the SCH-B100, SCH B-130 and SCH B-200 of Samsung Electronics, SB-120 of LG Electronics and IMB 1000 of SK Teletech.

However, the number is expected to reach 15 late this year as the country’s handset vendors, like the world’s third-largest producer Samsung Electronics and fourth-biggest player LG Electronics, are now competing to crank out more compelling DMB phone models.

``We plan to unveil about three additional DMB phones this year. We expect the mobile broadcasting will be a mainstream function in the near future,’’ LG spokesman Lee Hyoung-kun said.

Samsung, which is to introduce several more takeout TV phones this year, also sees a similar upside potential in the new-fangled satellite DMB services.

``We can tell for sure that all handsets will embrace the broadcasting capacity in years to come although we don’t know exactly when it will be,’’ Samsung spokesman Kim Hyun-min said.

Furthermore, Pantech Group, Korea’s third-largest mobile phone manufacturer, jockeys to debut about three DMB phones this year, which will make the total figure of broadcasting phones as many as 15.

Experts, including Mirae Asset analyst Kim Kyung-mo, point out today’s convergence phones have crammed fancy features into them and their next target is television.

``Cell phones have devoured a digital camera, an MP3 player and a video recording function. Now the versatile digital toy is setting its eyes on video services,’’ Kim said.

It should be good news for TU Media, which aims at returning to the black in 2008 by expanding its customer base to 2.5 million and passing through the cumulative breakeven point by 2010.

On a more positive note for TU Media, the nation’s smaller mobile carriers of KTF and LG Telecom will kick-start the satellite-based offerings next month.

Only business leader SK Telecom, also a parent firm of TU Media, has thus far operated mobility-specific broadcasting on the cell phone.

Challenges Ahead

However, market observers caution against any early celebration concerning the outlook of satellite DMB because a plethora of competitors are lining up to become a mainstream format of video-on-the-move services.

Its primary rival is terrestrial DMB, also a promising cross between telecom and broadcasting just like its satellite counterpart.

Although both seem similar to end users, they are different in that satellite DMB is based on videos beamed from a communication satellite while terrestrial DMB works on over-the-air signals.

The biggest advantage of terrestrial DMB is that it is a free service tailored toward providing over-the-air programs to all people on the go while the satellite DMB is a fee-based commercial feature.

For now, however, terrestrial DMB seems not to be a serious challenger because the homegrown service is stuck in several problems even before making its debut.

The government picked six broadcasters to start terrestrial DMB in March and they originally planned to embark on the feature in May in time with its satellite-based rival.

However, the Ministry of Information and Communication issued licenses as late as this month for several reasons and it is uncertain whether its commercial service will be able to start this year.

Yet, Samsung Securities economist Chang Sung-min argues people should not downplay terrestrial DMB, which can pose a threat to the satellite version, due to its notable competitiveness on being free of charges.

``Other conditions being equal, people are unlikely to subscribe for fee-based mobile TV if there exist cheaper of free alternatives,’’ Chang said.

Other rivals that can match satellite DMB are mushrooming next-generation wireless services, such as the locally developed WiBro and European-based high-speed data packet access (HSDPA).

Both platforms promise a real-life data transmission ability of up to 2-3 megabits per second (Mbps), the speed similar to that of the current fixed-line broadband connection.

This means the 3.5-generation technologies, of which commercial services are due for early next year, will provide an alternative way to show TV programs on cell phones via the ultra-fast mobile networks.

``Satellite DMB does not have much time. It should scramble now and preempt the market to become a primary format of cellevision,’’ Meritz Securities analyst Jeon Sang-yong said.

Content Does Matter

In this climate, many argue content is the key in the stiff race to become the most viable model for mobile broadcasting.

``Eventually, the formats or companies that are armed with much content will claim victory in the cellevision blitz,’’ Jeon predicted.

TU Media and SK Telecom understands the pressing need of obtaining content and are today rushing to gain content for their customers.

For example, TU Media is posed to channel 700 billion won over the next five years to secure more broadcasting content. And SK Telecom acquired local entertainment company IHQ in March and took over YBM Seoul Record two months later to obtain music content.

The operator is also in talks with domestic investment corporations to establish a 75 billion won joint fund, which it will invest in the entertainment industry.

``We are now negotiating with investment companies. We plan to funnel approximately 25 billion won into building the fund,’’ SK Telecom spokesman Park Jee-hoon said.

Up until now, TU Media has had a hard time in securing over-the-air programs, which are by far the most popular among Korean watchers.

The country’s main terrestrial TV stations _ KBS, MBC and SBS _ still vow not to permit TU Media to rerun their programs fearing the emerging company may undercut their business.

However, encouraging signs have sprung up of late as TU Media has made progress in enriching its lineups of video channels with over-the-air programs.

In April, the Korean Broadcasting Commission changed its stance and allowed the nation’s TV stations to rebroadcast their programs via satellite DMB.

Under the approval, TU Media struck a deal last month with EBS to air its educational content through mobile handsets and looks to expand partnership with other TV stations.

``We will meet with other TV stations than EBS. We expect good results so that Korean people who have nomadic mobility can watch popular over-the-air programs at any time and at any place,’’ TU Media’s Heo said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
dcviews.com | June 13, 2005
LG unveils innovative new 5-megapixel camera phone LP5500





















Following Samsung's October 2004 announcement of the 5 Mp SCH-S250, LG introduces the 5 megapixel LP5500 at the CommunicAsia 2005 show. This super-slim handset at just 18mm, adopts an innovative Twist & Slim design that features a real digital camera.

The LP5500 incorporates an auto focus CCD camera and a 2-inch QVGA LCD screen - supporting VGA-level video at 30 frame per second. Strengthening this camera function is a strobe flash, half-shutter and lens cover...




PRESS SUMMARY
LG unveils innovative new 5-megapixel camera phone LP5500 - digital camera and photography newsLG Electronics strengthens its multimedia entertainment functionsto innovate mobile lifestyle with its futuristic handsets

Singapore, June 14, 2005 --- LG Electronics, the world's most innovative handset manufacturer, unveiled its six new feature-rich high-tech mobile phones at CommunicAsia 2005 - the DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) phone, a new-type slide phone, 5-megapixel camera phones, a 3-D game phone, a real MP3 music phone and a sports car-design phone.

“LG Electronics has made another futuristic proposal to the mobile communications industry with these innovatively designed handsets. With these six models, we continue our efforts to lead and innovate mobile lifestyles for consumers,” said Mun-hwa Park, President & CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company.

The six new models are fully equipped with state-of-the-art multimedia functions and design is unprecedented and innovative. These are the new mobile phones:

DMB phone (SB120)
The mobile broadcasting phone, SB120, enables those on the move to enjoy crystal-clear video, CD-quality audio and satellite-transmitted data.
Contrary to conventional satellite DMB models, users can savor video-on-the-move service with the SB120 through a monitor that pulls back 360 degrees. This model has a 2-megapixel camera
supporting auto focus functions.

Up & down slide phone (LP3900)
The new slide phone, LP3900, has a two-layer display and the upper monitor screen moves both up and down the inner.
Bluetooth technology also makes cordless connections possible.
It supports an AV handset function enabling equalization so that users can enjoy MP3 with real sound.
This model adopts multi-tasking functions so that users can enjoy games, SMS, video/photo shooting and wireless Internet service while listening to MP3 music.

5-megapixel camera phone (LP5500)
The 5-megapixel handset, a super-slim handheld at just 18mm, adopts an innovative Twist & Slim design that features a real digital camera.
It incorporates an auto focus CCD camera and a 2-inch QVGA LCD screen - supporting VGA-level video at 30 fps (frame per second).
Strengthening this camera function is a strobe flash, half-shutter and lens cover.

3-D game phone (SV360 / KV3600)
The first cell phone ever armed with a 1 million polygon/second graphic accelerator chip processes data five times faster than currently available chips and allows users to play games with more minute and realistic 3-D graphics.
The phone is also equipped with acceleration sensors that allow the user to control the game by moving it up and down or left to right, maximizing enjoyment.
The phones are equipped with a 2.2-inch LCD screen, allowing users to play 3-D games with increased screen quality.

Real MP3 music phone (KP4400)
The real MP3 music phone has a multi-tasking feature that allows users to place or receive calls and play games while listening to music.
It has 256MB memory for MP3 and a real 5-band equalizer, allowing it to connect to real audio equipment.

Sports car-design phone (410 series)
The sports car-design phone adopts the shape of a trendy European sports car and incorporates a sensor that conducts a breathalyzer test to measure blood-alcohol level.
410 series adopts a sports car style user interface (UI) design, strengthened multimedia features such as a 1.3 mega-pixel camera, TV remote control functions utilizing IrDA, Video recording and playback, MMS and MP3 functions. The model was designed in cooperation with a popular sports-car company in its Milan Design Center.
In order to emphasize its premium sports car design, 410 series adopts engine sounds in the handset when placing calls.
June 13, 2005

Source here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The Register | TV on the move | By Jan Libbenga
Published Monday 25th July 2005 12:56 GMT

The European Telecommunications Standard Institute ETSI has approved the DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) standards for the delivery of multimedia content and services "on the move". France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the UK are all preparing to conduct DMB trials to enable the integration of audio, data and video.

DMB has its roots in DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting), a standard that has considerable success in the UK, but less so on continental Europe. However, a DAB network is already available to 80 per cent of Europeans and there are more than 800 DAB services reaching 475 million people in 40 countries.
Click here

South Korea will offer free terrestrial DMB broadcasting services to handheld devices across the country from next year after testing later this year in Seoul and the surrounding Kyonggi Province. The Ministry of Information and Communication has issued five mobile broadcast licenses earlier this month, according to the Korean Times. As most frequencies are already occupied by other services, not all five broadcasters will be able to start at the same time.

That hasn’t stopped manufacturers LG Electronics, Samsung and Perstel from developing DMB enabled devices, including mobile phones. On Monday, Samsung Electronics announced the release of its new satellite Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) phone (SCH-B200/SPH-B2000). Users can receive a call or send SMS messages while watching satellite DMB. SK Telecom, Korea's primary wireless provider, said on Monday that its satellite DMB business will reach breakeven in 2008 or in 2009.

In Germany, the Bavarian Media Authority will launch a pilot Digital Advanced Broadcasting in Regensburg, which is expected to last for two years. DMB will also be used for the coverage of FIFA World Cup 2006 via mobile devices.

Source here

3 makes mobile music with Sony BMG/ Sony Ericsson Walkman Phone

netimperative.com
By Staff
30-08-2005 01:03 PM

3 has struck a deal with record label Sony BMG Music Entertainment UK, to supply full-length audio tracks directly to the mobile networks 3 million customers.

The deal will mean 3's customers can access all artists on Sony BMG UK's roster, including Destiny's Child, Britney Spears, Usher, Charlotte Church and Oasis.

The agreement will also enable customers to hear new releases from Sony BMG UK's labels as well as back catalogue material.

Sony BMG represents more than 1000 artists worldwide and sold over 90 million albums globally last year.

The deal extends 3’s reach into the music arena, and the network already offers full-length videos from Sony BMG, audio tracks from EMI Music UK and tracks and videos from independent label artists through VidZone.

Bob Fuller, CEO, 3 UK, said: "Our customers are telling us that they want to be able to download music tracks directly to their phones and our focus now is on extending the choice that we provide.”

Source here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

++ Related

Sony Ericsson to offer exciting mobile music solution in collaboration with Sony Group companies

Press release | Sony Ericsson | 14 February 2005

3GSM World Congress, Cannes, France – 14 February, 2005 - Sony Ericsson announces its mobile music strategy for 2005 including the integration of high quality digital music players into stylish mobile phones under the world famous Walkman® brand. This will create a compelling consumer proposition capable of redefining the digital music market and driving operator revenue. Based entirely on open standards, the strategy will focus on delivering easy-to-use music phones supported by a full range of exciting music download services including Sony Group digital music offering.

A credible mobile music player must combine a wide variety of key features such as easy-to-use software to copy music to the device, large music storage capacity, long battery life, quality headphones and cutting edge design. Sony Ericsson will integrate these with advanced phone functions such as excellent voice, messaging, imaging, and on-line connectivity, to give a device that not only satisfies consumer needs, but also offers great opportunities for network operators to develop new and exciting services.

“The Walkman® showed us that people of every generation love listening to music while on the move, and we believe the mobile phone is the perfect device to extend the world of digital mobile music to a much wider audience,” says Miles Flint, president of Sony Ericsson. “Since its creation, Sony has sold more than 340 million units of Walkman® branded music devices globally, illustrating the mass appeal of mobile music. Sony Ericsson is proud to write a new chapter in the Walkman® story".

Sony Ericsson’s range of Walkman®-branded phones will support the most popular digital music file formats and services. Sony Ericsson believes that supporting open standards is the best way of offering operators and consumers both the highest quality and widest choice of services to meet their individual needs. In support of this, Sony Ericsson announces its collaboration with Sony’s music download service Connect™, which will open on-line digital music purchasing to mobile phone users in various countries around the world. The Connect™ service is currently available in the US, UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands and is expanding rapidly. Since its launch in 2004, Connect™ has attracted hundreds of thousands of registered subscribers and is already compatible with millions of portable Sony devices.

The first Walkman® branded Sony Ericsson music phones will be announced in March and enable users to transfer their existing CD collections to their phones via a PC. Future products will be capable of playing copy-protected music files purchased and downloaded via a PC from the Internet or direct to the phone.

Sony Ericsson’s successful P900 and P910 smartphones already support the world’s first personalised mobile streaming solution, offered by an operator in Finland under Sony’s StreamMan brand. PlayNow™, Sony Ericsson’s popular ringtone download service, operated on a global basis in conjunction with Sony BMG Music Entertainment, has attracted hundreds of thousands of users in its first months of operation.

Sony Ericsson will continue to work with a number of music partners including Sony Group companies to offer attractive and easy-to-use consumer download and music streaming services with more announcements later in the year.

Walkman® is the registered trademark of Sony Corporation

Connect™ is a trademark of Sony Corporation

PlayNow™ is the trademark of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communication

Sony Connect
The Connect service currently offers consumers over 800,000 music tracks from major label and independent artists, as well as the ability to enjoy that content on a wide range of digital music devices that are priced to suit any lifestyle.

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications serves the global communications market with innovative and feature-rich mobile phones, accessories, PC-cards and M2M solutions. Established as a joint venture by Ericsson and Sony in 2001, with headquarters in London, the company employs approximately 5,000 people worldwide, including R&D sites in Europe, Japan, China and America. For more information, please visit www.SonyEricsson.com

Source here


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday August 12th 2005 Set As Official W800i Walkman Phone Launch Day
21 July 2005

Press release | Sony Ericsson |
















The eagerly awaited W800i Walkman Phone will go on sale on Friday 12 August, Sony Ericsson announced today.

The W800i, the first mobile phone device from Sony Ericsson to bear the famous Walkman logo will make its international debut throughout all usual high street retail outlets.

Sony Ericsson expects the Walkman Phone to be an instant hit with consumers, combining music and a 2-megapixel camera in one neat package.

To mark the occasion, the company has teamed up with music legend Jamiroquai to sponsor his worldwide tour - including a private concert in London on the eve of the Walkman Launch. On launch day, Jamiroquai will also be on hand to at The Carphone Warehouse flagship store at 272-274 Oxford Street in London to help sell the first few phones- and to sign copies of his new album Dynamite.

“The collaboration with Jamiroquai reflects the importance of music to the Walkman’s future customers,” said Peter Marsden, Sony Ericsson Managing Director UK & Ireland.

“There is a whole generation of music lovers who want music wherever they go, but don’t want to carry a separate player. The Walkman phone combines a high quality MP3 player, a fantastic camera and an excellent mobile phone.”

Other activity planned for the Walkman launch includes putting the phone at the heart of the music mecca of Ibiza. Sony Ericsson has partnered with Manumission to present ‘Ibiza Rocks, a weekly live music series in Ibiza fusing dance and rock music. The event launches at the end of July and runs through to September.

And taking the product to the streets in the UK, Sony Ericsson will tour the B Boys Breakdance Crew around nine major cities including London, Manchester and Brighton from the 12th August, through to September 2005.

Source here


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BBC News
Sony Ericsson launches Walkmans
By Joia Shillingford
BBC News business reporter, Cannes
Last Updated: Monday, 14 February, 2005, 19:48 GMT

Sony Ericsson has announced it will sell music-playing mobiles under its Walkman brand and will work closely with Sony Connect and Sony BMG, its music division, on content.

The company will unveil further details of its Walkman mobile in March.

It made the announcement at the 3GSM World Congress mobile phone trade fair held in the French town of Cannes.

Music by Sony BMG artist Natasha Bedingfield was played over a phone connected to loudspeakers at the event.

Sony Ericsson also launched three third-generation (3G) mobile phones in Cannes, including the Z800, a multimedia phone with a 1.3 megapixel camera, and the K600, a successor to the non-3G T610.

The K600 is aimed at the business market and can use the same mobile accessories as the T610, Chief Executive Miles Flint said.

Sony Ericsson has brought out a card that slots into a PC that can operate on Edge, a high-speed data technology, used on some of today's GSM networks and on four GSM frequencies.

"We will be adding Blackberry mobile e-mail software shortly... starting with the P9110 handset," Mr Flint added.

However, unlike Motorola, the US handset maker, Sony Ericsson does not plan to add voice-over-the-internet features to its mobiles.

Mr Flint said: "We're not adding Skype at this point, but we are watching this whole area carefully."

Walkie talkie

Motorola is adding Skype to several phones, it said at a press conference in Cannes.

Ron Garriques, president of Motorola's cellphone division, said Motorola would be adding 16 3G handsets this year, compared with six last year, and saw the move from 2.5G to 3G as an opportunity to gain market share.

Separately, the company said it had won 24 contracts in 28 countries for Push to Talk, a walkie talkie-like service, to which it had added instant messaging more familiar to people who like to use text to "chat" on their PCs.

Mr Garriques said he had never been more confident about the company's product portfolio and that its new low-cost phones venture could be profitable.

"Margins do not need to suffer; we are confident we can make a profit with this design," said Mr Garriques, speaking about the company's planned sub-$40 mobile.

Other launches

Other new four-letter handsets from Motorola include a black version of its very slim clamshell phone, RAZR, a phone called the PEBL (for pebble), which is very rounded and designed to appeal to women, and the SLVR, which it says will be the thinnest candybar-shaped phone.

It said it will launch a major music mobile in Miami in March and the Black RAZR phone will be introduced in time for the Oscars.

Mr Garriques joked that there were other four-letter words he would like to share with the audience and was deliberately dressed down in an anorak.

At one point this was teamed with the company's Oakley sunglasses with built-in Bluetooth which can keep the sun out of one's eyes and answer calls - probably more Los Angeles than Cannes.

Source here



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

sonyericsson.com
Welcome to Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications

Sony Ericsson, a 50:50 joint venture of Sony Corporation and Ericsson AB, was established in October 2001.

Our mission is to establish Sony Ericsson as the most attractive and innovative global brand in the mobile handset industry.

Website here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your music in your phone — the W800i Walkman™

Have your music with you wherever you are. One press on the music button to start your in-phone digital music player, then choose your favourite song or playlist and enjoy. Getting your music into your mobile is easy – the W800i comes with CD ripping software. Move the music from your CDs. Quick and easy. Drag and drop.

Easy imaging
The W800i is also a 2-megapixel digital camera with video recording capability. Save your images in the W800i image gallery or move them to a PC. Let your friends see what you see using picture and video messaging (MMS) phone-to-phone.


Source here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Press release
Sony Ericsson’s new GC99 PC Card keeps you online by combining 3G broadband with Wi-Fi
13 June 2005

Source here

Fixed Mobile Convergence (ctd)/ BT Fusion

Thursday August 4, 06:45 AM

Motorola Invests in Trapeze for Fixed-Mobile Convergence

ComputerWire Staff

The strategic investment arm of telecom equipment vendor Motorola Inc (NYSE: MOT - news) has taken a stake in WLAN switch vendor Trapeze Networks Inc with a view to furthering the development of fixed-mobile convergence technologies such as Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA).

They have cellular and outdoor wireless mesh network while were mainly indoor WLAN, said a spokesperson for Pleasanton, California-based Trapeze. Were expanding into mesh and they want to go indoors.

The driver here is the growing interest in voice services over wireless networks, be they corporate WLANs or public WiFi hotspots. Skype has recently unveiled its SkypeZones VoWiFi offering with hotspot aggregators Boingo and The Cloud and Linksys is readying a VoWiFi phone for Vonage.

Motorola itself has just announced plans with Cisco for VoWLAN phone to be managed by the latters CallManager IP PBX and is providing the handset for BT Group Plcs Fusion offering, a service based on a UMA implementation that involves running cellular voice over a wireless network in residential and SoHo environments. Today that traffic reaches the AP via Bluetooth, but BT (LSE: BT.L - news - msgs) has announced plans to move to WiFi connectivity over the next year.

One of the issues here is seamless handover between cellular and wireless networks, with implications for accounting and billing systems, the Trapeze spokesperson went on.

Clearly, if a conversation is started on a cellular network outside of the corporate environment and continues over the companys WLAN when the employee reaches the office/factory etc., not only will there be a need for handover to take place without interruption, but the mobile operators billing system will need to recognise that, at a certain point, the call went off its network and onto a corporate LAN.

Schaumberg, Illinois-based Motorola is not in the traditional, indoor WLAN market right now, though it acquired outdoor mesh developer MeshNetworks in November last year after an earlier investment in that company by Motorola Ventures. It also began distributing and reselling MeshNetworks products before buying it.

The current investment comes with no such deal to OEM Trapezes switches or access points, however, though the Trapeze spokesperson said it is not ruled out. It would appear, at least at this stage, that Motorolas prime motivation in investing in Trapeze is to get closer to WLAN developments to beef up its VoWLAN skills, rather than to get into indoor wireless data networking.

Source here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BT Fusion

BT Fusion is so much more than a mobile phone. It is a revolutionary new service that works with Broadband from BT...


BT website here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



BBC News
BT to launch fixed-mobile service
Wednesday, 15 June, 2005, 14:29 GMT 15:29 UK

BT Group is to launch a pioneering internet phone service that allows users to switch between mobile networks and fixed-lines using a single handset.

The service, called BT Fusion, uses a specially-equipped mobile phone to access BT's fixed-line network when making calls at home or in the office.

On the move the hybrid service will connect to Vodafone's wireless network.

BT hopes that the service will counter both mobile networks and start-ups offering cheap internet telephony.

The company said BT Fusion would combine the convenience of a mobile phone with lower fixed-line prices.

Bluetooth technology

Customers subscribing to BT Fusion will receive a clamshell Motorola v560 mobile handset.

An access point installed in the home, called a BT Hub, will switch the mobile phone to a broadband line using Bluetooth wireless technology.

BT has been focusing on broadband technology recently in a bid to offset a decline in its traditional fixed-line services.

Analysts at consultants Ovum described BT's new service as an industry "watershed".

"The separate fixed and mobile telephony services are no longer discrete but are intertwined. It is not overstating the case to say that the industry will never be the same again," Ovum said.

However, investors were less sanguine about the offer. Shares in BT Group were down more than 1.5% at 219 pence in late trade on the London Stock Exchange.

One service

The UK's dominant fixed-line telecoms provider said BT Fusion would enable customers to make calls to UK landlines at its off-peak landline rate of 5.5 pence for up to an hour, and 3p a minute at peak hours.

"For the first time customers will be able to get the best of both worlds in one service, combining the convenience and features of a mobile with fixed-line prices and quality," said BT Retail boss Ian Livingston.

The BT hub also works as a wireless router, providing users access to PCs, laptops and games consoles wirelessly around the home.

BT said customers joining the service would need a BT telephone line and a subscription to BT Broadband.

The service will be trialed on 400 users before being more fully rolled out in September.

The company said BT Fusion would be offered in two price plans of £9.99 and £14.99 a month.

Source here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alcatel press release
Alcatel-primed consortium launches "BT Fusion"

Paris, June 16th, 2005 — Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) today announced that the consortium, which it leads, has successfully launched BT's groundbreaking fixed-mobile telephony service. BT Fusion previously known as "Project Bluephone", has been launched to the consumer and SoHo market after widespread and successful pilot trials.

Alcatel leads a consortium that includes Ericsson, Inventel, IVT, Lucent, and Motorola and provided solutions integration to BT in the months leading to the launch of what is Europe's first fully converged fixed-mobile telephony service. BT Fusion provides consumers with a single cordless handset capable of routing calls and data over BT's fixed line broadband network when they are at home, but switches seamlessly over a Vodafone mobile network when they are out of the home.

As Prime Contractor to the consortium, Alcatel drew on its global services integration expertise to act as project manager and to unite all consortium members behind a smooth roll out and implementation. This included extensive development and integration work in BT labs, as well as interoperability testing between the consortium vendors.

The BT Fusion solution provides a fixed-mobile telephony service to consumers, where the same handset can be used to call over fixed (broadband) or mobile (GSM) networks. The service uses the UMA standard, which has now been formally released and accepted into the 3GPP standards group for generic radio access. UMA allows BT to carry GSM signalling and telephone calls over the public Internet using DSL access, with a Bluetooth interface. BT Fusion will be technology agnostic and in time, will work across other standards including WiFi and SIP.

"BT is today launching easy to use converged services and is a benchmark reference for successful innovation in the industry", said Jacques Dunogue, Executive Vice President for Alcatel. "Bringing together the solutions of the consortium members as project manager and service integrator has been an invigorating and challenging opportunity for Alcatel. We are proud to have been part of this far-reaching program".

Source here


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
btplc.com
Press excitement over BT Fusion

News - Press excitement over BT FusionBT Fusion has been hitting the headlines across the globe since its launch mid-June.

The world's first converged fixed and mobile phone service has sparked excitement in the national and international press.

"The phone for life" was the way the Daily Mail described it, while the Financial Times said the handset will "revolutionise mobile telephony".

France's Les Echos said: "All the operators in the world have their eyes fixed on BT".

BT says the launch marks an important milestone in the broadband revolution - and will allow people to communicate in ways they never have before.

BT Fusion works like any mobile phone when you're out and about - but when you return home, it switches automatically to a BT broadband line.

BT Retail chief executive officer Ian Livingston said: "We promised to launch the world's first seamless combined fixed and mobile service and now we're doing it.

"The service will transform the communications landscape and bring excellent value to customers.

"For the first time customers will be able to get the best of both worlds in one service - combining the convenience and features of a mobile with fixed line prices and quality."

The launch of BT Fusion will start with about 400 early adopter customers and should be more widely available for delivery in September.

Source here




pyramidresearch.com
Next Generation Trend Letter/ Volume 1, Issue 6, July Edition
Publication Date: July 2005

IN THIS ISSUE:
FEATURES

BT - The Fusion of Fixed and Mobile Services is Out of the Bag
BT has revealed details on its new consumer Fusion service, arguably the world's first fully convergent service. The service is attractive, but will need more handsets and a migration from Bluetooth to WLAN if it is to succeed.


Pyramid Research Analysis

Fixed-Mobile Convergence Finally Taking Off? Assessing BT’s Fusion Service

British Telecom (BT) has finally announced its new consumer fixed-mobile convergent service, Fusion, formerly known as Bluephone. Fusion is the first fully convergent service on one device, with one bill and seamless handover between fixed and mobile networks. Pyramid Research views Fusion as a very basic starting point for the convergent services that are to come.

Pyramid Research senior analyst Svetlana Issaeva comments, “BT is pushing the right buttons with Fusion, but launching with only one network compatible handset model will keep adoption to a minimum in the short-term.” BT must make Fusion more attractive by increasing handset options as segmentation down to the device is imperative in a developed market. BT’s reported plan to offer Fusion on Motorola’s best selling RAZR model will positively impact service uptake. More important to Fusion’s success is BT’s plan to move the service from Bluetooth to WiFi networks and utilize Wi-Fi enabled handsets. Vendors like Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson are expected to bring WiFi handsets to the market in 2006, at which point Issaeva expects BT to increase handset options. The number of models and their availability will directly affect rates of service adoption.

Fusion, in its current state seems more like a proof of concept than a commercial money-maker. Important to BTs success in the convergence space will be their next steps in the enterprise segment and adding TV and video content to their service portfolio.

Source here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BT launches combo fixed-mobile handset
Published: June 15, 2005, 7:18 AM PDT
By Cath Everett
Special to CNET News.com

U.K. telecom giant BT Group unveiled its fixed and mobile convergence service Wednesday, offering it with two pricing packages.

BT's new Fusion service, previously dubbed Project Bluephone, is aimed initially at the consumer market and is based on a cordless Motorola handset that acts as a cellular phone outside of the home, but inside routes calls through a hub onto a BT broadband line.

"The launch of BT Fusion will start with approximately 400 early-adopter customers, with the service being widely available for delivery in September," said Ian Livingston, chief executive of BT Retail.

The Fusion handset currently uses Bluetooth to connect to the hub, but the system is also set up for Wi-Fi, which means customers can also connect it with wireless-enabled PCs, laptops, games consoles and printers in a broadband home network. Consumers will also be able to use the hub with Wi-Fi cellular phones as they become available.

Fusion will come in two price bundles. The Fusion 100 will provide customers with 100 call minutes for 9.99 pounds ($18) per month, while Fusion 200 will cost 14.99 ($27) per month for 200 call minutes. Customers will also receive handsets and a hub as part of the package.

Analysts said that the launch of Fusion marks a watershed moment for the telecommunications industry. "The separate fixed and mobile telephony services are no longer (discrete) but are intertwined. It is not overstating the case to say that the industry will never be the same again," analyst house Ovum said in a research note Wednesday.

Despite the technological implications, getting the pricing right will make or break Fusion, according to Ovum. "BT is offering mobile to landline calls at the same price as its current landline rates--savings of up to 95 percent. This makes a great headline, but is just one type of call," Ovum said.

The 9.99 pound fee, on the other hand, compares "less well" with the bucket offerings of mobile operators such as 3, the analyst warned.

Fusion's success will also rest on BT getting its distribution strategy right. Most customers choose their service provider at retail outlets, but BT initially plans to offer Fusion only through its portal and by phone, said Ovum.

While this may seem counterintuitive, it does make sense as Fusion works only with a BT broadband line and the telephone company knows who all of its 1.3 million customers are.

Source here


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BT's convergence con-Fusion
Leader | ZDNet UK | June 15, 2005, 15:05 BST


Convergence has great promise for telecommunications, but BT's new Fusion handset leaves most of that potential untouched

The launch of BT's Fusion handset has been widely trailed as an industry-changing event. At last, a mobile phone that works at home without touching the expensive mobile networks - one, moreover, that works over broadband. And everyone knows that broadband telephony is very cost effective, right?

Not in the world of BT, where Fusion calls from home to a landline cost as much as they do from any landline. Calls from home to a non-landline number - mobiles, 0800, 0845? Full mobile pricing.

Let's look at this for a second. In the worst case - you calling another Fusion phone when both ends are at their homes means paying mobile rates plus the monthly fee for a VoIP. What's more the call is being carried over a broadband service you're both already paying for - and, since that has to be BT Broadband, you're paying for fixed line rental as well. In other words, BT has got you to pay three times for a service that is normally too cheap to meter. The only convergence happening is the contents of your wallet converging with BT's bank account.

On top of that, you currently have no choice of phone -- more are promised, says BT -- with no picture messaging from home -- it'll work soon, says BT -- and no choice of broadband provider. Why so? Because it's a BT Broadband service and BT wants it to be a special treat for its customers only, says BT -- or, one might suspect, because it's easier to market such a dog to a captive audience.

The most frustrating part of BT Fusion is that convergence is clearly a good idea, especially in business where it should be an essential component in an integrated messaging environment that encourages new services alongside better cost control. Furthermore, it makes most sense where each component -- mobile network, broadband supplier, local hub and mobile phone -- can be selected individually, working together with standards such as Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) . More features, more choice, lower cost: now, that's a proposition.

BT Fusion as it stands fails miserably to match up to the potential of the technology. That's very disappointing, given the length of time BT's been working on this. The good news is that this leaves the market open for people who have the idea that a good product should give customers a good deal.

Source here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


BT 'BluePhone' Fusion is better than Skype because...?
By Guy Kewney, Newswireless.net
Published Wednesday 15th June 2005 14:58 GMT

Analysis BT has gone and done it: launched BluePhone under the new name of BT Fusion, even though it still doesn't have a WiFi version, or any way of selling this product. Why? Probably, because it wants to preserve the concept of phone numbers.

Fusion is a system which does exactly what the world's phone manufacturers could have done three years ago: uses the phone's own Bluetooth software to do VoIP through an Internet gateway. You can start a call in the street, using Vodafone. Then, walk through your front door and automatically switch the call to your Bluetooth hub, without dropping the line.
Click Here

It didn't happen three years ago, because the world's mobile operators sabotaged the technology. Shortsightedly, perhaps, the operators told the phone builders: "If your phone can do VoIP over Bluetooth, we won't sell it."

What BT can't say, because it doesn't know, is whether it still has a chance of making the idea work.

The announcement says: "A BT Fusion 10 minute off peak rate mobile call from home will cost up to 95% less than the same call using a typical mobile competitor package."

That's true. Off peak, BluePhone calls cost 5.5 pence per hour. Most cellphone networks would charge you around three to six pounds for that hour's conversation.

Three years ago, it might have been a success, because three years ago, there was no such thing as Skype offering completely free phone calls over WiFi hotspots using a PDA phone. Come to that, three years ago, there were no PDA phones and precious few WiFi hotspots. Companies like RedM still dreamed of selling access points based on Bluetooth, rather than on WiFi.

The story behind the launch of Fusion is that BT will almost certainly announce a "business version" in a couple of months, when it has productised a WiFi system which is being prototyped in Canada, and tested in Adastral Park.

Today's launch is a simple test market. Four hundred customers have ordered the new package, and will be getting a brand-new WiFi/Bluetooth combined router, which they can plug into BT Broadband ADSL at home. They will also get a phone from Motorola - a V560 GSM phone - with a little extra software. And they get a Vodafone SIM card offering a special deal. The special deal would have been very, very special three years ago. It would have given cellphone users the ability to make and receive calls on their ordinary cellphone number at home - without paying cellular call charges. Even better, it would have meant they'd get a good signal at home, even if the cellular coverage was poor (it often is, at home). To the savvy consumer, today, there are too many questions for which BT Fusion doesn't offer answers.

(...)

Source here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Om Malik's Broadband Blog
BT Fusion Big Time (BT) Flop?
Posted Wednesday, June 15, 2005 at 5:24 PM PT

I am absolutely amazed at the amount of unwarranted publicity that has been accorded to British Telecom’s BluePhone announcement, which seems more an experiment, than a commercially viable product. 400 people are getting to beta test it for godsake, and that’s not like earth shattering. The so-called convergence device, essentially a Motorola handset that utilizes a technology called UMA allows phone operators to leverage the fast growing wi-fi networks. UMA is part of the 3GPP (3rd generation partnership project) and basically allows seamless transfer of phone calls to and from mobile cellular, wifi or landline networks. The actual switching happens inside the super pop, (or what used to be the central office) and needs some client side intelligence, provided via an agent software.

BT will take Vodafone’s wireless calls, and put them on its broadband network using WiFi. The idea is that instead of paying seriously expensive wireless call prices, customers would pay cheaper landline prices which can be between 3 pence a minute at peak or 5.5 pence for upto an hour during non-peak times. Unstrung Estimates savings at about 95%. The customers can also login to wifi using BT WiFi hubs as well.

Think of it as an MVNO masquerading as a convergence offering, though not entirely. There are a lot of problems for this to work. Benoit Gariod thinks its like skinning the cat thrice: First you must be a BT Broadband customer. You pay normal landline call charges when making outbound calls from home, and your friends who are calling you will be paying mobile tariffs. Martin adds, “The fact that this product is also tied to BT’s own broadband offering suggests they just don’t get it. That’s monopolist incumbent-think. Just work on taking a small slice of lots of value chains, not large slices of a few.”

James Enck writes: “Firstly, the product is only going to be marketed to BT Broadband customers, of which there may be something like 2.5m by year-end … how many will be looking to change mobile service providers? In the past, this might have been a more straightforward calculation under 12-month contracts, but UK operators are pushing 18-month contracts, which makes the phasing of renewals more complicated.” What more - why should you even bother when you can get cheaper VoIP services which make the hassle of two numbers worth the hassle? Mike sums it up nicely when he riffs, “…all for the “convenience” of using a single device that isn’t very cool and doesn’t have many of the features people expect in their mobile phone.”

Memo to BT: make it simpler, cheaper and easier for consumers and you have a shot at making this thing work.

Source here

Setting a Course to Convergence/ heavyreading.com

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Setting a Course to Convergence: The Incumbents' Wireline Strategies

ABSTRACT:

While the telecommunications industry as a whole is still in turmoil, the overall direction in which it is now headed has become clear: Tomorrow's telecommunications networks will be multiservice networks - networks that switch legacy and emerging services across a converged IP/MPLS layer, running over a high-capacity optical infrastructure.

In unique accord, all six of the West's leading incumbent equipment providers agree that the future belongs to converged multiservice networks. More importantly, the majority of service providers have bought into the concept. Most of the 50 service providers interviewed for this report are now fleshing out their strategies for implementing such networks and reorganizing themselves internally to reap the twin benefits that converged networks promise to deliver: lower operating costs and easier service deployment.

But that's where the consensus ends. The industry may agree on where it needs to go - but there is complete confusion over how best to get there, or which of the incumbent equipment suppliers is in the best position to help service providers realize their goals.

To find answers to these questions Heavy Reading has spent the last three months producing this 114-page report: Setting a Course to Convergence: The Incumbents' Wireline Strategies.

Over the past few years, the bursting of the telecom bubble has wreaked havoc amongst equipment suppliers. All of the big players have had to make agonizing decisions concerning which technologies they're going to continue developing and which ones they're going to scrap or put into hibernation. Now that the dust is clearing from the battlefield, it's become clear that some vendors have improved their overall positions while others have suffered permanent damage.

Getting a read on who's ahead isn't easy, but it's absolutely crucial for every sector of the telecom industry to do so:

Carriers need to put their suppliers through a health check, reevaluate their residual strengths and weaknesses, and examine their own visions of the future of telecom to make sure they are in alignment with the technological strategies of manufacturers.

Incumbent equipment manufacturers need to see how their strategies measure up against their opponents, so they can address their own problems and also exploit their competitors' deficiencies.

Startup equipment manufacturers need to know what the incumbents are planning, and where the gaps are in their product lines, in order to position themselves for acquisition and/or partnership.

Communications chip manufacturers need to know what their biggest customers are working on in order to anticipate future demand for their wares.

Investors require insight into which of the big equipment vendors will emerge to dominate the multiservice market.


Major findings of Setting a Course to Convergence include:

IP/MPLS is the DNA of tomorrow's telecom. Incumbents won't succeed unless they build or buy the technology – router partnerships and co-developments are a red herring.

Transport and packet networks will remain distinct layers for the coming decade. Vendors with product strategies that assume complete convergence will find sales to large carriers impossible.

Carriers are focused on the "cost of change" – the impact on existing revenues of shifting voice circuits and leased lines onto a converged IP/MPLS backbone.

Vendors are split over ATM's role in the migration to converged networks. Nortel is ATM's biggest proponent – a strategy that looks increasingly prescient.

Lucent is abandoning its own convergence products in favor of re-inventing itself as a service organization. It will fail.

Packet voice transport is happening slowly, posing a challenge for Siemens, which has staked its future on carriers moving to Class 5 replacement now.

Cisco defined the convergence market and currently leads it – but issues with ATM, OAM, reliability, and VOIP mean its position is not unassailable.

Success for incumbent vendors is in the timing, not the technology. Developing products that support convergence in sync with carriers' needs is the biggest challenge facing vendors today.

Alcatel's once outstanding broadband vision is in urgent need of repair. It now lacks, not only a broadband remote access server, but also a core routing platform.

The telecom industry will recover more quickly if one or two incumbents are superceded by either second-tier players in the US or incumbents in Asia.

Carriers are committed to MPLS but think vendors are dragging their feet on remedying its deficiencies.

Marconi's restructured finances and "hollow core" network architecture will count for nothing if it cannot re-establish its reputation with new customers.

(...)


Source here

Third Annual Mobile Device Developments Conference 2005/ Fixed Mobile Convergence/ Wimax Reality Check

Reviewing the current developments, alliances and future strategies within
the mobile devices market
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pre-conference interactive workshop: Tuesdays 13th September 2005
Main conference: Wednesday 14th & Thursday 15th September 2005
Venue: TBC, London, UK
=========================================================

+VISIONGAIN CONFERENCES LATEST EVENT+

The current device market has developed dramatically over the last few
years. We have recently seen music phones bundled with services, better
camera phones, handsets enabling high speed broadband connection, concrete
deployment of converged fixed-mobile offers, push-to-talk phones; operator
branded devices, mobile phones with TV functionality, to name just a few.

The conference will cover handset manufacturer's device strategies and
roadmaps; operator's device strategies and case studies; models for
co-branding terminals; software customisation opportunities from handset
manufacturers; software updates from platform vendors; how new services such
as music, TV and IMS will affect device design and user interface and how
particular devices target specific demographics, such as the business
professional and high/ low-end markets.

KEY THEMES
- Examine the relationship between mobile devices and content services
- Find out the benefits of push-to-talk services
- Discover the latest developments for mobile TV functionality
- Learn from the current personalisation and branding strategies
- Evaluate ODM &EMS developments in the handset market
- Understand the mobile Java evolution
- Analyse the developments of handsets for high and low-end markets
- Discuss how the latest HSDPA services will affect mobile devices

KEY SPEAKERS
- Jan Geissler,Technology Manager Business Model &Market
Intelligence,Vodafone
- Raino Annala,Technology Specialist/Digital Media,Elisa Corporation
- Jukka Helin,Director,Marketing,Products &Services,TeliaSonera
- David Hooper,Enterprise Group Manager,Microsoft Mobile
- Christoph Aktas,Director,Product Line Management IMS/PoC,Siemens
- Andrew Till,Director of Customer Strategy,EMEA,Motorola,Inc.
- Dr.Cheol Kim,Head of Advanced Technology Group,LG Europe
- Martin Day,Head of Alliances &Business Channels EMEA,palmOne Europe


--------------
AGENDA
--------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRE-CONFERENCE INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP
International Content Aggregation and Rights Licensing of Entertainment
Media
Tuesday 13th September 2005
Led by:Rick Riccobono,Rick Riccobono &Associates,Inc.
RightsBridge

The workshop will provide an in-depth look into the key issues related to
rights licensing.Its interactive format will provide the opportunity for all
participants to discuss the most effective business models and how to
overcome the existing challenges.

Agenda

10:00 -10:30 Registration and coffee

- How to develop content sourcing strategies for music
and other entertainment based content for digital
distribution to portable devices;from iPods,to cell
phones and beyond.

- Examining business models for MOD and VOD:
Subscription,download to own and/or a
combination of both,advertising revenue based,
direct billing to the consumer (breakage and other
royalty allocation considerations).

12:30 -13:30 Lunch

- Analysing marketing,advertising,promotion and
distribution:Viral,targeted and quantifiable,time
and or event sensitive,B2C,B2B2C,B2B.

- The current state of international rights licensing
for on-demand audio and audio visual content.

15:30 Close of workshop
------------------------------------------------------



=========================
Conference Day 1
Wednesday 14th September 2005
=========================

Conference Chairman Day One:
Han Weegink,Global Market Development Manager
LogicaCMG Wireless Networks

09:00 Registration and coffee

09:30 Opening remarks from the Chair

NEW PRODUCTS/BUSINESS MODELS &SERVICES

09:40 How can OEMs continue to cost-effectively innovate new
and differentiated products by using Windows OS in their
devices?
.How to develop adaptable and scalable platforms for
32-bit,connected devices that deliver rich applications
and services
.How Windows CE has been optimised for next-generation,
smart connected devices
.How to access emulation technology for development and
testing without adding additional hardware
.How XP has been broken down into components for easy
developer access to rich feature sets
.Examples of how MS development tools speed
time-to-market for new devices
.Competitive advantages of using Shared Source
modifications
David Hooper
Enterprise Group Manager
Microsoft Mobile and Embedded Devices Division -EMEA

10:20 How to develop future mobile devices:
Human centric approach
.Introduction to LG
.Examining technical trends:Speed,IP,smart,connected,
personalisation,human centrics
.How product design is becoming more complex:
Technology,features,design,material,cost,etc
.How to invent a new device:All in one or all distributed?
.Analysis of how a human centric approach will give clear
guidelines for product strategy
Dr.Cheol Kim
Head of Advanced Technology Group
LG Europe R&D Center

11:00 Coffee and discussion

11:20 Evolution of Mobile Devices towards Convergence
*Convergence is everywhere:
-Convergence of voice and data
-Convergence of wireless technologies (WLAN/WAN)
-Impact on mobile device development approach
-Evolution towards converged devices:Combining a PDA
and a traditional cellular phone
*Perspectives of applications development with converged
devices:
-Mobile messaging solutions
-Location based services
-Voice over wireless lan
-Overcoming challenges of deploying emerging solutions
Valerie Mazzoni-Colin
Business Development Manager
PSG Handheld &Mobility,EMEA,Hewlett-Packard

12:00 Towards an open IMS client -trends and developments
.Analysing IMS client architecture
.Lessons learned from PoC standardisation
.Future perspective and Siemens 'developments
Christoph Aktas
Director,Product Line Management IMS/PoC
Siemens Communications Mobile Networks

12:40 Networking lunch

14:00 Push-to-Talk,the new standard paving the way to IMS
services
.History and status of 'Push-to-Talk over Cellular'(PoC)
.Functional description of PoC
.View inside a handset's software architecture
.Challenges and how to handle multiple application
interaction
.Impact of PoC on other applications
.The future of PoC towards IMS systems
Olaf Braune
VP Product Management &Development
fgmicrotec GmbH

PERSONALISATION & BRANDING

14:40 From vendor centric device business to operator
centric service business
.The trend towards more operator control and operator
phones
.Analysing how the net value for mobile devices has
changed and how it affects content providers,
aggregators,operators,device vendors and ODMs
.Increasing ARPU and decreasing churn by bundling
devices with mobile subscription and pre-configured
services
.Comparing operators'device and content strategies in
the mobile service value chain
.Case study with TeliaSonera Finland's software branded
3G phone and content services
Jukka Helin
Director,Marketing,Products &Services
TeliaSonera

15:20 Coffee and discussion

15:40 Platform strategy for smartphone development with
Symbian OS
.Examining what is required for successful smartphone
development from the software platform strategy
.Enabling scalable product differentiation and variation
with Symbian OS (end-customer perspective)
.Scalablity for operator variation,new services and
application
.Managing the BOM -hardware and software
.Ecosystem and delivery clusters
Inka Luotola
VP,Sales &Marketing
SysOpen Digia

MOBILE HANDSET OUTSOURCING

16:20 A study of the handset supply and production chain
.How the role of ODM and EMS companies have affected
handset design
.Benefits of being a complete manufacturing centre:
-Reduction of capital investment and manufacturing
costs
-How to achieve faster time-to-market
-Enabling greater customer diversification
.Strategies to accelerate time to volume by integrating
strategic suppliers
.How alternative value chain designs affect ODM and
EMS roles
Esko Hannula
VP Design &New Product Introduction
Elcoteq Network Corporation

17:00 Chairman 's summation and close of conference
=======================
Conference Day 2
Thursday 15th September 2005
=======================

Conference Chairman Day Two:
Han Weegink
Global Market Development Manager
LogicaCMG Wireless Networks

09:00 Registration and coffee

09:30 Opening remarks from the chair

EFFECT OF MULTIMEDIA ON MOBLE DEVICES

09:40 Mobile broadcast business -evolving from a trial to
business webs and ecosystem
.The bmco trial in Berlin -interactive broadcast as a key
for mobile business
.The bmco forum in Berlin -the next step towards an
open international market
.Lessons learned -technological,economic and
regulatory challenges in developing "mobile broadcast"
business
.Co-operation models in the mobile broadcasting value
web
Jan Geissler
Technology Manager Business Model &Market Intelligence
Vodafone Group R&D Germany

10:20 Developing devices for mobile TV functionality
.Developing 'real'mobile TV with digital media
broadcasting technology
.Offering high quality TV at a lower cost
.How DBM technology will affect mobile operators and
billing vendors
.Assessing if there is a strong market for TV functionality -
Why watch TV on your mobile?
Raino Annala
Technology Specialist/Digital Media
R&D,Elisa Corporation

11:00 Coffee and discussion

11:20 Enabling a rich multimedia experience across mobile and
consumer electronic domains
.Strategies to rollout a new open standards-based
wireless Digital Rights Management (DRM)solution
.Analysing the benefits:How to seamlessly and securely
manage and distribute media content between mobile
content and consumer electronics devices
.Examining the features required on the mobile device to
enable a rich multimedia experience
Edgar Langen
Senior Director Security &Connectivity
Philips Software

12:00 Mobile e-mail -the current landscape
.Examining the race for interoperability
.Analysing the fight for supremacy among solution vendors
for channel evolution
.Design goals for mobile e-mail devices
.Looking to the future
Martin Day
Head of Alliances &Business Channels EMEA
palmOne Europe

12:40 Networking lunch

Day Two Thursday 15th September 2005

TARGETING SPECIFIC MARKETS

13:50 Development of handsets for high-end and low-end markets
.Examining Motorola's developments of an iPod music phone
with Apple
.Overview of Motorola's Linux strategy
.Analysis of Motorola's development of low-end handsets
.Benefits for mobile operators:
-Strategies to capture new type of subscribers in developing
countries
-Possibilities to equip the last percentage of people in Western
Europe without a mobile phone
Andrew Till
Director of Customer Strategy,Europe Middle East &Africa
Motorola,Inc.

14:30 Mobile meets luxury:How to market a £3000 phone
.Why do people buy luxury?
.A double challenge -building a new category and a new brand
.What no camera?-Vertu and technology
Chris Harris
Global Marketing Director,Vertu

IMPACT OF BROADBAND SERVICES

15:10 CASE STUDY:Ovation T-3G multimedia application
consoles
.Benefits for enterprise,SOHO and residential users
.Providing voice and broadband data access by managing
convergence of WWLAN,WLAN,Voice and VoIP
technologies in an integrated solution
.Generating cost-effective high-speed wireless broadband
access,optimal call routing and delivery of multimedia
applications to enable end-users to access Ovation using
multiple devices
Brad Weinert
VP,Business Development,Novatel Wireless

15:50 Coffee and discussion

16:05 Key technologies for future mobile devices:
HSDPA and smart antenna
.Benefits of an advanced receiver design approach
.Scalable HSDPA solution
.Why Category 8 and 10 HSDPA from day one?
.AIM smart antenna for future multi-mode
2G/3G/WLAN devices
.Benefits of smart antenna for coverage,capacity,power
consumption and data rate at cell edge
Dr.Behrooz Lessani
VP,Business Development,Europe,InterDigital

MOBILE DEVICE MANAGEMENT

16:45 Optimise service usage on new devices
.Examining the relationship between new device capabilities
and new services:
-Mobile music,TV,IMS,VOD,etc
.How device capabilities and complexity will affect the whole
mobile service value chain
.Impact of device complexity on service usage and service
support
.Evaluating the business case for device management
.Defining a device management strategy
Wim Brouwer
Solution &Portfolio Manager,LogicaCMG Telecom

17:15 Chairman 's summation and close of conference

Further here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

++ Related

Fixed-Mobile Convergence
Identifying opportunities, raising consumer awareness and meeting the technical challenges of delivering truly converged FMC services

14th - 16th November 2005
Jurys Clifton Ford

London


Conference Details:



Over the last few months the telecoms industry has seen unparalleled growth in fixed-mobile converged services, with major international operators from Europe, the Americas and Asia making numerous FMC announcements.

However, it remains to be seen how enterprises and consumers will receive these new products and services. Will they be compelling enough to spark significant usage? Are the technologies sufficiently accessible to make FMC a mass-market service? Does a truly converged service already exist in the mobile phone?

Visiongain's Fixed-Mobile Convergence conference will provide analysis of these concerns, while giving delegates practical insights, lessons derived from real-life experience and specific examples of how industry leaders are achieving high performance.

Maximise opportunities as FMC goes mainstream:
* Understand the very latest emerging opportunities and competitive threats around FMC
* Build opportunities and overcome challenges presented by regulatory environments
* Refine your strategy for developing consumer friendly FMC services
* Calculate optimum pricing models for FMC services
* Accelerate your planning by resolving key challenges around QoS and billing

Gain from the insights of key leaders:
*Ryan Jarvis, Chief of Mobile Products and Partnerships, BT
*John Carvalho, Core Network Innovation, O2
*Jukka Helin, Director, Marketing, Products & Services, TeliaSonera
*Roberto Minerva, Manager Business Applications & Services, Telecom Italia Lab
*Carolyn Nguyen, Director of Global Mobility Strategy, Avaya
*Inge Bernaerts, DG Competition Telecoms Unit, European Commission

Visiongain will be holding a pre-conference interactive workshop on 14th November on Marketing UMA-based Services. This specialised event focuses on assisting operator product marketing and management personnel with developing their go-to-market strategies for successful UMA-based FMC service deployments. Led by: Kineto Wireless

Further here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shorecliffe Communications
Fixed Mobile ConvergenceLIVE!:
The IMS Technology & Business Summit
October 5 & 6, 2005
Chicago, Illinois


The Shift is Occurring in Personal Communications ... Are You Prepared?
New technology is rapidly emerging that combines Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) with both cellular and WiFi connectivity. The result may soon be the delivery of sophisticated voice services to users in simple packages that combine the best of both worlds – seamless mobility and the economics of Internet Protocol.



What are the Threats and Opportunities for The Network Operator?
With Convergence on the horizon -- Personalized Mobile Services with VoIP Cost Economics – business models will undergo significant disruption. What are the implications of Convergence on Mobile Carriers, Broadband Communications carriers, MVNOs, vendors and more.

This inaugural fixed mobile convergence event is designed to offer guidance and visibility, on technology and the business case not just for mobile network operators, other key players: Broadband communications carriers, VoIP service providers, MVNOs, vendors and end-users.

Fixed Mobile ConvergenceLIVE! is produced by Shorecliff Communications and the editorial team at Telephony and Wireless Review magazines. Fixed Mobile ConvergenceLIVE! promises to deliver timely, focused and critical information about this disruptive new trend in voice services. Attend to hear objective, vendor-neutral information on:
# Infrastructure
# Handset and Devices
# Hardware and Software
# Convergent services

Who Should Attend Fixed Mobile ConvergenceLIVE! :

* Mobile Network Operators: Offset peak traffic load and overcome poor in-building coverage
* Broadband Network Operators: Leverage the mobile carrier’s network as MVNOs
* CableTV MSOs: Offer unified cellphone/homephone service
* VoIP Operators: Enable seamless roaming over WiFi and Cellular networks

Fixed Mobile ConvergenceLIVE! is also a Must Attend for:

> Non-traditional service providers and MVNO candidates
> ISPs/Broadband Wireless Network Operators
> Competitive Wireline communications carriers
> Integrated carriers (mobile and fixed line)
> Telecom/Broadband Sector analysts and media

The Shift is Occurring in Mobile Communications - Personalized Mobile Services with VoIP Cost Economics for a New Generation of Converged Service Operators: Mobile, Fixed, Virtual. Are You Prepared for Fixed Mobile ConvergenceLIVE!?

Fixed Mobile ConvergenceLIVE! is produced by Shorecliff Communications

Source here


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

heavyreading.com
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Fixed-Mobile Convergence Reality Check
Fixed-mobile convergence – the integration of wireline and wireless technologies and services to create a single telecommunications network foundation – has quickly captured the collective imagination of the telecom industry, for some very obvious reasons. FMC promises to obliterate some of the physical barriers that now prevent telecom service providers from reaching all of their potential customers with all types of services. With FMC, wireline service providers may no longer be tethered to landline networks, while wireless network operators will be able to use the most robust network resources available to meet growing demand from mobile subscribers.

Fixed-Mobile Convergence Reality Check explores the perceptions (and misperceptions) that service providers and technology vendors have of FMC at this early stage to determine the most likely course that FMC development will take. The report is based on extensive interviews with key service providers and equipment vendors, as well as an online survey of more than 100 service provider professionals worldwide. Together, the interviews and survey results offer a thorough and accurate portrayal of how FMC is perceived in the telecom industry today, and what the most likely steps in its evolution will be.

The main purpose of the vendor interviews was not to acquire detailed technical information on vendor FMC products (which in any case do not fit into neat and discrete categories), but to ascertain vendors' overall views on FMC in terms of the catalysts, barriers, benefits, anticipated timelines, and likely rollouts of products. This approach reflects the overall objective of this report, which is to provide a high-level progress report on the current status of fixed-mobile convergence, and to evaluate its prospects over the balance of this decade.

Key findings from the report include the following:

The 2006-2007 timeframe will be critical to FMC technology and service development. Vendors interviewed for this report and service providers responding to our online survey consistently targeted 2006-07 as the period in which FMC will make the transition from theory to reality. This means that the time to prepare for FMC is already at hand.

In the core network, the boundaries between fixed and mobile technologies will be largely dissolved by 2010-2012. In backbone networks, FMC is driven mainly by the universal migration to an all-IP network, in which many of the core subsystems are identical across the boundary between fixed and mobile networks. The general acceptance of the principle of layered networks, and the adoption by ITU NGN standards-setters of key related mobile standards, especially IMS, is a key turning point. For incumbent telcos, this should enable the transition to a single core network able to handle the needs of both fixed and mobile subsidiaries, which are largely separately handled today.

Access networks are likely to continue to include a wide range of technologies even after FMC is established in the network core. In access networks, FMC is driven partly by competition among emerging (and established) vendors to enter or improve their position in the mobile and nomadic communications space, and partly by established and emerging service providers with the same objectives. Because this is a technically dynamic field in which there is no consensus at present, access networks are likely to remain hybrid and various, with a mix of single-bearer and multimode devices used to connect to them.

Service providers are taking a fairly optimistic view of FMC, and by and large they believe it is going to bring fundamental changes to the structure of telecommunications markets. Results from our online survey indicate a strong belief that FMC will eliminate the barriers that now exist between wireline and wireless networks over the next decade, although there's no consensus on the timing for this convergence.

FMC poses technological, organizational, and even marketing challenges that make it difficult to predict timing. As with other paradigm-changing initiatives, FMC will require more than technology to take root. While many service providers are positioning themselves to take advantage of FMC by playing in both the wireless and wireline markets now, others have declined to make that move, with some – most recently AT&T – actually having abandoned heterogeneous portfolios. In short, service providers have yet to prove that they can make the organizational and marketing transition to FMC.

For both service providers and equipment vendors, the central message here is that no one approach to the emerging converged environment will be successful. Instead, the keys to success will be twofold. First, equipment and service providers will need to focus sharply on the specific convergence needs of particular market segments, with a commitment to tactical adoption of technologies to meet those needs where necessary. Second, the industry will need to adopt highly flexible platforms that can be adapted to emerging requirements and can help to realize the long-term vision of access-aware devices and access-neutral networking.

Report Scope and Structure

Fixed-Mobile Convergence Reality Check clarifies the misconceptions and ambiguities now surrounding FMC in its critical formative stage of development. By using data and qualitative information gathered directly from technology vendors and service providers, the report delivers a complete and accurate accounting of FMC's expected development and its likely role in the transformation of today's segregated wireline and wireless networks into an integrated infrastructure.

The report offers an in-depth analysis of current technologies and standards that are likely to play a significant role in the development of fixed-mobile convergence over the next few years, as well as a close look at services that are laying the groundwork for more advanced FMC offerings.


Results from an exclusive, worldwide survey of telecom service providers conducted by Heavy Reading specifically for this report shed important light on service provider perceptions and long-term strategic plans regarding wireless/wireline network and service convergence.

Question: Which of the following scenarios do you believe is most likely to occur in the voice telephony business over the next five years? [109 responses]


25.7% Cellular substitution (Most voice calls will be made over cellular networks using a cellular or similar handset, and the wireline network will be used mainly for broadband, entertainment, and data services)

60.6% Fixed-mobile convergence (Most customers will own a multimode phone that will be used to make calls over the most appropriate available network – wireline or wireless)

13.8% Status quo (The current situation, in which customers use wireline phones on wireline networks and mobile phones on mobile networks, will continue to be the norm)

Excerpt




















Source here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

computerweekly.com

BT heads fixed mobile convergence drive
Wednesday 9 June 2004

BT is spearheading a global telecommunications initiative aimed at promoting combined fixed-line and mobile services to both consumers and businesses.

BT, which announced a new fixed-mobile service in the UK last month, is in advanced talks to establish a global alliance of wireline and wireless operators eager to...

Article Continues Below

... tap the market for convergent services.

"There are quite a number of operators - both fixed and mobile - that are interested in the alliance," said said Steve Andrews, chief of BT's mobility and convergence unit.

"Fixed-mobile convergence is clearly on the roadmap of operators that want to create additional revenue streams from new value-added services."

The vision is for people to use one phone with one number, address book and voicemail bank, taking advantage of cheap, high-speed connectivity in their fixed-line home or office setting, while enjoying mobility outside in the wide-area mobile phone network.

The vision also includes a "seamless" handover of calls between fixed-line and mobile networks.

(...)

Source here


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


heavyreading.com
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
WiMax Reality Check

The broadband wireless telecom sector has seen more than its fair share of build-and-destroy cycles. Surviving vendors are in the midst of resurrecting broadband wireless; this time, the foundation is WiMax, the marketing name for the emerging technology based on the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standard.

WiMax Reality Check analyzes the current state of technology and market development for this latest incarnation of broadband wireless technology. The report is based on information from and direct interviews conducted in the third quarter of 2004 with more than 100 technology suppliers, service providers, and investors with a direct interest in the WiMax market. The report includes insight and analysis into the following critical areas:

Potential WiMax applications, including mobile services, backhaul, DSL extension, and fixed/mobile convergence
Potential users, including cellular operators, DSL providers, and enterprises
Drivers of and barriers to adoption of WiMax technology
The evolution of the 802.16 standard
Spectrum options for WiMax networks
Infrastructure and user equipment pricing
Deployment outlook by region
Vendor strategies and competitive positions

DOWNLOAD TABLE OF CONTENTS
PRINT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

There are plenty of reasons to be hopeful that WiMax will succeed where previous broadband wireless efforts have failed. Among the main reasons for optimism:

Bandwidth. 802.16 equipment certified by the WiMax Forum will be able to support shared throughput of up to 75 Mbit/s. That puts WiMax in a position to compete with existing technologies such as third-generation (3G) cellular, many copper-based access services, and 802.11 wireless LAN services (a.k.a. WiFi).

Performance. Unlike other broadband wireless technologies, such as first-generation MMDS, WiMax doesn't require a clear line of sight between the base station and the user's equipment. As a result, WiMax can tap a wider pool of customers than just those with a clear view to the transmitter.

Coverage. WiMax Forum-certified base stations will have a coverage radius of three to five miles, depending on factors such as terrain and population density. This coverage is closer to cellular than WiFi. The more geography a WiMax base station can cover, the lower the service provider's overhead costs.

Spectrum. WiMax can be used in licensed and unlicensed frequencies, initially between 2 GHz and 11 GHz, with the possibility of future support for frequencies up to 66 GHz. The first WiMax-certified products will be available for the 2.5GHz, 3.5GHz, and 5.8GHz bands. Spectrum flexibility is important because it widens the deployment options and, as a result, the technology's market potential.

Industry support. More than 100 equipment vendors and service providers are currently members of the WiMax Forum, the industry's primary trade association. Widespread support this early in WiMax development strongly suggests that the technology will be a mainstream rather than niche play.

Interoperability. The WiMax Forum's main raison d'être is to coordinate the testing and certification of WiMax products to ensure interoperability between equipment made by different vendors. Unlike many other broadband wireless technologies, WiMax equipment isn't proprietary, so service providers and end users can buy different pieces of equipment from different vendors. This approach stimulates competition, which helps drive down deployment prices.


Key Findings

Key findings of WiMax Reality Check include the following:

WiMax will debut as a way to deliver fixed services before expanding into portable and finally mobile services. Initial uses of WiMax will be focused on backhaul connection of network access points to wireline infrastructure. The most obvious use of WiMax in this context is for connecting 802.11 "hotspots" to wired networks, but WiMax will also be deployed for backhaul connections of DSL-type services offered by competitive local exchange carriers looking to bypass incumbent-owned wireline networks.

There is no industry consensus on exactly when WiMax will become a mainstream option for service providers. The first WiMax Forum-certified products should be commercially available by mid 2005, based on the current schedule for interoperability testing. Intel is one company that takes an aggressive line, saying products capable of supporting portable services will hit the market by late 2005. Intel expects PC card-type WiMax modems to debut in 2006, followed by Centrino-style chipsets by late 2006. Intel's outlook is noteworthy because most companies (even rivals) agree that it's a dominant influence – if not the dominant influence – in this market. Nevertheless, Intel can't carry the WiMax sector alone, so it's important to note that other vendors don't envision mobile products until 2007 or 2008.

Whenever it arrives, WiMax will be a critical network technology force for a long time. There are several reasons to believe that WiMax will develop into a major market over the next several years. First, its backers have learned from the mistakes of MMDS and 802.11, and they've taken important steps toward avoiding problems such as interoperability and business-case-annihilating overhead. Second, WiMax promises a better-performing, less-expensive alternative to many – but not all – technologies that already serve its target applications. Finally, although competition will be fierce on the equipment side, it will quickly drive down costs for users and service providers, in turn improving the chances that WiMax will be much more than a niche play.

For competing technologies, WiMax will be more friend than foe – at least initially. If only half of its backers' bullish claims about performance and equipment pricing hold up in the real world, WiMax will be a viable option for applications such as 802.11 "hotspot" backhaul and for extending broadband to areas that can't be served by wireline DSL infrastructure. But toward the end of this decade, as WiMax's footprint grows and its costs drop even further, it could begin to displace cellular and 802.11. In the short term, WiMax could affect DSL in certain areas. For example, CLECs may use WiMax as a way to bypass ILECs' leasing fees. And in areas where the copper infrastructure is still in the midst of being upgraded for DSL, WiMax could compete because both technologies will be in the early stages of their fixed-cost amortization curves.

Vendors and service providers view WiMax as a potential key enabler for fixed/mobile convergence. There are already many ways for a wired service provider to offer portable and/or mobile services. For example, besides the obvious option of buying a cellular operator, some wireline network providers now offer 802.11 service, either by building their own network of hotspots or by reselling a partner's service. WiMax will emerge as another option for creating new revenue streams, offering a bundle of services to attract and retain customers, and to grab market share from cellular rivals. As Alcatel puts it: "[Broadband providers] want a piece of mobility. They feel that if they do nothing, broadband will diminish. They see WiMax as an opportunity to first provide extended range on broadband access and, later on, to offer mobility."

The business case for WiMax as a vehicle for triple play – voice, video, and data – is unclear. WiMax can clearly handle voice and data, but video may be possible only at higher frequencies, where more traffic can be shoehorned into less spectrum. The catch is that signals don't travel as far at higher frequencies, so more radio infrastructure will be required, increasing the service provider's overhead.

WiMax is one of the most crowded emerging markets in telecom history, yet companies continue to pile on. The wheels won't fall off – but many vendors will. There simply isn't room for everyone, and initial casualties are likely as early as mid 2005, based on the size and timing of the initial WiMax market. Even if mobile WiMax equipment becomes available in late 2006 – a wildly optimistic date – the market will be relatively small, consisting primarily of fixed deployments such as backhaul and DSL extension. Considering that so many would-be WiMax vendors are currently unprofitable, it's difficult to see how they can hang on until the market takes off in earnest. Granted, they can always hope that investors will come through and tide them over, but many of those investors were burned by broadband wireless just a few years ago. WiMax is clearly a better bet than MMDS, but that doesn't mean VCs won't tar it with the same brush.

Equipment pricing is still in flux, but it's already clear that pricing pressure will be significant at the market's start and will only increase. Estimates for WiMax base stations vary significantly, from $10,000 for a bare-bones model to $150,000 for full-feature units, and some vendors say that the top-end estimates have already fallen by half. For customer premises equipment, the consensus is that the initial crop of devices will be in the $250 range and quickly fall to $50 in subsequent generations. Pricing pressure will winnow the field of WiMax vendors, particularly those already on shaky financial ground.


Report Scope and Structure

Heavy Reading contacted all of the companies publicly listed as members of the WiMax Forum as of August 1, 2004, as well as key wireless technology suppliers and service providers that were not forum members at that time but that are considered influential forces in WiMax's development. In all, information from 150 different companies was used to compile this report on the WiMax state of the art.

Source here