MWC

Everyone who’s anyone is doing SDN

Software Defined Networks (SDN) for telecom networks are the next big thing and MWC was not short of announcements and new marketing campaigns from big vendors. It comes at the right time too, when LTE and data awareness now require greater network flexibility, scalability and cost performance. The difference with earlier technologies is that IT vendors are now entering the telecoms market since SDN (or virtualization) is a concept widely used in the IT market.

Huawei launches products at MWC

Chinese infrastructure vendor Huawei made a host of new product announcements at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week. The firm launched a SingleEPC solution, which it said enables a smooth evolution to cloud-based telecom networks.

LTE to repair customer loyalty disconnect

There is a significant disconnect between what drives loyalty among mobile consumers and what mobile operators believe drives loyalty as well as churn. Research released at MWC this week suggests that consumers in general will focus on a single aspect of their mobile service – such as device, tariff, or coverage – whereas operators tend to believe that a collection of issues drive positives and negatives in churn and loyalty.

Firefox mobile OS draws significant operator backing

The chief executives of Telecom Italia, Telenor, Telefónica, America Movil and Deutsche Telekom were all on hand at a Mozilla press conference on Sunday evening in Barcelona to voice their enthusiasm for the Firefox browser developer’s new HTML5-based smartphone OS.

MWC 2012: “Handset software is a commodity”

MWC 2012 provided further evidence of an escalating war between operators and device manufacturers, according to analysts at Informa Telecoms & Media. Apart from those launched by Nokia, there was only one device unveiled that ran on the Microsoft Windows Phone platform, which was one of the many launched by ZTE. Meanwhile, one of the announcements that caused waves in the industry was Telefónica’s news that it has teamed up with Firefox browser-maker Mozilla to create a new mobile platform, B2K.

Orange threatens to pull out of emerging markets

Orange has threatened to pull out of the emerging markets it operates in unless it can become a market leader in those countries. Marc Rennard, Orange’s executive VP for Africa, Middle East and Asia, said that Orange is looking to increase revenues from its emerging markets to €7bn by 2015, compared with €3.4bn today.

Ford explains connected cars future

Automotive firm Ford’s executive chairman Bill Ford outlined a plan for connected cars to help avoid a potential future of crippling congestion at Mobile World Congress this week. Ford told delegates at the show that the number of cars on the world’s roads is forecast to grow from one billion now to up to four billion by 2050. And he proposed that one way of avoiding the potentially global problem of overcrowded roads is to create a global transportation network that utilises communication between vehicles, transport infrastructure and individual mobile devices.

Telefónica teams up with Mozilla to create open HTML 5 mobile platform

Telefónica Digital has announced a new deal with Firefox browser-maker Mozilla on the first day of Mobile World Congress 2012. The two firms have collaborated to create a new mobile platform, which will see a host of HTML 5 based devices running on the open web entering the market.

Ovum analysts on what to expect at MWC 2012

With Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2012 set to kick off in Barcelona on Monday, analyst firm Ovum has collated the views of some of its analysts to reveal what they expect to see at this year’s event. The progress made by operators in responding to the increase in mobile data traffic will be interesting to note at this year’s event, according to Steven Hartley, analyst for telco strategy. He said that operators are beginning to set aside old assumptions, prejudices, and ways of doing business.

NSN claims it can “double data speeds” at cell edge

Operators will soon be able double mobile broadband speeds for consumers at the edge of a base station cell, by allowing devices to connect with a second base station that serves a neighbouring cell. Nokia Siemens Networks and Qualcomm will be jointly demonstrating the HSPA+ Multiflow feature at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

ZTE predicts WiMAX ‘boom’ for 2009

“We anticipate a boom in WiMAX take-up for fixed applications in emerging markets this year,” says Wei Yuan, senior director of global marketing at ZTE’s WiMAX solutions business. Speaking to telecoms.com at the MWC event in Barcelona, Wei Yuan believes that Russia, the CIS, the Middle East and Africa hold out most promise for WiMAX […]

Mobile data is changing the game for vendors

The explosive growth of wireless broadband is changing the nature of the business for kit makers, the head of mega vendor Alcatel-Lucent said during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week. Speaking at the event, Adolfo Hernandez, president, EMEA, Alcatel-Lucent, said that next generation wireless broadband delivery is currently based on an unstable model which […]

Nokia and Skype join forces

Disruptive VoIP player Skype has announced at Mobile World Congress that its eponymous VoIP application will be integrated on Nokia N97s from Q309. The application will be integrated into the device’s address book and be visible to users as a mobile widget. Making the announcement both Scott Derchslag, COO, and Josh Silverman, CEO of Skype […]

Microsoft confirms app store plans

Software giant Microsoft was banging the app store drum at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, confirming plans to launch a mobile content marketplace of its own in the wake of similar moves by Apple and Nokia. Details of the app shop were thin on the ground however, with the Redmond Giant only revealing […]

LTE is ’embryonic’, says Agilent

Despite all the marketing noise that is sure to be generated by LTE supporters during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona this week, Agilent – a test & measurement specialist – believes there is still some way to go before LTE is widely commercially available and delivering the much-touted speeds of 100Mbps and above. […]

RIM strikes PC deal with Lenovo

RIM, the maker of the Blackberry device, has announced a partnership deal with PC manufacturer Lenovo at the MWC event in Barcelona. Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will work together so that Blackberry smartphones will be able to synchronise, via a Bluetooth connection, with Lenovo ThinkPad laptop computers. “R&D is coming […]

Samsung gets touchy-feely, but no Android

JK Shin, the newly-appointed head of Samsung’s mobile communications division, was in bullish mood as he paraded a range of new touch-screen handsets at the company’s press conference at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week. “We are confident that we will grow during 2009,” he said, “despite the economic downturn.” Among the new […]

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