The Editor's Cut

Loads of entries!

2008-07-23T14:46:00.002+01:00

The metaphorical sack has arrived and we’re delighted to find more than 200 entries for the 2008 World Communication Awards.

Not only does the quality look excellent, but the diversity of companies is astounding with an even spread across the categories.

Let’s hope the judges are up to the monumental task of sifting through all those submissions to determine winners and finalists in 14 categories – the winners being unveiled at the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane on the 26 November.

The shortlist will be announced in September Total Telecom magazine which also marks the start of the main promotional campaign. There’s still time to benefit from this and join NTT Comm., Orange, TeliaSonera, COLT, Easynet, and Belgacom as sponsors.

Also keep a close eye on Total Telecom for the launch of the voting for Person of the Decade. A special award for this year to celebrate 10 years of telecoms excellence, we’ll be asking the industry to vote for the person who has been the most influential in telecoms over the last 10 years.

Knee-deep in fibre

2008-07-18T16:44:00.002+01:00

Somehow I had managed to persuade myself that a trip down the Hackney (east London) sewers to view Geo's fibre network was a good idea. Turns out I really hadn't thought it through at all.

"There are ladders? I hate ladders!" I exclaimed earlier today as the full horror of what awaited me started to become clear.

"Errr... how did you think you were going to get down the sewer?" our guide from Thames Water asked patiently, having already had to deal with getting my (apparently) ridiculously small feet into a pair of thigh-high waterproof boots that were two sizes too big... not to mention the gloves saga.

But that was just it. I hadn't thought about it. At all. On some level I think I'd envisaged a sterile, "visitors" version of a sewer, that I would sashay into, wearing pristine safety equipment, that was somehow both stylish and reasonably flattering. I'd also imagined being armed with a notebook and a camera... and heck, possibly even a mobile phone ("hey mum, guess where I am..."). I was wrong. A notebook was out of the question (sewers are dark - who'd have imagined that?), and even the camera stayed at ground level out of harm's way.

Glossing over the descent into the sewer - because the squealing and carrying on was actually a little bit embarrassing in retrospect - we found ourselves knee-deep in murky "water", standing on a decidedly squelchy floor. That there wasn't much light was probably a good thing; what light there was clearly showed that the water we were wading through contained solids.

Fortunately, we weren't down there long. A look at a row of four cable ducts housing Geo's fibre along the side wall of the sewer, a walk of around 25 metres to the next man-hole and a quick Q&A (I really wished my companions had saved the question about rats until we were safely above ground again) and we were out of there.

Safe to say, it was the weirdest press event I've ever attended! It was quite an experience - positive or negative, I'm not yet sure - but I think in future I'll take a less hands-on approach to reporting on fibre networks!

Ask an Analyst

2008-07-11T16:08:00.001+01:00

Got a question on some aspect of recent telecoms news?

Get all the answers with Total Telecom's new Ask an Analyst column. Due to launch on Monday, the service enables our readers to submit their questions to key members of the analyst community. First up, Analysys Mason's Daniel Jones tackles the following:

Omantel is looking for a strategic investor to take a 25% stake. Who is likely to be in the running?

Log on to Total Telecom after the weekend to see what he has to say on the matter.

And submit your analyst questions to me, Mary Lennighan, at mary.lennighan@totaltele.com. Or post them here, on The Editor's Cut.

Queueing

2008-07-11T10:58:00.000+01:00

Visitors from Mars may have been wondering what was prompting so many people to queue outside the O2 and Carphone Warehouse stores on Islington's Upper Street this morning. The rest of us know that today is 3G iPhone day in the UK, an event that has caused otherwise sensible people to lose all sense of proportion, the queues would suggest. As discussed by the Total Telecom team, there will be plenty of 3G iPhones for anyone that wants one. But of course the phone is the latest "must-have" gadget and it appears some simply cannot wait just a few more days to get their hands on one.

Taking the extreme approach of camping outside an O2 shop since dawn does not seem to have guaranteed success, however: Reports already on news blogs describe failed efforts to buy iPhones today as shops ran out of stock. O2 has been fanning the flames of desire too by hinting that availability would be "limited" on day one. Tsk.

Anyway, well done if you managed to get one!

iPhone launch hype kicks into overdrive

2008-07-10T17:32:00.000+01:00

There are mere hours to go until the world-changing event that is the launch of the 3G iPhone...in the U.K., that is.

Of course, if you happen to live somewhere a few timezones ahead of British Summer Time, say New Zealand for instance, then the new version of the Apple handset has already gone on sale.

This fact was not lost on iFixit, a California-based blog that travelled all the way to Auckland to be among the very, very first in line to get hold of the new iPhone, so they could take it part, take photographs of its insides, and upload them to the Web.

Sadly Total Telecom didn't fancy travelling thousands of miles to pay hundreds of dollars for a handset locked to a New Zealand-based network, but nevertheless you will be able to get your iPhone fix on our Website. Phew!

June's top 10

2008-07-04T17:12:00.000+01:00

Want to know who's reading what in telecoms right now?

Here are the 10 most popular news stories on Total Telecom in June:

1. O2 UK bolsters WiFi hotspots ahead of 3G iPhone
2. 3G iPhone unveiled… and it's cheaper
3. Nortel plumps for LTE over WiMAX
4. Verizon wants Vodafone out of Verizon Wireless
5. Verizon Wireless to pay $28.1bn for Alltel
6. Reding proposes 15% FTTH risk premium, Euro-regulator alternative
7. TD-SCDMA woes rise with Datang's T3G sell-off
8. T-Mobile UK cuts data roaming charges by 80%
9. Nokia buys social networking start-up Plazes
10. Telekom Austria CEO blasts EU; cuts SMS roaming fees

China Mobile closes in on iPhone deal

2008-06-27T16:53:00.000+01:00

Comments made by China Mobile recently regarding its talks with Apple provided the strongest signal to date that the iPhone could soon be making an appearance in the world's biggest mobile market.

Now Apple is no longer insisting on a revenue-sharing deal, discussions between the pair are focusing on "practical issues", a spokesperson for the Chinese mobile operator told Reuters this week.

However, the source was keen to point out that a deal has not yet been reached, and as such, there is no timetable for the arrival of the handset in China.

Ofcom advises consumers on mobile use abroad

2008-06-27T16:40:00.000+01:00

Ofcom, the U.K. telecoms watchdog Friday published a information advising consumers on how to avoid bill shock when they use their mobile phones and Web dongles abroad.

Most of the tips are fairly obvious, such as finding out how much international calls and Web surfing will cost before you leave, or, checking whether or not calls from abroad are included as part of your monthly minutes bundle.

Yet, there is some advice that some people might be less likely to consider.

They include exploring the possibility of buying a local SIM card that will work in your handset, and contacting your operator immediately if your phone is lost or stolen in order to make sure you're not liable for the cost of any subsequent usage.

Still, the situation is set to change very soon, since next Tuesday is the deadline for operators to cut their international data roaming tariffs as set by EU Commissioner Viviane Reding.

Follow the news as it develops on Total Telecom.

In the meantime, anyone heading off on holiday with a phone or USB modem in tow can look up Ofcom's travel tips here, and even watch a helpful accompanying video here.

Virgin Mobile-Helio deal this week?

2008-06-25T17:58:00.001+01:00

Reports are once again circulating that Virgin Mobile USA will acquire SK Telecom's
Helio subsidiary.

The Financial Times reported that an announcement from both companies could be made this week.

Rumours circulated in May that Virgin and Helio were discussing strategic opportunities, although neither company was prepared to comment on the speculation.

What's more there were further signs this week that Helio is struggling in the U.S. market.

The operator listed a number of stores across the country that will close this week.

I like surfing in my car...

2008-06-24T16:38:00.000+01:00

If you think driving while using a mobile phone is pretty dangerous, read on.

In-car WiFi will become a reality next year, with U.S. car manufacturer Chrysler seen unveiling its UConnect Web System for cars later this week, U.K. WiFi specialists BWCS reported today. And according to the analyst firm, Chrysler plans to include the WiFi system into certain models from next year.

The Microsoft-backed system will essentially turn cars into WiFi hotspots, enabling occupants to access the Internet from the dashboard. The service will be provided by mobile phone networks and car owners will be charged a monthly fee for using it.

In theory, the system will allow drivers, as well as passengers, to surf the net while on the road, but to us that just sounds like a Darwin Award waiting to happen... or at least a mention in Total Telecom's weekly Totally Trivial column!

By the way, the Americans aren't the only ones keen to provide drivers with another reason to take their eyes off the road... once the radio's tuned, the kids have been silenced, and you've rescued that wayward piece of Ginsters pasty that was threatening to get lost between the seats, that is.

Germany's BMW has also demo-ed an in-car Internet system, but has not said when it is likely to become commercially available.

Telecom Blogs?

2008-06-20T15:07:00.000+01:00

I was looking at the website for this years Webby Awards and found a specific category for Telecommunications.

Focus is clearly consumer and perhaps 'telecom' in the broadest possible sense, but the winners and shortlist makes interesting reading:

Winner
Sidekick Wiki a community site for T-Mobiles sidekick handsets

People's Voice Winner
Sony Bravia- clearly one of the more vague definitions of telecom - isn't this a TV?

Nominees
Boost Mobile RockCorps - still no clearer what this is all about, so you'll have to decide for yourself - but some form of JV with Boost Mobile I think

Nokia Jealous Computers - spoof to support the Nokia N95 campaign, what computers have become

Nokia Picture Poetry a picture competition for Club Nokia members.

Proof if any is needed that creative marketing is alive and well in this space. Wonder if all the effort was reflected in increased sales??

iPhone Obsession

2008-06-17T23:50:00.000+01:00

It's official - well according to TT stats - we are obsessed with the iPhone.

Top stories on Total Telecom for June so far are:

3G iPhone unveiled… and it's cheaper
and
O2 UK bolsters WiFi hotspots ahead of 3G iPhone

and these have generated 25% more requests than the next most popular story. Not only that, but 'iPhone' has appeared in 40 TT stories so far this month.

Just in case anyone is in any doubt, there has been other news - but apparently Apple did something with the iPhone...

Google like it's 1999

2008-06-12T12:51:00.002+01:00

Google like it's 1999 - Engadget

This photo on engadget perhaps illustrates why Google has become scary. This is reputedly all the hardware used to run Google in 1999, whilst in a Forbes article last year Scott McNealy of Sun is quoted as saying Google purchased around 15% of all computer servers worldwide in 2006. Ouch!

The search is on

2008-06-12T08:52:00.001+01:00

So we're up and running, the search is on for telecoms Person of the Decade.

This year we celebrate 10 years of the World Communication Awards and to mark this milestone we will seek to identify the Person of the Decade.

The choice will be a public vote from a shortlist of 10, but right now we need to know who will make the shortlist.

We've asked the judges of the 2008 WCA for their nominations and the 'usual suspects' are in the frame, but we're also asking the industry to nominate who they think is the Person of the Decade.

Make sure your person of the decade is included, nominate today!

As food for thought, some of those in the frame are:

6 million iPhones sold

2008-06-10T09:55:00.000+01:00

Well, needless to say by now, Steve Jobs did indeed unveil the 3G version of the iPhone at the Worldwide Developers Conference 2008 yesterday.

And Total Telecom was right there covering that announcement ("right there" as in, glued to a computer screen in London, just waiting to bring you the latest from San Fran), so check out the site for more info.

In the meantime, here's a bit more from the event.

As we suggested yesterday, Jobs revealed that Apple sold 6 million iPhones globally in the past year since launch. Officially the handset is available in six markets, although Jobs made reference to the fact that there are iPhone users in many other countries, using a graphic to demonstrate the migration paths of the handset.

That graphic gave rise to my favourite quote from Macworld, which provided brilliant up-to-the-minute coverage of Jobs' speech last night: "The iPhone is apparently taking over the world, or at least winning at Risk."

Jobs also addressed the cost issue. Prior to revealing that the 3G iPhone would be priced at $199 and $299 for 8GB and 16GB versions respectively, the Apple CEO told the audience that 56% of people who didn't buy iPhones said that was because it was too expensive.

Time will tell whether the lower price drives take-up. Analysts are already predicting that as a result of the cost-cut, Apple is well on course to meet its 10 million target for this year. And Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster told Dow Jones Newswires: "We're much more comfortable now projecting Apple will sell 45 million next year."

Will he or won't he?

2008-06-09T12:18:00.001+01:00

Will we really see a 3G version of the iPhone later today? Most people think so, but Apple has surprised the industry before.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs is due to take the stage at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco at 6pm (U.K. time). Until then, it's all just speculation.

Many people expect Jobs to present a 3G version of the device and to reveal more flexible pricing options for the phone... specifically, to allow subsidisation of handsets in a bid to reach its 10 million units in 2008 target. It also seems likely Jobs will announce new sales figures for the iconic phone. Has Apple hit the 6 million mark?

The industry also expects various announcements on new iPhone software... but that's not to say the company will completely overlook the Mac at this year's event. There has been talk of the latest version of the Mac operating system - OS X 10.6 - despite the fact that Leopard (10.5) has not long been with us.

Any guesses on what they're going to call this one? Velociraptor.., duck-billed platypus.., Labradoodle, maybe?

Sadly, most of the predictions I've seen lately are plumping for Snow Leopard. Frankly, that just seems a bit dull.

Anyway, keep an eye on Total Telecom later for all the answers.

Global smartphone growth driven by U.S.

2008-06-06T17:37:00.001+01:00

The number of smartphones sold to end-users globally rose by 29% on-year to 32.2 million in the first quarter of this year, with handset giant Nokia growing faster than the market, according to new statistics published by Gartner.

The analyst firm reported that smartphones accounted for 11% of the global mobile device market in Q1.

Sales in EMEA reached 11.7 million units during the quarter, up 38.7%, while smartphone sales in North America rose by a massive 106.2% to 7.3 million units.

On a global basis, Nokia claims a 45% share of the smartphone market, recording growth of 25% in Q1. The Finnish vendor is the market leader in most markets, with the exception of the U.S., where number two player worldwide RIM is a more popular choice. The BlackBerry maker is hot on Nokia's heels globally though, with 1 42% market share.

And - heaven forbid we fail to mention the iPhone in a blog post - Apple comes in at number three globally with a 5.3% share, having sold 1.72 million handsets. The iPhone has a sizeable 20% of the U.S. smartphone market.

VON Dot Gone?

2008-06-06T14:00:00.002+01:00

A sad indictment of what happens when the plug is pulled is pulled on a company without much warning. In the 2 months since it started becoming common knowledge that VON was no more, there have been over 100 mostly sympathetic posts against Om Maliks article on Gigaom. However now the tide has turned as it appears the potential attendees to VONs Amsterdam event were treated less well:

For example, Beate said:

I wonder why nobody from (ex-) Pulver Media was concerned enough to inform the pre-registered visitors that the VON.x Amsterdam would not take place… reveals a telling lack of esteem and an absolutely unfair attitude towards their (ex-) business contacts respectively.

Having flown to Amsterdam, my colleague and I were not very amused to find out right outside the fairgrounds´ doors that the event was cancelled. At least we were not the only ones but met other people from several European countries who got stuck there as well.
VON seemed to have a mostly good following amongst those interested in VoIP in our industry, but if the rumours are true that TICC will try to sell VON to recover [some] of their money - this certainly isn't cultivating good feeling for the future.

U.K. Sidekick Slide users get MySpace

2008-06-03T20:11:00.000+01:00

A MySpace Mobile application is now available to T-Mobile Sidekick Slide users in the U.K., it emerged Tuesday, although there was no formal announcement from either Microsoft, which now owns Sidekick creator Danger, or T-Mobile itself.

In a nutshell, the application gives end users a better MySpace social networking experience, providing push, rather than pull, access to the service.

The Sidekick has yet to really take off in the U.K., although it has gained considerable traction in the U.S. The Slide, which was brought to market by T-Mobile UK in October last year, is the first Sidekick device to be manufactured by Motorola, rather than Danger's previous partner, Sharp.

There are no publicly available figures for the number of Sidekick Slide users in the U.K., but they are thought to be fairly few and far between. So essentially this looks like a bid to boost the popularity of the device this side of the pond.

iPhone: The losers

2008-06-02T18:07:00.001+01:00

You may have read last week on Total Telecom that Harald Neidhardt, CMO and co-founder of mobile advertising platform company Smaato, gave an interesting presentation at Visiongain's iPhone conference here in London.

At the event he presented the results of a survey carried out by Rubicon Consulting which, among other things, asked U.S. iPhone users what their previous handset had been. Moto's RAZR came out top and... well, the story's here for those who missed it, now updated with more stats from Rubicon.

UK says 'no' to iPhone

2008-05-29T16:02:00.000+01:00

"So, how many of us actually have an iPhone?" conference chairman Abraham Joseph asked delegates at the opening of Visiongain's iPhone: An Independent Conference in London on Thursday.

Silence. Cue the tumbleweeds.

"None then," he conceded.

Given the rate of attendance at the event, that was hardly surprising. At that stage in proceedings there were just six of us in the auditorium... perhaps another sign that the U.K. telecoms industry is not enamoured with Apple's must-have handset.

Numbers later swelled to around 10, with one iPhone user among us. Maybe things livened up later in the day. Unfortunately I didn't have time to stick around and find out.

One anecdote from an audience member in this morning's session was worth noting though.

An attendee shared the fact that a friend of his daughter - a girl of 11 or 12 years of age - was recently given an iPhone for her birthday. She returned the handset within a couple of weeks because without Bluetooth capability she was unable to share music and content with her friends in the playground, and this made the phone effectively "useless" to her. Not quite the epithet Apple was aiming for...

For more from the conference, including stats on the vendors that have suffered the most from the iPhone's launch, and more thoughts on future incarnations of the device, see Total Telecom.

MTS switches on Russian 3G network

2008-05-28T16:11:00.002+01:00

MTS, Russia's dominant mobile operator, Wednesday launched its 3G network in St Petersburg.

According to a report by Reuters, the company plans to spend a total of $1.6 billion on its high-speed mobile network through to 2012, and expects to generate $2 billion in revenues from 3G services in Russia by 2011.

MTS has also eyed up 3G launches in Uzbekistan in the first quarter of 2009, in Armenia before the end of next year, and at some point it plans to switch on a network in Belarus.

A Total Telecom reporter is on her way back from the launch in St Petersburg at this very moment, so look out for more details on our Website in the very near future.

Tackling the GRC issue

2008-05-20T17:24:00.003+01:00

Total Telecom has just published a white paper summarising UK telecom operators attitudes towards Governance, Risk & Compliance. Although not full of surprises, it's interesting reading, reassuring the operators take this very seriously, and great news if you work for an IT company.

However some of the biggest / most significant causes of compliance failure are people, so maybe the opportunity is for the training companies...

Download it for free from the Total Telecom white paper section

Ericsson to the rescue

2008-05-16T13:13:00.001+01:00

At Ericsson's Capital Markets Day this week, CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg said the company's first priority following the massive earthquake in Sichuan had been to ensure that Ericsson's China-based staff and their families were safe and well.

It transpires that the vendor also provides emergency mobile communications in regions affected by natural disasters such as these: On a tour of a model "cell site" at Ericsson headquarters on Thursday, our guide wanted to show us the emergency response GSM vehicle the company sends to troubled parts of the world, only to find the van being packed up in readiness for shipment to China. The guide explained that Ericsson pays for the emergency service itself, although political difficulties sometimes mean the van languishes in customs for several weeks...

Here come the girls...

2008-05-16T13:02:00.000+01:00

At Ericsson's Capital Markets Day in Stockholm this week, one financial analyst asked Ericsson's CEO if it is possible to make it onto the Swedish vendor's board if you are, a) not a man, and b) not Swedish.

Carl-Henric Svanberg had to concede that Ericsson's management board does largely comprise Swedish men. But he stressed that more women are now coming up through the ranks, and also noted there are a few non-Swedes now in leading management positions.

The analyst may have had a point, but on the male/female question, perhaps Svanberg should have thrown the question back to the audience of largely male financial analysts...