Industry giants unite to deliver alternative future for Mobile Broadband

Details: Category: Wireless Networks; 13 October 2008; 8198 views

Sixteen of the world's best known IT and mobile companies have united behind a GSMA-led initiative to create a new category of always-connected Mobile Broadband devices, intending to deliver an alternative to WiFi whereby customers will go online while on the move. The companies estimate that they will have access to a US$50 billion opportunity, basing their figure on a study commissioned by the GSMA and Microsoft and implemented by Pyramid Research (the survey involved more than 12,000 consumer interviews, as well as extensive input from manufacturers, component suppliers, chipset producers and over 200 field trials with mobile operators).
Of crucial importance to the emerging markets 57% of the demand estimated in the survey comes from emerging Asia-Pacific geographies, with only 15% from North America and a mere 11% from Western Europe.
In the first phase of what the GSMA describes as an unprecedented initiative, mobile operators, PC manufacturers and chipset providers are uniting to pre-install mobile broadband into a range of notebook PCs that will be ready to switch on and surf straight out of the box in 91 countries across the world. A new global identifier will help consumers identify "ready-to-run" Mobile Broadband devices, namely the Mobile Broadband service mark, which is all set to enjoy a US$1 billion global media spend in the next year.
"Mobile Broadband is like a home or office broadband connection with one crucial difference: freedom. Freedom from hot spots, freedom from complexity and freedom from security concerns," said Michael O'Hara, CMO of the GSMA. "The Mobile Broadband badge will assure consumers that the devices they buy will always connect - wherever Mobile Broadband is available - and that they can expect a high standard of simplicity and mobility."
The initial phase

Integrating Mobile Broadband into notebook PCs is the first step in a wider strategy to deliver wireless Internet access and management to a whole range of previously unconnected devices - from cameras and MP3 players to refrigerators, cars and set-top boxes. However, only devices that offer a truly untethered Mobile Broadband experience, such as those offered by the 16 companies announced in today's programme, will qualify to carry the new service mark. The launch participants include 3 Group, Asus, Dell, ECS, Ericsson, Gemalto, Lenovo, Microsoft, Orange, Qualcomm, Telefónica Europe, Telecom Italia, TeliaSonera, T-Mobile, Toshiba and Vodafone - some of the world's largest technology brands and operators serving more than 760 million connections (Wireless Intelligence).
"The Mobile Broadband initiative is a timely one in that it leverages the increasingly widespread availability of high-bandwidth networks in both developed and developing economies," says Shiv K Bakhshi, PhD, IDC Director of Mobility Research. "While there will always be a place for WiFi connectivity, the great merit of Mobile Broadband might be that it liberates the user from the spatial tyranny of the so-called "hotspot." A Mobile Broadband solution, informed by close collaboration between PC makers, chipset vendors and mobile operators, should focus on appropriate optimisation of the services and superior performance on the device, and consequently, a better user experience," Bakhshi notes.
Today, more than 55 million people subscribe to Mobile Broadband services in 91 countries - a number expected to grow by four million per month by the end of 2008, according to Wireless Intelligence. Mobile Broadband products are designed to work out of the box, are integrated for simplicity and supported by PC manufacturers such as Lenovo and Toshiba.

* The Mobile Broadband service mark incorporates HSPA (High Speed Packet Access), HSPA Evolved and LTE (Long Term Evolution);

** the survey research estimated total demand of 79.5 million notebooks (worth some US$50 billion in 2008) for notebook PCs in the high-growth, mass-market US$500 - US1,000 price range with built-in Mobile Broadband. The survey also indicated that 88% of consumers planning to buy a notebook in this price-range would prefer Mobile Broadband built-in to notebooks to their original choice and that in 2008 OEMs are planning to ship some 33 million notebooks in this price range, only a fraction of which will be Mobile Broadband ready.

*** Other research highlights showed that while most usage is in the home, the majority (78%) of respondents citied at least two other locations where they regularly used their notebooks. Some 75% of consumers plan to buy notebooks in the 9" to 15" range - very small or very large form factors are not driving purchasing influences.

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