India to become world’s second largest mobile broadband market (India)
The GSMA has announced that India will become the second largest Mobile Broadband market globally within the next four years with 367 million Mobile Broadband connections by 2016. In doing so, India will overtake the US, which will account for 337 million Mobile Broadband connections by 2016, but will still be second to China, which will have reached 639 million Mobile Broadband connections in the same period.
Since 3G licenses were first awarded to mobile operators in India in September 2010, Mobile Broadband connectivity has grown steadily. There are now more than 10 million HSPA connections across the country, and this is expected to grow exponentially, by 900 per cent, to more than 100 million connections in 2014. This will make India the largest HSPA market worldwide within the next two years, surpassing China, Japan and the US in the process.
According to a company report Anne Bouverot, director general of the GSMA, said that the mobile industry in India is set for immense growth as Mobile Broadband technologies such as HSPA and LTE start to proliferate, but there is scope for far greater development. Further, to take full advantage of this, the Indian government should facilitate the timely release of additional spectrum in a fair and transparent way for all stakeholders. The benefits are clear to see – a 10 per cent increase in Mobile Broadband penetration could contribute as much as US$80 billion of revenue across the country’s transport, healthcare and education sectors by 2015.
As per a GSMA study, despite a large rural population, mobile growth in India is being largely driven by more affluent communities in cities. Net additions in urban areas reached 85 million last year compared to 57 million in rural areas, with mobile penetration increasing by 20 percentage points in urban areas to 161 per cent, against a 6.5 percentage point rise in rural areas to 36.6 per cent.
The provision of Mobile Broadband in rural and remote areas will help India bridge the so-called ‘digital divide’. It will improve productivity, help overcome the constraints of transport infrastructure and provide much needed services such as banking, health and education. Given the significant social and economic benefits, expanding affordable access to Mobile Broadband should be a high priority of the Indian government.
The study reveals that with an average retail price of US$500, the cost of an LTE smartphone is four times the average monthly GDP per capita in India, and at an average of US$200, the retail price of an LTE USB dongle is twice an Indian’s monthly income on average. As LTE networks proliferate worldwide and more devices become available, costs will come down. Initiatives like the introduction of the low cost Aakash tablet in India are helping spur widespread access to the Internet in emerging markets, but more can be done.
Bouverot also said that it is important that all citizens in India have access to high-speed Internet connectivity and the transformative opportunities it provides. The current average cost of an LTE device is prohibitive for the uptake of Mobile Broadband for those on low incomes. The GSMA is committed to working with its mobile operator members to investigate innovative ways in which to make access to the mobile Internet more affordable for all.
FMP Samsung wins two awards at the Mobile World Congress 2012 (Spain, South Korea)
Handset maker Samsung’s main distributor for mobile devices, Future for Modern Products (FMP), was quite successful at the Mobile World Congress 2012 recently held in Spain. According to reports, the South Korean manufacturer was awarded two awards for the year by hosts GSMA of Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona as, ‘Device Manufacturer of the Year’ and ‘Best Smartphone’.
Samsung was awarded best smartphone for the Galaxy SII which is considered to be its most successful smartphone yet. Both FMP and Samsung have reportedly been involved in discussions during the event, charting out future growth possibilities and opportunities.
As per reports, Shehab Rashad, Commercial Director of Future for Modern Products said that they have always been proud of their association with Samsung over these years and recognitions like these for the brand and its products reinforce their belief and commitment to Samsung. Through their partnership, they have expanded the market share for Samsung products in the region, thereby creating a formidable combination of best products with impeccable sales and after sales network.
MWC 2012 sets new record for event attendance (Spain)
The Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, Spain has proven to be extremely successful. According to a report by the GSMA, the event played host to over 67,000 visitors, setting a new record for the number of attendees. The event was covered in four days and integrated the different players in the telecom industry on one platform.
According to reports, John Hoffman, CEO, GSMA Ltd., said that the 2012 Mobile World Congress was a phenomenal success, by any measure. The record numbers that attended this year’s event underscore how central mobile is to the lives of people around the world. He added that this is also illustrated by the breadth of companies that participated at Mobile World Congress, with representation from not only the traditional mobile industry players, but companies from vertical sectors such as automotive, health and finance, among others. It’s exciting to see the powerful role mobile has in driving innovation in new markets.
Further, reports reveal that the MWC helped inject over US$ 395 million to the Spanish economy, an increase of US$ 33 million from the past year. Hoffman added that the Mobile World Congress is an important contributor to the Barcelona economy, and as a key pillar of the Mobile World Capital Barcelona, it is a positive factor in driving new opportunities for companies and individuals in the city and region.
Qtel launches mhealth service (Qatar)
Telecommunications provider Qtel has reportedly launched a mobile health service enabling users in Iraq, Palestine and Kuwait to receive personalized health tips on their mobile phones. According to reports, the telecom operator will organize mhealth workshops in partnership with GSMA in an attempt to raise awareness and reach out to more customers.
As per sources, the operator believes that mobile health helps provide people living in remote areas access to necessary medical information. Reports reveal that Dr. Craig Fridericks, Director (Health), GSMA, said that they are working with mobile network operators (MNO) worldwide to highlight how they can implement mHealth initiatives into the market that will offer significant health and lifestyle benefits to end users.
Digicel rolls out mobile money service in Samoa
Digicel has launched the Digicel Mobile Money service in Samoa. The service enables customers to use their mobile phones as electronic wallets, conduct money transfers, deposit or withdraw cash from their e-wallets, to buy and send top-ups, and to pay utility bills.
The Digicel Mobile Money service has been developed with the support of the Central Bank of Samoa, the United Nations Pacific Financial Inclusion Fund (PFIP) and the GSM Association (GSMA).
World’s leading mobile operators announce commitment to NFC technology
Many of the world’s leading operators, including America Movil, Axiata Group Berhad, Bharti, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, KT Corporation, MTS, Orange, Qtel Group, SK Telecom, SOFTBANK MOBILE, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Telekom Austria Group, Telenor and Vodafone, have voiced their commitment to implementing Near Field Communications (NFC) technology, and intend to launch commercial NFC services in select markets by 2012.
“NFC is perhaps best known for its role in enabling mobile payments, but its applications go far beyond that,” said Franco Bernabe, Chairman, GSMA and CEO, Telecom Italia. ”NFC represents an important innovation opportunity, and will facilitate a wide range of interesting services and applications for consumers, such as mobile ticketing, mobile couponing, the exchange of information and content, control access to cars, homes, hotels, offices car parks and much more.”
The market potential for NFC is significant the total payment value for NFC globally will reach more than euro 110 billion in 2015 and momentum behind the technology is growing rapidly. To address this opportunity and to provide valuable new services to mobile users worldwide, the operator community is focused on driving the standardised deployment of mobile NFC, using the SIM as the secure element to provide authentication, security and portability.
To achieve this, the GSMA will develop the necessary certification and testing standards to ensure global interoperability of NFC services. This interoperability is critical to the widespread adoption of NFC, enabling users to benefit from NFC services around the world, regardless of operator network or device type.
“As we have seen, the adoption of different approaches to NFC will only serve to fragment the market,” continued Bernabe. ”By uniting around a single standardised approach to mobile NFC and by collaborating across the entire ecosystem, our industry will continue to develop the compelling services that customers demand.”
About the GSMA
The GSMA represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry. Spanning 219 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organisations. The GSMA is focused on innovating, incubating and creating new opportunities for its membership, all with the end goal of driving the growth of the mobile communications industry.
For more information, please visit Mobile World Live, the new online portal for the mobile communications industry, at www.mobileworldlive.com or the GSMA corporate website at www.gsmworld.com.
Mobile Operators plan to make Instant Messaging, Live Video Sharing, and File Transfer as Easy on the Mobile as Calling and Text
The GSMA is welcoming a new version of Rich Communication Suite (RCS) that will enable mobile phone customers to use instant messaging (IM), live video sharing and file transfer across any device on any network operator. Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telecom Italia, Telefonica and Vodafone intend to commercially launch RCS across several European markets from late 2011, and additional operators are expected to launch later in 2012.
Once adopted, Rich Communication Suite – e* (RCS-e) will enable customers to use these enhanced communication services across mobile networks in a simpler and more intuitive way. It is based on a specification put forward by Bharti, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Orascom Telecom, SK Telecom, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Telenor and Vodafone which aims to lower the hurdle and speed up the market introduction and adoption of these services.
With RCS-e, customers will be able to use IM, share live video and share files such as photos simultaneously during calls, regardless of the network or device used. RCS-e will enable users to communicate in a very natural way, much like with GSM voice and text today, and will also offer the simplicity and security customers expect from mobile operator services.
As customers open their address book, they will be able to see which communication services are available to them. They can then choose their preferred communications option. For example, a customer would see if their contact is in an area with 3G coverage and is able to receive video.
The participating operators will work with handset suppliers to ensure the service is integrated into the address books of devices, so that customers will not have to download any additional software or technically configure their handsets in order to benefit from the enhanced experience.
“Mobile operators are committed to giving their customers greater choice in the way they communicate with one and other,” said Rob Conway, CEO and Member of the Board of the GSMA. “We welcome the pragmatic approach taken by these operators to accelerate the commercialisation of RCS and simplify the experience for mobile customers and we will work to adopt this specification within the RCS initiative.”
The RCS specification is designed to be interoperable between all operators and devices, giving customers greater choice in how they communicate. The new RCS-e is the result of extensive trials and is a subset of the current RCS 2.0 standard with enhancements. It is focused on extending the principles of voice and SMS calls to deliver an advanced set of interoperable data-centric communications services.
Available to all operators through the means of the GSMA, the RCS-e specification is available at www.gsmworld.com/rcs. In addition, visitors to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona from February 14 to 17 will be able to see live demonstrations of the specification implemented on devices at the RCS exhibit in the App Garage, Stand 7APG, Hall 7.
* RCS-e is a new enhanced version of the RCS specification which is based on the use across networks of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) technology, an architectural framework for delivering Internet Protocol (IP) multimedia services.
About the GSMA
The GSMA represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry. Spanning 219 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organizations. The GSMA is focused on innovating, incubating and creating new opportunities for its membership, all with the end goal of driving the growth of the mobile communications industry.
For more information, please visit Mobile World Live, the new online portal for the mobile communications industry, atwww.mobileworldlive.com or the GSMA corporate website at www.gsmworld.com.
Toshiba to deliver NFC-enabled SIM Cards to KDDI (Japan)
Toshiba has stated that it will start the delivery of commercial User Identity Module (UIM) cards supporting Near Field Communication (NFC) to Japan’s KDDI Corp.
The newly developed UIM card consists of CDMA2000 and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and supports NFC, which is expected to go into the commercial service soon.
According to the company, the card was developed based on the latest specifications of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute-Smart Card Platform (ETSI SCP), GSMA and GlobalPlatform (GP). In addition to this, the card is compatible with GSMA’s Pay-Buy-Mobile programme and meets the security level required for international payment applications.
The card will allow the users to access services in such areas as electronic payment, transportation, personal identification, coupon redemption and more.
KDDI initiated verification testing on contactless IC technology subject to the ISO/IEC14443 Type A/B international standards in May 2010.
KDDI used handsets supporting NFC in order to verify the technical reliability and user-friendliness of the application systems including electronic payment. Toshiba, which started to develop a UIM card in 2009, participated in the testing in order to verify the reliability of the UIM card and to establish the technology.
Toshiba stated that it is ready to mass produce UIM cards for the global market and will promote UIM cards to MNO worldwide, including operators in Europe, the US and Asia.
