Archive for MWC Barcelona
by Debi Jones
February 25, 2008 at 6:21 am · Filed under Mobile messaging 2.0, Mobile World Congress, MWC Barcelona
Mobile Messaging 2.0 followed the many events and releases coming out of the Mobile World Congress last week. There are
advantages in assessing conferences both from attending the event and also from outside of it. Like sporting events attendance reveals the reaction of the live audience - sometimes emotional - and provides interaction with other attendees which colors our experience. Real time feed back provides one perspective and the remote viewing through TV for sports provides a different level of detail and a different experience. So is the case, with reading the releases of participating companies and the reactions of journalists, bloggers and competitors. The mitigating factor is time. Participating in an event limits time to consume the firehouse of detail reported out of and around large industry events like the Mobile World Congress.
Mobile Messaging 2.0 (MM2) provided both perspectives. Paul Ruppert attended the event and launched the coverage with a prognostication on 2008’s hot topics and industry cold spots. His article, Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, outlined 9 topics or topic areas that would be significant coming out of the conference.
- Mobile Advertising
- Africa
- Mobile Payments
- Mobile User Generated Content
- Mobile Social Networking
- Mobile TV
- LTE - Long-term-evolution (network technology)
- Cost savings and Efficiencies
Check out Paul’s take to find out what he predicted would be the cold spots and decide if his predictions were on target, or off base.
As one would expect, Ewan Spence had an ear to ground on developments coming out of the handset/OS sector. His article highlights the Sony Ericsson announcement of a Windows Mobile device including analysis of SE’s possible strategy. Ewan posits that the US market doesn’t “get” the Symbian OS. Certainly, this position creates an opportunity for discussion.
The Mobile Monday Peer Awards are always on my radar. It is truly special to be recognized by your peers for accomplishment in mobile applications and services. Of course, the ultimate recognition comes from sales and/or adoption, but those who have performed well in these awards have also been recognized in the marketplace. This year was unique as one company captured the attention of the jurors, the audience and the MoMo chapter leaders from around the world. Buzzd, local party search company, received all three Awards in their category of Early Startups. Buzzd also announced a deal with Helio, US MVNO. Check out the article for what other companies to watch in the Emerging Startups category.
Imran Ali introduces a company called modu in his article. A company that Imran points out is creating flexibility through experience versus technology as advocated by open API evangelists. Is the market ready for an infinitely upgradeable device? Imran offers some critical aspects of execution that will either spur modu forward or trip them up.
Additional observations on innovations from Paul feature encryption for SMS from CellTrust, and Gesture-Tek turning your phone camera into an eye on the world around you. Using the camera as a sensor, instead of a media capture device is truly creative. Read about these innovative technologies in Paul’s articles on CellTrust and Gesture-Tek.
Mobile World Congress resulted in thousands of press releases some of the larger companies were well reported in the corporate press, many bloggers featured new handset releases, and startups were well covered by the usual news sites: MoCo News, TechCrunch, Mashable, etc.
At MM2, the discovery of unique developments, as featured from this year’s MWC, and messaging trends draw our attention. Many of our readers have long-term direct involvement or long-term observation of the mobile industry. It is no surprise that what results in our coverage of an event like Mobile World Congress would be off the beaten track of the world’s largest mobile players or the new efforts from Internet companies. These announcements and pre-announcements were well documented elsewhere.
by Paul Ruppert
February 24, 2008 at 6:08 pm · Filed under Mobile Payments, Mobile World Congress, MWC Barcelona
Tagattitude
NFC using the phone’s audio channel to transmit secure data signing transactions.
Translation: How to use the phone’s voice channel as an NFC (Near Filed Communication) device enabling mobile payments transactions. Really? What are you making a call to use the channel? No.
Like GestureTek, Tagattitude shows combinatorial innovation where a set of seemingly unrelated component technologies can be combined for new innovative applications. It uses NSDT (Near Sound Data Transfer). Consequently any existing or future mobile phone can make a secure mobile payment transaction similar to those of specialized NFC services requiring embedded handset software, clients or other more complicated and costly NFC solutions. Time saver, money saver, means faster to market in the NFC world. 
I like Tagattitude since it fills technology gaps and provides interoperability which are key factors in harvesting revenue from mobile technology. It provides a technical bridge until the complete, more robust deployment of NFC solutions hits the marketplace. It offers low cost contact-less services for non-NFC phones. It can be a backup for NFC services in case of temporary unavailability. It offers immediate contact-less payment solutions to begin educating the market. Great value proposition.
All these leapfrogs the need and necessity for hardware medication or software injections while awaiting for mobile phones with new technology. It uses a previously otherwise used audio channel as a cryptographic pipe to transmit secure transaction data. Very clever. This simple use of “current pipes” is ideal for established and emerging markets.
Imagine you’re a street agent for a carrier in an emerging economy country and would like to have a transfer from your phone account to a subscriber’s. With Tagattitude, the agent’s “point of sale terminal” can be his mobile phone, and he can readily accept and make transactions. This is significant to the operators as well since they can transform all their prepaid accounts to essentially pre-paid money accounts thus offering mobile payments to all their customers. An FI (Financial Institution) can also launch mobile payment solutions independently of all telecom operators.
Founded by three French smart card and telecoms execs, Yves Eonnet, Loic Eonnet and Herve Manceron, the company is based in France and funded by Innovacom, Orange France Telecom’s venture arm.
by Paul Ruppert
February 19, 2008 at 7:25 am · Filed under SMS, Messaging, Mobile World Congress, MWC Barcelona
As I’ve been wandering through the MWC halls of the Fira at Plaza D’Espanya I’ve been lucky to discover some interesting companies and propositions in the mobile industry. There are also media events with some select companies available for in-depth review. Here’s one which caught my eye at Showstoppers ( www.showstoppers.com ) regarding text messaging security : CellTrust.
CellTrust challenges the notion that SMS is considered “secure.†They’re right. 
CellTrust provides security for SMS. Oh, you thought SMS is actually “secure”? Mate, when it comes to security it is all about degrees. Sure, for us consumers, sending short texts to each other, is secure enough. Who knows you might even be lucky enough to pull a bird by sending tonight’s pub meet to the wrong number. But what about enterprises that send out alerts and notifications to their work force, customers or even critical caretakers of mission critical equipment like your electric grid? Consumer grade security isn’t “reliable” for CIOs and company IT leads or for the even more demanding management of mobile banking or transactions. That’s where CellTrust positions its proposition. It hardens SMS.
CellTrust provides control, accountability, compliance and security to SMS in the enterprise environment. Using pubic key encryption they guarantee recipient end-to-end privacy and two factor authentication without the expense and complexity of a proprietary, bespoke (custom fit for you non-Anglophiles) solution. By providing the SMS gateway to the enterprise, their 
encryption technology layered over the routing rules enables CellTrust to create a secure SMS environment.
I had ever thought of security as critical in a consumer messaging company, which is why CellTrust caught my eye. Through the combination of their platform technology and a micro client with password protection they secure and provide an SMS security solution. Although, they could have modified the MAP layer of the SMS as we did at the former Mobile 365 to provide tracking capabilities through our networks. My two cents of consulting is this is something they should consider as an added layer of functionality in their security “suite.”
A “hardened” SMS comes with guaranteed secure delivery through their “Advanced Encryption Standard, a read and delivery confirmation to the sender, option for password protection prior to decryption and display of a message, even a remote wipe API, for when that handset is lost or stolen Mr. Phelps, you know your mission remains secure and possible.
I would think the natural market for this would be banking applications, as well as government authentication–although i think much of that may have already been explored and gobbled up by RIM’s Blackberry. Who knows, but definitely watch CellTrust.
Do you know whether your SMS is secure?
by Paul Ruppert
February 16, 2008 at 12:38 pm · Filed under Mobile messaging 2.0, Events + Conferences, Mobile World Congress, MWC Barcelona
The GSM Association, aka “the GSMA”, is the power behind the Mobile World Congress, and the prior “3GSM”, the former “GSM Congress” and the first “GSMA Plenaries” over the last 20 years of its existence. 
The ramp up of the organization’s reach and influence has been under the leadership of Rob Conway, a former Motorola executive, the CEO of the GSMA since 1999. It is Conway that deserves much of the credit, as well as taken the heat of criticism of, for 
what the GSMA has become–the sine qua non global trade organisation for the mobile world. Given the initiatives he has pushed forward over his tenure he rightfully deserves part of the credit of the domination of GSM as a standard ( 840 GSM opertors and only 160 CDMA ) providing service to 85% of the world’s mobile phone users. Much is often covered of the bitz and bites of technology and whatever is new, but the GSMA is a reflection as much about harvesting the power of technology as it is about power politics and the influence of large companies. The board members consisting of the governing body of the GSMA reflect the largest operators in the world including Vodafone, China Mobile, Turkcell, Orascom, Bharti Airtel, NTT DoCoMo, Telefonica O2, SingTel, ATT, KTF, and TIM.
The central voting membership of the GSMA is GSM operators only, but more than 180 manufacturers and suppliers are members of the Association’s initiatives being key partners as “Associate Members.” Verizon and Sprint of the US are not members, but other original CDMA operators are such as NTT DoCoMo of Japan, and SKT of Korea are now since they have GSM apsects of their 3G networks. Even the first ATT Wireless, a TDMA operator as part of MaBell actually petitioned for special observer status back in the early 00s since it didn’t want to be on the side line of the global mobile industry body.
Clearly, Conway’s vision is the major driver behind the financial success of the GSMA’s sponsored events around the world which includes the control and production of the Mobile World Congress events in Barcelona and Asian-angled MWC Macau launched last November. Shifting the focus of the events from the original carrier limited engineering and international roaming discussions, Conway moved the emphasis to a traditional trade revenue driving event to be held in Cannes soon after his arrival in ‘99. The 3GSM events exploded there, and the limiting confines of Cannes quickly posed a barrier to larger commercial opportunities, which controversially shifted the event to Barcelona starting in 2005. Simultaneously he clawed back GSMA events control from the global conference and research provider Informa, and now the MWC events are fully a profit center within the GSMA. A massive one in fact which probably eclipses the membership fees which are a sliding upwards scale based on revenues generated.
What was initially considered a staid, operator engineering “talkshop” (after attending my first plenary in 1997, I ironically characterized it to my boss, as “Congress without its swift consideration of issues.”) Now the MWC is THE mobile industry event, and through the regional series for developing markets the ComWorld Series no one misses the opportunity to engage at a GSM oriented event.
Nothing comes close to the scale, breadth and depth of analysis, and variety of attendees literally from every corner of the globe as the GSMA’s Mobile World Congress, now with celebrities the likes of Robert Redford, Isabella Rossellini, Bollywood actress Sherlyn Chopra, and Black Eyed Peas founder WILL. I. AM as part of the mobile industry fabric. As a personal reflection of that, through serendipity on Wednesday I was within 15 feet of Redford as he spoke of the impact of mobile on film and his initiatives to capture mobile film making talent through his Sundance Institute. Later that night I fell into a spontaneously organized tapas dinner which included industry executives from the US (me), South Africa, Dubai, Zimbwabe, UK, Czech Republic, Brunei, China, and Australia. Interestingly we all had a common connection beyond the mobile industry. Its a great business if you’ve got a global perspecitve.
At this year’s GSMA’s CEO Keynote, Conway covered what are the GSMA’s core messages: impact of social nteworking, LTE (long term evolution), mobile broadband, data usage factors, protecting young consumers, and the ever present “Green.”
Framing his comments with the continuing huge growth experienced in the mobile industry globally, Conway’s highlights include a view that despite changes in the surounding economic climates around the world, GSM’s growth is “propelling wholly new dimensions from social networking and enterntainment to environmental” arenas.
Reflecting the core technology, he reiterated that the GSMA Board’s strategy is to use LTE to deliver mobile broadband and that the GSMA will embarce all who do so, including CDMA operators. He referred to WiMax as a “niche access technology that he trusts will be complimentary” to LTE. Proof that the technology wars still have their skirmishes.
It is the GSMA’s belief that the tipping point for HSPA Mobile Broadband has been reached not only in mature markets but also in emerging ones. He pointed to over 160 operators having already deployed the technology and another 160 operators having already deployed the technolgoy and aontehr 67 set for deployemtn providing access speeds of 3.6Mb/s, with another 420 HSPA enabled devices already available, and growing fast. If you sitll wonder if WiMax has any big play traction, check out KTF’s differentiated services in Korea as a reflection of the power of HSPA vs WiMax as well as how in South Africa MTN’s mobile broadband connects the unconnected.
On innovation, Conway identified the GSMA achievement of working with Microsoft to identify the global untapped market for the sub $1,000 notebook market with embedded HSPA, blazing a trail for a “whole new device category - mobile broadband networks.” (Although a significant piece of that is also due to the likes of Intel that are working with banks around the world such as HSBC in India to provide low monthly payment rates to purchase a laptop). He also highlighted the establishment of the GSMA Innovation office being established in Atlanta last year.
The GSMA loves these initiatives — they deflty enable them to help shape and define the regulatory market by forcing industry players to take action and thus shape public opinion back on the regulators and the market. Be proactive not reactive when it comes to dealing with standards bodies and governments. The Association’s new Horizon Phone initiative, and the new Mobile Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Content are two new ones this year. Past initiatives including dotMobi top line domain registration, personal instant messaging initiative, and mobile money transfer.
He concluded on two different points that reflect how far things have changed since the original GSMA efforts to promote the GSM standard as the global brand tended to focus the event on carriers, handsets, and infrastrcuture providers. Outlining how mobile is making great strides as an entertainment platform, he announced the launch of the Mofilm initiative which he called a “unique forum” to connect with the film industry ecosystem.
The GSMA is partnering with Mofilm to present a short film showcase for mobile phones, including cutting-edge new films from world-leading film festivals and content providers.
The partnership follows the success of last year’s experimental Sundance Film Festival – Global Short Film Project–a collaborative pilot between Sundance Institute and the GSMA that stimulated excitement in the opportunities for independent, cinematic short films for the 4th screen.
Mofilm has uniquely brought together the Festival De Cannes Short Film Corner, Sundance Channel, the Shanghai International Film Festival, and the Festival del Film Locarno, as well as leading Bollywood content provider Hungama Mobile, to showcase an international collection of short films on mobile devices. Covers all the regional bases of the globe there.
A closing note on environmental issues, the GSMA is using its Development Fund to catalyse action and raise awareness of what the industry can do for the benefit of the environment. (This was a major aspect of China Mobile’s CEO comments as well.) Given that we are close to 3.2 billion mobile communicators in the world, where do you think those handsets are going after two years use?
The GSMA isn’t about HLRs, base station subsystems, and IMEIs anymore.
by Paul Ruppert
February 16, 2008 at 6:55 am · Filed under Mobile World Congress, MWC Barcelona
After posting that I was going to be at the Mobile World Congress this past week, some of you may have wondered why I didn’t put up any posts. Let’s put it this way, a few friction points emerged.
Roughly 50,000 people attend the MWC, 
and although I heard pre-event rumours that attendence was down, once there, it was apparent that was a media red herring. It couldn’t have been more crowded. There hapened to be a bus strike which started on the first day. Taxi ques were roughly 75 meeters long.
Winjing is not my style, but think of my past week as, Snap, Crash, Lost, Vandalized
Snap. One Fried Computer Battery
While in London the weeek before, my computer battery died-it no longer was willing to hold a charge. Only way it worked was if plugged into a wall outlet. Pretty inconvenient if you want to take notes or blog while in a presentation at the biggest mobile convention known to man, especially since auditoriums with 1000 people don’t have outlets at every seat. Argh.
HTC smartphone OS crashes
My HTC Dash, essentially a small computer with a phone, which runs an operating system just like a desktop, crashed on Sunday. I turned it off to board my flight from London, then couldn´t turn it back on. Late Sunday afternoon in Spain is not the time to have a technical retail need of any sort. Everything is closed. Everything.
Spent 75% of my Monday missing the mobile payments seminar I was keen to attend, looking for a local phone store with SIM unlocked phones. Found one, chose a phone, went to the caisse. Figured I would peek at my Dash one last time before putting down the cash. Miraculously it was working. Cash outlay averted but mucho time and emotional cycles lost as well as 40 text messages and six voice mail missed. Avoid the Microsoft Windows for Mobile. At least I was connected again.
Lost: My Lifebook
I´m anal when it comes to organizing prepartion for serial meeting environments such as these, so I use a small three ring binder which had my briefs for meetings, my schedule, and topics for a media event with a panel of experts I was chairing. Monday evening while at an InMobile cocktail event, where I was drinking nothing stronger than diet coke, my knapsack unzipped in transit and the notebook stumbled out, lost. Major bummer since I had to recreate from memory three remaining days worth of scheduled meetings, plus notes from 4 days of a consultancy I just started, and my direction notes for the big event my client was hosting in two days. Time to scramble.
Voyage Return: Vandalized
I thought I had put all my problems behind me when at 04:15 am on Friday, serendipity played it’s hand while I walked out of my apartment to run into a Japanese fellow getting into a cab with an MWC knapsack. He invited me to share it to the airport, then proceeded to pay it all since he was a journalist covering the event. Great start to the day and time to bury the past week. Alas, by the day was over the Yang had overpowered the brief Ying. When I picked up my garment bag at IAD (Washington DC-Dulles) a locked compartment had been torn open and clothes, files, and my CardScan device had been pinched. If you want to read the full diatribe on this click here.
I’ve never been a believer that real deals are executed here, this is all about meet and greet, but the bump in factor, and the specatacle is always worth the effort. Compartementalizing the technical issues out from the rest of the event, it is really quite good to be there.
So, I’ll be posting a number of items from manual notes I took over the next few days covering a swath of topics, analysis and impressions. Hope the latency gap doesn’t diminish your interests.
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