ITV

Tag: GPRS

  • Network18 to provide Idea subscribers with news content

    Network18 to provide Idea subscribers with news content

    MUMBAI: Network18 will pump in customised finance, news and technology content to Idea Cellular subscribers.

    The services will be powered by the group’s online news properties – moneycontrol.com, IBNLive.com and Tech2.com.

    Subscribers to general news and tech content will have to pay Rs 30 a month while the weekly fee is Rs 10 and for daily services it is Rs 3. The subscription price for finance content is Rs 50 a month, Rs 15 a week and Rs 5 per day.

    “These offerings are a great beginning for us. With the combined expertise of Network 18 and Idea Cellular, we will be able to serve the masses in a better manner,” says Network18 mobile business head Rahul Pandey.

    The services will be available to GPRS users of Idea across its 15 telecom circles in India. The service can be accessed on Idea’s WAP portal- wap.ideaFresh.com.

    “The sites will offer information and updates with text, video and pictures in a crisp, mobile-friendly format for Idea GPRS subscribers on the move,” says Idea Cellular CMO Pradeep Shrivastava.

  • Zee Business to launch lifestyle and mobile shows for youth

    NEW DELHI: Zee Business is launching two research based business, interactive, blog-backed programmes this May onwards, targeting the youth.

    Zindagi Live will debut on 14 May as the first combo show on lifestyle, shopping, careers, informed spending and infotainment.

    The second show, Mobiles and More, is dedicated to the growing mobile handset market and seeks to inform viewers so that they can select a handset of their choice and in their budget.
    Zindagi Live is a value for money show, educating and informing viewers about products in the same categories in an effort to help them make an informed buying decision.

    The programme also has dedicated segments on career, health, beauty, movies, travel, the best deals, interiors, homes and weekend getaways.

    Mobiles and More as the name suggests is your guide to buying a mobile phone. Not just the latest handset, but handsets, which you want in your budget. Mobiles and More looks at all this and more.

    In fact, Zee officials told indiantelevision.com that the mobile-related show would have latest information on discounts and which shops in which cities these are available.

    “We shall do our own research, which will be an ongoing process, and bring to the audience pointed information on what is available where,” a Zee official explained.

    To highlight the features and utilities of available handsets, various segments within the programme have been designed.

    “Review”, a segment of the programme, will give a macro view of latest mobiles in the market. In addition to the basic features, it will analyze the handsets enhanced features like video, picture quality and audio quality.

    The handsets will be scanned through under the shadow of their respective competition in the market.

    Another segment, “Budget Phones” will profile cheap and utility handsets available in the market. Dressing up your phone with the accessories and other things will be discussed in the Accessories.

    “Features will tell us how to use a handset’s complicated and flashy things like GPRS, Blue tooth, MMS etc,” the official said, adding that another segment, “Upcoming Phone” will feature a handset yet to be launched in the market.

    There will be an interactive session – “Complaint” of industry experts dealing with the viewer’s genuine problems related to their mobile phones.

    Also, a blog will be showcased to list the comments received from people. The programme will keep the viewers informed about the latest discounts available in the markets.

    The show also compares a new phone with a similar phone in its category and generates a report card on the phone, keeping in mind pre-defined parameters.

    Zindagi Live will discuss ways to get more value for money. The show would comprise a few segments to help common man to take an appropriate buying decision.

    “Buying, as the word suggests, will highlight the aspects of a product (any) to be considered before making the purchase. Fashion Story will talk about trends of clothing and apparel prevailing in the market,” the official said.

    Food freaks will find all the information on eating-joints around and its specialty in the segment Restaurants.

    The programme will also put the spotlight on Health and Beauty, Home and Interiors, Movies, Travel, Star-signs, Career/Education besides Weekend Out, which will highlight various Plays-Rock Bands-DJs playing in the city.

    A trend story will focus on burning issues like metro-sexuality, Lounges winning over Pubs, World Cup Fever etc, the official revealed.

    The programme will also share city’s hottest deals and discounts offered on various products.
    Zindagi Live will starts on 14th May and will be telecast every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:30 pm with a repeat at 4:30 pm.

    Mobiles and More will begin next weekend on Sundays at 10 am and Friday at 10:30 pm.

  • Star looks to give mobile users a Plus experience

    Star looks to give mobile users a Plus experience

    MUMBAI: In an effort to tap into the burgeoning mobile sphere, Star India is launching the platform Plus by the end of February.

    Star is hoping this initiative will help users go beyond using the mobile for text and voice. It is being positioned as a solution for consumers to catch up on television, sports, movies, shop and bank on the go.

    Speaking on this, Star Mobile Entertainment senior VP Viren Popli says, “The mobile service is a particularly valuable tool for those who do not have access to the net. They can access the digital world. You do not need to change your phone. You need GPRS to download the application for free. There will be a monthly fee of around Rs 2 for the content. Of course ringtone downloads or purchases will be billed separately.

    “Once a user downloads the application he will see nine buttons. These are TV, Sports, Music, Movie, Lifestyle, Community, Downloads, Info Services and Help. TV has a TV guide. We also offer mobisodes of our shows. This is basically a summary of the episode that has just aired. You can also get wallpapers. As far as information services are concerned we have a few partners. For banking we have tied up with HDFC. It allows you to access your account, ask for a cheque book.”

    Popli adds that in the travel, segment there are two partners – Travelguru and makemytrip.com. One can buy tickets and make hotel reservations. Star has also tied up with Infomedia for the Yellow Pages service. Here you can search for phone numbers. For astrology there is a tie-up with Dinesha Speaks. The sports section has a news desk for cricket, hockey, golf, tennis etc. One can also get ball by ball updates.

    In the movies section one gets clips, news and reviews. For music the firm has tied up with Universal Music. One can get information on new releases, classics etc. One can listen to clips before deciding whether or not to make a purchase. Popli adds that as of now five to 10 per cent of mobile phones in India have GPRS. Hopefully in two years time with services like this launching 30-40 per cent of phones will have GPRS.

    He says that the service took six to seven months to set up. One criteria was that the user should not have to change his/her phone. Also the interface needed to be easy to use. Right now the interface is in English but Star is looking at making it available in other languages as well. Going forward Plus’ aim will be to add to the depth and breadth of the services it offers.

    For instance, in TV in the future one might get other channels’ schedules and have clips from there besides the Star bouquet. That is one reason why Popli says the name Plus was given to the service to separate it from the Star brand name. The firm is also examining the possibility on introducing mobile blogs, mail as time goes on.

    In the Lifestyle section one can get information on cars courtesy a tie up with Overdrive. Then there is a tie-up with T3 for gadget news. Computing information comes courtesy Chip. Design tips will be provided by Better Interiors. Fans of audio can learn what is happening thanks to a tie up with AV Max. If one wants to buy a car for example one can put in a price range and then see what is available. A review will be there and then one can ask for a test drive.

    The Community section will offer Midnight Chat on Channel [V] as well as shopping. One can also blog here.

  • ‘User generated content is popular in news, music and sports genres’ : Pankaj Thakar – Cellcast Interactive India CEO

    ‘User generated content is popular in news, music and sports genres’ : Pankaj Thakar – Cellcast Interactive India CEO

    With user generated content (UGC) on the rise globally,UK-based Cellcast is betting that its Sumo.TV platform for broadcasters would catch on in India and other parts of the world. People can send in video content and if it is fit for television viewing, it will be put up.

     

    Cellcast is also looking to launch shows on different TV channels for which it buys airtime. Indiantelevision.com’s Ashwin Pinto caught up with Cellcast Interactive India CEO Pankaj Thakar for a low-down on the company’s plans in India.

     

    Excerpts:

    Could you give me an overview of Cellcast and the services it provides?

    We work in the area of developing participative content. People watch television and consume it either by mobile or IVR or the internet. Cellcast is a technology and a format company mixed into one. We have integrated technology that is inexpensive to use. Both small and big broadcasters depending on what they want can use our formats.

    What are your different revenue sources?

    Our main revenue source is through mobile, IVR and internet. People pay for premium services like SMS, MMS, Wap, GPRS. We have a show called Bid2win which be participated through SMS or IVR or you can go to the net and log on to the website. We buy airtime on channels and showcase our content.

    In India you worked with Star on their reverse auction format and with Zee on their PlayTV channel. How was that experience in terms of viewer uptake and channel response?

    We did some projects with them. The results were positive with both and the projects were big. We got PlayTV off the ground pretty fast. However we feel that we have to be in control of our own destiny. We are out of PlayTV. We have bought airtime on Sony, Zee, Sahara, Zoom. That is why we could not continue with PlayTV.

     

    For PlayTV, we did a Housie format. We used formats that work in a diptest environment so you know whether or not the audience is ready to respond. We are now looking to increase the number of formats on air on different channels. By March we hope to have six formats on air.

    Could you talk more on this?

    We currently have bid2win and Bollywood Dhamaal. The latter was launched on Max on 7 January. In the first episode alone we got 100,000 responses. It is a game show where two anchors talk to the audience.

     

    There are some puzzles shown on TV. Some people get to call live and if they solve the puzzle they win prizes. At the end there is a jackpot round for Rs 100,000.

    What are the other formats being looked at?

    We have a sports format called Beat them All. We have been talking to Max about this. We are talking to Max to use this as the World Cup is coming up. It is a virtual cricket set up that you play along with. If you beat six top players you win Rs 10 million. We did an offline test with a mobile operator and we got 100,000 responses for an India versus South Africa match. This works via SMS and IVR. We are looking at an interactive astrology show, a social networking show, a music show and a matrimony show.

     

    By social networking, I mean making friends through television. Already it is happening on the net through sites like MySpace. For astrology a viewer can send in an SMS and the astrologer will answer the query. The matrimony show will involve helping the person make the initiative to find a partner. TV is a powerful social medium and can attract people from all parts of life if it is put in a social environment. I am not sure if girls would want to do this but a guy can put his picture and say that he is looking for a bride and this is his background.

    How cost effective is it to acquire airtime?

    It is cost effective in a sense. If the response rates are good, you will be fine. The rationale behind buying airtime is to show people that our formats work. 250 episodes of bid2win got 20 million responses. It has generated $1.4 million in revenue. It is a clear-cut winner. A broadcaster otherwise has to produce his own content, find advertising money. Here we give them free content and pay for the slots. So it is a win-win situation for everybody.

    Could you talk about your channel business in the UK?

    We run six channels on the Sky platform. We also have airtime on Freeview. We have been operating them since 2002. Since we run our own channels, we can experiment with different types of content, technology. This is then exported. Our channels include a psychic astrology channel. We started with one hour and the channel has grown. We have a network of psychics who take calls. We have a dating channel and so people can call up and find people and do matchmaking. We have a shopping and auctions channel.

     

    Apart from this we operate a channel in China in Shenzhen called Mymobile TV. We operate quite differently outside the UK. We form partnerships with broadcasters to provide programming or buy airtime.

     

    We would like to eventually start a channel in India on a DTH platform. Our goal is to set up channels on satellite in different countries. We have experience in running small, vertical channels in a multi-platform environment. Our speciality besides providing content lies in running channels in different genres. Our dream would be to run an auction channel and a game show channel in India for sure down the line. However we have not set a timeframe.

    What have the key learnings been from running your own channels?

    I think that it is in terms of the nature of your whole business model. To bring in a niche audience you have to really know how to engage that audience and look for alternative sources of revenue. There is no advertising and subscription income. While profits have taken a hit our revenues in the UK are strong.

     

    Our channels in the UK are freely available for those who have Sky. You have to provide an engaging experience that people are willing to pay for. Our motto is pay and play. Our experience has been that people will pay for services like an auction.

    Won’t it be difficult to launch a channel in India as DTH has a transponder space problem?

    We face universal constraints. Measat 2 has launched for South Asia. Suddenly space for 400 channels is available.
    ‘bid2win got 20 million responses and generated $1.4 million in revenue. We will increase airtime buying on channels‘

    How did the concept of Sumo.TV come about and what were the technical challenges initially faced?

    It came out of the participative content that we do. In the UK when we did MMS participation, people sent pictures, lots of videos. We realised that since there is a huge market out there we can actually encourage people to create their own content and send it to us. The challenge was to build a content management system. The other challenge is how do people who participate be a part of the value chain. With mobile technology that allows you to download services we have solved that puzzle also.

     

    Sumo.TV basically invites individuals to share their personal or creative videos that can be featured on primetime television. Sumo.TV has already launched in China and in the UK. In fact in the UK we have started a 24-hour channel where content is distributed solely by the viewers. This exceeds what youtube and MySpace can do. All content can be shared through the site, www.sumo.in, where viewers can through the net or mobile post their content, which can then be viewed and shared.

    How does the monestisation process work?

    It is very simple. If you download content through mobile or net we charge for it. The content creator gets a percentage of the revenue accrued. There is a pre-agreed revenue sharing arrangement for all the partners in the value chain. Every time content is downloaded by another user or shown on television or streamed on the mobile the creator gets a percentage of revenues. Effectively Sumo.TV users are being invited to set up their own mini-channels. In the UK everyday the site gets 80,000 unique visitors. Of course there is a filtering process and so all submissions are not accepted. This is how we are different from youtube. Whatever is accepted must be fit for television viewing.

    What about India?

    We are talking with Indian broadcasters regarding airing user generated content on their channel.

    Have any special services been introduced in India?

    Cellcast India has introduced three services in India. One is Sumo Ki Pehchaan. This is where you submit a clip and the best one wins Rs 100,000. Then there is Sumo Ki Sangeet. Here you can submit a video of you singing or playing a band. While Indian idol gives an opportunity to talent, Sumo.TV will open avenues to talent that had been previously hesitated to come forward. Then there is the Super Sumo challenge. Here one can submit a short socially relevant film. We will look to help broadcasters build on content.

     

    A UGC platform like Sumo.TV allows for expansion of content and the most important part is that it connects viewers to viewers. Right now 100 TV programmers decide what a billion people should watch.

    But while India is a huge mobile market the concept of user generated videos is new. Mobile participation is as of now mostly limited to SMS, chat. How long do you feel it will be before UGC takes off in India?

    Well 30 per cent of mobile phones in India in 2009 will have a camera. This means 60 million camera phones or one camera for every 20 Indians. The question will be whether any event can remain in the private domain.

     

    An event which can’t be published in a newspaper or be seen on television can be put on Sumo.TV by someone who feels that the event is important. More video content will be consumed. This will however not replace traditional television. The fact that Apple has come out with the iPhone, which has video ipod, web, camera, shows convergence. Right now there are nine million phones that are GPRS enabled. This itself is a big number.

     

    The UGC process can be described as aim, shoot, compose, post and share. Our strategy with broadcasters will be with licensing and revenue sharing. The first step will be to help them aggregate content. Once that is done there will be licensing fee and a revenue share with downloads if for instance Sony asks viewers to send in content.

    What genres are popular with UGC? How do you authenticate content?

    In the short-term shock therapy works. So news, music videos and sports are the three main genres. For authentication we are developing tools. Doctored video we have figured out. But as far as the authenticity of the actual event is concerned, it is for the broadcaster to figure out.

    What are the advantages for advertisers in a participation environment?

    You can tag the product lines, do product placement along with return messages. Participation means a two way communication process. There is a chance for the advertiser to put in a tagline. At first advertisers did not understand the power of UGC. They were also worried about issues of IPR. Once those get sorted out, they will be more than happy to come on board.

    Could you talk about how Cellcast is taking advantage of the synergy between mobile and the internet?

    Going forward, five years from now net will be as present on the mobile as it is on the PC. I do not see a reason to treat them as two separate mediums. Once bandwith prices get rationalised, people will use the mobile to access the net.

    How important do you feel India will be for Cellcast five years down the line in terms of business being generated?

    India is a key market along with UK, China and Brazil. That is where the mobile uptake has been at its most healthy. It has been a long, hard road to get to where we are in India but now we are stable. We have a team that is expanding. From two people, we are now 30 people. We get creative work outsourced from India as the talent here is fantastic.
  • Idea Cellular launches Easy Mail

    Idea Cellular launches Easy Mail

    UMBAI: IDEA Cellular Ltd an Aditya Birla Group cellular company, has announced the launch of simple to use push based e-mail service called Easy Mail.

    This personalised email solution targets all customers who have GPRS enabled handsets. Its a clientless service with which any individual or enterprise subscriber can access emails as an MMS on their handset anytime anywhere, asserts an official release.

    With Easy Mail, any IDEA GPRS subscriber can access his personal emails with all features like reply, forward with free POP3 access and no hassles on infringement of security. The service can be customised to receive emails from select recipients only.

    Commenting on innovation Idea Cellular Ltd chief marketing officer Pradeep Shrivastava said, “Easy mail is an exciting product for those of us who wish to remain accessible on the move. The product does indeed redefine email access and provides an easy to use interface for every IDEA GPRS user. I am certain that Easy Mail will prove beneficial especially to our small and medium enterprise customers.”

    Easy Mail has been priced at Rs 3 for all outgoing emails and Rs 1 for incoming emails. To get started, all a customer needs to do is to type an MMS ‘GET’ and send it to 2222. All MMS’s sent and received from 2222 will be toll free.

    Easy Mail’s helpful features include several simple to use commands:

    – HELP: Provides help on commands and their use.

    – STOP: Temporarily stops all e-mail from being pushed to the mobile phone

    – START: Resumes e-mail push

    – ALIAS: Creates a personalised e-mail address for your mobile number

    – FROM: Sets the name and address that appear on your outgoing mails.

    – SET: Generates a WAP push to view and configure your settings

    Idea also offers other push based e-mail services like Idea Mail, targeting business users using any range of the Symbian and Windows enabled mobile devices with GPRS connectivity. This service offers true push technology with real-time synchronisation of mail on mobile devices with the corporate email server, adds the release.

  • Nokia’s solution helps telecom operators fight bandwith challenges

    Nokia’s solution helps telecom operators fight bandwith challenges

    MUMBAI: To help mobile operators better manage their data traffic, Nokia is introducing a network solution that lets operators globally control the use of network resources by bandwidth hungry applications such as file sharing and Voice over IP telephony — giving operators the tools to maintain better control over their networks.

    The Nokia Peer-to-peer Traffic Control is the industry’s first integrated solution to allow mobile operators to profitably manage the bandwidth available for peer-to-peer (P2P) traffic, and thus balance the allocation of network resources. The centralised solution is implemented as a software upgrade to the Nokia Flexi Intelligent Service Node (ISN) and will be commercially available during the first half of 2007.

    Nokia VP, marketing and sales Roberto Loiola says, “With the explosion of affordable high-speed mobile data access, operators are now being challenged to make the best possible use of their networks, especially when peer-to-peer applications increase their traffic load and compete with their own services.

    “The Nokia Peer-to-peer Traffic Control solution now gives operators the means to analyse and manage such traffic. It allows them to apply their business models by prioritizing the traffic of preferred services and partners, maximize their return on network investment, and avoid becoming only bit pipes for other content providers.”

    The Nokia Peer-to-peer Traffic Control solution enhances the service, subscriber, and access awareness capabilities of the Nokia Flexi ISN to identify data traffic according to the type of service, for example file sharing, so that operators can treat that traffic in a way that best optimises the use of network resources according to the operators’ business strategy.

    Nokia will be demonstrating the Peer-to-peer Traffic Control solution at Nokia World, the premier mobility event of the year for the press and the Nokia ecosystem of operators and partners. Nokia World takes place in Amsterdam from 2-30 November 2006.

    Nokia recently concluded its 50th commercial Flexi ISN deal, cementing its leadership position in the Intelligent Packet Core market. The Nokia Flexi ISN, introduced in February 2005, is a high-availability, high-capacity connectivity and control element that offers service availability for mobile users independent of the access method.

    It acts as a centralised control point for data services, providing cellular network users with data connectivity. The Nokia Flexi ISN also offers open interfaces to charging, provisioning subscription management systems. In addition to the Nokia Flexi ISN, Nokia has a total of over 120 GPRS packet core references.

  • ‘Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses’ hits mobile content in India

    ‘Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses’ hits mobile content in India

    MUMBAI: Mobile content based on Barbie’s latest movie, Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses has been launched across mobile networks in India including Hutch, Airtel, Idea, BSNL, MTNL, Reliance and Tata.

    Wallpapers, animations, themes, mono tones, poly tones, SMS tones, true tones, video clips and MMS Clips / M-cards will also be available and can be accessed by any GPRS enabled phone, informs an official release.

    Speaking on Barbie’s latest marketing initiative Mattel Toys India managing director Sanjay Luthra said, “The range of 12 Dancing Princesses: the dancing Barbie doll, the other doll characters, a musical castle, a stretch-limo Carriage etc. supported by lifestyle consumer products – takes every little girl deeper into the world of brand ‘Barbie’ and enhances her magical experience and interaction with her favourite Doll. Mobile content is one more avenue to reach out to parents’ who are trying to keep up with their tech-savvy Kids!”

    He added, “While Experiential Marketing has always been an important element of our Brand’s Strategy; 360 Degree programs such as these, merely help to build our consumer’s loyalty and inclination to “live in” Barbie’s world with Barbie and for parents who want to teach their children, traditional family values and togetherness that that we respect as part of our Indian beliefs, Barbie brings alive the same, through story and example.”

    Speaking on the mobile content offering the digital content production and distribution company, Rajshri Media (P) Limited managing director Rajjat A. Barjatya said, “We have been enthralled at the response to Barbie mobile content over the last one year and are delighted to release yet another property on the mobile phone. In fact very soon, we have plans to bring Barbie a lot more close to you, by launching the Barbie MobiWorld on our short code and a series of mobile games too. We are quite confident that the new initiatives we are taking, along with Mattel, will be well accepted.”

    In addition, this entertainment property is also supported by lifestyle consumer products such as: the animation movie content on VCD and DVD from Universal Pictures and distributed locally by SaReGaMa, and other licensed consumer products such as storybooks from Euro Kids and Sterling Publishers, role play toys and costumes, My Size jigsaw puzzles and tableware from Mahindra Intertrade , play cosmetics from Magicwell, bags from Genius Leathercraft, innerwear from A-Klass Fashions, nightwear from SD-Lounge and bed linen from Portico, adds the release.

  • Cell users worldwide prefer GSM: study

    Cell users worldwide prefer GSM: study

    MUMBAI: The subscriber results from Informa Telecoms and Media’s World Cellular Information Service for 1Q 2006, 3G Americas reports that cell phone users across the globe choose GSM 10 to one over any other wireless mobile technology.

    According to the study, the customer base for the GSM family of technologies which include, GSM, GPRS, EDGE and UMTS/HSDPA — grew by nearly 120 million additional subscribers in 1Q 2006 alone, compared to the total net growth of CDMA of about 12 million customers.

    Today, the 1.85 billion users of the GSM family of technologies make up more than 81 per cent of the wireless mobile market worldwide, with total subscribers of CDMA at less than 300 million and a 13 per cent market share. There were 57 million customers using UMTS services at the close of 1Q 2006.

    The results also indicate that from Q1 ’05 to Q1 ’06, the GSM family of technologies showed continued growth throughout the Western Hemisphere, adding nearly 95 million new customers — 3.5 times as many as CDMA – and approaching a quarter of a billion customers in this region alone.

    CDMA’s customer base in the region grew to a total of 169 million in the same time period with 27 million new customers and market share declining to 34.6 per cent, along with CDMA to 11.6 per cent. By contrast, the growing market share for GSM reached 47.8 per cent. Latin America and the Caribbean once again nearly doubled their GSM customer base in these 12 months, growing from 77 million customers in March 2005 to 150 million by March 2006.

    In this region, more than 19 million GSM users were added, versus 2 million for CDMA. GSM now has nearly 150 million customers in Latin America and the Caribbean and over a 58 per cent share of market, indicating that it is the no.1 technology for wireless mobile services.

    In the US and Canada, GSM operators reported exceptional growth, with 4.8 million new customers added in the 1Q 2006 for a customer base of 84 million.

    3G Americas president Chris Pearson said, “The majority of wireless customers are selecting GSM service for the value and variety of products and services that are supported by a global eco-system of manufacturers, encouraged by open technology standards versus proprietary standards.”

    “In addition, carriers throughout the Americas and worldwide continue to choose EDGE and UMTS/HSDPA as leading next generation technologies for wireless data services for many compelling reasons, such as spectral efficiency, global roaming, economies of scale, handset availability, as well as the potential for increased revenues from 3G services,” he added.

    According to a release, the growth of GSM is evident in the number of carriers upgrading or changing their technology platforms in the industry for a variety of strategic business reasons. These include veteran CDMA operators such as Telstra in Australia, and KT Freetel and SK Telecom in Korea who are deploying UMTS/HSPDA. Chinook Wireless (Montana) made a similar announcement to deploy GSM/EDGE to ‘enable their subscribers to benefit from higher performing network service with increased coverage, higher voice quality and advanced digital data services like multimedia messaging and Internet browsing.’ To date, at least 11 operators have announced CDMA to GSM migrations or dual technology deployments.

    Globally, the GSM family of technologies continues its rapid evolution to 3G high-speed wireless data. EDGE is commercially offered by 133 operators across 80 countries, including 31 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. There are 81 additional EDGE networks planned or in deployment. Currently, there are 105 UMTS networks in service across 50 countries, with 59 more planned or in deployment. HSDPA, which is an enhanced version of UMTS for high speed mobile broadband, was launched first in the world by Cingular Wireless in 16 markets in December 2005.

    Now, five months later, HSDPA is commercial on 22 networks and 73 additional operators have networks planned, in deployment, or in trial. Rogers Wireless of Canada will deploy HSDPA before year end 2006; T-Mobile USA has announced plans to do the same when spectrum resources are acquired. It is expected that nearly all UMTS operators will deploy HSDPA, essentially a software upgrade to UMTS, resulting in a significant increase in data capacity and offering operators a much-reduced network cost for data services.

    Additionally, through its level of scale, GSM serves emerging markets, providing a sub $30 GSM cost handset to the market and reducing typical capital expenditure for deploying a GSM network to a quarter of that required for CDMA, according to the GSM Association.

    This data is based on figures from Informa Telecoms & Media, which provides business intelligence and strategic services to the global telecoms and media markets.