Airwide gets wider
Airwide Solutions splashed down in Finland this week with the acquisition of First Hop, a company that provides mobile service control and gateway technologies.
Airwide already had a mobile messaging gateway product, so why invest in FirstHop? Airwide's Jay Seaton said that although some legacy messaging vendors were struggling to provide service innovation, Airwide was definitely not one of those companies. Instead, the acquisition made sense because operators are demanding a modular approach to building messaging infrastructure (the best storage, the best router etc) and FirstHop brings to Airwide best of breed next gen messaging gateways.
Staying with messaging, NeuStar racked up another customer announcement with the news that SFR will be rolling out NeuStar's Mobile Messaging Gateway (MMG) solution to offer mobile access to MSN Messenger customers. The announcement shows there is still mileage in the gateway messaging space, as operators stick in the main with hovering up the in-line communities, alongside longer terms goals to develop their own IM communities through SMS+ type strategies.
Another mobile IM provider lost a well known industry face this week, with Oz's Beverly Wilkes heading off to voice-messaging provider Spinvox, to market their services to US consumers. Whether this is a sign of the times for Oz or not, it's too early to say.
There was significant investment news in the advertising space as well, with word that Telefonica and Vodafone have become strategic investors in mobile advertising company Amobee. It seems the operators need somewhere to go to fend off the coming advance of Google, which mobile companies fear, although they also state the company adds little value to mobile. How this investment will sit with Yahoo! though, with whom Vodafone has a very close relationship on mobile advertising, is another thing.
Finally, there was some interesting research from IMS which pointed out that, for all the talk of FMC and VoWiFi, at the start of 2006, there were globally only around ten handset models featuring built-in Wi-Fi chipsets.The count has risen to approximately 25 handset models in 2007, driven by operators of both mobile and fixed networks launching fixed-mobile services and special home-zone tariffs, IMS said. Bill Morelli, Mobile Technologies analyst at IMS Research, said that by 2012, he expected one in five handsets shipping to contain WiFi. "While this is respectable growth, it is far more moderate than what many ardent FMC supporters are projecting," Morelli said.
For our twopence worth, and having spoken to Vyke's Aaron Powers this week, we feel confirmed in this opinion even more. VoWiFi adoption will only be widespread when operators stop trying to enable it 'over here' (where they want to eat up fixed line minutes) but disable it 'over here' (where they want to stop standalone VoIP providers stealing their own minutes). At the moment the user experience is too confusing and laboured. Until there is industry momentum to enable a smoother, more integrated service, it will remain at best an enterprise and 'in the know' consumer experience.
After all, merely having WiFi enabled handsets in the market does not equal VoWiFi use
Pick of this week's stories
28 November, 2007
NeuStar and SFR offer Windows Live Messenger to mobile users in France
NeuStar has today announced that it has partnered with leading mobile phone operator SFR to bring Windows Live Messenger to SFR's 18 million customers in France.
27 November, 2007
Nokia Siemens Networks supplies new indoor mobile network coverage solution to Bouygues Telecom
Bouygues Telecom has chosen a new solution from Nokia Siemens Networks to improve indoor GSM mobile network coverage for its customers. The innovative solution, featuring small-sized base stations, allows improving and extending coverage for instance in high office
28 November, 2007
Actix introduces new multi-technology capital planning module
Actix, the specialist in Network Status Management (NSM) solutions for mobile operators, has launched a Capital Planning Module (CPM) to complement the Actix Radioplan automatic planning suite for mobile radio access networks. Actix' Radioplan CPM is said to
28 November, 2007
New research said to uncover convergence disconnect
Subscriber management, controlling identity across multiple access networks, and delivering sophisticated data services, number among the biggest convergence challenges facing service providers, according to a wide-ranging global report launched today. The independent research, sponsored by Apertio, questioned over
27 November, 2007
MACH helps Vivacell deliver Financial Clearing and IOT Check Solutions and extends contract for Data Clearing
MACH, the global clearing and settlement specialist in mobile based transactions, has today announced that VivaCell, a subsidiary of Mobile TeleSystems OJSC, has chosen MACH's Financial Clearing and IOT Check (Inter-Operator Tariff) solutions, while also extending its contract for
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