European GSM operators deal data

Wireless players who attended both the Wireless '99 convention and the GSM World Congress in Cannes, France, which occurred within two weeks of each other, were struck by the difference in focus between the shows. The U.S. Wireless '99 show touched on some far-off data improvements, as operators here continue to build and tweak their networks. By contrast, the European show involved detailed discussions of future data improvements and real data services.

Sari Baldauf, president of Nokia Telecommunications, summed up the thrust of the GSM show. "We must transfer our focus from the ears to the eyes," she said. In the GSM world, that transfer is beginning to happen as operators begin to implement general packet radio service (GPRS).

The introduction of Internet protocol, many manufacturers said, will further the benefits of implementing data solutions such as GPRS. "It's the network, not just RF, that we need to think of," said Matt Desch, president of Nortel Networks.

IP could solve the wireless data "killer app" quandary. "The bad news is there is no killer app," said Ken Blakeslee, vice president of business development for Nortel Networks. "The good news is there are thousands of killer apps."

IP would make the development of applications very easy. In the Internet world, application developers roll out countless new applications daily and then leave it to the market to determine their success. The same sort of development could occur in the wireless marketplace with IP-based networks, said Lothar Pauli, CEO of the wireless and intelligent networks division of Siemens.

For any data service to succeed, though, operators need to make changes internally. Carriers will be challenged as they approach the creation and introduction of third generation services, said Ben Timmons, director of global market development for Cable & Wireless. "It takes a transformation in our own organizations," he said.

That transformation may need to be significant, according to Ericsson. Operators must better target appropriate customers-namely today's heavy data users, said Fadi Pharaon, marketing manager for Ericsson's wireless datacomms group. How can operators attract those targets?

"Become an [Internet service provider]," Pharaon said. "Data is not another GSM feature." Operators will have to change their entire approach to the market, including how they price services and the image they create for data services, he said.

Operators have the opportunity to take advantage of existing short message services and pending GPRS data speeds to try out services that might become profitable with 3G systems, said Graham Trickey, director of network solutions for Motorola's Communications Enterprise.

He also pointed out that some data applications with perceived high value can be offered with far lower data speeds than many may assume. Applications offering e-mail access, for example, don't need huge data speeds because the constant connection that GPRS systems offer would allow e-mail messages to trickle in as they are sent, as opposed to arriving slowly all at once when a user dials in, Trickey noted.

However, all the talk of applications at the GSM show may have been just that-talk. James Pratt, CEO of Hong Kong's Peoples Telephone Co., said he attended the show in hopes of returning to his highly competitive market with differentiating applications in hand. Instead, he'd return home empty-handed because few applications are ready for use. Those differentiating applications are crucial today, though. "The days of the mobile phone market being a major cash cow are dying," Pratt said.

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