Bulk Mobile Messaging as a prerequisite marketing tool for enterprises

Continuous technological updations have changed not only our lifestyle but also our work style. Transformation of mobile and cellular technology has lead to the use of Bulk sms as a preferred choice by enterprises, especially for marketing purpose. Large target audience and mass campaigning have become a necessity for business these days, hence a new concept has emerged called the Bulk Messaging. Bulk SMS gateway is a system with which organizations/ institutions enables themselves for sending or receiving large volumes of SMS by using bulk mobile messaging solutions. An important thing to be focused is the number of characters used in a SMS need to be restricted to 160.The Bulk messaging service follows a specific channel with particular bandwidth limitation. The message senders can also receive delivery reports for the sent SMS. The most useful feature of this service is that a single SMS can be forwarded to a large number of people at a single point of time. Minimum number of recipient is 1 and can be increased to a large volume of numbers. Each and every user will be having a unique sender identification tag generated and the sender while sending Bulk SMS uses the same ID brand.

Bulk text messaging basically refers to an advertising medium where the organizations send single promotional information to many individuals at the same time. Many reputed companies are making use of enterprise mobile messaging for promoting their product because of its low cost nature. The advantages of Bulk messaging services are cost effectiveness, time saving, instant delivery of messages and instant measurable response for the sent SMS from the recipients. Thus SMS marketing provides a sure shot method for reaching a wide base of clients; more and more companies are using this method to reach out to their client base as it can be delivered without any geographical boundaries with guaranteed delivery to the recipients. Another advantage of using SMS as a medium of marketing is that chances of remembering SMS are higher than remembering an email and also that reach of short messaging service is very wide spread. By using a bulk sms gateway, users can deliver bulk sms’s worldwide quickly, cheaply and reliably for running competitions and marketing campaigns, sending notifications to employees, notifying customers of deals, promotions and events etc.

There is lot of potential which will enable a continued growth of Text messaging and will provide a platform upon which further new technologies will be able to stretch their arms. No organisation or a brand can afford to be left behind in the rapidly evolving market place. The use of bulk sms is the best and the quickest way to reach your customers.

ValueFirst Messaging Private Limited provides bulk SMS service solutions for large, medium and small enterprises. ValueFirst provides a unique, end-to-end, global carrier-grade mobile data service. The mobile data service offering includes "plug and play" application licensing and hosting. Employing a partnership with mobile operators and a clear focus on SMS mobile messaging. ValueFirst’s Mobile Messaging Platform is capable of delivering SMS services to virtually any CDMA/GSM mobile handset.

SMS is now an integral part of the communication strategy

Short Message Service or SMS as we all know it, is a messaging standard specified by ETSI (European Telecommunication Standards Institute). The first SMS was sent over the Vodafone GSM network in Dec 1992 in the United Kingdom. The earliest use case for SMS as a key communications channel was as an alert application by operators wherein they started sending SMS messages to subscribers to notify them that they had voicemail. However the turning point was when the operators launched the service, which enabled the subscribers to send messages from the phone to other phones (called P2P messaging). The operators started charging the subscriber and the SMS industry was born. According to Wikipedia, SMS text messaging is the most widely used data application on the planet, with 2.4 billion active users, or 74 percent of all mobile phone subscribers sending and receiving text messages on their phones.

According to Portio Research, mobile messaging is a fast growing and exciting industry, generating revenues of 130 billion USD worldwide in 2008, and this figure is set to rise to a market value of 224 billion USD by full year 2013. As per their recent report, SMS still accounts for the majority of that revenue, and SMS will remain the most dominant mobile messaging format for most of the next decade. SMS has generated revenues of 89 billion USD in 2008, and the world has seen traffic of almost 3.5 trillion SMS messages in 2008. The report forecasts that SMS will become a 100 billion USD business by 2010, and worldwide total traffic will reach almost 5 trillion messages in FY 2011, and growth will continue from there.

As the market and growth for voice services gets saturated, mobile operators in most parts of the world are focusing their attention on Mobile Value Added Services (MVAS) for additional revenues and differentiation. In the Indian context, a recent report from IAMAI and eTechnology Group@IMRB forecasts MVAS revenues to be 9760 crores by end June 2009 which is further forecast to grow to 16520 crores by end June 2010. The bulk of the revenue contribution comes from P2P messaging (37 percent), which is exchange of SMS messages between mobile subscribers. The peer/person-to-application (P2A) or application-to-peer/person (A2P) messaging contributes about 16 percent of the revenues.>>>

What can mobile do for your brand?

For years, mobile was the underachiever of digital advertising, tipped for great things but never delivering its true potential. Many brands regarded advertising on mobile phones as an afterthought, while the campaigns that did run on mobiles were uninspiring, using basic SMS text messaging to reach customers.

However, the iPhone and Google's open-source operating system Android have been "game changers" for the industry, according to Shaun Gregory, managing director of media business at iPhone service provider O2 - and the mobile advertising market has caught fire.

Both services offer fast and easy internet access on the move, and have been developed for mobile phone rather than PC users. The fashionable iPhone, for example, provides access to thousands of applications that advertisers can use to reach consumers, from virtual pints to a driving game for the new Volkswagen Polo. Last month, Apple's app store notched up its one billionth download for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

"Serious money is flowing into mobile advertising. Mobile has come of age," says Russell Buckley, global chairman of the Mobile Marketing Association and vice-president of global alliances at agency AdMob, whose clients include Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, and MTV Europe. He says: "Thanks to the sophisticated advertising formats made possible by the mobile internet, it is a completely different medium and is developing a new identity."

Edward Kershaw, vice-president of mobile media at Nielsen Online, agrees. "Adoption and usage are snowballing. Consumers are already open to mobile advertising, albeit with reservations. But, when they do experience mobile advertising, their ad recall is significant and the response rate high - particularly when you target specific usage."

In the UK, the mobile advertising market is still small but growing fast. In 2008, the market was worth about £28.6m, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers. And Nick Lane, chief researcher at consultancy d2Mobile, estimates the market will expand by about 20%- 25% over the next year, driven by WAP sites and SMS and Bluetooth campaigns alongside iPhone applications..........

SMS become more popular like never before

WHEN I took up amateur photography, the only expectation I had was the possibility of finding a creative outlet and at best an inspiration to travel.

The viewfinder seems to have provided a great deal more than that.

My random excursions to shopping malls, busy streets, parks and even Zoo Negara in search of the perfect picture has unearthed an unusual but interesting trend with huge marketing potential.

While hoping to capture people going about their daily lives, I noticed young couples not just hanging out and spending what seemed like quality time but also doing something I didn’t expect; constantly texting away on their cell phones.

The occasional SMS when you are with your partner, I figured, was understandable but to be doing it non-stop, I assumed, was just bad manners.

My curiosity eventually got the better of me and I got into my discovery mode to find out why.

Had the rules of engagement changed so dramatically for this millennial generation? And who were they texting to? More importantly, why?

I have to admit, this empirical research has been one of the more interesting ones I have involved myself in. It’s been casual, personal, tedious yet fulfilling. Here’s a peek into just some of what I found.

With over 90% penetration of cell phones in Malaysia and perhaps even higher penetration in urban centres, it’s logical to assume that certain rules are bound to change. Marketers and advertising agencies alike need to start looking a little deeper into behaviour that this technology is affecting.

While there is no denying that broadband access through the ubiquitous cell phone is something to look forward to, it’s the simple text messaging that is altering behaviour like never before. SMS is now.

This simple application is allowing cash-strapped young people who today cannot fully explore 3G due to price to remain connected virtually 24 hours. And it is this connectivity that deserves further discovery.

Twenty years ago, we used to collect our days’ events and share them over coffee or tea in the evenings. There really wasn’t any other way to do it.

The extreme in those days was the stereotype of your typical teenage girl glued to the telephone. That image was synonymous of the times.

Times may have changed since but that need to stay connected hasn’t and is today being fed like never before.

Young people, aged roughly between 16 and 24, are sending out anywhere between 40 – 60 text messages a day.

Events in their lives go digitally public within their close-knit community moments after they happen.

These text messages range from personal issues about pocket money to more serious confrontations with bosses if they are employed.

Combine that with over 10 calls a day that sometimes complement these messages and you realise that there is very little talk about in the evening.

Personal time is increasingly becoming quiet time with short conversations in between text messages. So who are these text messages going to? Mostly common friends.

And when I spoke to them about content, it was facetious at best. The messages are mostly about nothing of significance. This may spell doom for old world romance but it also defines a powerful new marketing opportunity.

Conversations with these youngsters revealed that silence can sometimes be overwhelming and a text message, even from a marketer, is a welcome break.

The right marketing message about a sale or an interesting promotion quickly gets forwarded and becomes an event for them to gather in numbers.

As I discovered, this "Now" generation is unlikely to remember a promotion or event for less than a few hours. The stimulus needs to be timed such that it targets them when they need it. The potential for such a message becoming viral is highest in the evenings and over weekends.

For the affluent urban Millennials, this takes on a whole new face. Armed with camera phones, images are uploaded almost immediately on social networking sites like Facebook and Friendster. The time lag for participating in a social event is nearing zero. An entertaining evening is quickly populated by friends on such sites. If you are targeting young, urban, affluent consumers take heed of the speed with which social networking can turn a poor turnout into a crowd.

Find the mavens on Facebook and Friendster and cultivate them as ambassadors. The game is much bigger than merely having your brand’s profile on these sites. We need to get deeper.

Surprisingly, perpetual connectivity is resulting in a lot of free time. And that time needs to be filled with exciting events and cleverly designed marketing initiatives.

A word of caution though; just as a "happening" event can become bigger than it was intended, a poorly organised one can go from bad to worse. Digitally, bad news travels faster than good news.

Now jobs on your finger tips use Mobile Job Search Engine

mJob, a boutique marketing agency focused on mobile recruiting, is excited to announce a new partnership with CoolWorks, an online recruiting resource for seasonal employers and job seekers. The collaboration will enable CoolWorks users to search job postings anytime, anywhere, from their cell phones via a mobile site powered by mJob at http://m.coolworks.com.

With more than 4 billion handsets in the world, mobile is rapidly becoming the media of choice for savvy businesses and employers across the globe. The mobile Web allows an employer to connect with candidates like never before: a connection based on relevance, engagement and consumer opt-in.

By including a mobile recruiting strategy on their sourcing agendas, employers on CoolWorks will now have the potential to tap into this powerful connection and access millions of candidates quickly and efficiently.

"Cool Works chose mJob for our mobile website because we've been fans of Cheezhead for years," Kari Quaas, Director of West coast Operations for CoolWorks. "I personally joined CoolWorks.com in 2007 and was immediately shown the website as a great resource for keeping up with the recruiting industry. As time has gone by, and I've had the opportunity to hang out with Joel in Seattle and at various conferences, I've learned that he is a guy who is always thinking well ahead of the curve, looking at trends and mapping the way to take advantage of them. With that in mind, it was natural that we would take his advice and get CoolWorks.com a mobile site."

"CoolWorks is an invaluable resource for people looking for part-time and seasonal jobs," mJob founder Joel Cheesman said. "With the addition of a mobile site by mJob, users who may not always be sitting behind a desk will have access to a bounty of relevant jobs with the press of a few buttons on your mobile phone."

The CoolWorks mobile site is now live and can be found at http://m.coolworks.com.

About mJob: mJob is a boutique marketing agency focused on mobile recruiting that was founded in 2009 by SEO expert and Internet recruiting junkie Joel Cheesman. The company provides services to help employers and job sites get the most out of their recruitment and marketing efforts via mobile. A white paper entitled Why Go Mobile? was released as a free guide to introduce prospects to a relatively new strategy. mJob offers mobile site creation, SMS, or text messaging, campaigns, Mobile SEO / SEM, Bluecasting or Bluetooth marketing, analytics, and more. Get more information at http://b.mjob.com.

About CoolWorks: Cool Works® was launched in 1995 and is an on-line recruiting resource for seasonal employers and potential employees alike. Its niche involves employers located in some of the greatest places on earth including national and state parks, camps, ranches, resorts, ski resorts, jobs on the water, and guiding outfits. They also list conservation and other volunteer opportunities.

The Cool Works® business model contains three prongs: the advertising and marketing of employers and their job opportunities; an on-line ATS called Staffing Center; and social networking, resources and education of and for those who choose to live, or just imagine, the seasonal lifestyle through blogs, forums, and other media. Checkout http://www.coolworks.com for more.

Local mobile firms grow despite recession

Many local start-ups and small firms are sucking wind when it comes to raising money in today's tough economy, but Mobile Monday Boston notes a contrarian trend in its sector of the market.

Mobile Monday Boston bills itself as the locally-run chapter of a global community of professionals and enthusiasts interested in mobile and wireless technologies, and the chapter claims that $215 million was invested in Massachusetts mobile companies during this year's first quarter.

"This figure makes Q109 the biggest for mobile investment in the last five quarters," Mobile Monday Boston said in a press release.

In January, Nuance Communications Inc., a Burlington company that specializes in such technologies as speech recognition, sold 17.4 million shares of stock, valued at $175 million, Mobile Monday Boston said, and Quattro Wireless, a Waltham company that operates a network that enables advertisers to reach consumers on their mobile devices, raised $10 million during the quarter.

"Despite reports of widespread venture capital decline, mobile investment in Massachusetts is still on the rise,” Kate Imbach, cofounder and organizer of Mobile Monday Boston, said in a statement. "Boston is quickly establishing itself as the worldwide hub of mobile and wireless.”

Are you prepared for mobile marketing? It's right time for it.

Even in a down economy, people’s desire to communicate seems to be unquenchable.

I am not going to predict this to be the year of mobile marketing, since we have all seen that falsely predicted for a number of recent years now. But I have been very impressed by some key mobile trends that are on the rise. The fact that there are now more mobile devices than televisions and computers combined, speaks of opportunity to me! As marketers plan their engagement marketing strategies for the rest of the year, they should consider these important trends.

Text Messaging Surpasses Monthly Mobile Phone Calling: A recent Nielson study found that texting is now more popular than calling someone on your mobile phone. The tipping point seemed to come in Q3 of last year, when it was reported that 202 million of 263 million American wireless subscribers were now paying for text messaging either as part of a package or on a transaction basis. Not only are people signing up for text messaging, but they are texting at an amazing rate each month. What this translates into is a huge marketing opportunity for companies to make the move closer to “conversational marketing” with a broad audience of mobile users who are engaged and open to communicating with brands they know and trust..........

Verizon Wireless wants to cut down the number of mobile phone operating systems

Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) wants to cut down the number of mobile phone operating systems it needs to support in the next few years to speed up the time it takes to bring new applications to consumers, reports Reuters. Speaking at CTIA, Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam, said that the carrier currently supports eight or nine operating systems, and wants to bring that number down to three or four. Other carriers, including co-owner Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) and rival AT&T (NYSE: T) have made similar complaints about the proliferation of platforms. The AP reports, however, that though Verizon is a member of the LiMo Foundation, it won't be giving special weight to its version of Linux. That's despite last year's pledge from the carrier that LiMo's Linux would be the preferred platform. McAdam said, "We want to see what works well over time." No word on which other platforms might also make the cut.

Zer01, the new wireless carrier offering unlimited voice and data

Zer01, the new wireless carrier offering unlimited voice and data plans for just $69.95, has gone official with their network at CTIA Wireless 2009 in Las Vegas. Since their initial announcement earlier this month, Zer01 has been working hard to make it publicly known that they are not an MVNO. Given the MVNO fad’s spectacular failure last year, it’s not surprising that Zer01 would want to distance themselves from the “MVNO” label. But, are they really a “new” wireless carrier?

Zer01 CEO Ben Piilani took some time to give us a run-down on just what makes Zer01 such an innovative new wireless carrier. He starts off by explaining how Zer01 uses cell-towers throughout the US to route voice calls and data through Zer01’s own back-end servers. By licensing access to cell towers across the country, Zer01 can hook up just about any smartphone into their network. Zer01 manages to keep costs low and offer sub-$70 unlimited wireless plans by treating all network communications as data, which is routed through Zer01’s IP-based network. Voice calls are transformed into data packets and sent through Zer01’s redundant communications servers (note, they’re not sent over a carrier’s circuit-switched network).

Zer01 touts itself as an open network. Any smartphone user is welcome to bring their own smartphone to the Zer01 network. Getting Zer01 service is as easy as picking up a Zer01 SIM card, paying a $30 one-time activation fee, registering the Zer01 SIM online and popping the SIM into the smartphone. The Zer01 network will automatically detect the new SIM and send configuration files to your handset over-the-air. It really doesn’t get much easier than that.

Cisco at VoiceCon unveiled a new TelePresence System aimed at smaller companies

Cisco Systems (NSDQ:CSCO) Tuesday at VoiceCon 2009 expanded its TelePresence high-definition videoconferencing lineup with a new lower-end model and added a host of enhancements to its unified communications platform.

Cisco at VoiceCon unveiled a new TelePresence System aimed at smaller companies that can't budget for the larger full-room systems. The Cisco TelePresence System 1300 Series is designed for up to six people and features one 65-inch plasma screen and three cameras. The system uses existing conference room tables for deployments in branch offices or smaller locations. The three cameras are activated by voice cues to capture who is speaking at any given time, said Erica Schroeder, Cisco's TelePresence marketing director. VoiceCon, the VoIP and communications conference taking place this week in Orlando, Fla., is owned by United Business Media, the parent company of Channelweb.com.

Schroeder said having a one-screen system cuts down on the bandwidth consumption of the larger three-screen models, the TelePresence 3000 and 3200 series, requiring only 5 Mbps of bandwidth. The high-definition screen offers 1,080p resolution. The 1300 Series is expected to cost just under $85,000.

And for bandwidth-conscious TelePresence users, Cisco also added TelePresence Extended Reach to its arsenal, which enables TelePresence systems to run over connections as low as 1.5 Mbps, or a standard T1 connection, in 720p resolution. It also supports TelePresence over open Internet connections like high-speed FIOS and DOCSIS connections.

Additionally, Cisco is offering two new TelePresence applications. First is TelePresence Recording Studio, which lets users create video messages and record presentations for instant playback on Cisco TelePresence units in 1,080p high-definition quality. Users can also view the recorded sessions on any standard-resolution video-enabled device, like a PC, mobile phone or digital sign.

"Anybody who can access a TelePresence room has access to a high-definition recording studio," Schroeder said, adding that recordings can be pushed out as an e-mail link or to TelePresence systems.

The second application, TelePresence Event Controls, enables the production of internal and external TelePresence events.

"For customers, the world of collaboration is shifting; it's not about one product," said Rick McConnell, Cisco's vice president of unified communications marketing development, adding that companies are turning to unified communications and TelePresence to cut travel costs, boost productivity and save time. "All of these, in some sense, are building a better collaboration experience."

Cisco at VoiceCon also rolled out several enhancements to its unified communications portfolio.

The underpinning of Cisco's unified communications enhancements is integration and the ability to extend interoperability across applications and devices, McConnell said.

Collaboration has been a key focus for Cisco since the September launch of its collaboration portfolio, which comprises unified communications, TelePresence and Web 2.0 applications, part of Cisco's strategy to grab a share of the $34 billion collaboration market.

Cisco at VoiceCon unveiled Unified Communications Desktop Integration, a unified client services framework that delivers Cisco unified communications services like softphones, messaging, conferencing, desk phone control and presence and allows them to integrate with desktop applications like Cisco WebEx Connect and Microsoft Office Communicator, Microsoft's unified communications client.

Tying WebEx Connect with unified communications capabilities unlocks a seamless experience that lets customers combine cloud-based services with the capabilities of Cisco's on-premise unified communications solutions, the company said. On the Office Communicator side, the integration gives users access to call control and other unified communications features through their Microsoft Office Communicator client, without requiring a separate client for Cisco tools.

In addition, the San Jose, Calif.-based networking giant launched "any to any" video interoperability in its WebEx Meeting Center, meaning any device that can connect to a Cisco Unified Video Conferencing multipoint control unit can now be deployed in a WebEx meeting, including Cisco TelePresence and other videoconferencing and desktop collaboration applications.

"It's no longer just WebEx to WebEx," McConnell said. "It really enriches the experience."

Also for WebEx, Cisco added a one-button feature for Cisco Unified IP Phones that lets users launch a WebEx session on their desktops with the push of a button on their phone..........

China's Telecom industry in 2008

The following is a profile of China's telecom industry in 2008.

-- Overview: China's telecom industry reported 2.24395 trillion yuan in business volume during 2008, up 21 percent year on year. It also marked 813.99 billion yuan in revenue, a seven percent increase.

It accomplished a telecom fixed asset investment of 295.37 billion yuan, and realized added value of 472.62 billion yuan, up 29.6 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

The industry's general price level declined 11.5 percent, as free incoming calls were achieved, it charged less for long-distance calls and it lowered roaming fees.

The following Chart 1 shows the telecom price change from 2004 to 2008.

-- Subscribers The number of China's phone users increased 69.092 million to 982.034 million. Of the total phone users, handset subscribers accounted for 65.3 percent.

The following Chart 2 shows the phone user number growth from 2004 to 2008.

Chart 3 is the proportion of mobile users in China's total phone users between 2004 to 2008.

In 2008, mobile phone users rapidly increased, when February growth hit a monthly record high of 9.458 million. The prevalence rate of mobile phones reached 48.5 sets per hundred people in 2008, up from 2007's 6.9.

Below, Chart 4 shows the number of newly added mobile phone users in 2008.

Among mobile phone users, the number of mobile group data users increased by 94.78 million to reach 253.925 million, and the penetration rate of this business rose to 39.6 percent in 2008, over 29.1 percent in 2007.

The number of fixed phone subscribers declined by 24.842 million to arrive at 340.804 million. Included in that number were 231.995 million in urban areas and 108.81 million in rural areas, down 16.602 million and 8.23 million, respectively.>>>

Unsolicited Commercial Communication - TRAI’s NDNC for SMS

The recent TRAI guidelines about UCC (Unsolicited Commercial Communication) is causing more grief than doing anything useful to strengthen the regulatory framework to curb UCC.
While the motive is good, implementation sucks.

What’s the whole purpose of NDNC?

A reasonable answer would be to “cut down on spam, sms promotional marketing and such related messages”. But apparently, the regulatory body doesn’t think logically and prefers to use an axe to create ad-hoc rules. For a 2nd, 3rd tier SMS provider (e.g. ValueFirst) in India, it creates lot of problems. Their customers are forced to such ridiculous guidelines even when their customers are using the SMS delivery service for a productive application (say, banking or peer-2-peer message) wherein the end-customer (like you and me) wouldn’t mind getting such SMS.

UK Mobile Market Map

FirstPartner, a UK based market research firm, has released the latest version of their UK Mobile Market Map.

The map provides a 360 degree view of the mobile marketing industry, covering the essential UK facts, figures, players and trends. Download a copy here.

The map shows the key mobile enablers, agencies, and mobile advertising platforms. It also show aggregators, ad networks, metrics companies, and MVNO’s. In other words, all the key players in the UK mobile market.

The map also provides some key market figures and projections from FirstPartner.>>>

A report on Mobile Communications and Mobile Data Market Middle East 2008

This Middle East market report covers the mobile telephony and mobile data markets in each of the following countries: Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, UAE and Yemen. Across most countries of the Middle East, including even some of the most highly penetrated, growth rates are surprisingly high. This is mostly due to a recent increase in competition – a second or third operator has entered the market or a new investor has bought a share of an existing operator – causing a subsequent drop in tariffs or improvement in services. Multi-SIM ownership is common as subscribers aim to maximise special offers and different deals. The region’s mobile markets include:

Iran

Iran started proceeding in August 2008 to auction a third mobile licence. Mobile subscriber numbers in Iran grew hugely after the launch of second operator MTN and there remains room for more growth but MTN’s path to launch was torturous, a fact that may discourage some bidders. Russian operators may be interested in the licence.

Iraq

With little fixed-line infrastructure, Iraqis have taken to mobile use with great enthusiasm, creating penetration levels fast approaching 50% in mid-2008, having grown from zero in only four years. The previously three roughly equal operators have been reduced to two (one of them twice as large as the other) since the award of new 15-year licences but so far the reduction in competition has had no bad effect on growth, which has accelerated considerably in 2008, probably due to the improving security situation.

Israel

The Israeli government is moving to create a wholesale market in all sectors of communications, which will lead to change in the mobile sector after a long period of stability. While Israel already has very high levels of mobile penetration, its three roughly equal operators plus one much smaller operator, MIRS, have seen little change in their market shares for some years. The government is expected to issue MVNO licences. In addition, WiMAX frequencies are to be auctioned with MIRS (wholly owned by Motorola) a likely winner. Meanwhile, 3G subscriber levels made up around 25% of total subscribers in early 2008 and revenue from mobile data constituted around 15% of total revenue.

Qatar

Qatar is currently the only market in the region with a single operator but this is about to change in early 2009 when second-licence winner Vodafone Qatar is due to launch. Qatar’s mobile penetration was already well above 120% in early 2008, leaving little room for Vodafone. Vodafone has experience in the region with operations in Egypt and Turkey but will be the first non-Middle East based operator in the GCC countries.

Saudi Arabia

Since the launch of second operator, Mobily, mobile subscribers have grown rapidly, leading to penetration levels similar to those of the smaller GCC states, at well over 100%, despite Saudi Arabia’s much higher total population. With third operator Zain’s launch in August 2008 the market is about to become even more competitive, particularly as it is the only market where three of the region’s major operators – Etisalat of the UAE, Zain of Kuwait and STC on its home turf – go head to head.

UAE

Mobile penetration levels in the UAE are quite spectacular, claimed as being over 175% in March 2008. Growth has been astonishing since the launch of second operator du. 3G subscribers make up over 25% of the total.

For those needing high level strategic information and objective analysis on the mobile telephony and mobile data markets in the Middle East, this report is essential reading and gives further information on:

• Mobile operators – acquisitions, mergers, and competition;
• Government policies and regulatory issues;
• Past and planned licence auctions;
• Technological developments in the mobile telephony and mobile data markets.

Data in this report is the latest available at the time of preparation and may not be for the current year.

This annual report offers a wealth of information on the mobile markets in the Middle East. Counties covered: Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, UAE and Yemen. Subjects covered include:

• Mobile statistics and trends;
• Mobile operators;
• Spectrum and licence auctions, developments, national policies;
• Infrastructure, GSM, CDMA, 3G, HSDPA;
• Trends in the prepaid sector;
• Mobile satellite services;
• Mobile data markets;
• Mobile TV.

Researcher:- Tine Lewis

Current publication date:- September 2008 (7th Edition)

Next publication date:- August 2009

Author:
Mike King
Web: www.companiesandmarkets.com
Phone: 07813 784393

Mobility Services Sweden - TeliaSonera is going to build commercial 4G network for there customers

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) and TeliaSonera today announced the signing of a commercial LTE network. The roll-out of the 4G mobile broadband network will offer the highest data rates ever realized, with the best interactivity and quality. This network will cover Sweden's capital Stockholm and the contract is Ericsson's first for commercial deployment of LTE.

Your friends on your social networking site will always be just a click away. You can read on-line multimedia newspapers effortlessly and even watch your favorite on-demand TV show in HD (High Definition) quality wherever you are, whenever you find time.

These functions can be possible for mobile broadband customers in the 4G network, based on LTE. The new 4G network will do for broadband what mobile telephony did for voice. With real-time performance, and about 10 times higher data rates compared to today's mobile broadband networks, consumers can always be connected, even on the move.

Erik Hallberg, Senior Vice President and Head of Mobility Services Sweden, TeliaSonera says: "Our customers are among the world's most advanced users of telecommunications services. With 4G, we will provide them with the best mobile broadband capabilities they can get. We have chosen Ericsson as our partner because of its impressive track record in mobile technology, strong focus on LTE development and early deployment capabilities."

Mikael Bäckström, President Ericsson Nordic and Baltics says: "We are very happy to continue our partnership with TeliaSonera, and this cooperation signifies an important milestone. LTE brings the highest possible performance and network capacity, which is needed to meet the needs of the fast growing group of mobile broadband users around the world." .....>>>>>

Nasdaq-listed Sify Technologies is close to launching cheap BlackBerry - like services

Nasdaq-listed Sify Technologies is close to launching cheap BlackBerry - like services in the country that can be accessed even by entry-level handsets. The company has licensed London-listed mobile e-mail and synchronisation solutions provider Synchronica’s mobile gateway solutions for providing the services in the country.

Even though, Sify is not the first company to launch cheap BlackBerry-like services (Rajesh Jain-promoted Netcore Solutions had launched the services in June last year), the move is important as existing services are highly priced. Most importantly, the services (also known as push mail or e-mail on mobile services) can only be accessed only on high-end handsets. Moreover, the launch also comes at a time when the Indian government is seeking legal intrusion (monitoring of data) of BlackBerry services and demanding that Research In Motion, Canadian owners of the service, moves its servers to the country.

“Basically, the idea is to offer BlackBerry-like services on mass market products. At present, the biggest problem is the high cost of both the services and handsets, which is preventing a mass adoption of push mail services,” Synchronica CEO Carsten Brinkschulte told Business Standard over phone from London.

Even though, prices of the services are yet to be fixed in the country, it would be priced to suit the masses. Sify will launch the services in the next few weeks, Brinkschulte added....>>>>

New York Police Department wants the ability to interrupt mobile phone service and other electronic communications during terrorist attacks

The New York Police Department wants the ability to interrupt mobile phone service and other electronic communications during terrorist attacks.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security that the November attacks in Mumbai illustrated the dangers of instant reporting from the field while an attack is unfolding.

The terrorists used cell phones and other devices to communicate while the attacks were in progress, Kelly said Thursday. Witnesses in India also provided instant updates on the situation using cell phones, digital photos on the Internet, and Twitter -- communicating what they saw as it unfolded.

That can present a real danger to police and military units, who obviously don't want the attackers to know that they are entering a building through a particular door with a particular set of weapons.

It's unclear if authorities in New York could cut off attackers' cell service and other electronic communications without causing wider disruptions.

I hope they can.

The NYPD allows people to send them texts and photos for crime tips now. Texts and images could allow tipsters to gather intelligence during an attack. I would also argue that, since many people have done away entirely with landlines, intentional disruptions could cut New Yorkers off from communication with family members and friends during emergencies.

Millions of New Yorkers used phones -- landlines and cell phones -- to let out-of-town relatives and friends, as well as each other, know that they were OK after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. In many cases, those in the middle of the chaos relied on those watching the news outside of New York City for information to help them decide whether to flee the island of Manhattan by ferry, to head uptown, or to stay put.

As a New Yorker, I can't imagine an attack without the ability to let my family know I'm OK or the ability to exchange information and offers of assistance with friends scattered throughout Manhattan.

Mobile Messaging in Western Europe - MMS growth to stay especially strong; SMS growth lower

As revenue growth from mobile voice services has fallen, carriers have looked to mobile data services to keep the money flowing. Mobile messaging has been one of the top mobile data services, and revenues from all types of messages sent on handsets have been rising.

The number of people in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain sending SMS messages (aka short message service—think texts) across the EU is growing 3.3% annually, according to December 2008 data from Airwide Solutions. Airwide said that only users of MMS (multimedia messaging service—think pictures) were growing faster, at 9.2%.

UK mobile users alone sent 25 million text messages every day in 2008. Texting by mobile users with incomes of £30,000 ($55,200) and above is growing especially quickly, at 16.9% per year.

“Whilst an increase in mobile messaging traffic is certainly good news for the industry, it also underlines the need to ensure that an operator’s underlying infrastructure is efficient and equipped to support the increase in traffic volumes over the years ahead,” said Jay Seaton, CMO at Airwide, in a statement.................Read full report