| Today's Top Stories
1. TeliaSonera provides muscle to M2M, joins FT Orange and DT alliance
2. Ethnic MVNO Lebara puts itself up for sale
3. RIM boosted by unexpected hike in EMEA subscribers
4. Ericsson scoops up Vodafone Italy managed services deal
5. NSN aims to cut M2M signalling with new GSM software suite Editor's Corner: European operators enter 'co-op or compete' era Also Noted: Spotlight On... GSA: 218 operators now investing in LTE
Telekom Austria launches M2M subsidiary; Nokia commits to lengthy MeeGo support and much more...  Five mobile apps you should avoid like the plague
Since the start of 2011, our weekly feature Appealing/Appalling has spotlighted the most innovative and most infuriating apps available for download. With the first half the year now in the books, let's take a look back at the absolute worst of the worst--the most laughable and most frustrating applications lurking in the nooks and crannies of the app store ecosystem. Life is hectic enough, after all; you don't have time--or money--to waste on apps that don't make it a little more manageable, or at least a little more fun. Get started
News From the Fierce Network:
1. Apple cuts minimum iAd buy to recapture advertiser interest
2. iPass offers Wi-Fi roaming, authentication software to mobile operators
3. Nortel's $4.5B patent sale could be delayed
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European operators enter 'co-op or compete' era
Successful partnerships between competitors are an uphill struggle unless there are clear and identifiable benefits for the involved companies. Given the sorry track record that European mobile operators have in forming alliances, the sudden flurry of co-operation announcements from across the continent provides insight into how these companies are now adapting their strategies to accommodate a changing business environment. However, one could also view these new partnerships as a belated knee-jerk by the operator community in the panicky realisation that, unless they combine their resources, mobile operators will lose their prime status in the communication business. Last week's announcement that TeliaSonera agreed to join the M2M alliance formed earlier this year by France Telecom (FT) Orange and Deutsche Telekom (DT) illustrates the issue. Many M2M customers want a European-wide solution, without the hassles of striking deals with operators in several countries with the resulting billing and technical support issues. This sort of co-op agreement makes eminent sense and has a chance of success. Of note, the FT Orange executive involved with the alliance, Anne-Marie Thiollet, seemed to leave the door open for other operators to join, adding that only by working together could M2M become a reality. At a more local level, the UK joint venture between Vodafone, Everything Everywhere and O2 to make m-commerce--including m-payments and mobile advertising--easier for all to use is noteworthy. But this alliance, while having grand ideals, seems to have been kicked into life by the major operators fearing that, unless they did something quick, others (namely Google and/or Apple) would rapidly move to snatch this revenue stream from the mobile operators. FT and DT have already agreed to share networks and equipment procurement--which must considerably worry the infrastructure vendors--and it might be natural for TeliaSonera to want to join parts of this arrangement. However, making an alliance of this size effective, in terms of meeting individual financial objectives and deployment timescales, is fraught with difficulties and could be its downfall. But a new study from Pyramid Research believes that European telcos are moving into a phase of "co-opetition" as they try to preserve their EBITDA margins by reducing capital expenditures and operating expenditures. According to Pyramid analyst Sylwia Boguszewska, operators are looking for greater co-operation with other players at every stage of the value chain, with a focus on those initiatives that will lead to new revenue streams. Boguszewska maintains that, while these partnership might take operators away from their core competencies, the ability for them to innovate through these partnerships and have a say in the future developments of the telecoms, media and technology marketplace will be critical to their future successes. Without doubt, the mobile telecoms landscape is changing as consumers look for innovative technology and services. For operators to believe they can be the single provider of these--the walled-garden approach--is turning back the clock to a failed business model. What is needed is for operators to promote the attributes of the network alongside that of content and services.--Paul Read more about: Vodafone, France Telecom, Teliasonera, mobile operators
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Today's Top News 1. TeliaSonera provides muscle to M2M, joins FT Orange and DT alliance
The European machine-to-machine market is taking another leap forward, with TeliaSonera joining the M2M alliance formed in February between France Telecom (FT) Orange and Deutsche Telekom (DT). The Sweden-based telco said that its cellular operations in the Nordic and Baltic countries will be added to the M2M partnership already in operation by FT Orange and DT that allows roaming across most major European countries. Critical to joining the M2M alliance, according to TeliaSonera, is the chance to increase the quality of service and interoperability for customers wanting access to seamless M2M services across the majority of European countries. "The cooperation will enhance a better cross-border customer experience in our markets and increase quality in our offers that will support the development of M2M services," Håkan Dahlström, TeliaSonera's president of mobility services, said in a statement. "M2M has a very large economic potential and this cooperation with three of the strongest brands in the market enhances our international offers." The three operators have also committed to conduct joint testing to harmonise M2M module standards, and to ensure that interoperability is optimised between the modules and cellular networks. Commenting on the expansion of the M2M alliance, Anne-Marie Thiollet, executive vice president of Orange business services, said in a statement the three partners looked forward to other operators joining the endeavour. "Only by working together can we make the great promise of M2M a reality." For more:
- see this press release
- see this Dow Jones Newswire article (sub. req.)
- see this Wireless Federation article Related Articles:
'M2M opportunity bigger than mobile', claims TeliaSonera exec
Telefónica O2 UK awarded national M2M contract
Deutsche Telekom touts M2M developer kit, signs deal with Intel
DT, France Telecom combine equipment purchasing activities across Europe
Vodafone, Bosch strike strategic M2M deal Read more about: France Telecom, Teliasonera, Roaming Services, Deutsche Telekom
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2. Ethnic MVNO Lebara puts itself up for sale
Lebara, one of Europe's most successful MVNOs, is putting itself up for sale. The company, which targets ethnic communities in Europe and Australia, appointed the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to explore new strategic opportunities. A document being circulated to interested parties by RBS says that Lebara will consider a number of options, including its sale, share market listing or a strategic partnership. However, it would seem that the preference is for Lebara to be sold, with two Asian operators rumoured to have already looked closely at the opportunity before walking away. While the company reported significant revenue growth for 2010 of €564.6 million, up over 50 per cent from a year earlier, the ethnic MVNO market is said to be becoming hugely competitive on price. Despite this, Lebara posted pre-tax profits of €21.1 million for 2010, up from €8.8 million in 2009. An unnamed insider quoted by Mobile Today said that MVNO margins are increasingly coming under pressure, particularly in the UK where Lebara has recently added a postpaid proposition to stop it from competing simply on price. However, the company is less exposed to this cut-throat competition than some given the large number of countries in which it operates. Separately, China Telecom is preparing to launch as a UK MVNO early next year, according to European Communications. The managing of China Telecom Europe, Yan Ou, says that the company will aim to attract users from the UK's indigenous Chinese community and Chinese tourists visiting the country. "Launching in the UK is just the first step. Next we want to get into France, which has the biggest Chinese community in Europe, and Germany," Yan said. For more:
- see this Mobile Today article
- see this Telecompaper article (sub. req.)
- see this European Communications article Related Articles:
MVNOs beat network partners in customer satisfaction
Italian MVNO plans to become 4th largest operator
Tesco Mobile tops J.D. Power customer satisfaction study
Orange dumped as SFR scoops French MVNO deal Read more about: MVNO, Lebara, china telecom, Ethnic Communities
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3. RIM boosted by unexpected hike in EMEA subscribers
Research In Motion surprised industry pundits with a report that it added over a million more subscribers in the European, Middle East and Africa region in less than three weeks.  | | RIM said it added 1 million EMEA BlackBerry subscribers in less than three weeks.
| This announcement from the company, via Twittiter, is unusual given that RIM stopped issuing BlackBerry subscriber operational metrics late last year. The company has been struggling to compete with Apple's iPhone and a growing array of Android-based smartphones and this report might indicate a turnaround in its fortunes. Subscriber numbers are critically important to RIM's financial performance given that it charges operators a monthly fee per BlackBerry user. In turn, RIM provides subscribers with access to its own infrastructure, which compacts and encrypts data before sending it to RIM devices. This business model has enabled RIM to have the second highest industry margins behind only Apple, but equally makes the company vulnerable when subscribers drift away to another handset vendor. RIM has lost share over the last several quarters in North America. While RIM said it attracted over 5 million new subscribers worldwide in the three months to last November--the last time it reported user numbers--investors seem wary of the company's fortunes with the shares losing half their value since the start of the year. For more:
- see this Reuters article
- see this Mobile Computing News article Related Articles:
O2 UK shuns RIM's Playbook, blames poor customer experience
RIM posts weak Q1 BlackBerry shipments, plans job cuts
Survey: Android claims top spot in France, Germany and UK
Analyzing the world's 10 biggest handset makers in Q4 Read more about: iPhone, RIM, Smartphones, Playbook
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4. Ericsson scoops up Vodafone Italy managed services deal
Vodafone Italy awarded Ericsson the contract to manage the field service operations of its fixed and mobile networks, as well as for its fixed core network nodes. The five-year deal will see Ericsson take over the responsibility for Vodafone Italy's access and transmission networks, together with the transfer of around 300 of the operator's employees from the beginning of this month. Commenting on being selected as Vodafone Italy's outsourcing partner, Magnus Mandersson, head of Ericsson's global services unit, said in a statement: "With the scale of Ericsson's business in Italy, the expertise, know-how and resources of our people on the ground, we have a fantastic opportunity to add real value to Vodafone Italy via this field operations undertaking." Ericsson, which has managed services contract for networks with more than 800 million subscribers, has already secured deals to look after Vodafone networks in Germany, the UK and the Netherlands. Separately, Virgin Mobile France, the MVNO owned by Omea Telecom, has agreed an infrastructure and managed services contract with Ericsson. Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, president of Omea Telecom, said in a statement: "By signing this contract we're pursuing our goal to grow. Omea Telecom is already France's fourth largest mobile operator. As an unbundled mobile operator, we're demonstrating our ability to adapt to the evolving telecoms market and the emerging expectations of consumers." For more:
- see this Telegeography article
- see this Ericsson release
- see this separate Ericsson release Related Articles:
Ericsson makes services push with Telcordia purchase
Ericsson teams with Akamai to accelerate mobile cloud services
Ericsson looks to attract operators with new mobile ad platform
Ericsson profits up over 200%, boosted by broadband demand Read more about: Vodafone, Ericsson, Virgin Mobile, Mobile Networks
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5. NSN aims to cut M2M signalling with new GSM software suite
Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) is making a determined play for the burgeoning M2M market with the announcement of new software that reduces signalling traffic over GSM networks.
The company said that it expects there to be a billion GSM M2M subscribers to by 2015, which will cause a corresponding increase in signalling, QoS and traffic management issues. NSN believes it can overcome the potential problems caused by M2M using its new GSM software suite. This is based upon a precise paging feature--a NSN invention that the vendor said reduces the amount of signalling between M2M modules and base stations. The company also claimed the software provides priority class-based QoS, prioritising urgent M2M transactions such as health and security-related data. The GSM software, which will become available next month, will be shipped with a Smart Resource Adaptation feature, which NSN claims will enable up to five times more M2M subscriptions. "M2M applications create both additional information and signalling load on the network," Thorsten Robrecht, head of network systems product management at NSN, said in a statement. "In mass-M2M applications, such as smart metering, the additional monthly payload is low, typically less than 1MB per subscriber. However, there will always be additional signalling load for every data transaction. Since M2M data transactions are expected to grow by ten times in the next few years, signalling will be a very relevant issue for operators. Our M2M software suite reduces signalling by up to 70 per cent." For more:
- see this NSN press release
- see this Telecoms.com article Related Articles:
TeliaSonera provides muscle to M2M, joins FT Orange and DT alliance
Deutsche Telekom touts M2M developer kit, signs deal with Intel
Making money from M2M and embedded wireless
Vodafone, Bosch strike strategic M2M deal Read more about: GSM, Nokia Siemens Networks, M2M, NSN
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Also Noted SPOTLIGHT ON... GSA: 218 operators now investing in LTE 
An update from the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) confirms that 218 operators worldwide are now making investments in LTE networks. The organisation's latest update on both LTE FDD and LTE TDD systems states that 166 firm commercial LTE network deployments are in progress or planned in 62 countries. This includes 24 networks which have commercially launched, while a further 52 operators in 19 additional countries are engaged in LTE technology trials, tests or studies. According to the GSA, the number of operators investing in LTE has increased 98 per cent since June 2010, while the number of firm deployment commitments has more than doubled in the same period. Release > Telekom Austria expands into M2M sector, fits SMS card into water and parking meters. Article > A Nokia exec tweeted that company will support MeeGo for years, including with software updates. Article > 3UK launcheed a dedicated Ovi app store with a choice of 40 recommended apps. Article > UK consumers lead the world in m-commerce usage. Article > Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play is being aimed at the wrong market, according to UK retail staff. Article
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