130 EDGE network launches in 2008 pushes total to 443 globally: GSA

UK: The latest survey of GSM/EDGE network deployments by the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) highlights the continuing globalization of GSM/EDGE.

The new EDGE Fact Sheet published by GSA confirms that 443 EDGE networks are now commercially launched in 181 countries, compared to 313 commercial networks in 147 countries reported by GSA one year ago.

Operators in all regions have made significant investments to enhance the capacity and coverage of existing networks, often extending EDGE capabilities to their full GSM coverage area. The commercial availability of EDGE-enabled services was expanded to an additional 34 countries/territories in the past year, and to an additional 68 countries/territories in the past 2 years.

This latest GSA survey identified 478 EDGE network operator commitments in 189 countries (compared to 363 commitments in 165 countries a year ago). The number of operators committing to EDGE network deployments has increased 66 percent over two years. EDGE became commercially available on almost twice the number of networks over the same period (there were 223 commercial EDGE networks in May 2007)

GSM/EDGE, a software enhancement to GPRS networks, is a mature global technology which is supported by a well developed ecosystem. There are a huge range and many thousands of EDGE-capable user devices in the market today, extending to all but the lowest cost segments.

Mobile broadband WCDMA-HSPA user devices usually also combine with quad band GSM/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900) capabilities. Over 83 percent of WCDMA-HSPA user devices, including USB modems, modules for PCs, Mobile Internet Devices, PC card modems, phones, routers, etc. also support EDGE, with new products arriving every month.

The first commercial EDGE network was launched in June 2003. GSA estimates that around 80 percent of GPRS operators have since committed to the EDGE enhancement, delivering significant data traffic and revenue growth.

A major driver for EDGE deployments is the capability provided to network operators to offer high speed Internet access to their customers. Around two-thirds of HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) network operators have also deployed EDGE for service continuity and the best user experience of mobile broadband services.

EDGE network capabilities are evolving as part of completed 3GPP Release 7 specifications. EDGE Evolution promises to deliver benefits including higher peak downlink and uplink speeds, and reduced latency for an improved user experience.

Zook partners with IDEA Cellular

BANGALORE, INDIA: Bangalore based Ziva Software has announced that its popular mobile fetch engine and flagship product Zook, will power IDEA Cellular’s newly launched personalized ‘Stock Search and Subscription Service’.

IDEA Cellular, a leading telecom services provider, would be initially providing this service to their Punjab subscribers.

Dr. Ajay Sethi, CEO, Ziva Software, said: “Under the ‘Stock Search and Subscription Service’, IDEA would provide the subscribers with updated stock market SMS alerts on their mobile, enabling them to keep an eye on their portfolio while on the move. Unlike other broadcast services, one can choose to be alerted on specific stocks. This is a pure value service, just providing information and there are no tips, speculations or hints. A diligent investor can make the right decisions using the alerts.”

“Available at a nominal monthly amount of Rs. 30, IDEA Punjab subscribers need to only SMS ACT to 51234 to get alerts on all business news, customized stock information, NSE & BSE conclusive information and the day’s top gainers and losers. With customized stocks, the user can choose to receive periodic information of up to 3 stocks of their choice at no additional cost.” added Dr. Ajay Sethi.

The IDEA network in Punjab covers over 10,000 towns and villages. IDEA aims to provide superior connectivity to mobile users, with a network of over 2500 cell sites in rural and urban Punjab.

Zook, launched in India in March 2008, is India’s No. 1 Mobile Fetch Engine that gets exact answers to ANY query, across the whole of India. The service is accessible via mobile browsers (www.zook.in) or just by sending a SMS to 57575665. Zook is a free service, but the operators’ SMS or data plan charges for GPRS may apply.

GSM/3G market update May 2009: GSA

UK: Key kacts from May 2009 GSM/3G market update, provided by theGlobal mobile Suppliers Association (GSA)!

Network commitments, deployments, launches
· 3G/WCDMA: 284 operators launched in 120 countries
· WCDMA has more than 72.8 percent market share of 390 commercially launched 3G networks
· 94 percent of commercial WCDMA operators have launched HSPA
· 306 HSPA network commitments in 126 countries
· 267 3G/HSDPA operators launched in 114 countries
· 125 HSDPA networks launched in Europe including in all 27 Member States of the European Union
· 196 HSDPA networks have launched 3.6 Mbps (peak) downlink service or higher = over 73 percent of commercial HSDPA operators, thus establishing the baseline for mobile broadband services
· 105 commercial HSDPA networks, i.e. over 39 percent, support 7.2 Mbps (peak) or higher
· 72 HSUPA networks launched in 42 countries, plus another 14 network commitments/deployments
· 10 commercial UMTS900 (i.e. WCDMA-HSPA operating at 900 MHz) networks launched, in Europe, APAC and Latin America
· 4 HSPA+ networks have launched commercial service (21 Mbps downlink peak)
· At least 25 additional HSPA+ operator commitments worldwide
· 31 LTE network operator commitments worldwide
· Up to 12 LTE networks are expected to enter commercial service by end 2010
· 441 GSM/EDGE network commitments in 184 countries; 413 networks launched in 177 countries
· Over 80 percent of commercial GPRS operators globally have committed to EDGE
· 172 of 267 commercially launched HSDPA operators (over 64 percent) also launched EDGE

User devices
· 1,470 HSDPA devices launched by 171 suppliers
· 944 devices support 3.6 Mbps peak or higher (excluding notebooks)
· 514 devices support 7.2 Mbps peak or higher (excluding notebooks)
· 260 HSUPA devices launched (compared to 75 in July 2008) (excl. notebooks)
· 1,068 HSPA devices (over 93 percent) operate in 2100 MHz band (excl. notebooks)
· 512 HSPA devices (over 44 percent) operate in 850 MHz band (excl. notebooks)
· 365 tri-band HSPA devices 850/1900/2100 MHz (excl. notebooks)
· 130 HSPA devices operate in 900 MHz band (UMTS900) (excl. notebooks)
· 212 HSPA phones (including smartphones) incorporate 802.11 WiFi
· 248 HSPA phones (including smartphones) incorporate GPS/positioning functionality
· Over 83 percent of HSDPA devices also support GSM/EDGE

Subscriptions
· 3.72 billion GSM, WCDMA-HSPA subscriptions (Q1 09)
· GSM/WCDMA has 89.4 percent worldwide market share
· Over 329 million WCDMA subs including HSPA worldwide (Q1 09)
· WCDMA now has 8% share of global mobile subscriptions
· 103.8 million HSPA subscriptions (Q4 08) included in the WCDMA subs total
· WCDMA has over 72.3 percent market share of global 3G subscriptions
· APAC has almost 1.6 billion GSM, WCDMA-HSPA subscriptions (Q1 09)
· The BRIC countries –- Brazil, Russia, India, and China together account for over 1.25 billion GSM Subscriptions (Q1 09)
· China and India have a combined total of 907.3 million GSM subs (Q1 09)
· India is estimated to have passed 300 million GSM subs during May 2009
· Western Europe has 576 million GSM, WCDMA-HSPA subscriptions (Q1 09)
· The Western Hemisphere exceeds 554 million GSM, WCDMA-HSPA subscriptions (Q1 09)
· MEA has 541 million GSM subscribers (Q1 09)
· GSA estimates that there are approaching 2 billion GSM, WCDMA and HSPA subscriptions in commercial HSPA-enabled networks worldwide.

Shipment of Taiwan's basic/feature phones exceeds forecasts in 1Q '09

TAIPEI, TAIWAN: According to research of the Taipei-based Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC) conducted as part of the ITIS project, shipment volume of the Taiwanese basic/feature phone industry in the first quarter of 2009 is estimated at 10.21 million units.

Even though shipment volume declined sequentially in the first quarter, it was still higher than the 9.42 million units originally forecast. Taiwanese shipment volume did not experience the steep declines which were forecast, and instead rebounded somewhat.

This also caused supply of upstream basic/feature phone component manufacturers to become tight. Meanwhile, ASP (Average Selling Price) of the Taiwanese industry increased from US$43 in the fourth quarter of 2008 to US$45 in the first quarter of 2009. This was caused by the increasing shipment share of EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) products and the fact that some ultra value-line models reached EOL (End of Life).

In the first quarter the Taiwanese basic/feature phone industry obtained rush orders, with companies such as CCI and Arima receiving orders from emerging markets including China, Brazil, Russia and India.

According to MIC Industry Analyst Eddie Tsai: "At the end of November 2008, international vendors significantly reduced orders for the Taiwanese industry, causing a large-scale decline of Taiwanese basic/feature phone shipments; at the beginning of 2009. However, international vendors discovered that channel inventories started to decline. They released orders to their Taiwanese production partners to replenish inventories."

Regarding different system technologies, the EDGE shipment share in the first quarter increased to 5.4 percent as Motorola gradually focused on EDGE in new basic/feature phone outsourcing. As for CDMA products, due to weakening demand, Nokia became more conservative in outsourcing products, causing the CDMA shipment share in Taiwan's
industry to fall 3.5 percentage points to 13.5 percent in the first quarter.

This CDMA decline was not related to the fact that Foxconn previously lost some Nokia engine board orders. WCDMA shipment share fell to 0.4 percent in the first quarter as some Qisda WCDMA models reached EOL. The GSM/GPRS shipment share increased slightly in the first quarter as the CDMA shipment share declined.