mHealth Revolution

We are living in amazing times where we can do things we could have just dreamt of 5-10 years back. I came across the following video:



This gives hope to the third world where a lot of our old non-smartphones are ending up. In fact this reminds me of Mexapixel Microscopy that can possibly have numerous applications.

There was an interesting presentation recently in the Future of Wireless Conference that was very well received and had people discussing it on twitter and in the event. Its embedded below (download from slideshare)

mHEALTHCARE Opportunities, Challenges and Prospects

View more presentations from Zahid Ghadialy

Do you have any more ideas or information on this topic? Please feel free to share in the comments.

Real Life Pictures of LTE Equipment and Antenna

From a presentation by Robert Joyce of Telefonica.

Fundamentals of Mobile Network Sharing

Some days back I blogged about the twitter discussion on 'Mobile Network Sharing'. Dr. Kim Larsen from Deutsche Telekom (DT) has now made a presentation and in his own words:


Given the renewed discussion of Network Sharing pros and cons I thought it made sense to wrap up several of my older presentations and update some of the information with latest knowledge. 


The myth of network sharing is clear -> huge savings and benefits often blinding the decision makers for the other side of the coin. 


I hope this presentation provided a fair picture of both sides of the Network Sharing Coin!

Fundamentals of Mobile Network Sharing

View more presentations from Kim Kyllesbech Larsen

Telefonica UK’s LTE & Small Cell Trials

A presentation by Robert Joyce, Chief Radio Engineer, Telefonica UK

Rec 12 073 Lte Small Cells Presentation Arrows from shaylinau

OTT Messaging and the need for Telco-OTT Strategies

Sometime back I created a OTT Stats, Facts and Figures presentation for the FWIC conference and in that revealed the shocking figures of how popular the OTT messaging have become and how its impacting the operators worldwide by cannibalising their revenue. Below is a presentation by Dean Bubley from Disruptive Analysis who believes that in light of the OTT messaging apps eating into operators profits, Telco-OTT strategies are inevitable. Its not the question of 'if' but 'when'.

Disruptive Analysis - OMA Messaging Workshop July 2012 from Dean Bubley

A twitter discussion on 'Integration problems with Mobile Network Sharing'

@dmavrakis: Are cost savings >> cultural and integration problems for mobile network sharing? - http://www.telecoms.com/46594/cultural-and-integration-problems-hamper-network-sharing-deals/

Dimitris Mavrakis, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media, believes that a major challenge many operators should anticipate when embarking upon network sharing deals is the extent to which cultural and integration problems can slow down their progress and success. 

Mavrakis said that one such deal that he is aware of saw two operators spending several months holding meetings on a frequent basis in order to tackle cultural issues. And with some key figures in the industry, such as Orange Spain’s CTO Eduard Duato, calling for multiple vendors to share networks for cost-effective LTE rollout, cultural and integration problems will be vast. 

“If two operators cannot agree, what happens when there are three or four? The cultural problems and integration problems increase dramatically with the number of operators involved,” he said. 

He explained that there are multiple types of integration issues affecting operators in this scenario. 

“One vendor’s equipment may be compatible with the core network but with another one, it may require considerable effort to integrate. But there is a danger that after the equipment has been integrated the core network, it may still need considerable reconfiguration to work efficiently. This is just the tip of the iceberg; it could be that the billing system is not interoperable, or that the personnel are not trained to handle certain problems – there could be a million different problems.” 

Mavrakis noted the words of Graham Payne, managing director for the MBNL project, as evidence of the tribulations involved in setting up a shared network. Payne said that, unless the companies embarking on a sharing project were fully committed from board level on down, the results could be disastrous. 

“[Payne] said that the integration of the three networks was the biggest achievement of his career, and he’s a seasoned veteran – he’s not a newbie. So that speaks volumes about how difficult it can be,” said Mavrakis. 

He added that even by taking the path that Vodafone and O2 have in the UK, and splitting the market by geographic area, is not a sure-fire way to prevent such integration and cultural problems. 

“There’s no silver bullet; it really depends on each operator. In the case of Vodafone and O2 it may be a better solution, but if we’re talking about a shared network for LTE, from a cost perspective, the more operators involved, the better. The problem is working with the culture and the competitive nature of each operator.” 

However, Mavrakis did admit that because cost savings are the biggest driver for network sharing, the benefits that operators will see from such deals should be sufficient incentive to overcome any integration and cultural problems.

@KimKLarsen: (1) I have come to believe that for #NetworkSharing to be successful/sustainable it needs to provide more than "just" cost saving

@KimKLarsen: (2) Often Operators gets blinded of saving Potential and forget UPFRONT Cash requirements and Restructuring Cost needed!

@dmavrakis: Very interesting! Seems all discussion on network sharing is on benefits, but not on challenges or threats.

@KimKLarsen: (3) TMUK-H3G 3G sharing was about doing a lot more than they could standalone (for same or better TCO), EE Ltd formula similar,

@KimKLarsen: (4) PTC-Or PL Deploy incredible strong SHARED 2&3&4G network across! Poland (would not have been financially feasible standalone)

@dmavrakis: Agreed. Strong drive for single deployed nationwide network+sharing for LTE or any new RAN tech.

@KimKLarsen: (5) Negatives of ?#Networksharing? (a) upfront cash required, (b) helping competition (e.g., H3G-UK), (c) strategic lock-in,

@KimKLarsen: (6) (d) Complex governance (e) Complex & COSTLY disentanglement (f) loss of operational independence (g) asymmetric benefits etc

@dmavrakis: I would hate to think what disentanglement means in an active RAN sharing deal...

@KimKLarsen: (7) Doing more network for same/less TCO compared to standalone is a MUCH Easier case for ?#Networksharing? than just cost saving!

@KimKLarsen: ;-) There are no easy/clean Divorces! but Disentanglement of Active RAN Share w. Spectrum Sharing would be Mother of Messiness!

@dmavrakis: Is it even possible? I feel sorry for the person in charge of such a divorce :-)

@KimKLarsen: Though the lawyers would have a field day with Disentangling an Active RAN Share JV ;-) ....

@dmavrakis: Indeed! Patent litigation and network sharing divorces. Lawyers' dream cases!

@KimKLarsen: (8) Overlooked in ?#Networksharing?: (i) instant cell split=more capacity, (ii) improved coverage, (iii) Spectral efficiency boost

@dmavrakis: Very interesting! Seems all discussion on network sharing is on benefits, but not on challenges or threats.

@Gabeuk: Biggest issue I've heard for #Networksharing is the competitive dynamic -- you need to be more or less equal size

@KimKLarsen: Well then TMUK & Three UK must have been a mistake! ;-) ... Smaller party has much more to gain from sharing that's true!

@KimKLarsen: An important consideration as is the possible asymmetry! but I would not say it's the Biggest Issue nor a Blocking Stone!

@KimKLarsen: As the saying goes: "Money Makes Strange Bed Fellows" ;-) & cost savings do (often) take precedent over market dynamics.

@twehmeier: Interesting to see if agreement unwinds with transition to LTE, a la Sweden. Or are there commitments?

@Gabeuk: TMoUK and 3UK were the two smallest outfits at the time... so it worked for both of them

@Gabeuk: TeliaSonera wanted out of the deal, hence push to LTE. Telenor wont share in Norway, but will in Sweden

@Gabeuk: O2 and Vodafone are RAN sharing in the UK because they are roughly equal size; other combinations couldn't be agreed

@KimKLarsen: It is a highly asymmetric venture in terms of respective market shares and network size -> Size does Not matter too much!

@KimKLarsen: There are no other options in UK for meaningful network sharing! O2/VF needs higher net density to remain competitive!

@KimKLarsen: I just don't believe that Size Matters ;-) is a very important consideration for #Networksharing ...

@dmavrakis: Indeed, VF/O2 can't compete against MBNL's site density on a standalone basis!

@KimKLarsen: The only way O2 & VF could create a network in equal size to EEs in a meaningful economical way is to share their grids!

@Gabeuk: TMo, 3UK, and Orange all needed scale -- hence those combinations, and why VF and O2 sat aside

@Gabeuk: yes, the emergence of EE has changed the telco landscape in the UK

@KimKLarsen: (1) Changes in spectrum strength/position (low vs high freq) between partners might trigger an unwind.

@KimKLarsen: (2) though more likely than unwind would be downgrade from active to passive/site sharing!

@disruptivedean: Issue I see is around flexibility, eg if one MNO's customer profile has v different usage patterns

@dmavrakis: That may be in favor or active sharing. E.g. if busy hours or traffic patterns are different

@disruptivedean: Yes, but might be mix of signalling vs. "tonnage" intense, indoor/outdoor mix, specific geo's etc

@disruptivedean: ie network-sharing puts constraints on business models, customer targets, mktg propositions etc

@dmavrakis: Not sure if network sharing has effect beyond the network dept of MNO.

xoxoxoxoxoxo Added 13/07/2012 xoxoxoxoxoxo


@sadinmobile: Interesting - from experience "network" sharing should be strictly limited to a very short term or site/antenna sharing only..

@KimKLarsen: how do you get to that conclusion/experience? Particular the very short term statement? At odds with the economics!

@sadinmobile: After traffic levels pick up, networks will split anyway, until then it's nothing but tech issues and politics, s/t <5y

@KimKLarsen: 2+ yrs to get a shared network, spending abundant on integration & restructuring, w. <3 yrs to recover! Hmmm ;-)

@KimKLarsen: Though this said (1) I do agree that most of the Opex savings are in site related Opex incl. Ops/field services!

@KimKLarsen: (2) substantial Capex savings/avoidance can be achieved as well … doing so much more for the same amount of cash!

@KimKLarsen: and (3) network sharing is so much more than technology … it’s about marketing too … though politics! YEAHHH that too!

@sadinmobile: site/antenna sharing should def be done for many reasons. Also fibre backhaul sharing is a must for larger landscapes.

@KimKLarsen: particular last point is a really important one for LTE and HSPA+ where legacy backhaul falls short of air-interface!

@KimKLarsen: Few operators have the financial strength & infrastructure to standalone finance FTTS: backhaul sharing is important!

@KimKLarsen: And as backhaul FTTS is shared, so does site sharing jump out as a natural corollary.

Participants:

@dmavrakis = Dimitris Mavrakis

@KimKLarsen = Dr. Kim Larsen

@Gabeuk = Gabriel Brown

@twehmeier = Thomas Wehmeier

@disruptivedean = Dean Bubley

@sadinmobile = Sadin N

Femtocells vs. Wi-Fi - Conflict or Complement?

How Wi-Fi and Femtocells complement one another to optimise coverage and capacity

View more presentations from Zahid Ghadialy

A presentation from the LTE World Summit 2012.

#FWIC Summary in Tweets with Pics, Presentations and Videos

Here is my summary from The 4th Future of Wireless International Conference (#FWIC). I created a OTT Stats, Facts and Figures presentation for the conference which is available here.


DAY 1

@zahidtg: #FWIC has started

@marekpawlowski: Full house for #fwic, sign of thriving, continually expanding mobile industry in Cambridge

@Qualcomm_UK: "Mobile is the largest technology platform in history" – #Qualcomm’s Joe Barrett at #FWIC keynote

@JawadAbbassi: Globally: 1 million new 3G connections are added on a daily basis. Source: @Qualcomm_IAR

@najeebster: 3.2bn 3G connections by 2016 Joe Barrett from Qualcomm at #FWIC

@geoffmccormick: data traffic to grow over 1000% in the next decade.

@Qualcomm_UK: “Consumers expect the amazing” – Joe Barrett of Qualcomm

@cambwireless: Joe Barrett from @Qualcomm_UK keynote 3.4 billion 3G connections by 2016, 1000 x growth in data by 2020

@Qualcomm_UK: #Snapdragon processors are used by 50+ manufacturers, in 340+ devices with a further 400+ in development – Joe Barrett, Qualcomm

@ndahad: The significance of mobile technologies globally, particularly emerging markets, & more smartphones to the masses http://ow.ly/i/IVvF

@Alliantus: Interesting first session. Powershift. New spectrum. More base stations - smaller & deployed to offload traffic - bring net closer.

@marekpawlowski: Does Qualcomm's Alljoyn hold possibility of internet of things network which meshes to become stronger the more entities which join?

@marekpawlowski: Qualcomm's Halo transferring kw power wirelessly over air gaps to charge cars. A final untethering of humans from power sockets?

@ndahad: Mobile - the digital 6th sense

@Alliantus: very interesting scene setting by #joebarrett #qualcomm one of best conference starts ever - on the button and no sales pitch. FAB.

@dw2: Note to self: learn more about http://www.qualcommhalo.com/ the Qualcomm Halo wireless charging system for cars mentioned by Joe Barrett

@geoffmccormick: biggest challenge for wireless auto charging is not the tech but the system. New behaviours and challenges abound.

@RichardTraherne: Further support for small cells to solve cellular access problems, at Future Wireless International Conference

@zahidtg: Connected car by Qualcomm at #FWIC

@Qualcomm_UK: Hey, @CambWireless #fwic and want to see the video #Qualcomm’s Joe Barrett talked about this morning?:



Joe Baratt's presentation is available here and the video is here.



@bensmithuk: Listening to Olaf Swantee (Everything Everywhere CEO)

@Alliantus: everything everywhere #Olafswantec CEO. Partnering for #4G. Built for data. More speed 4-6 times faster in lab. Latency improved.

@najeebster: Olaf Swantee, CEO, Everything Everywhere reckons this 4G stuff can provide connectivity equal to fixed-line broadband, hmm

@Alliantus: 4G tool for proving connectivity. Part of solution. Data growth rates 250 times in past year - smart phones and smart data.

@roryponeill: CEO Everything Everywhere Olaf Swantee "I'm staggered by the continuing growth of data. We can't cope with 3G...we must go 4G"

@cambwireless: Olaf Swantee, CEO, Everything Everywhere speaks at #fwic "Growth rates of 250% in data on the network every year"

@Alliantus: UK more dependent on services than any other because of service culture. Infrastructure needs to be improved - UK early adopters.

@kumithiru: wonder what percentage of EE's UK customer base using data hungry devices use them at home? 50% 60% 70% ?

@najeebster: 4G carries a stronger signal even cell edge, will help to solve rural broadband issues

@rob_symes: olaf swantee says there would huge job creation by next gen 4G network

@roryponeill: Olaf continues "Britain is reliant on digital service industry - no.1 contributor to GDP - yet 40 other countries have 4G already"

@Alliantus: #fwic reason delay because industry is sweating assets in UK. Big capital expenditure has not come. ROI? Not enough profit? Hard to believe.

@BrianIsATwit: Olaf Swantee #fwic 4G use cases are video, TV and real time gaming. B2B cloud services. M2M also driving new apps.

@BrianIsATwit: Olaf Swantee at #fwic inferring UK economy impacted by poor fixed and mobile broadband. 4G positive investment impact £5bn & 125K new jobs.

@Alliantus: #fwic ironically really poor O2 service here. Blocking tweet on everything everywhere? Or just because it is about #4G?

@Alliantus: role of lawyers in causing delay? Are we destined to be laggards and not leaders because of cyclical nature of Tech adoption?

@Alliantus: can be back on track quickly. Already have a 3G network? Many users think they are on 4G already.

@Alliantus: thought provoking talk. Really believes in focusing on customers. Passion. Making experience better. Good operator perspective.

@marekpawlowski: Refreshing to hear Olaf Swantee prioritising fundamental improvements to network quality over 'tariff gimmicks & loyalty points'

@marekpawlowski: However, concerned by Swantee's faith in 4G to solve rural access. Unlikely economics will be any different than any proceeding 'G'

@marekpawlowski: Challenge for Swantee will be moving from sales culture of pushing 'broadband' & 'smartphone' SKUs, getting closer to customer reality

@cambwireless: Olaf Swantree stresses the economy is dependent on digital infrastructure. 40 countries rolled out 4g already - uk falling behind

@BrianIsATwit: as a rural dweller my fixed and mobile experience terrible. don't doubt 4G capability but do doubt deployment and economics.

No Slides. Video of Olaf Swantee is available here

@Alliantus: #paultaylor #google. Text to speech. Can't tweet because of sensitivity. Confidentiality works both ways Google.

@geoffmccormick: is there an irony in google asking for privacy ??? Txt to voice google insider info coming soon (I hope).

@eurocomms: Interesting... Google engineering manager asks #fwic if his speech can remain confidential ahead of upcoming developer conference

@geoffmccormick: voice input needs visual confirmation. Interesting point made by google.

@eurocomms: Apologies to all those asking re Google at #fwic - WiFi ironically pretty poor... – talk was mainly about developments in speech technology

@Lautarinho: Amusing efforts by Google to keep information at a major conference private it seems.

@Brill_Brum: Muppet!... Google engineering manager asks #fwic if his speech can remain confidential ahead of upcoming developer conference

@rpctelecom: Paul Taylor of Google gave an interesting talk whose title he doesn't want mentioned and said some interesting unreportable things

@rpctelecom: By the way, Paul Taylor of Google needs @connectifyme to solve his hotel Internet multiple-device problems

No Video or Slides for presentation by Paul Taylor, Engineering Manager, Google

ZG: Since the Google I/O 2012 is already over, I dont see why this cannot be shared now. I will add the pictures at the end of this post.

@Alliantus: Interesting panel discussion. Femtocell for capacity? Will we as consumers spend the money themselves?

@cambwireless: Panel session @DavidCleevely pushes femtocell opportunity for new business model

@rupert_baines: @davidcleavely at #fwic on need for #smallcell how femtocells create opportunity & new business model for carriers: economics view not tech

@cambwireless: Panel Session Olaf Swantree says femtocells are part of the equation

@marekpawlowski: Good point about expediting uptake of femto cells by operators recognising & discounting femto use in tariffs. Few currently do.

@JawadAbbassi: 50% of #cellular users in the #UK still do not use a #smartphone

@roryponeill: Olaf "we still have 50% of our customers in the UK who don't have smartphones" <--this game is not over ;)

@marekpawlowski: Swantee: As internet becomes personal, people resist advertising. Digital advertising works only when it helps users complete missions

Video of Panel discussion here

@Alliantus: Chewing on ideas surrounding the evolution of the device. Rory O'Neill RIM.

@najeebster: Future of wireless by speaker from RIM. Vaguely ironic?

@najeebster: RIM - there are still CIOs that think response time to an email in over 48 hrs is OK

@Alliantus: predictive conversations can impact on way we communicate. Conversations will be written across multiple devices. Simplifying life?

@zahidtg: Is this the industry challenge?

@kumithiru: @roryponeill that's a big percentage. Vodafone recently referenced only 27% of European customer base are smartphone users

@geoffmccormick: great talk by @roryponeill of rim. Concise explanation of the role of device innovation and associated experiences. Well done !

@Alliantus: plenty of room for innovation in the market. Incredible growth potential. More of a bb pitch than generic piece about industry.

@najeebster: very decent spiel by @roryponeill that there's room for more than 2 players in a $1.4Tr mkt

@Alliantus: global market is aggregation of lots of local markets. Interesting concept worth noting.

@marekpawlowski: A vision of Blackberry at heart of internet of things, using back end to predict, mediate conversations & transactions by @roryponeill

@marekpawlowski: Not sure I agree with @roryponeill that digital simplifies conversations. Rather allows us to deal with more simultaneous complexity

@JawadAbbassi: According to #Blackberry, globally #smartphones make up 23% of total cellular handsets.

Rory O’Neill, Vice President of Software and Services EMEA, RIM presentation here and video here

@Alliantus: RichardJacklin #anite my god its full of stars. iPhone created new form factor. Much reduced range of models. Is this a trend?

@Alliantus: Model range dip in 2011. Seen across all devices as shift in vendors.

@rob_symes: data prices must rise by 40 percent to make up for loss of voice and messaging

@dw2: Liked the Arthur C Clarke 2001 references in Richard Jacklin's #fwicinnovation talk. I'll have some more in my debate pitch tomorrow :-)

@mattablott: Some interesting studies on operator 'device ranging' by Anite

@dw2: Richard Jacklin's summary of Samsung's recipe for device success: experiment rapidly with multiple approaches + smartly observe market

@marekpawlowski: Hearing how differentiation moved to software. Is it that users don't want differentiated hardware or just it is currently uneconomic?

@sdfriedner: Hot topics at #FWIC How will devices, particularly smartphones evolve in the future and what will be the differentiator?

@marekpawlowski: Asked: is great RF performance a UX differentiator? Yes, but not at point of sale! Becomes relevant once you own, when it's too late!

@marekpawlowski: Revealing reaction to Q about improving sustainability by keeping, upgrading handsets longer. "Our industry is based on consumption."

@zahidtg: Interesting analysis of cost/defect by Richard Jacklin of Anite

Richard Jacklin, Business Development Director, Anite; presentation here, video here

@rpctelecom: Of the around 40 speakers and panelists at #fwic as far as I can see only 3 are women. Hmmm says something about our industry I fear.


Track 1: Four Pathways to International Business Growth - Chaired by John Davies, UKTI

@cambwireless: Finbarr Moynihan at Mediatek says smartphones will have 60-70% of market with 100 dollar smartphone possible

Presentations:

• Ubiquitous Global Connections: M2M Clouds - Paul Green, Technical and Marketing Director, Arkessa
• Lessons Learned in the Journey from 2G Feature Phones for China to Worldwide 3G Smartphones - Finbarr Moynihan, Director of Business Development, MediaTek
• Fundraising in Europe: 10 non-textbook lessons for entrepreneurs - Maria Dramalioti-Taylor, Managing Partner, x.Million Capital Ventures
• Antix Game Player - Francis Charig, Chief Executive and Founder, Antix Labs

Track 2: Utility or Valued Brand - Chaired by Mark Neild, Nokia Siemens Network


@cambwireless: Track 2 at #fwic Looking at value based pricing - mobile operators need to focus on core bus. Partner with OTT - don't compete

@cambwireless: Mark Neild, Nokia Siemens networks: Up to third of revenue on handset subsidy

@cambwireless: iPhone put more focus on network quality. Customers care more about quality of their networks

@cambwireless: Mark Neild, Nokia Siemens Network says operators need to stick to what they are good at - delivering access

Presentations:

• Mobile Service providers: Utility or valued brand? - Jean-Marie Stas, Marketing Intelligence Manager, Telindus
• Changes in user demand for wireless services impacting future wireless network deployment - Mark Main, Lead Consultant, Analysys Mason
• Network Traffic and Economics from a Mobile Data Perspective - Dr. Khal Farhat, CEO, Terranet (Comium)
• Keeping Mobile Operators Relevant - Mark Neild, Head of Business Transformation Services, Nokia Siemens Network

Track 3: Bandwidth Hogs or Experience Innovators - Chaired by Reginald Kipke, Velocix

@marekpawlowski: Terrifyingly prehistoric to be sitting in a session about 'threats and opportunities' of OTT

@marekpawlowski: Myriad's @MWJ encourages operators to do *something* with digital service innovation. Doesn't need to be perfect first time, just try

@marekpawlowski: Good point by @mwj about how forgiving customers can be of experimentation if it meets certain needs. Good UX isn't about perfection.

Presentations:

• Helping operators address OTT revenue cannibalisation - Mark Watts-Jones, Director, Social Mobile Portfolio, Myriad Group
• WHAT or WHERE or WHO - IS THE AUDIENCE? - Reginald Kipke, Senior Sales Support Manager, Velocix
• Why content rights are the key to network evolution - Bo Olofsson, Director, Product Research Group, BSkyB

Track 4: Where Next for Devices - Chaired by Zahid Ghadialy, Explanotech


@zahidtg: Wow! Track 4 at #FWIC is completely packed. Everyone loves to hear about device evolution.

@JawadAbbassi: The Future #Internet of things will need a machine 2 machine gateway to be scaleable

@zahidtg: Lol. Ian Davidsons slide

@zahidtg: Arm did an analysis that even though your phone may be 2GHz and 4 core, most of the time its running on 200MHz

@zahidtg: Science fiction here...transmission of Smell @ track4

@zahidtg: From a presentation by Jenny Tillotson

@zahidtg: Who has tried transmitting smells

@zahidtg: Interesting slide by @BrianIsATwit

Presentations: 

• Future M2M - building in security and scalability - Iain Davidson, Business Development, Freescale
• Your World at Your Fingertips - Vincent Korstanje, VP Segment Marketing, ARM
• Scent Phone - Dr Jenny Tillotson, Senior Research Fellow, University of the Arts London
• SCIENCE FACTION - Brian Roberston, Associate Director, Broadcom

Track 5: The continuing role of Intellectual Property - Chaired by John Haine, Cognovo

Presentations:

• Essential patent licensing - Robert Pocknell, Director, N&M Consulting
• The smartphone patent wars - Matthew Gillard, Partner, Withers & Rogers LLP
• How to Innovate and Survive in the Patent Jungle - Mark Collins, Chief Operating Officer, Cognovo
• The continuing role of intellectual property: Emerging strategies - Helena van der Vegt, Senior Associate, Cambridge IP

Dinner in St. John's college

Day 2

@zahidtg: Cambridge consultants showing their Small cells reference design with Mindspeed tech inside

@zahidtg: Freescale and Arkessa showing M2M for the next 50 billion devices at#FWIC

@cambwireless: Day two of #fwic well under way with Matthew Postgate, Head of R & D, BBC talking “How is mobile broadband changing broadcasting?”

@dw2: Found a jackpot of fascinating videos about the future of wireless tech at http://3g4g.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Videos courtesy of @zahidtg

@ndahad: the opportunities for mhealthcare. Professor Chris Lowe presenting on 2nd day of conference

@ndahad: what physicians typically looking for patients to track or monitor at home. Thousands of apps already available

@marekpawlowski: Perhaps there's no such thing as mHealth, just millions of distinct design challenges which, we hope, have some common tech solutions?

@ndahad: mhealthcare - the mhealth ecosystem

@marekpawlowski: Wealth of healthcare insights from Chris Lowe. Particularly the interest in doctors for using digital to facilitate more collaboration

@marekpawlowski: Also how greater self monitoring by patients could aid resource planning and epidemic response in the health system

@ndahad: big opportunity for mhealthcare solutions is in diabetes monitoring, 400 million affected worldwide, figure set to double in 10 years

@Alliantus: everyone saying what a fantastic job #ChrisLowe from Uni. Cambridge did this morning. Talking about mHealth

Prof. Chris Lowe, Director, University of Cambridge; slides here, video here

@kumithiru: Given voice to text keynote at yesterday's #FWIC fun to see@MatthewPostgate start with a Siri slide today

@Alliantus: How is mobile broadband changing broadcasting. A personal journey. Key enabler to redefine operating context. Industrial revolution.

@Alliantus: Towards a new broadcasting system. Universal. Live & on demand. Creation & curation. Immersive & pervasive. Shared and personal.

@Alliantus: Trend towards immersive and pervasive Tv. People want to be part of the service. Aunties view not the only one.

@Alliantus: Mobile equalised productisation with BBC content. No longer after thought.

@kumithiru: BBC 1-4-10 strategy for online service provision

@zahidtg: The 1 10 4 concept by BBC at #FWIC - 4 stands for 4 screens

@zahidtg: 50% of iPlayer access is now on 3G

@bensmithuk: BBC working on companion apps to play-out live in sync with programming including shows like Frozen Planet.

@Alliantus: is the broadcaster creator or curator? What is its role with user generated news, eg?

@BrianIsATwit: BBC #fwic future tech roadmap for broadcasting. LTE broadcast mode important.

@kumithiru: a lot of talk about e-MBMS in the US LTE networks good to see@MatthewPostgate of BBC deal with issue

@zahidtg: eMBMS is a research area by BBC :-)

@bensmithuk: BBC approaches for syncing 2nd screen: pure time sync, audio watermarking & syncing API interfaces (in order of 'frame accuracy')

@evolaris: Matthew Postgate, BBC: eMBMS interesting technology for broadcasters

@marekpawlowski: Matthew Postgate setting out immersive (3D, HD) & pervasive (new touchpoints) as tenets of BBC strategy

@marekpawlowski: BBC using Web sync, audio tags & home network API to link linear broadcast & companion devices. All must degrade gracefully

@marekpawlowski: Being able to link linear & companion content with frame accuracy is priority for BBC to try more creative multi-touchpoint experience

@marekpawlowski: Since iPlayer made accessible over cellular, has grown to 50/50 mix with Wifi on iPhone, but has not cannibalised Wifi at all

@marekpawlowski: However iPlayer iPad usage remains primarily Wifi, suggesting predominance of home usage

@marekpawlowski: I wonder if BBC will experiment beyond just multi-screen & start to build contextual experiences responsive to sensors & behaviour?

Matthew Postgate, Head of Research & Development, BBC; No Slides but Video is available here.

@zahidtg: Test challenges of connected car by Rohde&Schwarz

@zahidtg: We are also talking of VoLTE testing. The small note at the bottom has always worried me

Anton MessmerDirector of Subdivision, Mobile Radio Teseters, Rohde and Schwarz; slides here.

Innovation Hothouse - Chaired by Kevin Coleman, Project Director, 'Discovering Start-Ups'

Video here.

Policy Panel - Chaired by Stuart Revell, Chairman, ICT KTN Wireless Technology & Spectrum Working Group

@Alliantus: Airwave: spectrum is important to secure channels. Following global trends. Public safety network is minute in comparison to public.

@Alliantus: Small network for emergency response is expensive for small net. What price safety? Spectrum is important.

@Alliantus: Motorola. What do you want you phone 911? Someone who knows we ring 999. Cultural differences are interesting.

@zahidtg: Interesting. Emergency services use 0.9% of all spectrum between UHF and 6Ghz.

@RichardTraherne: Joe Butler, Ofcom, at Future #Wireless Conference #FWIC says radio spectrum access/use strategy must change

@Alliantus: International countries will not wait for Europe to make decisions. Sharing of infrastructure and services. LTE allows opportunity.

@Alliantus: How do we as a society value spectrum.

@Alliantus: voda. 15 year decisions regarding infrastructure. Where is the money? People don't care how they connect. How do we accommodate?

@cambwireless: Andy Hudson, Vodafone, head of spectrum policy, says that the most efficient use of spectrum is overall aim

@Alliantus: LTE not the soln for public safety. USA have made decisions that they will use it on the back of disasters such as Katrina and 911.

@Alliantus: Control will be driver for two networks. Could have sharing but only if emergency had control.

@zahidtg: I absolutely disagree that broadcasting is a complete waste of spectrum. If there were no broadcast ppl would try VOD, overwhelming nw

@cambwireless: Andy Hudson, Head of Spectrum Policy, Vodafone: "Biggest challenge is to make low cost high performance filter for handsets"

@rpctelecom: Jeppe Jepson of Motorola "broadcasting is the most wasteful use of the radio spectrum" - I'm not sure many would agree with him!

@rpctelecom: Ofcom wants a flexible spectrum map but will only "enable" not "regulate" for it. But will incumbents release spectrum if not pushed?

@rpctelecom: Andy Hudson of Vodafone says that Vodafone and O2 will share network infrastructure to give 98% indoor coverage in UK

Video of Policy Panel here.

@Alliantus: Colin Brereton #PwC Mobile enabler of global change. Interesting slide deck. Worth a download. Opportunity in Devoping World.

@bensmithuk: Don’t we need to stop marvelling at how the ‘young people’ are able to multi-screen and discuss / understand what all consumers want?

@bensmithuk: Tired of hearing ‘developed world’ & ‘emerging markets’ as binary distinction in mobile. Don’t we need a more granular description?

@Alliantus: New generation different mobile use. Apps 10Bn user market. See slides for other.

@cambwireless: Pwc - planet needs to be more productive. Mobile can become the primary enabler of social and economic development

@Peter_Whale: Thanks to Colin Bererton #PwC for laying challenge to focus creative energies on application of wireless to massively benefit society

Colin Brereton, Partner, Global Communications Industry Practice, PwC; slides here video here.

The Cambridge Debate

@zahidtg: #FWIC debate:This house believes that the future of Innovation in the wireless industry is within the Virtual rather than the Physical World

Video here.

@Peter_Whale: really stimulating 2 days. Head full of insights. Now the fun of connecting the dots; finding the takeaways; turning ideas into action

@vectafrank: well done@cambwireless - best yet!

Participants:

@cambwireless = Cambridge Wireless official twitter account

@zahidtg = Zahid Ghadialy

@marekpawlowski = Marek Pawlowski

@Qualcomm_UK = Qualcomm UK

@JawadAbbassi = Jawad J. Abbassi

@najeebster = Najeeb Khan

@geoffmccormick = geoff mccormick

@ndahad = Nitin Dahad

@Alliantus = Kevin Coleman

@dw2 = David Wood

@RichardTraherne = Richard Traherne

@bensmithuk = Ben Smith

@roryponeill = Rory O'Neill

@rob_symes = Rob Symes

@BrianIsATwit = Brian Robertson

@eurocomms = eurocomms

@rupert_baines = Rupert Baines

@mattablott = Matt Ablott

@sdfriedner = Saul Friedner

@Brill_Brum = Stu

@rpctelecom = RPC Telecom

@evolaris = evolaris

@RichardTraherne = Richard Traherne

@Peter_Whale = Peter Whale

@vectafrank = Frank Morris

In case you enjoyed my effort in collecting the tweets please let me know by clicking the 'Very Useful' checkbox below.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo Additional Information xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo 

As I mentioned in the beginning, Paul Taylor, Engineering Manager, Google, gave us a presentation and requested that we dont share information because of the Google developer conference. As this is over now, I am sharing the pics I took for his presentation. If anyone from Google raises an objection, I will take them down :-) 

3GPP based 'Sponsored Data Connectivity'

One of the features being investigated and added is the Sponsored Data Connectivity feature in the Evolved Packet System. This feature has lots of backers as this is deemed to be a new source of revenue for the operators.

In Release-10 one of the items for this is titled 'Policy Enhancements for Sponsored Connectivity and Coherent Access to Policy related Databases (PEST)'

The justification for PEST is as follows:


With the emerging of innovative IP services, the transactional data usage is becoming more and more prevalent on the mobile. For example, the user downloads a purchased ebook from an online store; the user purchases and downloads a game from an operator store; the user views free trailer clip from an online library to determine whether to buy the entire movie or not. In many cases, the Sponsor (e.g., Application service provider) pays for the user’s data usage in order to allow the user to access the Application Service Provider’s services. This enables additional revenue opportunities for both the Application service providers and the operators.


In particular, such dynamic data usage provided by the Sponsor allows the operator to increase revenues from the users with limited data plans. The user may have limited data plans allowing only a nominal data volume per month and the Sponsor may dynamically sponsor additional volume for the user to allow access to the services offered by the Application service providers.


The PCC framework can be enhanced to enable such use cases, in particular, it allows the operator to provide service control based on such sponsored services. For example, it allows a dynamic IP flow to be excluded from the user’s data plan since a Sponsor might sponsor the data usage for the identified IP flows. For example, the user may use the limited data plan to browse an online store for interested books; but once a book is purchased, the data usage for downloading the book can be granted for free. In addition, the IP flow may also be granted certain level of QoS (e.g. video streaming).

TR 23.813 studied the feasibility of these scenarios of sponsored connectivity in the key issue 1 and converged into a set of extensions to the PCC procedures which will allow the operator to provide sponsored connectivity to sponsor entities.


In addition to Key Issue 1, SA2 also studied the feasibility of Key issue 2 - Coherent access to Policy related databases within TR 23.813. It enables UDR (User Data Repository) in the PCC architecture as an optional functional entity where PCC related subscriber data can be stored and retrieved by the PCRF through the Ud interface. This deployment scenario does not require SPR and allows the PCRF access to the PCC related subscriber data stored in the UDR.

In Release-12 PEST is linked to another new feature titled, 'Interworking between Mobile Operators using the Evolved Packet System and Data Application Providers (MOSAP)'

The Justification of this is as follows:

Mobile operators have to deal with increasing flexibility of data services delivery on different devices. 


The data services could be hosted by the mobile operators in their data centers within 3GPP domain or could be hosted by 3rd party data application providers that could be outside of the mobile operator domain. 


Current practices involve individual mobile operators negotiating agreements with data application providers resulting in proprietary additional functionalities in 3GPP networks which results in  non-standard 3GPP interfaces. With the advent of new models of services delivery like cloud computing and Application Stores, it is important that the mobile operator minimises upgrades to the network  and associated backend integration. 


Also the mobile operator has the opportunity to explore various charging models in this interworking scenario with data service providers. 


Sample services/capabilities that mobile operators can provide to data application providers are customised billing/charging, promotional services, group addressing capabilities, identity services, statistics, etc.


This WI proposes to enable the mobile operator to use enhanced functionalities and interfaces to meet the needs of the rapidly changing industry models. The WI is expected to develop requirements and architectural frameworks for authentication, authorization, policy, charging, mobility and session continuity aspects for various interworking scenarios.


The existing schemes for authentication/authorization and charging need to be studied and updated/enhanced, when deemed necessary, by liaising with other 3GPP Working Groups/SDOs/fora in charge of them.


This WI was de-prioritised in Rel-11. The Rel-12 work will take into consideration the new TS 23.682 developed in Rel-11 (Architecture Enhancements to facilitate communications with Packet Data Networks and Applications).

What are you your thoughts on sponsored data connectivity?

xoxoxoxoxoxo  Added on 08/07/2012 - 14.00 xoxoxoxoxoxo



I had a quick discussion with Dean Bubley on twitter and here is what he thinks:

Key question is what use cases & how the biz model / sponsor interaction works. 1-800 model is a #UselessCase for example. I think tollfree/1-800 apps is a nice idea, but totally unworkable when you drill into the practicalities. There are a few corner-cases & niche exceptions (eg govt-supplied apps) but proposed case for general apps / content is a chimera. 

More details on what Dean Bubley means is on his blog post here.

The comment at the end is very interesting, summarising the hurdles that exist in providing 'Toll-free data'.

My belief is that since the operators are running out of the options in generating new revenues, they may make a compromise and find a middle ground for making the 'Sponsored-data' to work

LTE - Service Opportunities; threats and challenges for the Rail Industry

Interesting presentation:

LTE - Service Opportunities; threats and challenges for the Rail Industry

View more documents from Zahid Ghadialy

See Also:

• Wi-Fi in Public Transport over LTE