The Hindu Business Line : GSM user base tops 1 billion

THE GSM industry has crossed the 1-billion subscriber mark a little ahead of its scheduled target date of March this year; the next one billion customers will be largely from subscriber additions in the emerging markets, said the GSM Association at the 3GSM World Congress here in Cannes.

GSMA patted itself on the back for this achievement. "... GSM has not lost its capacity to surprise and delight," said Mr Rob Conway, CEO of the GSM Association, which, with members such as Siemens, Alcatel, Ericsson, Nokia, Nortel Networks, Motorola, 3G Americas and the UMTS Forum said it is celebrating the one-billion mark here, which, along with 3G is among the summit's main themes.

Not only does one in about six persons in the world own a GSM connection, but GSMA claims that 80 per cent of all new mobile subscribers choose GSM.

GSM added 198 million new users globally in the last 12 months alone, more than CDMA did, said GSMA.

the combined numbers of personal computers and televisions.

One hundred and fifty wireless operator and industry CEOs and boardroom executives gathered at the GSMA's leadership summit to debate common strategic priorities for 2004.

The priorities are: Concerted action to tackle mobile phone theft; greater emphasis on terminal development and testing; further standardisation of messaging platforms; developing and defining responsible wireless Internet content access; and broadening the use of the SIM card for authentication and identification.

Unified user experience is goal

WHAT is the key to opening up new sources of revenue and income for GSM operators, in a market where products are becoming increasingly commoditised, where time-to-market cycles are getting shorter, and where the expected consolidation does not occur even as new players get into the act?

GSM operators have identified solutions for it, said Mr Rudi Lamprecht, Member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG, at a news conference in Cannes.

One of the components of their strategy is to create simplicity by "radically and uncompromisingly fostering and relying upon open standards to assure interoperability, for example, by creating an open environment for mobile networks that allows the convergence of all kinds of different networks, be they mobile or fixed," he said.

"We are working towards a common unified user experience that allows all kinds of communication tools where mobile or fixed line phones, PCs, PDAs, or wireless modules - to work together as if they were all part of one common system," said Mr. Lamprecht.

To this end, the exhibits at Cannes pertain to fixed-mobile convergence, push-to-talk over IP multimedia subsystem, convergent online charging and 3G services and networks.

The most important trend and most visible development in mobile communications this year will be the 3G network rollouts; and although this is perceived as long overdue, it will have strong effects on the business models of operators, said Mr Lamprecht.

Fifteen 3G networks have been rolled out, nine of them by Siemens mobile in partnership with NEC, he said. "We have either already set up or are currently in the process of setting 29 3G networks throughout the world." Siemens mobile has introduced an open network architecture called Next Generation Telecom Architecture, under which all the components that used to be proprietary will now be based on open standards, said Mr Lamprecht.

The new platform architecture will allow for transmission of voice and data at the same time; will allow for converged online charging across all types of networks - fixed, mobile, or WLAN - and will allow for convergence of IP-based networks and mobile networks.

One of the applications from all this -- Push-to-talk service, on demonstration here, allows for always-on GPRS function and allows users to use their handsets like walkie-talkies. Messages are received without having to reach for the phone. For the operator it is inexpensive to implement, since it is an add-on to existing networks and offers a natural migration path toward 3G.