SUSSEX, U.K.—The Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) said a recently conducted poll of its new Ventures Program members called for more positive thinking in the wireless industry.
Major points brought up in the poll were:
- Industry should focus on developing content consumers want rather than pushing “technology for technology’s sake;”
- Lack of true service innovations may be holding the market back, also pointing to unclear thinking and unwillingness to adopt new business models;
- The market needs to support a value chain in which all components interact to deliver mobile services;
- New content and applications, and the start-up companies that often produce these, are essential to the future of the industry and should be supported.
Some positive news came from the poll too, as evidenced by comments from members.
“There is no way that our industry is in decline, despite what is too often said. There are still going to be approximately 400 million handsets shipped this year—far greater numbers than TV sets, PCs, etc. If we can deliver on today’s technology and exploit what is available on today’s network, it will win the business case for tomorrow’s technology,” said Barry Jones, director of consultancy company The EMC2 Company.
“We believe that in 2003, we will see real success in Europe, as market confidence builds together with the right mix of end-to-end solutions that deliver to the whole market, rather than to individual pieces of the jigsaw,” said Danny Kalish, chief technology officer of Israeli mobile Internet developer Niragongo.
GSA represents suppliers of GSM technology and services.
