Analyst Angle: 3GSM and the booths of Spain

Editor’s Note: Welcome our Monday feature, Analyst Angle. We’ve collected a group of the industry’s leading analysts to give their outlook on the hot topics in the wireless industry. In the coming weeks look for columns from Strategy Analytics’ Chris Ambrosio, Ovum’s Roger Entner and M:Metrics’ Seamus McAteer.
Two years ago, we put together a list of topics we hoped to hear about at 3GSM 2005-technologies that any vendor in tune with market demands would want to have in their booths. With February just around the corner, it’s time to give it another try.
These are not recommendations. Nobody could reasonably expect a company to alter its demonstrations and presentations less than a month before the big show. Yet, from a strategy and marketing standpoint, tradeshows are invaluable to vendors. Beyond the various “pods” that exist within their booths, the messages a vendor sells at a tradeshow convey their understanding of the market. Is it visionary, redefining markets? Is it a “fast follower,” merely going along with the pack? Does it understand what the market wants?
To this end, 3GSM 2007 is more than just a place to see old friends, Las Ramblas and foreign rock bands you’ve never heard of. Here’s what we’d like to see:
. IMS Applications. At its heart, IMS is all about applications. So why haven’t we seen more mobile IMS application launches? There’s no shortage of explanations: limited device availability, slow network development, alternate delivery options. Yet, now that operators have begun building their IMS networks, they want to start making money from the investment. Just ask Cingular about video sharing. Vendors need to demonstrate that they’re ready to support them.
. WiMAX Infrastructure and Applications. Last year, vendors seemed conflicted about talking up WiMAX at 3GSM. The technology was still quite new and 3GSM, after all, is a show organized by the GSM Association. This year, however, the technology is more real. What’s more, any vendor who hopes to make WiMAX a global success needs to market it to the right people at a truly international event (say, at the world’s biggest wireless show) while positioning it as its own mobile broadband technology-not just a competitor to 3G.
. HSUPA / LTE. If trade shows are about putting advanced technologies on display, then HSUPA and LTE are 3GSM no-brainers. 2005 and 2006 were spent selling operators on the value of HSDPA. Now that it’s a market reality, HSUPA is necessary for robust enterprise and other interactive applications. LTE, in turn, is necessary for competing with the promise of WiMAX. Any vendor failing to address HSUPA and LTE at 3GSM is sorely out of synch with operator priorities and the need to position themselves as innovators.
. GSM Innovation. At a GSM tradeshow, it only makes sense to put GSM products on display. Clearly, 2G is not as sexy as 3G. GSM, however, is still a growing market. Operators, in turn, need to continue expanding their GSM networks (coverage and capacity) and even upgrade gear which has been deployed for years. This doesn’t mean that it’s enough for vendors to simply trot out old products. Instead, innovations we’ve been talking about for some time need to be highlighted: Enhanced EDGE; GSM base station servers, a la Nokia; ATCA-based BSCs, a la Alcatel.
. Combinational Portfolios. In case you hadn’t heard, 2006 was a year for consolidation in the wireless vendor space. Ericsson picked up assets from Marconi and Redback. Alcatel merged with Lucent while grabbing Nortel’s UMTS radio access business. Motorola agreed to acquire Symbol and Good, not to mention NextNet and Orthogon. Siemens and Nokia agreed to spin their networks businesses into a JV, Nokia Siemens Networks. Where deals have yet to close, joint technology demonstrations are clearly not possible. Where they have closed, vendors need to use 3GSM demo solutions that pull products from all of the companies if they hope to execute on sales synergies and position the mergers as successful.
. Business Services. Every wireless infrastructure vendor has a professional services business focused on things like deployment, training, repair and maintenance, network optimization, application hosting, etc. Most also offer business consulting services focused on things like service introductions, marketing, technology planning, etc. The former are routinely showcased at tradeshows. The latter-perhaps because they appear the purview of firms like Accenture, McKenzie, Booz Allen, etc.-routinely take a backseat. In an era of FMC and converged IMS services that operators do not know how to sell (or market, or price, etc.), efficient and informed business practices are critical for success. To this end, business services delivered by the companies that built these technologies need to take center stage.
Of course, it’s unlikely that most vendors will go into great detail on each of these topics in their Barcelona booths. What’s more, some will want to dedicate floor space and marketing resources to other topics. Personally, I’m hoping to see some fixed IMS clients (necessary for IMS applications in the absence of IMS-enabled handsets), convergent billing systems (necessary for making money from FMC and “combinational” service offers) and IMS partners (necessary for any vendor hoping to supply the dozens of specified IMS network components).
Ultimately, however, trade shows are an opportunity for vendors to prove that they can meet their customers’ demands. Meaning? They’ll want to come to 3GSM prepared on all fronts.
Questions or comments about this column? Please e-mail Peter at pjarich@currentanalysis.com or RCR Wireless News at rcrwebhelp@crain.com.