Nothing wrecks a trip to Europe like work. And last week I was lucky enough to travel to Barcelona to cover the 3GSM World Congress. While the show is too big for its own good-not CES big, but more than double the size of CTIA-the show’s influence is unquestioned and observations are a must.
- The hype over mobile television is not a North American-only phenomenon. Despite the dominance of MediaFLO in the U.S. market, European carriers and handset vendors continue to push their plans for DVB-H. No one is sure of the market potential, but everyone seems to think there is money to be had in watching TV on a small screen.
- Speaking of MediaFLO, Qualcomm’s presence at this year’s event was priceless-as in I’m sure it cost a lot of money. The company was part of LG’s low-cost handset initiative, its MediaFLO subsidiary was present, and Qualcomm even sponsored the 3GSM awards dinner. If you can’t beat ’em, spend the money and put your name all over ’em.
- Europe’s harmonious network environment has a strange effect on network operators. There is no “We have better coverage than you” claims, nor any “Our network can beat up your network” rhetoric. In fact, when the CEOs of some of the world’s largest network operators start talking about the benefits of network sharing, as Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin and Orange CEO Sanjiv Ahuja did during the opening keynote, it was a bit surreal. I would be surprised to see Denny Strigl and Gary Forsee sitting around the CTIA campfire in Orlando roasting marshmallows and singing a duet.
- Never dropped a call while riding the subway throughout Barcelona, but dropped several calls standing inside the T-Mobile tent in the middle of the convention area.
- It was interesting to see MediaFLO, WiMAX and Apple’s iPhones upsetting the GSM-based cart in Europe. I don’t expect these technologies to really disrupt the status quo, but the GSM Association, DVB-H supporters and entrenched handset vendors bristled whenever those names were mentioned.
- Love the European passion, especially with regards to their cigarettes.
