Peter,
<< I wouldn't bother to quiz Tero if I didn't have great respect for his knowledge of the industry >>
Likewise.
<< but he definitely hates Qualcomm >>
I did notice that he seems to have a somewhat negative bias towards them. <g>
I just ran across an interesting ( and I think a very good) post from a Nokia employee on a subject Tero frequently addresses:
>> 3G in Seven Easy Steps -- "Let Those Who Really Need It Pay The Initial Higher Cost Of The New Technology. And They Will!"
teledotcom.com
Tele.com
February 21, 2000, Issue: 504
Section: Letters
There are many things that can be done to ensure a higher penetration rate of 3G cellular services in the United States, if that is politically desirable ("Readers' Bulls-Eye," www.teledotcom.com, February 4). I leave this option intentionally open, since it really involves a great deal of politics.
1. Prevent geographical fragmentation of licenses. Provide more nationwide licenses. Cellular phones are about mobility. If I roam away from my current cellular provider's coverage to another network that has a roaming agreement with my current service provider, and if I want to make a call overseas, all I get is an announcement: "We are sorry, but your call cannot be completed." National roaming agreements are a nightmare; they just don't seem to work between direct competitors.
2. Minimize the number of multiple, competing standards. 3G phones are going to be expensive in the beginning. Consumers don't want to bet their own money on which one is going to win. Most of them will delay purchase decisions until a clear winner is there. Of course, in a market economy, there are not many ways of doing this, but some exist.
3. Establish ubiquitous, seamless coverage as soon as possible. The first two measures will do this together: single standard and multiple, competing nationwide licenses.
4. Adopt global 3G standards. This will lead to faster commoditization and lower prices sooner than otherwise, due to higher volumes and competition. Moreover, it will also lead to better perceived value, since your phone would work now in any place around the world, just like GSM phones do today.
5. Don't subsidize phones. Let those who really need it pay the initial higher cost of the new technology. And they will! In the beginning, coverage is more important than capacity, so the higher price will keep traffic volumes low while you are still building coverage. By the time the coverage is built, the price of technology will have come down and you'll need to start adding capacity.
6. Lobby for frequency allocation changes from legacy networks to 3G. This is a slow process involving a great deal of international political arm wrestling, but in order to get the bandwidth price to an affordable level for fast Internet access, we need a lot more bandwidth.
7. Complement licensed bands with unlicensed band technologies like WLAN in hot spots like airports, conference centers and hotels, to provide broadband wireless access for the high-end users. Provide these users with a choice of dual-mode 3G/WLAN PDAs and videophones.
Except for the last two measures, this all has been tested in the market economy-and it works. Just look at the countries and operators that have chosen this way and compare them with countries that haven't. And of course, look at the winners in the cellular industry: The jackpot went to the countries that adopted this strategy early on.
- Jaakko Riihinen -
<snip>
Copyright © 2000 CMP Media Inc. <<
- Eric - |
