Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Nokia (NOK) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Eric L who wrote (11793)	5/21/2001 10:56:45 PM
From: S100	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 34857

Lack of handsets delays GPRS launch Tuesday, May 22, 2001 CAROLYN ONG When Stephen Chau, chief technology officer at SmarTone, started work on upgrading the mobile operator's network from 2G to 2.5G technology, he thought the technology would be an overnight sensation. "If you had asked me 24 months ago when we started building the GPRS (general packet radio switching) network, I would have said that by now, there would be a frenzied roll-out of new GPRS services. But now, still nothing," said Mr Chau. According to Mr Chau, SmarTone's US$5 million GPRS network has been ready for at least 12 months but the operator has yet to launch any services. "The only factor holding us back from launching GPRS services to the masses are the handsets. We are waiting for the GPRS handsets that the customers will like to use. I have been told it will be about the third or fourth quarter," he said. GPRS is a newer technology laid on top of second-generation networks. Unlike WAP, which was crippled by air-time charges, unreliable network connections and slow download speeds, GPRS is always-on and users are charged for data sent and received. There is only one GPRS mobile phone - the Motorola Timeport P738i - on retail shelves, though both Ericsson and Nokia will launch handsets this year. "Having just one phone is not enough to create a market. There must be more choices and there must be phones that customers would like to carry around," said Mr Chau, echoing sentiments of mobile operators across the region. CSL was the first Asia-Pacific mobile operator to introduce GPRS services, in November last year. It remains one of few to have done so. Only one or two operators in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, and Singapore have launched GPRS, and the operators have been uncharacteristically quiet about their services. There have been no big marketing blitzes and no repeat of last year's WAP-mania. Not many CSL subscribers in Hong Kong are even aware that the company has introduced a higher data-rate mobile Internet service. "We are trying to manage customer expectations and not make a big hype about it," said Hubert Ng, chief executive of CSL. Mr Ng, who said GPRS would not take off until September, admitted that data rates were slower than expected, at less than 20 kbps and not the 100 kbps promised. "There is only one GPRS handset available now and it is what we call a two-plus-one, meaning one channel up and two channels down giving only 13 kbps to 20 kbps data speed. That is rather slow," he said. Drawing on lessons from the failure of WAP, where overmarketing inflated users' expectations, Mr Ng does not want to make the same mistake even though he is eager to see a return on the US$10 million investment in the GPRS network. Like SmarTone, Mr Ng is waiting for more powerful GPRS handsets to arrive. "The handset manufacturers said that GPRS phones are coming in a few months. Not only from Nokia, Motorola and Ericsson but also from Sony, Panasonic and Samsung. By year-end, there should be one-plus-four GPRS handsets, giving about 40 kbps to 45 kbps data rates," he said. According to Alistair Scott, head of AP Telecoms research at Merrill Lynch, "all the operators in the region are basically waiting for GPRS handsets in volume by the main providers". "When that happens, there is little doubt that GPRS will take off because it has an attractive billing model," he said. Mr Scott said it was hard to predict if operators would keep GPRS prices low to attract users. The delay in the launch of GPRS services, despite negative sentiment in the market, might not be a bad thing as it gives the operators more time to resolve technical problems. technology.scmp.com Same song, different pew.