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Editor's Corner: Facebook is now in the GSMA - will Google, Amazon, Twitter and Yahoo be next? Also Noted: Radisys
Spotlight On... NSN's Suri focused on expansion, but not necessarily M&A
Verizon to buy AWS spectrum from Stelera; Jolla to begin selling Sailfish phone and much more... Industry Voices: Infonetics: Where is M2M going in the enterprise?  Microsoft pushes for TV white space, mixing policy and philanthropy
White space spectrum and technology can sometimes seem ho-hum, but it has a major backer in Microsoft. The software giant has embarked on a global strategy to develop and promote TV white space technology as well as spread the news about the benefits of liberalized spectrum policies in conjunction with the use of dynamic spectrum-sharing technologies. For more on Microsoft's white space efforts, check out this FierceWirelessTech special report.
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News From Across the Wireless Industry:
1. Verizon buys cloud TV tech provider upLynk
2. Range Networks releases 3G upgrade, transceiver specs
3. SDN will be 2014's biggest network trend, says Strategy Analytics
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Facebook is now in the GSMA - will Google, Amazon, Twitter and Yahoo be next?
On Monday, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) joined the GSMA, Facebook's first and so far only membership in a wireless trade organization. No other social networking company is currently a member of the GSMA. Does this mean we should expect other Internet companies with major mobile presence or ambitions to follow suit? I'd say probably. It seems logical that they would, if one thinks about why Facebook joined the GSMA in the first place, which, according to analysts I spoke with, was largely a business development move. Facebook realizes its future is in mobile and it wants a seat at the table. Dan Rose, vice president of partnerships at Facebook, gave the official line, explaining that Facebook joining the GSMA "reflects our focus on mobile and our continued desire to work closely and collaboratively with partners in the industry, and we look forward to playing an active role as a member." "It's getting in on the ground floor," 556 Ventures analyst William Ho said. "They know that mobile is the core business in the future. Any so any influence or any insight into the goings-on or how to shape the industry is beneficial." Joining the GSMA fits with Facebook's larger mission of getting people online and using its service (so it can sell them ads). For example, in August Facebook forged a partnership with industry heavyweights Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia (NYSE:NOK), Opera Software, Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) and Samsung Electronics to launch Internet.org, a coalition dedicated to expanding online access via mobile. "Facebook, in the end, has the same goal as the wireless carriers: connect every human being. And so I think the goals are pretty congruent," said Recon Analytics analyst (and FierceWireless contributor) Roger Entner. Facebook is a unique social networking and Internet phenomenon. The company said it had 874 million mobile monthly active users as of Sept. 30, an increase of 45 percent year-over-year. Mobile daily active were 507 million on average for September 2013. The GSMA benefits from bringing Facebook into the fold, and being associated with a brand consumers embrace...Continued  More
Read more about: internet.org, Social Networking
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Today's Top News 1. Analysts: Sprint, T-Mobile ditched H Block to focus on other spectrum, avoid Dish complications
In the span of 48 hours this week executives from both Sprint (NYSE:S) and T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS) declared that their companies will not participate in the Jan. 22 auction of the 1900 MHz PCS H Block, leaving Dish Network (NASDAQ: DISH) the most likely winner of the spectrum. Analysts said the two carriers are avoiding the H Block auction because they want to focus on their existing spectrum holdings and wait for other upcoming auctions, as well as a avoid complications with Dish and its chairman, Charlie Ergen. Dish Network has agreed to bid the reserve price of $1.56 billion in the H Block auction as part of a complex deal with the FCC in which it may be given leeway to convert part of its 2 GHz AWS-4 spectrum from uplink to downlink operations. U.S. Cellular (NYSE:USM) CEO Kenneth Meyers said Wednesday that U.S. Cellular will likely sign up to participate in the auction but is still evaluating its options. With few other obvious bidders on the horizon, it appears Dish will have little competition. TMF Associates analyst Tim Farrar told FierceWireless that Dish winning the H Block spectrum for the reserve price of $1.56 billion, this outcome will still be a victory for the FCC. "Yes, it could be higher, but it's enough for the FCC," he said. Farrar added that getting at least $1.56 billion for the H Block is more than Sprint was expected to pay for it last year and will give the FCC flexibility ahead of the incentive auctions of 600 MHz broadcast spectrum. Sprint and T-Mobile want the FCC to limit how much spectrum Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) and AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) can win in the auction. "That is the FCC's key objective in the upcoming spectrum auctions, so it can limit AT&T and Verizon's participation in the 2015 broadcast TV incentive auction and ensure that Sprint and T-Mobile gain sufficient low-frequency spectrum to preserve a four player market after the next presidential election," Farrar wrote in a separate blog post. "Once no net revenues need to be raised from the incentive auction, then it won't matter if AT&T and Verizon refuse to participate, as that would simply keep the price low for Sprint and T-Mobile (or ensure that not as much broadcast spectrum is cleared)." "The FCC has moved quickly to implement Congress' direction to auction the PCS H block, and has scheduled the auction for Jan. 22, 2014," an FCC spokesperson told FierceWireless. "The Commission is looking forward to a successful auction, which will spur additional mobile broadband network development for American consumers and businesses, and provide a down payment on the Nationwide Interoperable Public Safety Network." In September, Democratic FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said she disagreed with the commission's decision to split the H Block from other upcoming auctions, most notably the AWS-3 auctions. She said in a statement that "holding a single auction of all 65 MHz at once is bound to yield more interest, more bidders, and more revenue than dividing this spectrum up and holding an auction of the 10 MHz H block alone. As Wall Street analysts have noted, splitting this spectrum up for auction will likely limit interest in the H Block to only one, or possibly two bidders. If that is true, we will have a retail sale--not an auction. Moreover, it will mean reduced revenue from this spectrum--and less support for our nation's first responders." Sprint indicated that its focus is on both the incentive auctions and on building out its existing spectrum holdings, including its 2.5 GHz for TD-LTE. T-Mobile has long coveted low-band spectrum below 1 GHz but is also likely to be interested in the upcoming AWS-3 spectrum auction, scheduled for no later than February 2015. "T-Mobile is also interested in acquiring spectrum in the later broadcast incentive auction and the AWS-3 auction, which could potentially pair the government-encumbered 1755-1780 MHz with 2155-2180 MHz, among other bands," noted Stifel Nicolaus analysts Christopher King and David Kaut in a research note. All of this is likely to leave Dish with a lot of spectrum. The H Block is a 10 MHz block of paired airwaves that runs from 1915-1920 MHz (for the uplink) and from 1995-2000 MHz (for the downlink). Dish controls spectrum adjacent to a portion of the H Block, called AWS-4; Dish's 40 MHz of AWS-4 spectrum specifically runs from 2000-2020 MHz (for the uplink) and 2180-2200 MHz (for the downlink). Dish is also the leading bidder to win LightSquared's airwaves in an auction in bankruptcy proceedings on Nov. 25. "In the meantime, Ergen has some busy weeks ahead of him with the LightSquared bankruptcy spectrum auction pulling to a close, a waiver approval and the H Block auction," noted BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk. "But the benefit likely will be large as he could emerge as the owner of 90 MHz of spectrum by the end of Q1." However, it's unclear what he will do with all of those airwaves. "It's a bad thing if you have no way to monetize it," Farrar told FierceWireless. "It's a good thing if you can leverage it into some kind of deal." That could make Sprint's decision to abstain from the H Block auction seem wise, Farrar said. Dish has asked the FCC for 30 months to decide whether to convert its 2000-2020 MHz spectrum to downlink, if it is given permission to do so. Farrar noted that owning the adjacent H Block spectrum would give leverage to Ergen, as Dish decides what to do.
Dish's ultimate play may be to transform all of its spectrum adjacent to the PCS band into supplemental downlink spectrum for other PCS spectrum holders, Farrar said. As more carriers convert PCS spectrum to LTE—as Sprint had done and as AT&T is starting to do—that could be a potentially lucrative offering for Dish. However, Dish would still likely need a wireless partner, and Sprint has said it remains open to using its multi-mode Network Vision network architecture to host others' spectrum. For more:
- see this TMF Associates blog post
- see this BTIG blog post (reg. req.)
Related Articles:
Sprint abandons pursuit of H Block spectrum
T-Mobile rules out H Block auction, willing to buy spectrum from 'a private party'
Dish's Ergen leaves door open to deal with T-Mobile, other wireless options
FCC delays H Block auction following government shutdown Read more about: H Block, AWS-3
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| This week's sponsor is Kony. | 
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Thursday, November 21st, 2pm ET / 11am PT | New Speaker Added!
Customers and employees alike are more mobile than ever, which means CIOs and CMOs have to partner more effectively than ever to deliver the goods. Join us as we discuss making mobile apps a critical point of teamwork between IT and marketing.
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2. Isis mobile payments venture rolls out nationwide
Isis--the mobile payments joint venture from AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T), Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) and T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS)--finally rolled out nationwide, offering a new way for millions of customers to pay for goods and services via their mobile phones.  | | Isis is launching nationwide. | To begin using Isis services, consumers will need a secure element SIM card from their operator and a Near Field Communications-capable phone, along with the Isis smartphone app. From there, users must load either an eligible American Express or Chase credit card into their Isis wallet or leverage the Isis Cash Card inserted into every account. AT&T said it supports 19 Isis-enabled smartphones, Verizon supports 15 models and T-Mobile has said it supports eight models. Customers who visit a carrier retail store to activate the Isis Mobile Wallet will receive hands-on support and education from store associates, Isis noted. The Isis service uses NFC technology to enable customers to pay at point of sale terminals. Isis kicked off tap-and-pay consumer pilots in the fall of 2012, Salt Lake City and Austin, Texas. It's unclear exactly how many retail stores across the country will support Isis. Isis said Aite Group, an independent research and advisory firm, estimates that hundreds of thousands of locations in the U.S. will have contactless-ready payment terminals by year-end. In the past Isis has said that its contactless payment stations are available at 1.3 million retail locations, including 24 of the top 100 U.S. merchants. The Isis app will also support customer loyalty programs, but only those from merchants that have joined Isis. To help drive interest, Isis is throwing in several promotions for potential users. Isis said users can use My Coke Rewards and Isis to get three free drinks at certain vending machines, and Jamba Juice is giving away 1 million free smoothies to Isis users. Additionally, Isis said purchases made from an American Express Serve account through the Isis wallet are eligible for a 20 percent discount (up to $200). Analysts have said they are skeptical on whether Isis will catch on, even though it is backed by three of the four Tier 1 carriers. The service requires NFC technology, and does not support Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone (which is not NFC-capable). Isis has pledged to eventually bring support to Apple's iPhone via an NFC-enabled case. The company has also promised to support Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone and BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY) directly, without a case. Complicating Isis further are rival offerings. Google recently extended its Wallet mobile commerce platform to all smartphones running Android 2.3 and higher, eliminating a requirement that compatible devices must contain a NFC chip with a secure element. And the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) joint venture among Walmart, Target and other big-name retailers has said that it will launch its mobile wallet platform with barcodes and cloud-based technologies first, not NFC. Further, Capital One and Barclays, two of the credit card companies that participated in the Isis trials, are not part of the Isis nationwide launch. Isis CEO Michael Abbott said at the MobileCon 2013 trade show in October that he believes mobile commerce could one day replace credit cards, but it will take a number of years for that transition to occur. Abbott said that the U.S. payment industry is worth $4 trillion today, mostly through credit cards. "It took 40 years to move it from cash to check. It will move but it will take a number of years."
For more:
- see this release
- see this CNET article
Related Articles:
Isis exec: Mobile commerce will replace credit cards, but it will take time
Isis to launch in a few weeks (NFC iPhone case on the way), but questions abound
What's next for NFC after Google Wallet overhaul?
Isis taps Proxama to build NFC mobile wallet for BlackBerry 10
Isis adds American Express Serve payments to mobile wallet
Isis m-commerce network rolling out nationwide, expanding to iOS, Windows Phone
Read more about: Isis, NFC payments
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3. Chetan Sharma: U.S. zooms back to subscriber growth in Q3 after weak Q2
U.S. wireless carriers added 2.4 million net new subscribers in the third quarter after a record-low 139,000 in the second quarter, which was due in large part to Sprint's (NYSE:S) shutdown of its Nextel iDEN network, according to a new report from Chetan Sharma Consulting. Sharma noted that Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) and T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS) led the way in the third quarter, with over more than 1 million net new subscriber additions each, closely followed by AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T). Sprint though continued to feel the after-effects of the Nextel shutdown. "In the last couple of quarters, T-Mobile has started to break-away from Sprint in cumulative postpaid net-adds with positive growth," Sharma noted, adding that, "T-Mobile continued to impress after its strong reversal in industry metrics last quarter on the back of a series of marketing and pricing initiatives that seem to be gaining traction and having an impact on its image and fortune." Sharma said AT&T continued to lead the connected device segment, with 48 percent market share. He also noted that shared data plans from Verizon and AT&T "have been quite successful. The attachment rates have increased tremendously over the course of 2013 with more consumers opting for cellular tablets and connected devices. In fact, at AT&T, tablets are performing 2-3 times better than smartphones in postpaid net-adds." In terms of data revenue growth, the report found that U.S. mobile data service revenues grew 5 percent from the second quarter and 15 percent from the third quarter of 2012 to reach $22.8 billion. Sharma said the U.S. market is still on track to hit $90 billion in data service revenues in 2013. Data now makes up 48 percent of all U.S. mobile industry service revenues, and is likely to exceed the 50 percent mark in the fourth quarter, Sharma said. Verizon and AT&T continued to dominate in the quarter, accounting for 71 percent of mobile data services revenues and 68 percent of the subscription base. Additionally, Sharma found that smartphone penetration is now past the 64 percent mark in the U.S. market and smartphones accounted for almost 90 percent of the devices sold in the third quarter. However, he said the 64 percent of the subscriber base that has a smartphone "is concentrated in only 40% of the households, thus leaving plenty of growth in the marketplace."
For more:
- see this Chetan Sharma report
Related Articles:
T-Mobile adds 1M subs in Q3 as 'uncarrier' strategy keeps rolling
Sprint to cover 100M POPs with 2.5 GHz LTE by end of 2014
AT&T's Stephens: LTE network will fend off competition, but feature phone base is shrinking
Verizon's net adds below expectations, T-Mobile could be to blame
Chetan Sharma: Q2 'the lowest net-adds quarter in the U.S. mobile history'
Chetan Sharma: Mobile data to represent 50% of all service revenues by year-end Read more about: T-Mobile USA, T-Mobile US
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4. Mozilla backs away from commercial U.S. launch of Firefox OS
Mozilla does not have current plans to bring commercial Firefox OS smartphones to the U.S. market, according to a senior Mozilla executive. Earlier this year, Mozilla said that Sprint (NYSE:S) would support Firefox OS sometime in 2014. However, Mitchell Baker, executive chair of the Mozilla Foundation, seemed to move away from that commitment. "Currently, there are no plans to launch in the U.S.," Baker told CNET's editor-in-chief, Paul Sloan at the Open Mobile summit on Wednesday. She then clarified that Mozilla will have developer phones for the U.S. market. Following the on-stage conversation, Baker told CNET that there are no changes in Mozilla's plans from what former Mozilla CEO Gary Kovacs had announced earlier this year, which included support for the U.S. market. Mozilla's vice president of mobile, Andreas Gal, told CNET in a statement that while Mozilla is "actively exploring" operator and manufacturer partnerships for the U.S. market, the ZTE Open on eBay remains its only U.S. offering so far. Sprint representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Sprint was among a number of global carriers that have voiced support for Firefox OS phones. In August, ZTE's Firefox-based Open smartphone has sold out in terms of sales to U.S. and U.K. consumers via eBay, but the sales volumes were relatively paltry and the platform faces challenges in gaining traction. The device went on sale in ZTE's eBay stores on Friday and by Monday it had sold out; the gadget went for $80 in the United States and £60 ($94) in the United Kingdom. However, fewer than 1,000 customers in each market were reportedly able to purchase the device, as only 990 were sold in the U.K. while 985 units were sold in the U.S market. A focus away from the U.S. and on emerging markets would make sense for Mozilla, which has concentrated its Firefox OS efforts in those markets. One of the key features of Firefox OS is that it has drawn support from global operators. The operators that have pledged support for the platform include América Móvil, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, Etisalat, Hutchison Whampoa's Three Group, KDDI, KT, MegaFon, Qtel, SingTel, Smart, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telenor, TMN and VimpelCom. The Firefox OS relies entirely on the Web to enable HTML5 applications with complete access to core device APIs. According to Mozilla, developers can create Firefox OS apps from existing websites by adding an app manifest--a JSON file that describes the app, including its name, its icons and a human-readable description.
For more:
- see this CNET article
Related Articles:
Firefox OS-based ZTE Open sells out on eBay, but platform faces tough road
Firefox OS-based ZTE Open going on sale in U.S. via eBay
Mozilla's Firefox Marketplace teams with Bango for operator billing
Mozilla pledges quarterly Firefox OS feature releases
Geeksphone launching Firefox OS smartphone, Peak+, for consumer market
Mozilla launches first Firefox OS phones Alcatel One Touch, ZTE Open Read more about: Sprint, Smartphones
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5. Verizon's third-party testing lab gearing up for VoLTE/IMS devices
How close is Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) to offering voice over LTE? Pretty darn close, based on the fact that Spirent Communications announced its 8100 mobile device test system has been selected to ensure that VoLTE/IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) devices destined for Verizon's network will comply with industry standards and the operator's certification requirements. Wireless device testing company Intertek will actually be the one using the Spirent equipment on behalf of Verizon. Intertek became Verizon's first approved independent, third-party device testing lab back in October 2008. "We are responding to the time-sensitive needs of Verizon Wireless by choosing Spirent's 8100 solution and being one of the first commercial labs ready to test VoLTE/IMS," said Ron Bernot, wireless engineering manager at Intertek. Spirent noted it currently offers comprehensive coverage of Verizon Wireless' VoLTE/IMS test requirements, including some areas of exclusive coverage. "The VoLTE/IMS service related tests are a critical test area for Verizon Wireless as it prepares to launch commercial service of these value-added services over LTE," Spirent said. During Verizon's third-quarter 2013 earnings call last month, Verizon Communications CFO Fran Shammo said Verizon will "probably" introduce its first VoLTE smartphone by year-end and will light up the VoLTE rollout starting in the first half of 2014. He reiterated that Verizon will not rush the VoLTE launch because the carrier wants to ensure that VoLTE calls have the same quality as 3G CDMA voice calls. "We have to make sure that our VoLTE experience is the same [as the CDMA calling experience], and that's why we have taken such a long time and we believe that when we get to the first half of next year, the network will be ready, the experience will be very, very similar and that we will be ready to roll this out," Shammo said, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript of the call. He also emphasized that the eventual VoLTE service footprint must be similar to Verizon's existing CDMA geographic coverage for it to be accepted in the marketplace. Similarly, Ulf Ewaldsson, senior vice president and CTO at Ericsson recently told FierceWirelessTech that one of the main hurdles restricting VoLTE rollouts is the fact that extensive LTE coverage is needed. He said VoLTE announcements in key markets will arrive "very, very soon." Deployment of VoLTE will be a crucial step in Verizon's long-term game plan of shuttering its 3G CDMA network. Not only could that reduce network opex, but deleting CDMA support from customer devices could also lower pricing for them in addition to reducing some of their complexity. However, Shammo has cautioned that other functionality, such as multicast, will be added to Verizon's devices over time, and that will keep device pricing from plummeting. Verizon's 2014 target for launching VoLTE represents a delay of two years over initial plans. The operator said back in February 2010 that it had installed IMS technology and would use that as a basis for a planned VoLTE service. For more:
- see this Spirent release Related articles:
Ericsson CTO expects VoLTE launch very soon, explains 'networked society' vision
Intertek extends testing reach to South Korea
Verizon pushes back VoLTE service until 2014
Verizon's Melone: There is no rush for VoLTE
UPDATED: Verizon adding VoLTE capability in 2012
Report: Verizon to launch nationwide VoLTE service in early 2013
Verizon: We're ready for IMS-based voice on LTE
Intertek gets OK as Verizon Wireless testing lab Read more about: Spirent, Verizon
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Also Noted | This week's sponsor is Radisys. |  | eBrief | Partnering for DPI Deployment Analysts project DPI in the marketplace will boom in the near term to secure networks and manage available bandwidth. See how carriers are teaming up with vendors for successful deployment. Learn more today! |
SPOTLIGHT ON... NSN's Suri focused on expansion, but not necessarily M&A Nokia Solutions and Networks (NSN) will be the biggest and most well-known unit inside Nokia (NYSE:NOK) following Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) $7.3 billion deal to buy Nokia's handset business, and NSN CEO Rajeev Suri wants the business to keep growing after years of painful cost cuts. Suri did not rule out acquiring weaker rivals to boost NSN's growth. "It would be unwise for us not to scan the market and see what's available. Of course we'll do that," Suri said in an interview with Reuters. However, he said acquisitions are not necessary. "We don't have to do deals for the sake of deals, just because we have money," he said, adding, "I am a believer in market forces determining the outcome. I'm a believer in 'just wait.'" Over the past several years NSN has cut around a quarter of its workforce and ditched unprofitable contracts and non-core units to focus on mobile broadband. NSN has gained strength in North America and in Asian markets such as Japan and South Korea, but Suri said he expected operators in Europe to begin investing in network equipment, led by Vodafone's $11.2 billion "Project Spring" network investment program. Article Quick news from around the Web. @FierceWireless: RT@ceciliakang: At @FCC mtg with new, comfortable chair Tom Wheeler. Used words "right on" on rule to lift limit foreign ownership broadcasters. #wonklove | Follow@FierceWireless > Jolla, the startup based on Nokia's MeeGo software, is preparing to sell its first Sailfish phone in Europe. Article > Smartphones accounted for 55 percent of global mobile phone shipments in the third quarter. Article > Apple is demanding $380 million in payments from Samsung in their patent trial, but Samsung is offering to pay $52 million. Article > BlackBerry officially secured its $1 billion in financing and also laid off around 200 employees. Article > Cisco's sales fell short of estimates. Article > Verizon Wireless is looking to buy AWS spectrum from Stelera. Article > Under Armour announced it will purchase MapMyFitness for $150 million. Article > AT&T Mobility is reportedly cracking down on unlocking large numbers of iPhones. Article > The former Barclays and Verizon executive Shaygan Kheradpir will serve as Juniper Networks' new CEO. Article > Snapchat turned down a $3 billion acquisition offer from Facebook. Article > A new version of Facebook's Messenger app for iOS features integrations with phone numbers. Article > T-Mobile US will sell the new Hydro XTRM from Kyocera to business users. Release > Huawei plans to increase spending in Canada on research and development. Article > Sony released a PlayStation app for iOS and Android users. Article Wireless Tech News > The shift toward software-defined networking (SDN) will entail a 10-year process, but the migration is already beginning and will ramp up even more during 2014, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. Article > Network infrastructure startup Range Networks announced developments designed to enhance the capabilities and further build the ecosystem of its architecture, which is based on commercial open source software. Article > Oslo-based Cloudberry Mobile said it has partnered with Cisco Systems on a managed service designed to lower the cost of small cell deployments and make them attractive to a broader audience of service providers. Article Telecom News > Google Fiber will begin lighting up customers in Provo, Utah. Article Cable News > Comcast's NBCUniversal subsidiary said it has taken full ownership of preschool network Sprout, in a deal that will see it compete with Walt Disney Co.'s Disney Junior and Viacom's Nick Jr. Article > Verizon bought cloud TV tech provider upLynk. Article European Wireless News > T-Mobile expects an end to Austria's price war as new MVNO targets a 2014 launch. Article > Belgium issued three LTE licenses as a Czech auction got underway. Article > Vodafone boosted its "Project Spring" network upgrade spending to £7 billion. Article And finally… LG Electronics is hoping to build a new headquarters in New Jersey despite opposition from residents there. Article
Infonetics: Where is M2M going in the enterprise?
 | | Godfrey Chua,
Infonetics Research | The analyst travel season is in full swing. For yours truly, the month of October was especially hectic, with extended eastbound trips that had me crossing the continent and then later the Atlantic Ocean (admittedly towards weather conditions not as endearing as those found in Silicon Valley). Beyond airline award miles, the value in these trips resides with the opportunity for face-to-face meetings with industry contacts and live demonstrations of machine-to-machine solutions. Having been away for most of the month, I am back in sunny California and can now reflect upon the ideas and lessons learned. To be sure, there are too many to discuss in a short article, so I will focus on reflections from my panel on the mobile enterprise at Interop NYC and on the meetings that followed with firms in the M2M ecosystem. What is next for the mobile enterprise? A significant part of the value of a conference like Interop resides in the side conversations that occur between IT managers from a broad spectrum of industry verticals. What caught my attention about these conversations was the way M2M was beginning to enter them. Traditional mobile devices--phones, tablets and laptops--certainly dominated discussions. However, as issues around securing and managing these devices have played out the past couple of years, IT executives, CIOs and operations managers are now also beginning to ask "What's next?" What is next that will help their enterprises be more efficient, competitive, create new revenues, and improve customer and employee satisfaction? My panel on the mobile enterprise shed some light on this. It was clear from the packed room that mobilizing the enterprise remains a top-of-mind issue. Questions around security, mobile device management (MDM) platforms, and the emerging world of mobile application management (MAM) pervaded. The audience was clearly well experienced with the wide variety of solutions for smartphones, tablets and laptops, and as such discussions turned towards sharing experiences and how to extend efforts beyond traditional mobile devices. This is where M2M came in. Conversations were high level and preliminary, encompassing questions such as, "Where do I begin?" and "How do I find the most relevant solutions?" and "Who is the best vendor to speak with about this?" This became especially clear when several people came up to me after the panel and asked deeper questions about M2M. Their early impressions included M2M rate plans being high and depending on whom one was speaking with--perators vs. OTTs--that there were inherent biases as to the strategies recommended. Enterprise IT and operations managers expressed the need for an unbiased view and broader context and education in M2M...Continued More Read more about: embedded wireless, mobile health
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Keep a civil tongue.