You are here: silicon.com > Networks > Mobile & Wireless

Mobile & Wireless

10 mobile trends: Should you care?

We rate these talked-about techs

Tags: m2m, mobile payments, hsdpa, mobile antivirus

By Jo Best

Published: 9 February 2007 16:50 GMT

Jo Best

3. Mobile VoIP

Mobile VoIP has been garnering more than its fair share of headlines with a flurry of announcements from BT about its Fusion service and from handset manufacturers on the latest dual-mode phones but actual real world deployments of such systems are few and far between.

Research shows one-fifth of companies are looking into FMC and, for most, it is money-saving rather than a productivity boon that interests them. For that reason - and that alone - the buzz over FMC is unlikely to subside soon.

According to Quocirca analyst Rob Bamford: "All those other things you can do at the moment [with mobile VoIP] are all well and good but I think the initial thinking that it's a cheap way to make calls is not necessarily true, of course. A VoIP infrastructure or a [mobile] infrastructure capable of handling voice over IP calls could require some significant investment. It's not all free of course, especially in a mobile context."

Ten mobile trends

1. FMC
2. Salesforce automation
3. VoIP
4. Payments
5. 3.5G - HSDPA
6. Location-based services
7. TV
8. Device management
9. M2M
10. Antivirus

Such costs can come in the form of making sure a wi-fi network is able to support the increased traffic, resulting from calls taking place over cellular networks, and ensuring in-building coverage (i.e. coverage inside buildings) is sufficient.

IP is undeniably a part of most larger organisations' telecoms plans so for some it could make sense to take the IP even further out of the network and even into users devices. However, telecoms upgrade cycles are traditionally longer than those of IT, which may hamstring CIOs in their quest for upgrades. For those in such a position, putting the squeeze on operators for cheaper bundles of minutes may be more cost-effective in the short term.

Nevertheless, the next couple of years are likely to see the advent of hosted solutions, as operators tap into SMEs that don't have the time or expertise to run a converged infrastructure. Should offerings be priced right, SMEs could boost the movement to adopt mobile VoIP.

Bamford concluded: "It's pretty early days with mobile VoIP but this is probably the year that companies that are doing something in this space will be doing something more significant."

RATING: 2.5/5 - you should be at least thinking about this now.

  1. Zones
  2. Management
  3. Networks
  4. Software
  5. IT Services
  6. Hardware
  1. Verticals
  2. Public Sector
  3. Financial Services
  4. Retail & Leisure

Read and write about internet access at the airports of the world at atlarge.com.

Peter Cochrane Peter Cochrane's Blog: How the telcos could save themselves Doomed network operators could thrive with a bit of innovation

Peter Cochrane Peter Cochrane's Blog: Facebook saves teen from prison Another unexpected impact of social networking


  • Jobs
Data Centre Engineer (Dell HP SAN CISCO) Global Software Vendor

Responsible for working in the data centre engineering team assisting with global deployments involving best of breed technology, and repair ...

R&D Manager - Broadcast

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an R&D Manager - Broadcast based in Berkshire to join a leading systems integrator in the broadcast sector. ...

Release Manager

Define and support post-launch, warranty period activities to ensure applications move successfully into a supportable mode. Experience of working in ...

Agenda Setters 2009
Welcome to the ninth annual Agenda Setters poll – silicon.com's list of the top 50 most influential individuals in the technology and IT industries, from techies and CIOs to entrepreneurs and business leaders. Find out more in our latest special report.





Quick Sitemap Links: