3G A bandı lisansı 358 milyon Euro'ya Turkcell'in

3G ihalesinde A lisansını 358 milyon Euro’luk teklifle Turkcell kazandı. B lisansını 250 milyon Euro ile kurayla Vodafone, C lisansını da 214 milyon Euro ile Avea aldı. D tipi lisans ihalesi katılımcı olmadığı için iptal edildi.

Vodafone Grubu Orta ve Doğu Avrupa Bölgesi Direktörü ve Vodafone Türkiye CEO'su Ian Gray;

• 3G ihalesinden, faaliyet gösterdikleri diğer ülkelerle aynı paralelde ilerlemek üzere hedefledikleri bandı almış olmanın memnuniyetini yaşadıklarını,
• 3G(+) olarak adlandırılan '3G ve ötesi' kavramını esas aldıklarını, dünyanın en büyük 3G şebekesine sahip olduklarını ve 15 ülkede 33 milyon 3G cihazı kullanıcısına hizmet verdiklerini,
• 3G bantları arasında bir hız farkı bulunmadığını ve hepsinin 42 megabit/saniye veri hızına erişebileceğini,
• Bu lisansın, zamanı geldiğinde Türkiye'de 4G teknolojisini sunma imkanı için yeterli frekans bandını sağladığını ve 4G teknolojisi için de zaman geldiğinde gereken ek yatırımları gerçekleştireceklerini,
• Şebekeye, kaliteye yatırım yapmaya devam edeceklerini ifade etti.

Avea Üst Yöneticisi (CEO) Cüneyt Türktan,

• 3G ile tüm Türkiye'yi hızlı internetle buluşturacaklarını,
• Aldıkları C tipi lisans ile abonelere 3G kapsamında çağın gereği olan yüksek teknolojiye sahip yenilikçi ürün ve hizmetler sunacaklarını,
• Lisans ve hazır olan altyapısı sayesinde mobil internet alanında en kaliteli hizmeti sunacaklarını,
• Yeni servisleri hayata geçirmeyi planladıklarını, böylece servislerin, ses ve metin tabanlı olmanın ötesinde görsellik ve etkileşimin de dahil olduğu şekle dönüşeceğini,
• Ses, veri ve medya içeriği, sabit ve mobil, şebekeler ve BT, kullanıcılar ve cihazlar tarafında yakınsama olacağı, Avea olarak da hem sabit ve mobil hem de ses veri ve medya içeriği alanlarına odaklanacaklarını ifade etti.

Ericsson: 80% Of Broadband Users Will Be Wireless By 2013

Ericsson: 80% Of Broadband Users Will Be Wireless By 2013

John Cunliffe, Ericsson's CTO for Western Europe, shares his wishful thinking with Total Telecom, saying that he thinks 80% of global broadband customers will choose wireless connectivity over wired by the year 2013. In Cunliffe's head, the ease of installation will be the primary driver, given that traditional broadband is "a nightmare for both the consumer and the service provider." Obviously LTE's speeds could lure some wireline customers, particularly if Ericsson's lab tests translate into real world bandwidth:

Cunliffe said that over the last 12 months Ericsson has been running LTE tests in Sweden. These have taken place in urban environment, with clear line of sight between the cell tower and the device for less than 40% of the time, while moving at speeds of up to 45 kilometres per hour. "We recorded peak speeds of 154 Mbps, an average of 78 Mbps, and minimum speeds of around 16 Mbps," he said.

Cunliffe's eagerness to sell more handsets has him ignoring the fact that in many nations, wireless broadband service comes with incredibly low caps. Also, while Ericsson says they're on track to have commercially available network products by 2009, here in the States there won't be any networks to run the devices on (a small problem). Neither AT&T or Verizon, both of whom have made LTE their 4G flavor of choice, won't have LTE networks online anytime before late 2010.

Telefónica Considering Shut Down of Brazilian CDMA Network

Telefónica Considering Shut Down of Brazilian CDMA Network

­Telefónica has outlined plans to spend upwards of US$17-$20 billion on its Latin American networks over the next five years - and plans to shut down its CDMA networks eventually.

"Probably by year 2010, if things keep going in the same direction in terms of commercial activity in GSM, we’ll be starting thinking of switching off the CDMA network," Telefonica's General Manager for Latin America Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete said during a conference call.

In Mexico Telefónica occupies a distant second place and is the largest operator in Chile, Venezuela, Brazil (in partnership with Portugal Telecom) and Peru. The company announced its GSM overlay for Brazil in June 2006 and said it would take about three years to complete the overlay.

"In terms of OpEx, as most of our new adds are coming in GSM, or roughly 90% in the case of Brazil, the level of subsidies in terms of CDMA handsets has been significantly reduced, so the impact on the margin is already there" he added, noting that the situation is similar in Venezuela where the company also operates a network.

According to a recent briefing from the Mobile World, the number of CDMA mobile customers in CALA (Caribbean and Latin America) has plummeted by almost 13m in the year to 31st March 2008, ending on 50.6m, after a seventh successive quarter of decline in Q1 08.

CANTV in Venezuela is the last remaining CDMA operator in the Caribbean and Latin America region not to also have an active GSM network (excepting a handful of very small providers in markets such as Belize and the Cayman Islands) and even here a launch is due later in the year.

Verizon fires workers over Obama cell phone records breach

Verizon fires workers over Obama cell phone records breach

Verizon Wireless has fired employees connected to a breach of records from a cell phone used by President-elect Barack Obama this year, a Verizon source said Friday.

The source would not say how many people were terminated but said "we now consider this matter closed."

Verizon reported the breach Thursday, and Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said the transition team had been notified Wednesday. Gibbs said the president-elect no longer uses that phone, which has been inactive for months.

The fired employees were hired "to take care of customers," the Verizon source said, and were not authorized to access customer records unless asked to do so by the customer.

The source also said the employees in question could not have read text messages, if Obama sent or received them, and would not have been able to access the content of any voice mail messages, although they would have been able to see whether any had been left.

"This was some employees' idle curiosity," the source said, adding that records of no other customers of note were breached.

Ari Schwartz of the Center for Democracy and Technology said the employees probably had access to the dates and times of calls, the length of calls and the telephone numbers of those Obama spoke with.

Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said Thursday that the company initially put all employees who had access to the account, "whether authorized or not," on leave during an investigation.

McAdam said the device on the account was a simple voice flip-phone, not a BlackBerry or other smartphone designed for e-mail or other data services, meaning none of Obama's e-mail could have been accessed.

Verizon Wireless, meanwhile, has launched a separate internal investigation to determine whether Obama's information was shared only among employees or whether "the information of our customer had in any way been compromised outside our company, and this investigation continues," McAdam said in an internal e-mail obtained by CNN. The company has alerted "the appropriate federal law enforcement authorities," McAdam said.

metaTXT, the World's First Mobile Search Engine Optimisation Standard Launched

metaTXT, the World's First Mobile Search Engine Optimisation Standard Launched

Ten of the most innovative mobile companies are partnering to drive the metaTXT standard. metaTXT is the world's first mobile search engine optimisation (SEO) standard. metaTXT will enable search engines to index mobile sites at ease regardless of their technology domains whether they are m.name.com, wap.name.com, name.com/mobile or a .mobi.

The metaTXT standard is a pioneering enhancement for mobile search by allowing all mobile sites to be discovered regardless of URL, giving brands better and more consistent mobile internet awareness. The group has a strong Asian presence, working with Asian search engine www.MCN-inc.com to leverage its mobile capabilities to its 15 million users.

Leading mobile advertising providers and search engines including Abphone, Bango, JumpTap, Taptu, MCN, Medio Systems, Mobivity, Mobilytics, Nubiq, RingRing Media and founder visibility mobile are working group partners.

Already one thousand mobile sites are using metaTXT when the standard is deployed by the working group - reach will be near 200 million.

Mícheál Ó Foghlú, Chairman of the metaTXT working group, said, "There remains some hesitation in the market about one Web and the mobile Internet. We are carving out ways where we can all work together to achieve excellence for the Mobile Web – driven by an open standard. The independence we offer as one of Ireland's leading ICT research centres is such to ensure that all major brands and search engines have given metaTXT a warm welcome."

metaTXT (www.metatxt.org) is a free standard - available for anyone. The simple step by step tool for the service is available at http://www.metatxt.org/Whitepaper_On_MetaTXT.pdf or more information is available on the blog www.mobileseonews.com

Gartner predicts that mobile search will be worth USD 12 million by 2013, demonstrating the enormous potential of the mobile SEO ecosystem.

"Mobile websites are currently not being effectively interrogated by conventional search engines," said Paul Savage, CEO of Visibility Mobile. "This is leaving brands incredibly frustrated and is restricting the vast range of commercial opportunities that both mobile advertising and the mobile web as a whole can deliver."

"We are very excited about the launch of this service as it will be a unique opportunity for Zinadoo customers to promote their own mobile web presence," said Hélène Haughney, CEO of Nubiq. "Zinadoo customers will now not only receive a fully customised mobile website, but also a professional SEO service that will improve their search rankings and site visits."

Cisco backing patent startup

Cisco backing patent startup

Cisco Systems is throwing its support behind a new startup company that fights "patent trolls." The new company is called RPX, and it does nothing but buy up patents to protect big tech companies.

Cisco has increasingly turned the spotlight on "patent trolls," defined as people who do nothing but collect obscure technology patents and make a living suing tech companies for multi-million dollar settlements.

RPX essentially plays defense for tech companies -- buying up those patents to prevent future lawsuits.

Startup RPX Corp. is launching a novel subscription service for patent licenses that aims to act as a broad umbrella shielding members from patent infringement suits. So far it has bought $40 million in patent rights and signed up Cisco Systems and IBM as members.

The startup aims to buy as much as $100 million in patents each year in a broad range of electronics and software fields. It will focus on gaining a broad base of small-to-large members who will pay a flat annual fee based on their size ranging from $35,000 to $4.9 million.

To date a handful of companies including Intellectual Ventures and Allied Security Trust have formed to protect their backers from a growing number of so-called patent trolls. The trolls, also known as non-practicing entities, acquire patent rights to assert them against established product companies but have no product businesses themselves, so they cannot be countersued.

But the shielding companies have created their own problems. A Wall Street Journal report in September said Intellectual Ventures is charging increasingly steep fees to members including Intel, Microsoft and Sony.

Others said when Allied debuted in July it has been slow to acquire patents. Its model requires members which include Cisco, Ericsson, Google and Hewlett-Packard to chip in $5 million each to a pool and decide as individuals whether or not to participate in specific patent acquisitions.

RPX emerges at a time when the U.S. patent office reports its backlog of patent applications continues to rise. Patent litigation is also on the rise.

The startup cites figures that more than 2,100 patent infringement cases have been filed so far this year, 16 percent of them from non-practicing entities. That's up from 13 percent last year and ten percent from the so-called trolls in 2006.

"A subscription model is a new twist in the patent world," said John Amster, chief executive of RPX and a former vice president of acquisitions for Intellectual Ventures. "We provide a license to everything we are buying so companies don't have to make a decision every time we make a buy," he added.

"One of RPX's key value points is the speed of their decision making with respect to potential acquisitions, enabled by an independent team of professionals that does not require membership or investor approval," said Mike Mclean, vice president of professional services at Semiconductor Insights (Kanata, Ontario), part of United Business Media which publishes EE Times. "Speed is a strong differentiator in the patent marketplace as many sellers are as motivated by time to money as they are by the size of the offer," he added.

RPX is essentially a volume play, aiming to charge its members less per patent license than other approaches but hoping to harvest a larger set of customers. With membership fees starting as low as $35,000, "we provide a service for potentially thousands of companies," Amster said.

The company could continue to buy up to $100 million in patent rights with as few as ten members, but probably needs at least 20 members to remain cash-flow positive, Amster said.

Nortel may go bankrupt

Nortel may go bankrupt

By Steve Ladurantaye

Warning that bankruptcy is a "distinct possibility" for Nortel Networks Corp., RBC Dominion Securities Inc. slashed its share-price target for the ailing telecommunications company to $0.

"The world moved on while Nortel was stuck in restructuring mode, and the lack of financial flexibility means Nortel has to rely on asset sales to fund future operations," analyst Mark Sue wrote in a note to clients.

Nortel responded in a statement after Mr. Sue's report was issued, saying: "Cost reduction and cash preservation are priorities - both to stabilize our financial footing as well as to provide funds for growth investments. We are moving forward in a determined fashion, and have carved a clear plan forward to strengthen our financial footing."

Mr. Sue had left his "underperform" rating on the company's shares in place, but cut his estimate back from $1.50. The shares rose yesterday on the Toronto Stock Exchange, giving the company a market capitalization of $447-million. During the high-tech boom, its market cap was closer to $370-billion.

To deal with continued losses, the company has placed its metro ethernet networks division up for sale and announced that it would lay off another 1,300 employees, including marketing and technology executives. It also suspended dividend payments on preferred shares, scaled back research and development, cancelled pay increases and reduced general expenses.

The Toronto-based company posted a $3.5-billion (U.S.) loss for the third quarter earlier this week, and said revenue fell 14 per cent to $2.32-billion as economic conditions deteriorated faster than expected.

"Our cash-flow analysis points to an increasingly challenging outlook," Mr. Sue said.

He said the company couldn't have picked a worse time to sell its metro ethernet business, with competitors likely to underbid because of Nortel's weakening position.

"With metro ethernet fetching only a small fraction of its intended price, Nortel may in turn decide to sell its CDMA [wireless standard] assets as well," Mr. Sue said. "We're not sure Nortel can sell more than half of the company without triggering its asset-sale debt covenants."

Analysts expect Nortel to end the year with about $2.4-billion in cash to fund operations, and suggest the company could burn through another $800-million in 2009.

"Without government intervention or major financial sponsors, Nortel may run of out cash before its $1-billion, 2011 bonds mature," Mr. Sue said. "Our price target of $0 represents our belief that bankruptcy is a distinct possibility and common shareholders are last in line."

Although eight analysts who follow the company rate the common shares a "sell," not everyone has such a bleak outlook, according to Bloomberg. Four analysts still rate them a "buy," and 11 a "hold." The 23 analysts have an average 12-month price target of $2.45.

At $5 a share, Barry Richards of Paradigm Capital has one of the highest price targets. He argues that the company is in "a lot better shape than the market is prepared to admit.

"It's either worth $0 or it's worth a lot more, and I think it's worth more," he said. "They have invested $20-billion in research in the last 10 years. I know people have been disappointed for the better part of 10 years, but there's better value here than the stock is implying."

Qualcomm cancels UMB, focuses on LTE

Qualcomm drops UMB, focuses on LTE

By Phil Goldstein

Qualcomm announced that it was stopping its development of Ultra-Mobile Broadband 4G technology, and instead would put its focus on Long-Term Evolution (LTE) technology, as the demand for mobile phones slips. LTE, which has been chosen by CDMA operator Verizon Wireless and many GSM operators as the 4G standard going forward, seems to have effectively killed the need for UMB. UMB was supposed to have been a technology that would have served as a handoff for CDMA 2000 technologies. But because the 3GPP2 standards added this functionality to LTE, it made UMB redundant. Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs made the announcement at an analyst meeting, and did not specific any large job cuts that will come as a result of the move. Despite weakening demand, Jacobs said he still expected 25 percent growth in Qualcomm's CDMA technology in 2009.

Google Introduces Voice-Enabled Search to iPhone

Google Introduces Voice-Enabled Search to iPhone

By Brian X. Chen

While Google waits for it Android mobile operating system to mature, the search giant is launching a sophisticated voice recognition tool for iPhone.

The software, set to release some time Friday, will be part of Google's free, long neglected mobile app [iTunes Link] on iPhone, and it will allow users to perform a Google search by simply dictating a query, according to a story in the New York Times. Examples: "When was Michael Crichton's birthday?" or "Japanese restaurants in San Francisco," or "400 kilometers into miles."

Google's app might sound groundbreaking, but similar speech recognition services are already available on iPhone. DialDirections, a startup, recently released a free app called Say Who, which allows you to dial a contact by either dictating the phone number or a person's name. Also, in October, DialDirections released Say Where, which enables users to look up business listings or Google Maps by dictating a city, state and address or name of business.

A major distinction in Google's voice-recognition app is that it will use the iPhone's GPS capabilities to pinpoint your location and display location-based advertisements. Google believes it can charge higher rates for such ads. Of course, that means Google is planning to release its voice-recognition software on other handsets after launching it on iPhone.

Report: VoIP Equipment Market Declines 13 Percent Year-over-Year

Report: VoIP Equipment Market Declines 13 Percent Year-over-Year

By Michael Dinan

The worldwide carrier-grade VoIP equipment market declined 13 percent year-over-year in the last quarter, according to a Bethesda, Maryland-based telecommunications research firm.

Officials at Dittberner Associates Inc. say that China-based Huawei led in gateway and softswitch ports shipped and – for the first time – ranked first in terms of revenues.

“The abrupt quarterly decline in the overall market is mainly attributed to slowing investments by carriers in the media gateway and softswitch equipment due to present uncertain economic situation as well as lack of project financing availability,” Dittberner officials say.

The news about VoIP equipment sales comes as a San Mateo, California-based provider of IP communications test and measurement products today says that this slower economy gives VoIP providers a rare chance to showcase their wares.

As TMCnet reported, officials at Keynote Systems say VoIP services with the best end-user experience will be positioned to take advantage of current financial pressures.

Ken Harker, a senior consultant at Keynote, said the company has been conducting VoIP studies for more than three years and has seen significant trends develop, such as serious disparity in reliability and audio performance between VoIP services on managed networks and those that rely on existing broadband home network connections.

“While conditions are dramatically improved for Comcast Digital Voice and Verizon VoiceWing customers, the best that other consumers can hope for is merely tolerable audio quality,” Harker said.

Here’s how officials at Dittberner ranked the top three suppliers in the overall media gateway and softswitch segments in terms of ports shipped and revenue during the quarter:

According to the firm, China-based ZTE followed Huawei in terms of ports shipped, followed by GENBAND, which is headquartered in Plano, Texas.

“Huawei was able to maintain the top position in terms of VoP ports shipped due to ongoing projects with Embratel in Brazil, Motiv in CIS, China Netcom in AP and STC in MENA regions.” Dittberner officials say.

Alcatel-Lucent demos first complete IPTV ad insertion

TelcoTV: Alcatel-Lucent demos first complete IPTV ad insertion

By Carol Wilson

Alcatel-Lucent is using the TelcoTV show to demonstrate what the company is billing as the first complete ad-insertion system for IPTV, using its Triple Play Service Delivery Architecture (TPSDA) 2.0. The Alcatel-Lucent Targeted and Interactive IPTV Advertising Solution was announced at Broadband World Forum in late September.

“We are demonstrating targeted advertising that can be done on a national, local or targeted basis,” said Charles Bahr, Alcatel-Lucent’s solutions architect for Carrier Business Group Marketing. The system not only provides the ad insertion capability but also the intelligence to build subscriber profiles to which targeted ads can be directed and measurement tools to gauge ad effectiveness.

The IPTV Advertising Solution leverages Alcatel Lucent’s IPTV solution, deployed by 55 triple-play providers globally, and its end-to-end integration projects, which now number 60 globally.

“This is a capability we developed in response to customer requests from the largest type of video content providers,” Bahr said. “The US is the largest market for cable ad insertion, but IPTV providers have not been able to tap that market.”

The Alcatel-Lucent approach aggregates data from multiple databases used by telcos to track previous behavior, along with demographic data, to create an anonymous subscriber profile, Bahr said. Opt-in functionality is included to protect consumer privacy. In addition, audience measurement is included to calculate advertising return on investment. “When you can collect clicks, not just views, it is much more valuable,” Bahr said. The Alcatel-Lucent solution will also allow service providers the flexibility to provide interactive buttons that consumers can use to contact local advertisers, to schedule the test run of a new car, for example, he said. All user responses are also then added to the subscriber profile.

As demonstrated at TelcoTV, the solution builds on Alcatel-Lucent’s 7750 Service Router. It incorporates Transport Stream Splicing, which resembles IP switching, Bahr said, giving IPTV providers a solution that doesn’t require the decoding and re-encoding of typical cable ad insertion systems.

Other elements of the system include a Targeted Ad Insertion Splicer and Targeted Ad Insertion Agent; the Alcatel-Lucent 5930 Interactive Media Manager, the Alcatel-Lucent 8660 Datagridsuite, 8920 Service Quality Manager and 5410 Presence Server, all used to aggregate subscriber data and measure responses.

“This is an end-to-end solution that includes ad insertion built into the network and the router,” said Thomas Fuerst, senior director of solution marketing for Alcatel Lucent’s Carrier Business Group. “We are working with third parties who use the SCTE standard, which is a proven model, and we can bring their services to bear here as well. This is a reference solution, basically a generic design, and we can then do customization for individual customers’ networks. Our professional services built on our extensive IPTV experience are part of the value here.”

Turkey: 50,000 subscribers switching operator on first day of MNP implementation

Turkey witnesses 50,000 subscribers switching operator on first day of MNP implementation

Turkey witnessed a rush of 50,000 mobile subscribers opting for switch over to another GSM operator on the first day of implementation of Mobile Number Portability (MNP). In fact 1,000 applications were received within the first few minutes itself.

The country has Turkcell, Avea and Vodafone as leading operators. MNP was introduced in the country on Sunday.

The service providers have already lined up range of offers to attract subscribers from rival networks.

Estimates say that the country will eventually witness 7 million users switching over service providers.

India too is scheduled to have MNP introduced by next year. Indian operators can take a cue from this and can either line up similar offers or enhance their quality of services to retain subscribers.

Europe's LTE Divide

Europe's LTE Divide

by Michelle Donegan

Vodafone Group plc CEO Vittorio Colao made some comments yesterday about Long-Term Evolution (LTE) that revealed how little enthusiasm the operator has for the so-called 4G technology compared to its European rival T-Mobile International AG . The differences show just how Europe's big operators are staking out positions on the 4G front.

“On LTE, we have not yet committed," said Colao. "We’re part of the trial with Verizon Wireless and China Mobile Communications Corp. We look with interest… We will keep looking."

"For the time being, we have HSDPA, and there are several steps we can take," he adds. "We're looking at [HSPA] 14.4 Mbit/s and we're thinking about [HSPA+] 28.8 Mbit/s." (See Vodafone Pumps Up HSPA.)

Those remarks are in stark contrast to the zeal T-Mobile has for LTE, as CTO Joachim Horn told Unstrung recently.

"We'll deploy HSPA as long as there is no hardware replacement necessary," Horn said. "We'll do every other efficiency increase that's software-based. If I need to invest in more hardware, I think it's better to start early [with LTE]. LTE is a more future-oriented technology."

So the mobile broadband battle lines are drawn.

Is The HTC MAX 4G The First Wimax XOHM Phone?

Is The HTC MAX 4G The First Wimax XOHM Phone?

By Sascha Segan

No. Or maybe sorta. HTC today announced their first GSM/WiMAX phone, a Windows Mobile handheld called the MAX 4G. Swap out the GSM for CDMA - as HTC frequently does with their models - and you could be looking at the first phone to run on Sprint's new XOHM WiMax network.

The most interesting thing about the MAX 4G isn't the MAX 4G itself, but how much ballsier Russia's Yota Mobile WiMAX network is than our timid little Xohm. Sprint is right now focusing on being a very traditional ISP - Internet only, thank you very much, no services that could possibly cannibalize anyone else's existing voice or entertainment revenues. It's a disruptive technology used in the least disruptive way possible.

Yota offers a full video-on-demand service, 14 free TV channels, unlimited download of more than 50,000 songs, an e-book catalog, and both a VOIP voice calling service and video calls. Now that's a disruptive service.

The MAX 4G isn't a slacker, either. It has a huge 3.8", 800x480 touch-screen, a 5-megapixel camera, 8GB of built-in flash memory and a 528 Mhz processor. Even with all of that power, it's supposed to run for almost four hours of VOIP talk time (and more like seven hours with GSM.)

The HTC MAX 4G is coming out in Russia on Nov. 26th. A future US version? We'll see.

Telkoder : Telekom Sektörünün Artık Bir Anayasası Var

Telkoder : Telekom Sektörünün Artık Bir Anayasası Var

Telkoder : "‘Telekomünikasyon sektörünün Anayasası’ olarak tanımlanan EHK’nın, mükemmel olması ve hiçbir eksiğinin bulunmaması için TELKODER olarak, Kanun’un tüm hazırlık aşamalarında ve Meclis görüşmeleri sırasında pek çok katkı sağladık. Her ne kadar, sonuç olarak ortaya çıkan Kanun tam ve mükemmel oldu diyemesek de sektörün ve sektördeki rekabetin gelişmesi için önemli bir aşama sağlandığını söyleyebiliriz. "

Serbest Telekom işletmecileri derneği Telkoder 2 gün evvel Resmi Gazetede yayınlanarak 5809 sayı ile kanunlaşan Elektronik Haberleşme Kanunu (EHK) hakkında bir açıklama yaptı. Açıklama şu şekilde :

TELKODER olarak, uzun süredir beklenen Elektronik Haberleşme Kanunu’nun (EHK) yeniden yasalaşmış olmasından dolayı hem sektörümüz hem sektörde faaliyet gösteren tüm operatörler adına büyük bir memnuniyet duyuyoruz.

Hatırlanacağı üzere söz konusu Kanun, bu haliyle yaklaşık olarak 3 sene önce hazırlanmıştı. Gereksiz yere üç yıl boyunca ertelenen EHK, son olarak geçtiğimiz yaz aylarında Meclis’ten geçmiş ancak bu kez de Sayın Cumhurbaşkanı tarafından, bazı maddelerinin yeniden görüşülmesi gerekçesiyle Meclis’e iade edilmişti.

‘Telekomünikasyon sektörünün Anayasası’ olarak tanımlanan EHK’nın, mükemmel olması ve hiçbir eksiğinin bulunmaması için TELKODER olarak, Kanun’un tüm hazırlık aşamalarında ve Meclis görüşmeleri sırasında pek çok katkı sağladık. Her ne kadar, sonuç olarak ortaya çıkan Kanun tam ve mükemmel oldu diyemesek de sektörün ve sektördeki rekabetin gelişmesi için önemli bir aşama sağlandığını söyleyebiliriz.

Bilindiği gibi, sektörümüzdeki rekabetin gelişmesi için alternatif altyapıların varlığı ve kullanılabilirliği büyük önem taşıyor. Bu yüzden Kanun’da, birçok ülkede ve Avrupa Birliği ülkelerinde hayata geçirilen “Altyapı - Hizmet Ayrımı” ve “Kablo TV Şebekesinin Özelleştirilmesi” uygulamaları ile ilgili Bakanlığa yetki veren hüküm bulunması son derece iyi olurdu.

EHK’nın sağladığı en önemli gelişmenin, işletmecilik yapmak isteyenlere kolaylık getirilmesi olduğu görülüyor. Kanun ile birlikte, gereksiz lisans bedelleri de ortadan kaldırılıyor.

TELKODER olarak, sektör adına büyük önem taşıyan bu gelişmelerin, tam olarak hayata geçmeleri için bir 6 ay daha beklenmesi için ortada herhangi bir gerekçe göremiyoruz.

Telekomünikasyon Kurumu’nun (TK), Kanun’un lisanslamadaki kolaylıklarla ilgili kısımlarını, bir 6 ay daha beklemeksizin, yılbaşını geçmeyecek şekilde yürürlülüğe koymasını bekliyoruz.

Bununla birlikte, Kanun’un Avrupa Birliği’ne uyum açısından eksikleri olduğu Sayın Bakanımız tarafından da ifade edildi. Bu eksikliklerin, Kanun üzerinde yapılacak değişikliklerle kısa süre içinde giderileceğini umuyoruz.

Bu Kanun, sektörümüz için “ideal” değil “bugün için mümkün olan” niteliği taşıyor. Kanun’un çıkarılmasına sağladıkları katkı dolayısıyla Meclis’teki tüm partilere, Sayın Bakan'a ve TK'na teşekkür ediyoruz.

Bu Kanun’un eskiyeceğini ve sektör olarak yenisini talep etmek durumunda kalacağımız tüm yetkililer tarafından biliniyor. Zamanı geldiğinde, bu durumu da beraberce olumlu bir sonuca ulaştıracağımıza inanıyoruz.

Her şeyi ciddiye alan cep telefonu

Her şeyi ciddiye alan cep

hurriyet.com.tr

Bir cep telefonunda bugüne kadar gördüğümüz ve görebileceğimiz en komik hatanın ne olabileceği konusunda bir fikriniz var mı?

Google'ın Android işletim sistemine sahip bir cep telefonu kullananlar ne dediğine dikkat etmek zorunda. Çünkü Android yazılan her kelimeyi bir komut olarak algılayıp, siz istemeseniz de işleme koyabiliyor. Örneğin arkadaşınıza SMS gönderirken bilgisayarını yeniden başlatmasını tavsiye etmek için "reboot" yazarsanız, arkadaşınızın bilgisayarından önce Android sizin cep telefonunuzu yeniden başlatacaktır.

Bu sorunun sebebi, Android'in siz farkında olmadan yazılan her kelimeyi takip etmesi ve bunların tanımlı komutlar arasında yer alıp almadığını kontrol etmesi. Her hangi bir şeyle uğraşırken eğer telefonun komut olarak algılayabileceği bir şey yazarsanız, Andorid isteğinizi ikiletmeden yerine getirecektir.

Bu sorun ile 1.0 TCA-RC29 ve öncesi firmware sürümlerinde karşılaşılıyor. RC30 sürümüne sahip olanların ise bu konuda korkmalarına gerek yok. Fakat daha önceki sürümlere sahip kullanıcıların şimdilik ne yazdıklarına dikkat etmesinde fayda var.

Multi-Mode WiMAX/LTE chips to hit markets in 2009

Multi-Mode WiMAX/LTE chips to hit markets in 2009

Next year will see the introduction of a new class of wireless communications chip that features dual-mode support for both WiMAX and LTE (Long Term Evolution), according to analysts ABI Research. The demand for the chips will come from those wireless device makers seeking the economies of scale that come from creating devices that support both 4G standards.

“Some mobile operators are showing interest in dual-mode chipsets,” says ABI Research principal analyst Philip Solis, “and they are backing it with cash. Vodafone, for example, has a foot in both WiMAX and LTE camps. They will use LTE in industrialised regions, and WiMAX in developing nations. In Japan, KDDI may deploy LTE on its own, but as an investor (along with Intel and others) in WiMAX operator UQ Communications, KDDI has an interest in both standards.”

These dual-mode chips will be suitable for all mobile devices, although given that most of the early usage of both LTE and WiMAX will be for data transmission, USB modems, portable computers and “netbooks” are likely to be the first products to include the dual-mode chips.

“Because WiMAX networks will be deployed sooner than LTE, for competitive reasons these dual-mode chips are generally being created by WiMAX chip vendors, particularly the smaller, more agile ones,” Solis notes.

Alcatel-Lucent wins $280m BT managed services contract

Alcatel-Lucent wins $280m BT managed services contract

Alcatel-Lucent has won a seven-year contract extension with BT to support BT's global network operations outside the UK. Datamonitor estimates the value of the deal to be $280m.

Alcatel-Lucent will manage most of the legacy networks serving BT Global Services' customers. The deal is an extension of the multi-vendor managed services contract the two companies signed in November 2006.

During the first phase of the project, Alcatel-Lucent will assume operations for five legacy global and domestic networks in 27 countries outside the UK, along with the BT Global Managed Platform legacy transport network. Under the deal, a few hundred BT employees will transfer to Alcatel-Lucent.

Hanif Lalani, chief executive at BT Global Services said: "This contract will help us to better serve our customers. BT will be free to focus on its global 21st century platform, while Alcatel-Lucent can concentrate on further improving standards of service for those using our legacy networks."

Motorola Unveils VoWLAN Smartphones, Solutions

Motorola Unveils VoWLAN Smartphones, Solutions

By Andrew R Hickey

Motorola on Tuesday rolled out a pair of Microsoft Windows Mobile-based Voice over Wireless LAN (VoWLAN) smartphones in its continuing push to make the all-wireless enterprise a reality.

The VoWLAN handhelds, the EWP1000 and the semi-rugged EWP2000 smartphones, are the first offering from Motorola's Total Enterprise and Access Mobility (TEAM) integrated voice and data portfolio and were designed to offer users instant mobile access to voice and data services that are typically only available while sitting at a desk.

According to Imran Akbar, vice president and general manager of converged communications in Motorola's Enterprise Mobility Business, the goal of the handhelds is to "take VoWLAN beyond voice" and add in mobile e-mail, calendar and contact syncing, text messaging, Internet and intranet access along with running Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system for applications.

The devices, coupled with two new servers -- the Wireless Services Manager and the Network Services Manager -- build a system that offers toll-quality telephony services integrated with the PBX and enterprise-grade push-to-talk functionality. The TEAM solution also can interoperate with existing two-way radio systems.

Akbar said the new solutions integrate with several existing WLAN and IP and TDM PBX infrastructures to create a single common platform for voice and data services delivery.

The Wireless Services Manager server provides the push-to-talk services, text messaging, PBX interoperability and enhancements to device battery life, mobility and security. The Network Services Manager offers a centralized provisioning and management system. The solution can scale from a handful of users to up to 4,500 and will incorporate future TEAM solutions like dual-mode VoWLAN and cellular devices and the extension of services to other voice-capable Motorola devices like mobile computers and bar-code scanners.

Motorola's VoWLAN releases come as companies continue to adopt wireless LANs and more are looking to further their wireless deployments with VoWLAN to drive mobility, boost productivity and reduce operating costs. According to a recent report from research firm Frost & Sullivan, the North American market for enterprise VoWLAN devices will grow from $110.5 million in 2007 to $2.15 billion in 2014.

Akbar said the TEAM VoWLAN solutions are most suited for verticals like retail and health care, but will likely break into other verticals as wireless and mobility continue to gather steam.

"The TEAM solution is designed from the ground up to provide the voice quality, interoperability, mobility, scalability, security and user experiences that enterprises want," Akbar said, adding, "The TEAM solution is architected as a nonintrusive overlay and can be easily deployed without changes to existing infrastructure."

G. Mario Di Prizio, senior director of product operations for converged enterprise communications in Motorola's Enterprise Mobility Business, said the new handhelds can support four active calls on a single device, three-way calling, abbreviated dialing, call forwarding, call transferring, holding and SMS delivery along with a host of other features. The handhelds offer up to eight hours of talk time and 170 to 180 hours of standby time.

Motorola is currently qualifying and training existing channel partners as part of its TEAM solutions ramp up. Akbar added that vendors whose PBX and Wi-Fi equipment interoperates with the TEAM solutions can also offer them through their distribution models.

Darryl Morin, CEO of solution provider Advanced Wireless, said the TEAM VoWLAN solution gives him the ability to help customers turn the desk phone and desktop computer combination into a pocket-size virtual office while also providing corporate functionality in a consumer-style, enterprise-grade device.

"Our customers are demanding enterprise-grade voice and data solutions that help them improve productivity while reducing costs," he said.

The TEAM solution is now available in the U.S. and global availability is planned for early 2009. The suggested retail price for the TEAM solution is around $800 per user.

Report Reveals Manufacturing Cost of T-Mobile's Google Phone

Report Reveals Manufacturing Cost of T-Mobile's Google Phone

­The T-Mobile G1 smart phone, the first wireless handset to be based on Google’s Android mobile operating system, carries a Bill-of-Materials (BOM) cost of $143.89, according to a virtual teardown conducted by iSuppli.

Part of the new generation of so-called “iPhone killers,” the HTC Corp.-manufactured G1 combines voice communications with a host of other capabilities, including e-mail, Internet access, camera and music playback. Along with many fellow phones of its generation, the G1 includes a high-resolution display and a QWERTY keyboard. Like the iPhone, the G1 includes a touch-screen interface.

“The G1’s differentiation resides in its use of the Android operating system, which has won praise for its ease of use, but whose major advantage is its integration with Google Internet services and its capability to accommodate the flood of free applications that are becoming available,” said Tina Teng, senior analyst, wireless communications, for iSuppli.

Inside the G1

iSuppli determined the $143.89 BOM based on information from its Mobile Handset Cost Model (MHCM), which provides detailed analysis of present and future expenses to build mobile phones with any possible feature set. This estimate includes only the component and material costs for the G1, and doesn’t account for other expenses including software, research and development, manufacturing and accessories. iSuppli hasn’t yet conducted an actual physical teardown of the G1.

The most costly segment of the G1 is the baseband, at $28.49, or 19.8 percent of the G1's total BOM. Similar to other recent handsets from various brands examined by iSuppli, the baseband employs a combination of an ARM11 microprocessor for multimedia applications and an ARM7 core for modem functions.

The next most costly section of the G1 is the display, at $19.67, or 13.7 percent of the BOM. The G1’s display is a 3.2-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with HVGA resolution, at 320 by 480 pixels. The display uses projective touch-screen technology.

The camera represents the next most expensive segment, at $12.13, or 8.4 percent of total BOM costs. The camera has a 3 megapixel resolution and an autofocus feature.

The fourth most expensive segment is the Radio Frequency (RF)/Power Amplifier (PA) portion, which costs $9.84, representing 6.8 percent of the total BOM. This section supports a high-speed 3.5G network connection using the HSDPA air standard.

G1 vs. iPhone features

So how does the G1 stack up against the industry standard for smart phones: Apple’s iPhone 3G?

On the feature front, the G1 supports the HSDPA air interface at the 1700/2100 bands for 3G, which limits its U.S. end users to T-Mobile subscribers. However, the G1 is suitable for markets outside the United States using the 2100 frequency band.

In contrast, the iPhone 3G supports the HSDPA air standard operating at the 850/1900/2100 bands. The 850/1900 bands are designed for the AT&T network. Thus, an unlocked G1 phone using an AT&T network can only achieve EDGE download speed.

The G1 comes with a full QWERTY keyboard, which comes in handy for texters. The iPhone 3G eschews a physical keyboard and instead employs a touch screen for input.

Like the iPhone, the G1 includes Wi-Fi, which allows subscribers to take advantage of T-Mobile's hotspots.

As for the touch screen, the G1 employs projective touch technology, while the iPhone 3G uses a capacitive multi-touch glass touch-screen. The G1’s screen doesn’t support multi-touch capability.

G1 vs. iPhone user experience

Many observers have lauded the user interface of the G1. Teng believes it is well above the industry average, but still has a gap to close with Apple’s interface. Consumers can navigate through playlists and albums with a flicking of finger and can access other intuitive features. For a Google fanatic, this device is well integrated with many Google services, like Gmail, YouTube, and Google Maps.

Teng also observed that the industrial design and finish of the G1 lacks the wow factor of some of its slicker competitors.

Also like the iPhone, the G1 supports the downloading of music, but unlike the iPhone, G1 users must employ Wi-Fi to take advantage of this feature.

“This is a negative for G1 users when there’s no Wi-Fi coverage,” Teng said. “Apple really makes the music download experience transparent; everything is integrated smoothly and seamlessly.”

Teng also noted that the G1’s lack of enterprise friendliness is a downside of the product compared to the iPhone and other platforms like the BlackBerry Bold.

“The G1 presently supports only Post Office Protocol version 3 (POP3) mail, which doesn’t work with many corporate e-mail systems,” Teng said. “However, this problem can be solved if Google licenses Microsoft Corp.’s ActiveSync synchronization system, as Apple did to make the iPhone more suitable for corporate use. This will allow the G1 to receive pushed mails from Microsoft Exchange Servers or manually synchronize emails through a connector.”

The real differentiation and advantage of the G1 relative to the competition is the availability of free open source applications.

“Each day there are about five or six new G1 applications for download,” Teng said. “Eventually the G1 will have its own software community, much like the Linux applications in the wired world or the Sun OS has for workstations. This will produce a rich suite of free software for a variety of purposes that anyone can access.”

Vodafone's new strategy: Cash is king

Vodafone's new strategy: Cash is king

By Aude Lagorce,

Vodafone Group Chief Executive Vittorio Colao on Tuesday unveiled a new strategy for the mobile giant that will see it focus on cash generation and capital discipline amid the general economic downturn.

Colao, who took over from Arun Sarin at the start of the summer, clearly signaled to investors and analysts in a presentation that the times of aggressive expansion into emerging markets with multi-billion pound deals, were over and that the focus had shifted.

"Our focus is principally on our existing emerging markets rather than expansion and any significant acquisition would likely need to be funded through portfolio disposals," Vodafone said.

Analysts for DresdnerKleinwort underscored the significance of the move.

"Vodafone has delivered a more material change to strategy than we expected, with more of a focus on cash and dividend than there has been in the past. This is a fundamental change," the analysts said.

The new pillars of strategy

Vodafone will focus on cash generation via four different objectives.

In mature markets, it wants to deepen and lengthen its relationship with existing customers, through the implementation of new offers such as the super flat concept it's launched in Germany.

"We need to move away from per-minute prices and extend flat offers to families and businesses and reward longer relationships for our customers," Colao said.

He also indicated that Vodafone wouldn't shy away from lowering prices to keep customers at the mid and high-end, particularly in Spain and the U.K, where it has underperformed in the first half.

Operating costs, meanwhile, will have to remain stable.

In emerging markets, where Vodafone has a large presence, it wants to improve execution, in particular in Turkey, where the turnaround has taken longer than expected.

"We definitely underestimated the state of the network situation in Turkey," Colao said.

Remedial measures to improve the network, but also direct and indirect distribution and commercial offers have been taken.

The priority will be for the group to focus existing assets rather than aggressively seek to expand its footprint, as it did under Sarin's leadership.

"I'm not saying we're ruling out all acquisitions, but they will be approached cautiously and selectively," Colao stressed.

The expansion into mobile services, broadband and enterprise is another key priority for the group. At the moment it is adding large numbers of subscribers in mature markets, particularly in Italy and the U.K., but Colao said he also believes there is a huge opportunity for mobile broadband in emerging markets like India.

"In the emerging economies mobile connectivity will be the main and in some cases the only way to access the Internet for work and for personal reasons," he said. All that's needed is cheaper devices, which Vodafone is working on bringing to these markets, he added.

Finally Vodafone wants to strengthen capital discipline and give shareholders more certainty about dividends, which is why it has moved to a progressive system where it will be matched to the company's underlying trading and cash-generation performance.

Investors and the analyst community welcomed the new strategy, with Deutsche Bank for instance, saying that this was what they wanted to hear.

Vodafone on Tuesday reported a 35% drop in first-half profit and lowered its sales outlook for the year. But shares rose as much as 10% on a one-billion pound cost cutting program and increased free-cash-flow guidance.

Kalimat Telecom launches WiMAX network in Iraq

Kalimat Telecom launches WiMAX network in Iraq

By Jeff Orr

National operator picks Redline for fixed wireless services to enterprises in Iraq.

Kalimat Telecom, Iraq's national telecom operator, has launched the first WiMAX network in Baghdad. Kalimat Telecom will use WiMAX radios from Redline Communications for fixed wireless communications. The $500 million project aims to provide broadband Internet services to 28 million Iraqi citizens. Despite security problems that have hindered the spread of access, the network operator plans to secure an ambitious 60% of Iraqi subscribers over the next two years.

"We are proud to announce the launch and make it happen despite the prevailing situation," said Wilson Varghese, Kalimat Telecom CEO and President. "We are targeting customers like large commercial facilities, residential areas and government institutions. As you know many investors do not want to go to Iraq, but we managed to invest … and we are slowly getting there."

Several new services are anticipated for the small and mid-sized enterprise (SME) sector and large enterprise organizations. "The WiMAX service will allow provisions of up to about 21 Mbps per sector in the four sector base stations that Kalimat uses," says Dr Nasi Abachi, CTO, Kalimat Telecom. Multiple tiers of service are therefore possible, varying in speed, to a relatively large number of users.

Kalimat Telecom is the privately-held Kuwait subsidiary of Kalimat Telecom BVI. The network operator provides fixed wireless local loop (WLL) telephony and data services. Only 54,000 Iraqi citizens have Internet access (0.2% penetration), according to a March 2008 ITU study. No broadband subscriber data has been collected for the country. Iraq's Communication and Media Commission awarded Kalimat Telecom a 10-year wireless license in September 2006.

Vodafone cut its revenue outlook for the second time in four months

Vodafone aims to cut costs by £1 billion

Reuters

Vodafone Group on Tuesday cut its full-year revenue outlook for the second time in four months but said it would maintain profit and increase free cash flow by cutting £1 billion a year in costs.

Investors and analysts welcomed the focus on cost controls and on improving performance, instead of on growth through expansion.

Shares of Vodafone, the largest mobile phone company in the world, rose 6.7 pence, or 6 percent, to close at 115 pence, or $1.80, in London as the broader market fell.

Vodafone also reported its first results under a new chief executive, Vittorio Colao. First-half results met expectations, but the company said conditions were challenging.

"Vodafone has delivered a more material change to strategy than we expected, with more of a focus on cash and dividend than there has been in the past," Dresdner analysts wrote in a note.

"This is a fundamental change which, when combined with earnings momentum from stable operations, lower tax rates and favorable foreign exchange rates, supports a good chance of a re-rating for the stock," the analysts said.

Vodafone said it now expected full-year group revenue of £38.8 billion to £39.7 billion.

The company had already cut its expectations in July to the bottom of a previous range of £39.9 billion to £40.7 billion. It slightly raised its forecast for free cash flow.

"Operating conditions are expected to continue to be challenging in Europe, given ongoing competitive and regulatory pressures and recent economic conditions in certain markets," the company said. It said it expected continued strong growth in emerging markets.

The company raised its interim dividend 3.2 percent and said it would introduce a "progressive" dividend policy where growth reflected underlying sales and cash performance.

First-half revenue was slightly ahead of expectations, up 17.1 percent, at £19.9 billion, and core profit matched the average forecasts of analysts.

Vodafone said it expected "to reduce current operating costs by approximately £1 billion per year by the 2011 financial year to offset the pressures from cost inflation and the competitive environment and to enable investment in revenue growth opportunities."

Vodafone declined to say whether it would cut jobs, but it said it could look at outsourcing to cut costs.

Vodafone said it had reviewed its strategy because of the more difficult economic environment. The company said it would focus on increasing mobile data services and on emerging markets.

"We are already represented in most of the key emerging markets, where significant growth is expected in the coming years," the company said. "Our principal focus now will be on execution in these markets."

Analysts at Cazenove said the new strategy made sense, and others welcomed the suggestion that Vodafone would focus on its current markets rather than chase acquisitions.

Cisco unveils a router for the 'Zettabyte Era'

Cisco unveils a router for the 'Zettabyte Era'

By Matt Hamblen

Cisco Systems Inc. today introduced what it calls the "Zettabyte Era," the next generation of extreme networking.

Cisco believes service providers will begin looking at the amount of data from the coming onslaught of video applications in terms much larger than petabytes or even exabytes. All manners of video will need faster routing, from handheld applications to cable TV programming.

Instead of needing switching for petabytes or even exabytes of data, the zettabyte will soon be the preferred term, equal to 10 to the power of 18, said Suraj Shetty, Cisco's vice president of worldwide service provider marketing.

To help service providers prepare for the data explosion, Cisco today announced the Aggregation Services Router (ASR) 9000. No shipment date was announced for the ASR 9000, which has a price tag starting at $80,000. Trials of the device, however, are under way with top-tier service providers in North America and Europe, Shetty said.

Today's announcement is the second major enhancement to Cisco's ASR series after the ASR 1000, which was announced last March. Last week, Cisco announced a doubling of the router speed of the ASR 1000.

The ASR 9000 will provide as much as six times the capacity of comparable routers, offering up to 6.4Tbit/sec. of total capacity, Shetty said. He said that amount of data is equal to 1.2 million hours of DVD traffic traveling through the router in a second.

The ASR 9000 would typically be placed at network aggregation edges, which are often inside buildings called points of presence, which serve several neighborhoods of homes and businesses. It is expected that carriers will link them with Cisco CRS-1 Carrier routers in the core of their networks, offering 92Tbit/sec. capacity.

Significantly, the ASR 9000 will incorporate a new Cisco Advanced Video Services Module to enable fast streaming capacity, which simultaneously allows content caching, ad insertion, fast channel changing and error correction.

Those capabilities, particularly the ability to insert advertising into video streams, were shown by AT&T Inc. in a technology demonstration held in September in New York. However, neither Cisco nor AT&T would say that AT&T is testing the ASR 9000.

To put things in perspective about the unabated growth of video traffic, Shetty said it is appropriate to start thinking in terms of the zettabyte, which is the same as 1,000 exabytes. Shetty has become a walking encyclopedia on the zettabyte, noting that the growth in all IP traffic globally will be nearly 50% between now and 2012, based on a Cisco forecast that noted the enormous increases in video traffic, as well as social networking and business applications.

To meet the additional annual bandwidth demand of that forecast, Shetty said Cisco has estimated the world's IP networks will need to handle 522 exabytes more each year, which is equivalent to downloading 125 billion DVD movies each month.

Cisco named Softbank Corp., a network provider in Tokyo as expressing an interest in the ASR 9000, especially to incorporate 4G wireless and video traffic in its more conventional networks.

10 Predictions for the Future of SaaS

10 Predictions for the Future of SaaS and On-Demand Software Applications

Market Strategy Trumps Technology; Product Integration and Alliances Amongst SaaS Vendors Will Drive Adoption, Says Founder of On-Demand PPM Vendor Innotas

Market strategy will trump technology in determining which SaaS (software-as-a-service) companies will be successful, while the key to driving adoption will be better product integration and alliance with other SaaS companies, according to Demian Entrekin, founder of on-demand PPM provider Innotas ( www.innotas.com).

On-demand, or SaaS solutions are far less expensive and quicker and easier to implement than installed solutions; they are 100% multi-tenant and are extremely easy to maintain; can be deployed in days or weeks; can be rolled out on an executive, program and team level to internal and external teams; and are highly adaptable with ability to add or delete seat licenses to correspond with fluctuating business needs.

Entrekin recently identified 10 key trends that SaaS companies should think about as they work toward driving growth and adoption of on-demand applications in the marketplace:

1. It's the product, stupid!: Due to the emphasis of "Try It Buy It" approaches for marketing SaaS applications, product management and product marketing teams are forced to push more of the "whole product" and "solution selling" concept back into the product itself. Instead, developers should focus on incorporating business process into product features.

2. Software without borders: Applications are becoming less and less restricted to a particular organization and more oriented around user networks. This has the effect of making the applications more user-centric rather than organization-centric. Paradoxically, this is good for the organization since it will lead to better adoption.

3. First impressions, first: SaaS applications have a few minutes to make an impression, and the first 3 minutes are critical. If you can create a sense of value in 3 minutes, you're off to a great start.

4. Pinching pennies: COGS and Gross Margins are financial metrics that should drive the technology strategy; as Deming might have predicted, the ability to support a reliable, scale-able service at a low cost is becoming a bigger and bigger advantage.

5. Tier 1 support reigns: Now that there is less and less room for fancy, high priced consultants to answer the fancy, high priced questions, Tier 1 support will take on a bigger and bigger responsibility to represent the company and answer tough questions during the sales cycle. Will a good FAQ cut it? We doubt it.

6. More product alliances: SaaS vendors will dedicate more resources to integration partnerships with other SaaS vendors. Right now, they talk about it but they don't do it very well. Alliances may be the key toward gaining some share of the elusive "channel" for SaaS vendors.

7. Video trumps text: SaaS products will begin to use more and more video for training, support, documentation, etc. It's cheap and easy and more interesting to look at. Text based tools are being replaced by A/V.

8. SaaS for SaaS: SaaS companies are going to start outsourcing more and more parts of their own operations. This is important because they can get the same kind of leverage from full service hosting providers that they provide to their customers. These kinds of arrangements will also lead to natural SaaS aggregations of applications into end-to-end partnerships.

9. Grid computing muddle: Utility computing remains an open question and will be driven by the cost to provide the service. In some cases, you may be able to get your monthly operating costs per user down to a low enough price that grid computing won't offer enough of a benefit. In other cases, it might provide just the kind of cost advantage that makes it worth the effort. In either case, SaaS vendors should build applications that are "cloud compatible" so that they can take advantage of grid computing when it makes good risk/reward sense.

10. Tech takes a back seat: There are fewer and fewer technical hurdles to get a SaaS application to market than when we started this in 1999. Now the emphasis is shifting more to marketing strategy; the technology, while obviously essential, is taking more of a back seat.