Telecommunications companies must work quickly to smooth out glitches in the newest wireless services, such as multimedia messaging, to revive growth after the industry's worst slump ever, executives said.
France Telecom SA, Vodafone Group Plc and rivals have begun selling services for handsets equipped with cameras made by companies such as Nokia Oyj and Samsung Electronics Co. They don't always work when a customer tries to send a photo to someone using a different brand phone or a different network.
"The fact is that sending an MMS even within the same network can yield some very strange results," Douglas Li, chief executive officer of Hong Kong's SmarTone Telecommunications Holding Ltd, said at the annual 3GSM World Congress.
"It is a major challenge facing our industry," he said.
Cegetel chief executive officer Frank Esser demonstrated the challenge when he sent a photo from his vacation at the Meribel ski resort in France from a Panasonic-brand handset over his company's network to a user with a Sony Ericsson Communications Ltd phone. The photo that turned up was half the size of a thumbnail.
Still reeling from record losses and battered stocks, companies are trying to entice consumers to buy new phones and adopt the new services.
How well multimedia messaging works may determine appetite for the next generation of cellphone services, executives said.
"The stories we're picking up is that it's turning a lot of consumers off," said Tom Lynch, president of Motorola Inc's phone division.
"There is that risk" that operators and handset makers have promised too much, he said.
Motorola, Nokia and Ericsson AB have lost a combined US$400 billion in market value since May 2000 as demand for phones stagnated and spending on networks plunged. Ericsson has racked up six straight quarterly losses, while Motorola in January reported its first consecutive quarters of net income in two years.
NTT DoCoMo Inc, the world's second-biggest phone company by sales, launched its third-generation phone in October 2001 and has missed its subscriber targets for the service, known as FOMA, as handset deliveries were delayed and network connections patchy.
Global handset sales fell for the first time in 2001 and barely budged last year, as markets neared saturation and users put off upgrades. Earlier technologies designed to help move data over wireless networks have flopped because consumers found the services difficult to install and unreliable.
The theme of the 3GSM World Congress this year is "delivering the promise."
"Network interoperability has to be worked out," said David Shepard, general manager of Texas Instruments Inc's wireless networks unit.
"The different networks have to be able to talk to one another," he said.
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
‘EXTREME PRESSURE’: Beijing’s goal is to ‘force Taiwan to make mistakes,’ Admiral Tang Hua said, adding that mishaps could serve as ‘excuses’ for launching a blockade China’s authoritarian expansionism threatens not only Taiwan, but the rules-based international order, the navy said yesterday, after its top commander said in an interview that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could blockade the nation at will. The object of Beijing’s expansionist activities is not limited to Taiwan and its use of pressure is not confined to specific political groups or people, the navy said in a statement. China utilizes a mixture of cognitive warfare and “gray zone” military activities to pressure Taiwan, the navy said, adding that PLA sea and air forces are compressing the nation’s defensive depth. The navy continues to
MISSILE MISSION: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology said it does not make policy, but would be glad to obtain certification to assemble the missiles The Ministry of National Defense-affiliated Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is in the process of getting certified to assemble an additional 1,985 Stinger missiles on top of those from US arms sales, a senior defense official said yesterday. Washington is to send a team to Taiwan to evaluate the institute’s manufacturing capabilities and information security, said the official, who commented on condition of anonymity. The ministry initially bought 500 missiles for the army and navy, but later increased the order to 2,485 in response to an increase in Beijing’s military activities around the nation, and to meet the army’s urgent need
RSS