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Wire & Cable ASIA – May/June 2009
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The GSMA Mobile World Congress, held 16
th
-19
th
February
in Barcelona, generated news galore. Incorporating the
world’s largest exhibition for the mobile industry, the huge
event (formerly 3GSM World Congress) offered previews
of an energy-saving Nokia phone with a sensor that
detects and utilises natural light; from Samsung, the “Blue
Earth” model with a solar panel on the back for charging;
the Sony Ericsson “concept phone,” made from recycled
biodegradable components; the entirely recyclable “Renew”
phone from Motorola, made using plastic from discarded
water bottles; and very much more.
With their strong suggestion of a new market niche
for environmental technologies, these are welcome
developments for both the association’s membership
(representing more than 3 billion GSM and 3GSM
connections worldwide) and its burgeoning cadre of
ecology-minded customers. But, for some 50,000 attendees
from over 200 countries, as for a much larger world audience
of interested parties, very likely the best news produced by
Barcelona 2009 is summed up in the title of the opening
day address at the GSMA Leadership Summit: “Mobile
Communications Is Uniquely Placed to Drive Economy
Growth.” Broadly, the thesis put forward by leading experts
(from, among others, Ericsson, VimpelCom, Telecom Italia,
Telenor, and China Mobile) is that, as the mobile industry is
one of the few parts of the private sector currently capable
of providing an economic stimulus, governments need to
adopt policies that encourage more investment in mobile
services and networks. Wherever possible, governments
should seek to create a stable regulatory environment,
while licensing spectrum on the right terms to encourage
spending on network infrastructure and services.
Specific projections and recommendations include these:
The release of new spectrum for mobile broadband
✆
✆
services in 2009 will ultimately add the equivalent of
$211 billion to China’s GDP (gross domestic product),
and could add the equivalent of $95 billion to that of
India. The rollout of mobile broadband networks in the
two countries will create hundreds of thousands of jobs,
encourage new businesses across the value chain,
improve productivity, and boost consumer spending
It is important that governments allocate the same
✆
✆
spectrum for mobile broadband services as those
awarded by other governments in their regions. This
harmonisation will allow the same devices to be used in
several countries and enable manufacturers to achieve
economies of scale that eventuate in lower prices for the
end user
The switchover to digital television presents a once-
✆
✆
in-a-generation opportunity to make low-frequency
spectrum, in which radio waves travel long distances
and better penetrate the walls of buildings, available
for mobile broadband services. Of the 400MHz of
low-frequency spectrum freed up by the move out of
analogue television, 100MHz should be used for the
rollout of cost-effective mobile broadband networks.
With the horizon brightening for the
industry, Barcelona 2009 called on
governments to focus on mobile
broadband stimulus