Mobile Fair-Wireless fair set to stage mobile Web battle

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Cell phone makers, telecoms carriers and Internet groups are squaring up for a fight for dominance of the mobile Internet, finally ready for market after years of promises and hundreds of billions in investments.

Wireless broadband is coming of age, making rivals of companies such as Nokia Oyj, Google Inc, Microsoft Corp and Apple Inc, who previously could afford to coexist relatively peacefully.

Mobile networks are now capable of delivering the Internet as smoothly to a mobile phone as to a PC, with the clunky handsets, stuttering downloads and network jams of the recent past almost forgotten in many developed markets.

And the scramble to capitalize on that opportunity will loom over all other business at next week's Mobile World Congress.

"Web, Web, Web -- if you ain't walking onto the stand hand in hand with a Web guy you ain't no one," said Ben Wood, chief analyst at UK-based telecoms and IT research firm CCS Insight.

The outcome of the struggle to win the mobile Web will not only be crucial for the combatants but will decide how the mobile Web is experienced by billions of people.

At the fair, visitors will be on alert for sightings of prototypes of the Gphone -- phones built on a Google open software platform that will help it loosen up the market and extend its online advertising power into mobile search ads.

Chip designer ARM Holdings Plc, for one, will show Google's so-called Android platform in action at the four-day fair that starts in Barcelona on Monday, a source close to the company has told Reuters.

Read more here: Reuters

Cisco makes strategic investment in ip.access

Cambridge, 23 January 2008 – ip.access (www.ipaccess.com), the award-winning market leader in femtocell and picocell technologies, today announced that Cisco has made an investment in the company. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Already cash-positive with its existing 2G picocell business, ip.access has secured funding from an impressive array of industry supporters for its breakthrough Oyster 3G femtocell, which is currently in trials with major mobile network operators globally. Existing ip.access investors include Scottish Equity Partners, Rothschild Gestion, Intel Capital, Amadeus Capital Partners, ADC and Motorola Ventures.

Building on ip.access’ unique experience in cellular-over-IP technology, the Oyster 3G femtocell is a low-power wireless access point which plugs into a residential broadband DSL or cable connection to deliver a 3G mobile phone signal indoors. With operators increasingly seeking to exploit the benefits of all-IP networks, femtocells are a natural choice for delivering cost-effective 3G coverage and high-speed data capacity to mobile phone users at home. Analysts are predicting a huge market for femtocells: a recent report from IDATE forecasts that 10 million UMTS femtocells will ship worldwide in 2010, rising to 18 million in 2011.

Operators plan to integrate femtocell technology within residential gateways and set-top boxes, such as those offered by Cisco's consumer products business. These integrated products will help enable fixed broadband and mobile services to be bundled together. They will also ultimately help enable mobile phones to better communicate with PCs, TVs and other devices in the ‘Connected Home’ – for example, a slideshow of photos captured on a camera phone could be displayed on a TV set.

“We are delighted to have Cisco as an investor,” said Stephen Mallinson, CEO of ip.access. “As the worldwide leader in Internet Protocol-based networks, Cisco brings complementary skills and experience to address the needs of operator and consumer customers.”

ip.access’ 2G picocells are already deployed in more than 30 live networks around the world. The company was recently selected as a Red Herring 100 Global Award winner. It also won numerous awards during 2007 for its Oyster 3G femtocell technology, including a Global Mobile award for ‘Best Radio Access Product’, Light Reading’s ‘Leading Light’ Award for ‘Best New Product from a Private Company’, and a World Communication Award for ‘Best Technology Foresight’.

ip.access will be demonstrating the capabilities of the Oyster 3G femtocell at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, 11-14 February 2008.

Mobile World Congress 2008

The Mobile World Congress features the very latest in technology, services, and developments, bringing to life the promise of mobile broadband for all and defining the industry's path to continued growth. The Congress brings together the eminent leaders and personalities from mobile operators and equipment vendors, as well as those from the Internet and the world of entertainment.

The Mobile World Congress provides a one-stop-shop for everyone looking to understand what will drive the success of the mobile industry over the next year.

This year’s Congress promises to be the most stimulating yet! We’re glad you’re here to be a part of it.

Mobile World Congress 2008 - 11-14 February 2008, Barcelona, Spain

For more information look here: mwc

The event brochure is avaible here: pdf