While 3G wireless services providers in the rich world, particularly Europe, are struggling to make money out of their technology, in the developing world, 2G and 2.5G wireless infrastructure is alive, well and living.With most mobile telephone infrastructure markets in industrialised nations near or at saturation levels, wireless base station vendors are looking further afield, all the way to India, China and other fast-growing markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America, says ABI Research.

"The problem with addressing such markets is their low-wage/low-price economies. Unable to leapfrog directly to 3G because of its high upfront cost and small cell size, operators in developing markets need efficient and easily upgradeable 2G/2.5G networks," the market research firm says. "The major infrastructure manufacturers have to be very clever in producing cost-effective 2G and 2.5G systems for developing markets, because there isn’t a lot of money to spend."

An example cited in the latest market update of ABI Research’s Wireless Infrastructure Research Service demonstrates that some vendors are rising to meet the challenge. "Ericsson’s Expander programme requires 30-40 per cent fewer cell cites than traditional GSM networks, promises reductions in both capital expenditure and operating expenditure, has a clear upgrade path to 3G," it says.

ABI Research says that this kind of wireless infrastructure appropriate for the developing world is more than just smart strategy; it may help mitigate the effects of the overall wireless infrastructure market trend which, according to the updated forecasts contained in the study, continues to stagnate from an overall standpoint. Only the WCDMA and CDMA2000 1x EV-DO sectors defy the market’s general flatness.

$10 chipsets

While on mobile telephony for the developing world, several semiconductor companies claim they have designed $10 chipsets for receiving and displaying television on the mobile phone. This price point marks the first important milestne on a falling price trajectory, says the research firm.
"At a $10 price tag for chipsets, mobile TV will start to gain serious traction in high-tier handsets and smartphones," says Alan Varghese, principal analyst for wireless semiconductor research. "This ramp-up in market penetration will begin to happen by early 2007."

The price of these chipsets will fall to $5 within a few years. "The $5 price point is important: that is when a function migrates from the high-end to the mid-tier handset, and hits the ‘hockey stick’ inflection in its take-rate.", so price is not the only factor that will determine the success or failure of mobile TV.

Telecommunications major VSNL is now enabling customers to stay connected on the move, by setting up Cyber Cafes at major railway stations across the country, to create user-friendly public Internet access points. VSNL has been awarded franchisee rights for running of Cyber Cafes at 68 locations, in pursuance of the agenda outlined by the Railway Minister Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav in his Railway Budget for 2006-07. VSNL which pioneered Internet services in India will now create user-friendly public Internet access points for customers in railway stations. The first such Cyber Café is now open to the public at the Bangalore railway station.

Speaking about this service, Mr Shashi Kalathil of VSNL, said, "This effort will enable VSNL implement the promise made in the Union Railway budget of setting up such Cyber Cafes across the leading railway stations in the country. We are keen on making Internet easily available so that passengers can stay connected even while on the move."

VSNL plans to make all the 68 cybercafes operational in the next few weeks. The unique feature of these Cyber Cafes will be that all Tata Indicom dial-up Internet and broad band subscribers can use this facility by using their existing accounts.