Imagine a world where a single company buys radio spectrum licenses, and then rolls-out infrastructure, to create a radio access network (RAN). Imagine that this company then sells this service to mobile phone network operators, who can use it with no capital costs! I call this concept RAN-as-a-Service (RaaS)!
It seems that this idea is becoming more of a reality! Vodafone and Telefónica/O2 are sharing radio resources in the UK according to Vodafone and O2 deal could save around £100m per year, and Vodafone and Three are following suit in Ireland according to Vodafone and 3 in Irish network sharing deal.
Remember – you read about RaaS here first!
Tags: Ireland, O2, Telefónica, Three, UK, Vodafone
I have just noticed that Vodafone Ireland are offering a new tablet called the Vodafone Smart Tab 10.
I think that for an unbranded tablet it is overpriced!
Tags: Vodafone
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There has been quite an amount of excitement today regarding Vodafone’s announcement that it will soon offer operator billing for Android app purchases in the Android Market. For more see Android operator billing comes to Europe, Vodafone the first to launch or the original announcement Vodafone Developer Announces Operator Billing For Android.
I think that it is a sensible move, and I image that it will facilitate more app purchasing. It is also a timely announcement, since research published today shows that Android users spend twice as much time using apps as they do the browser. See Android Phone Owners Use Their Devices For An Hour A Day.
Tags: Vodafone
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Vodafone has updated its Irish website recently. The two changes that excite me the most are:
- I can now send 600 free SMS messages every month! I send the majority of my SMS messages online!
- I can now send SMS messages to mobile phones in other countries.
The timing of these changes is perfect for me to send all my Christmas greetings :)
Tags: Ireland, SMS, Vodafone
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I regularly use my PDA to access Vodafone‘s Irish website (www.vodafone.ie). I normally do this using a WiFi connection, and I often do it while I am abroad. The main reason I access the web site is to send free text messages.
However, accessing the website on my PDA is really awkward! Indeed, it is one of the worst web sites that I have ever experienced on my PDA! This is particularly surprising when you consider that Vodafone is in the mobile market!
My reasons for disliking the web site, and in particular the My Vodafone portal, are:
- The layout of the web pages is not suitable for narrow screens.
- Some of the web pages rely on JavaScript to provide the functionality.
- Images are used for navigation and functionality, and no alternatives are provided.
- Popups are used! Even on a desktop this is problematic since so many browsers now block popups!
Ideally, it would be nice if Vodafone developed a mobile version of its portal! This could be used as a value added service to drive data revenues!
Tags: Ireland, JavaScript, Vodafone, WiFi
I read last night that Vodafone is abolishing all roaming charges for the summer!
I think that this is brilliant, and I hope that it becomes permanent! Also, I hope that this is rolled-out across all Vodafone operations!
You can read more about this in Summer roaming promotion – mobile roaming service from Vodafone.
Tags: UK, Vodafone
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Vodafone has announced that it is creating an online application store. I think that this is an interesting move, because as far as I am aware it is the first time that a mobile phone network operator has actually created its own application store.
This announcement is evidence of the shifting role of telcos from simple bit-carriers to providers of value-added applications and services. This is turn should increase revenues significantly, without incurring proportional costs.
I think that the advantages of this strategy to users are:
- Identifying and sourcing new applications becomes easy
- Purchasing new applications becomes seamless due to integrated charging
- Access to new and innovate services
I think that the advantages of this strategy for developers are:
- It reduces the barriers-of-entry for smaller developers to get their applications to the users
- It reduces the need for developers to market and promote their applications
- It eliminates the need for developers to collect revenue from users
- It enables developers to write applications that access resources within Vodafone’s network by using a Vodafone API.
So it is a win-win-win situation!
For more details about this story see Voda joins app store wars with smart pipe approach.
Tags: Vodafone
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Today I am going to focus on the Irish involvement in another international standards body called the OMA (Open Mobile Alliance). Information about the history and goals of the OMA can be found in About OMA. There are 4 different levels of membership of the OMA, and these are described in OMA Membership. However, I am not going to distinguish between these membership types. I am basing my lists on the memberships lists in Current OMA Members.
The Irish companies that are currently members are:
The non-Irish companies that have technical operations in Ireland that are currently members are:
As always, it is difficult to determine if some of these multi-nations have a technical presence in Ireland.
Tags: Acotel, AdaptiveMobile, Adobe, Aepona, Alcatel-Lucent, Ammeon, Avaya, BT, Ericsson, HP, IBM, Intel, Ireland, Jinny, Microsoft, Motorola, Nortel, OMA, Oracle, RedKnee, S3, Siemens, Sun, Verizon, Vodafone, Xiam
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The Irish Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) published a report earlier this week covering the attitudes of Irish residential customers to ICT. The report is very easy to read, and it contains many interesting findings. My favourite findings are:
- 79% have Eircom as their fixed line supplier
- The average monthly fixed line spend is 48.04€
- The average monthly mobile spend has decreased from 45.64€ to 41.64€
- Vodafone‘s share continues to decline, O2‘s share has seen a marginal increase, Meteor’s share continues to grow, and Three‘s share remains relatively unchanged.
- 56% own either a PC or laptop, and 11% own both
- There has been a continued increase in Internet usage, and penetration now stands at 64%
- 43% think that speed is the most important factor when using the Internet
- 50% of home broadband users do not know their contracted downloaded speed
- 44% have heard of VoIP, 35% of these have used it, and72% of these people use Skype
- 82% believe that technology has improved their lives
- Technology is used for entertainment purposes by 36% for more than 20 hours per week
The full report can be downloaded from ComReg Residential ICT Services Survey Q4 2008.
Tags: ComReg, Eircom, Ireland, Meteor, Mobile Phone, O2, Skype, Three, Vodafone
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I previously wrote about the Irish Companies involved in W3C, so today I am going to list the Irish companies (and organisations) that are involved in the TM Forum. Again, I am basing these lists on the online membership list.
The Irish companies that are currently members are:
The non-Irish companies that have technical operations in Ireland that are currently members are:
At least I think that all of those companies have technical operations in Ireland. It can be very difficult to tell from their web pages.
Tags: Accenture, Agilent, Alcatel-Lucent, Amartus, Amdocs, Analysys Mason, Arantech, Arris, Asidua, BOC Group, BT, Cable and Wireless, Cisco, CommProve, Dataduct, DCU, Deloitte and Touche, EDS, Eircom, EMC Corporation, Ericsson, HERMES SoftLab, HP, IBM, Ireland, Martin Dawes Systems, Microsoft, Motorola, Nomos Software, Nortel, O2, Openet, Oracle, Perot Systems, RedKnee, RedZinc, SAP, Satyam, Selatra, Siemens, Sun, TCD, TM Forum, TSSG, Verizon, Vodafone
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