5/30/2005 05:21:00 AM|W|P|Tanguy De Lestré|W|P|The anouncement that Belgacom has joined the Fixed Mobile Convergence Alliance is a very interesting one. The aim of this alliance (set up by BT in UK) is to allow that a user only has one handset that supports existing and future mobile networks (GSM/3G) as well as VOIP, WI-FI and Bluetooth, in a seamless matter for the end user. Client will only receive one bill. As member of the FMCA alliance Belgacom will set up a test case. Belgacom has 75% share in the Proximus mobile network, is developping a WIFI network with currently nearly 500 hotspots in operation (http://www.belgacom.be/web/Portal/hotspot/nl.pdf) ,is rumoured to launch VOIP services and is market leader in the DSL market: lots of interesting ingredients. Infosource: Datanews More info on the alliance http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=73961&site=lightreading|W|P|111718218691546582|W|P|And than the phones turned Blue|W|P|tanguy.delestre@gmail.com5/23/2005 08:02:00 AM|W|P|Tanguy De Lestré|W|P|Last week, mobile operator BASE splashed out some elements of a convergence strategy, including mobile TV. Therefore it will use the broadcast norm DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast), a norm adopted by ETSI standard institute in November 2004 that allows compression on mobile handsets. The air interface is DVB-T used for digital TV broadcasting. For the content, it will focus on its existing links with TMF (MTV group) Mother company KPN has also started trials of this service in the Netherlands and is expecting a service launch in 2006. BASE itself is stating tests with 500 users and wants to be a first mover in the Belgian market. http://www.webwereld.nl/articles/30912 http://www.laviedunet.be/VDN/Viedunet/Telecoms/page_5015_332770.asp Interesting techical background information: http://www.radioscape.com/downloads/DVB-HvDAB-EUBTechnicalReview.pdf|W|P|111683426309571821|W|P|mobile TV: the race is on!|W|P|tanguy.delestre@gmail.com5/16/2005 09:55:00 PM|W|P|Tanguy De Lestré|W|P|Clearwire (www.clearwire.be) took the anual Telecom fair Telecom city as a starting point for the official European launch of their wireless pre-wimax network in (parts of ) Brusssels. Customers will be able to surf the internet on Broadband speeds using a pre-wimax router linked to the PC. I assisted in the symbolic cutting of the wires on the exhibition stand. The press widely commented on this launch: (dutch vnunet)http://www.vnunet.be/detalle.asp?ids=/News/Top_Stories/Personal_Computing/20050510002 (dutch digimedia) http://www.digimedia.be/detail05.asp?Id=1834 (dutch zdnet) http://zdnet.be/news.cfm?id=45235 (french computerworld) http://www.computerworld.be/index.cfm?PageID=16365&News_ID=12466&style=1592 (dutch kridisi) http://www.kridisi.be/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=259 (french Le Soir) http://www.laviedunet.be/VDN/Viedunet/Telecoms/page_5015_329578.asp|W|P|111627361936813351|W|P|Clearwire: pre-wimax European launch in Brussels|W|P|tanguy.delestre@gmail.com5/09/2005 07:25:00 AM|W|P|Tanguy De Lestré|W|P|De TIJD magazine (http://www.zi-biz.be/zint/dvp_articles.ArticleDetail?ArtikelIdA=21939 ) informs about the Belgian mobile operator Mobistar (Orange group) of trials of providing TV channels on a mobile handset (over EDGE and 3G network). This weekend I crossed the border to the city of Lille in France, and went into a shop of France Telecom in order to try out the TV on mobile. A friendly shopkeeper showed me the live TV service on a Sanyo S750 mobile phone. After a connection on the 3G network, a selection on the Orange World portal, I was able to see live TV on the handset. This is a quite amazing feature. Compared to the large TV that was airing the same show, there was around 20 seconds delay due to the usual buffering. There is a wide selection of Frenche and international TV channels available. French competitor SFR is also providing a service, although with a smaller selection. Subscription to this service is based on airtime and the number of megaoctets used, and that's a engineering term for watching TV. Probably the business model will become clearer in the months to come.|W|P|111554521621825824|W|P|TV over mobile network: first Belgian tests|W|P|tanguy.delestre@gmail.com5/02/2005 08:21:00 AM|W|P|Tanguy De Lestré|W|P|According to Smart Business Strategies,(www.zdnet.be) the cable/telephony company Telenet intends to launch wireless telephony service later this year part of the triple play strategy. Clients would be able to call on a cheaper tariff than the usual mobile celular network. It looks a little like the Bluephone project of BT. Telenet is an important partner in the i-city project (www.i-city.be) in Hasselt and currently deploying hotspots fast in the rest of Flanders. So it will have the wifii network to enable this, and also has an MVNO agreement with mobile operator BASE in order to provide seamless coverage and handover . Technuical tests are on-going. To be followed.|W|P|111461026597744893|W|P|(rumourwatch) Mobile VOIP project for Telenet?|W|P|tanguy.delestre@gmail.com