mTrends – mobile media lifestyle trends – m-trends.org

I recently read a great paper by Timo Smura of the Networking Lab of the Helsinki University of Technology called „Competition Between Emerging Wireless Network Technologies: Case HSPA vs. WiMAX in Europe“. In the paper, Timo has analyzed which factors influence the success of a wireless product. I think the general approach described in the first part of the paper is a great model to describe if new products compete or complement others and how one can look at a product from different angles:

• User View: Users prefer different kind of devices/networks for an application depending on their current physical location. Devices among each other compete to be the preferred one in as many situations as possible. Some devices are complementing each other, some directly compete. Most devices do a bit of both. A notebook with a wifi adapter and a smartphone for example complement each other in many areas but also compete (e.g. you can read your eMail with both of them).
  
  
• Technology View: Some network technologies complement each other (e.g. Bluetooth and UMTS), others are in direct competition with each other (e.g. UMTS and WiMAX). Both competing and complementing network technologies have to find acceptance on all levels of the value network (described) to be successful.
  
  
• Industry View: A product/network has to establish a value network to become successful. A value network consists among other things of network/network coverage, terminals, applications and content.
  
  
• External View: Licenses and national regulations are not discussed very often in the blogsphere. Nevertheless, regulatory politics concerning availability and sale of frequencies and the types of networks the frequencies are sold for has a profound impact on the development of new technologies.

This multi-dimensional approach describes very well why Rudy, Yasmine and I have decided to join forces at m-trends. On my private blog I focus mostly on the technology aspect of wireless systems and I will of course continue to do so. Here on m-trends on the other hand I will expand my writing to discuss operator, user and external views as well, with my technical/network background in mind. Rudy and Yasmine have in the past blogged on the same topics but from a different angle and a different view. Combining our angles should thus be an exciting and interesting undertaking and should nicely cover all four views on topics we have something to say.