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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.

AETIC ( Association of Companies of Electronics, Technologies of the Information and Telecommunications of Spain) yesterday released that 20 million mobile phones were sold in Spain in 2005, which represents an increase of the 15 percent in relation to the sales of 2004.

AETIC estimates that throughout 2005 1.5 million third generation (UMTS) phones were sold, and that approximately 6 million of the sold terminals were equipped with digital camera. The last trimester of the year, in which the Christmas campaign is included, was again the most dynamic, with 6.5 million mobiles sold.

In my search to get an update on the mobile phone penetration in Europe, I discovered this excellent list of mobile network operators at Wikipedia.
A list of mobile network operators represented per country including data on technology used, subscribers and ownership. Figures as recent as Q3 2005 can be found.

Spain had in June 2005 40,921,800 subscribers in total. According various sources checked, the Spanish market has now the sixth highest penetration rate for mobile phones in Europe and has one of the fastest growing 3G markets, estimated to reach over 30% penetration of 3G enabled phones in 2008.