This will apply to visitors, staff, on-site workers, exhibitors, suppliers and other partners.

Other measures include wearing FFP2-standard masks, enhanced ventilation in the venue; increased cleaning and sanitation measures; and crowd monitoring.

Spain has imposed strict new entry requirements in response to the Omicron Covid-19 variant.

Exhibitors  including Cisco, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, Google, Huawei, Intel, Nokia, Orange, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, Telefonica, Vodafone, and ZTE among others

Around 75 per cent of visitors to this year’s MWC held at the end of June were from Spain. Around 35,000 people in total attended the show, down from 109,000 in 2019. IN 2019 76,300 from outside Spain attended.

]]> https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/mwc-visitors-face-strict-entry-covid-protocols/feed/ 0 https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/register-free-mobile-news-xpo-virtual/ https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/register-free-mobile-news-xpo-virtual/#respond Thu, 24 Jun 2021 15:28:39 +0000 https://mncwp.tailrd.cloud/register-free-mobile-news-xpo-virtual/ Mobile channel’s first online show

Hearing a top TV personality saying the words “And the winner is …” about your company or product in front of hundreds of your peers and competitors never gets boring.

Light a fire under your 2020 marketing and PR with a prestigious Mobile News Award and you could be prowling the stage wearing a massive smile at the mobile channel’s biggest night out at The Hilton on Park Lane on March 12 . The Mobile News Awards is the premier celebration of the industry across the UK.

Just getting on the shortlist can bump brand awareness and promote your business to new clients. This year’s independently-judged awards has 22 categories covering all sectors of the channel including MVNOs, Dealers, Accessory and Device Distributors, Airtime Provision, Service and Repair, Billing, Insurance Services, Online Retailing, Devices, Innovative Products and Services, and Online Retailer.

Winners and Finalists get guaranteed exposure to a high-value audience of hundreds of mobile industry guests and an industry seal of approval for a job well done.

One fee covers you for as many categories and entries as you want. ENTER HERE: https://www.mobilenewsawards.co.uk. For further info on entering, attending, and judging: contact awards@mobilenewscwp.co.uk or Stephen Watson – 020 3122 0873.

Mobile News’ new app is now available now for download on Google Play, after the iOS version was released last week.

“We’re thrilled to offer our new app. It will turbo-charge the ROI our advertisers expect and It gives the mobile channel a live content platform accessible 24/7 on mobile, tablet as well as desktop. The news platform publishes the latest UK channel news, features and analysis with curated content, neatly packaged into a single, constantly updating app,” said Mobile News business development manager Stephen Watson.

Added Mobile News editorial director Ian White: “The Mobile News app will keep our channel audience informed from the comfort of their iOS device with exclusive news about movers and shakers, key interviews, and original stories and features by our editorial team that cover all aspects of the UK mobile industry.”

Download the Mobile News App for Android here

Download the Mobile News App for iOS  here

Global smartphone sales declined 2.7 per cent year-on-year in Q1 2019, according to analyst firm Gartner. Total unit sales in the quarter were 373 million.

The firm cited slowing innovation and rising prices as factors that influenced the extension of replacement cycles, leading to a drop in sales. The US and China saw respective sales drops of 15.8 per cent and 3.2 per cent.

Gartner senior research director Anshul Gupta said: “Demand for premium smartphones remained lower than for basic smartphones, which affected brands such as Samsung and Apple that have significant stakes in high-end smartphones.

“In addition, demand for low-end smartphones declined as the rate of upgrading from feature phones to smartphones has slowed, given that 4G feature phones give users great advantages at a lower cost.”

Samsung retained first place in global smartphone sales with 19.2 per cent market share, as slight drop from 20.5 per cent in Q1 2018 and with a sales decline of 8.8 per cent year-on-year. Apple saw a 17.6 per cent year-on-year sales decline, shipping 44.6 million iPhones.

“Samsung launched its flagship Galaxy S10 smartphone portfolio, which received a good response. However, its impact was limited as Samsung only started shipping the S10 at the end of the first quarter,” said Gupta.

“The price cut for iPhones across markets helped drive up demand but wasn’t enough to restore growth in the first quarter. Apple is facing longer replacement cycles as users struggle to see enough value benefits to justify replacing existing iPhones.”

Huawei’s market share increased from 10.5 per cent in Q1 2018 to 15.7 per cent, the highest year-on-year growth of the top five vendors.

“Huawei did particularly well in two of its biggest regions, Europe and Greater China, where its smartphone sales grew by 69 per cent and 33 per cent, respectively,” added Gupta, who warned that Huawei’s international controversies may hurt its market share going forward.

“Unavailability of Google apps and services on Huawei smartphones, if implemented, will upset Huawei’s international smartphone business which is almost half of its worldwide phone business. Not the least it brings apprehension among buyers, limiting Huawei’s growth in the near term.”

Vivo narrowly edged out Xiaomi to claim fifth spot, selling 27.4 million smartphones compared to Xiaomi’s 27.2 million, and increasing its market share from 6.1 per cent in Q1 2018 to 7.3 per cent.

Vodafone and Huawei were double winners at the Mobile News Awards at the Hilton on Park Lane last night (March 14) at a glittering evening than saw more than 600 industry guests party until the small hours.

Vodafone picked up trophies for Innovative Product (for its device lifecycle management solution) and Best Customer Service for its consistently strong Mystery Caller performances throughout 2018. Huawei picked up the Best Smartphone gong for its Mate 20 Pro, and Best Device Manufacturer.

Onecom took home the prize for Best Customer Service while iSmash was the winner of the Best Service and Repair award, while musicMagpie grabbed the Best Recycling Provider prize.

Bastion Insurance found itself the recipient of the Best Phone/Gadget Insurance Provider prize, and Crystalusion’s free screen replacement service was judged to be the Best Innovative Service.

On the Rugged front, Energizer’s H55OS came out on top, and Mobile Phones Direct bagged Best Online Retailer. Zest4 was the winner of the Best Airtime Distributor prize.

The two Best B2B Dealer awards went to Pure Telecom (under 50 employees) and Barclay Communications (over 50 employees), while the Best Accessory Distributor honours went to Genuine Solutions (under 100 employees) and Kondor (over 100 employees).

Belkin was Best Accessory Manufacturer and Samsung SmartThings was the night’s Best IoT Application. Sky Mobile took home the MVNO award.

Three won the Best Network in Retail prize for its sterling Mystery Shopper scores during 2018, O2 won the Network Performance prize and Tech Data landed the Best Mobile Device Distributor prize.

The awards were judged by a team of 15 independent industry experts and presented at a black-tie gala dinner dance, that featured stand-up comedy from 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown star Sean Lock.

Exertis has renewed its headline sponsorship for the Mobile News for the fifth year in a row.

The Mobile News Awards will be held at The Hilton on Park Lane on March 14.

Simon Woodman director of Exertis’ mobile division said:

“Exertis are delighted to once again act as headline sponsor for the upcoming Mobile News Awards.

“These awards serve as a fantastic opportunity to celebrate a year of industry successes with our partners and vendors”.

Mobile News head of sales Stephen Watson added: “This is a great endorsement of the Awards. Exertis demands value for money.

“It’s hugely encouraging we’re meeting the challenge to deliver their ROI”.

Tables are now on sale. Call 020 3122 0872 or email awards@mobilenewscwp.co.uk.

Entries

Entries to the Mobile News Awards 2019 are now open. The 25th awards will be presented at a gala black-tie dinner dance at The Hilton on Park Lane on March 14.

There are two new categories this year to reflect the growing proliferation of rugged phones and activity in the gadget insurance sector.

Other categories include: customer service, mobile device distributor, accessories distributor, accessories manufacturer, B2B dealer, IoT, service and repair, recycling provider, innovative service, innovative product, smartphone, manufacturer, online retailer and MVNO.

For details on how to enter go to: http://www.mobilenewsawards.co.uk/faqs/

For more information on the Mobile News Awards go to: www.mobilenewsawards.co.uk

The year is 1993 and Apple has just launched the Newton, bringing a QWERTY keyboard, stylus and the phrase “personal digital assistant” to the English language, all at the same time.

Those younger than 25 may not remember – being totally honest, I can just about remember my dad having one – but the idea was to have a device that could sort through emails, help make some notes and generally assist in the organisation of one’s working life.

History or egg sucking lesson over, the smartphone pretty much picked up where the PDA left off, with Steve Jobs famously saying at the iPhone launch 14 years later that the finger was the only stylus every man woman or child would ever need.

However, with the iPhone, the demise of the smartphone keyboard also began to the point where now the only major brand that features devices with QWERTY keyboards is BlackBerry.

That’s evolution though, it’s the way it goes and only BlackBerry itself believes in such a technology now which is very much tied in with its identity.

So, into this sea of glass, metal and touchscreen, comes a manufacturer with a very different device.

Crowdfunding 

Planet Computers, a British manufacturer aiming to make it easier for people to get work done on the move, has brought out a clam shell smartphone with a full QWERTY keyboard – the Gemini PDA.

Since its launch in March this year more than 6,000 of the devices have been sold, a quarter of which come from the UK as the company and product have transformed from an idea and crowdfunding opportunity on Indiegogo to a product being sold online.

Teaming up with the original designer of the Psion PDAs, Planet Computers CEO Dr Janko Mrsic-Flogel launched the Gemini PDA at Mobile World Congress in 2017.

Fast forward a year and more than $2 million worth of investments from the crowdfunding site and the device was landing on the desks and into the hands of the most enthusiastic followers around the globe.

Mrsic-Flogel said: “A total of 25 per cent of our sales are coming from the UK, 25 per cent from Japan, 20 per cent from the US and about more than 10 per cent in Germany.”

In two years Planet Computers has raised just short of £2.4 million on Indiegogo. After originally launching at CES in 2017 and showing off one of the first prototypes in Barcelona at Mobile World Congress the same year, the Gemini PDA is available to buy now and is currently available through Clove and Planet Computers itself.

With eyes on other retailers, Mrsic-Flogel is also keen to carve out channels and deals with distributors too, adding: “We are more focused on our online store than Indiegogo because it is generating more which wasn’t the case three months ago before we launched the store.

“Although the store has sold probably less than 1,000 devices, we have also sold lots of accessories like the camera add-on, the sleeve, the pouch and the chargers. People are buying online quite a lot so it seems people are coming to the site and buying additional peripherals for the device.

“Now we have a product, we are going to create channels for it. We will have arranged pricing for different areas – Europe, US and Japan – which will have to fall in line with the distributor’s pricing in each country.

“Up to now on Indiegogo we have essentially been a liability financially because its just backing and there is no guarantee of a product. So you can look at it like a loan which has rolled into a perk.

“Crowdfunding is at £2.4 million and I think the rest of the revenue is getting to a million, although crowdfunding is not really accounted for as revenue, it is money into the company.

“The rest of the sales are through Indiegogo but we are just starting the distribution process and we are expecting some major orders over the next months from Japan, Russia, India, and other external markets.

Then we will hope for good orders from the UK hopefully in time for Christmas, if not in Q1 of next year.”

Ambition 

Such ambition has seen the device capture the imagination of a generation that used PDAs and, like Janko, missed using them. Discounting BlackBerry, the physical keyboard hasn’t made an appearance on the major devices in around half a decade.

A once key feature has, one by one, been dropped by the likes of Nokia and Samsung and is also widely seen as a contributing factor to the demise of Blackberry, a brand now being sold by TCL Communications.

Now the original excitement is quietening down, you may argue that nostalgia won’t shift many devices. However, as Mrsic-Flogel points out, there is a target market for this device, with Planet attempting to inspire writers and bloggers among other ideal customers.

The physical keyboard and subsequent shortcuts, Android or Linux operating systems and a software package that mirrors and improves on that found on the Psion devices are all features Mrsic-Flogel has missed.

“So I think the idea originally was that several of us – certainly myself and the designer Martin Riddiford – felt this form factor needs to come back,” stated Mrsic-Flogel.

“But we needed to ask ourselves – why does it need to come back? There is pocketability of the keyboard that is the key thing. The fact is that with a laptop you need to carry something, in a cover or a bag, a rucksack or a handbag.

“You need to carry it with a separate piece of luggage. With the Gemini, the keyboard is small enough that it fits in the pocket, so that pocketability is actually the key.

“There are some ultra small laptops but they don’t achieve that, so you can think of it as a very small pocket PC that you can carry around.”

That’s a premise that a lot can understand. The days of chunky laptops and limited power may well be over in theory, but even the thinnest of ultrabooks, MacBooks, iPads and other tablets weighs down on your shoulders as the days and the weeks wear on.

However with “pocketabilty” comes a reduction in performance. After all there is a reason we consistently carry around laptops every day. But Mrsic-Flogel is keenly aware of the potential of the device and the target audience for it.

“One key thing is that you can write with the Gemini and it gives you a sort of easier way of writing emails, messaging and blogging, so you can do these writing tasks.

“Editing documents and writing a new message for example. Maybe you can do it on an on-screen keyboard. We can argue whether it is faster on our device or not, but editing some text without a keyboard is a complete nightmare.

Spreadsheets

“If you need to edit, look and so on without a keyboard it’s very very hard. Selecting a little bit of text or selecting something, making proper edits is very hard.

“The second thing is spreadsheets – if you are doing small calculations and for business people and people looking at spreadsheets and traverse spreadsheets.

“In both cases one of key things is that we have properly expressed cursor keys because without that editing documents and spreadsheets is not fun. So they are full size keys – up, down, left, right arrows.

Even on the iPad cover keyboards, you will see that on them, the left and the right keys are fully expressed but the up and down are half height.

“We often say this is for the creative person, someone who wants to create on the move because now you can really write more and create content as well as consume. It’s got a really good screen so it’s really nice to watch and it fits on a table you get on a train or plane. It fits everywhere.

“We think it’s really important to have that feeling that you can use this device anywhere. It gives you that potential, so you can watch movies, listen to music but also write documents.”

Now the product is making money, as well as taking the device to distributors, Mrsic-Flogel has ambitions of ranging in the networks to get in as many pockets as possible.

“We have missed some of the planned Christmas ranging but there’s a possibility we will be in a good position with some of the channels in Q1 of 2019.

“But if something goes wrong with other products we might be able to slip into the catalogues for Q4 this year – it really depends on if somebody does deliver.

“Q1 is where we want to see the products in the shops. It would be great to see it in Christmas but it depends if we can get in that position. Even an online placement would be great with some of the major retailers.”

However it’s not just retail that interests the company, which is based in London. Mrsic-Flogel says that, with the device finding its feet with encouraging sales, part of the company focus is on striking up relationships with high street and online retailers as well as distributors and networks.

He said: “We are at the early stages of that process. We’ve established our own online store so that is our main form of online sales worldwide, but in the UK more specifically, we have been working with Clove on the online side.”

Selling

“Essentially we have also started looking at online outlets like Amazon and Clove, but obviously now we are looking to place the product more into the retail side and the telecoms side.

“We are starting to talk to the retailers and distributors for the consumer electronics retail and also the same for the mobile market – the telecom operators – because we would love to see the device on a contract.”

With worldwide sales surpassing 6,000 units, Mrsic-Flogel is keen to get the ball rolling while keeping one eye on a second, improved device. Knowing that, although he’s happy with it, there are ways in which the device can be better.

“Obviously we want to now start selling” says Mrsic-Flogel. “But also in the development road map we are looking at what we can do and people are asking for different features.

“We are working on what a secondary device would look like in our catalogues, the features that people are asking for –a backlit keyboard, external screen, finger print sensor, a better camera, integrated and high quality camera.

“Currently that’s where our attention is, thinking about it, but we do want to start selling now.”

O2 CEO Mark Evans believes the operator’s biggest opportunity for growth through 5G is in B2B as he and fellow O2 executives shared insight on its journey to the new standard with Mobile News.

Evans was accompanied by O2 chief operating officer Derek McManus and O2 chief financial officer Patricia Cobian at the Sexy Fish restaurant in London’s Mayfair on July 25.

There, the O2 executives spoke at length to a room of members of the media about fiscal results for the first half of 2018 (three months ending June 30).

According to Evans, O2 is a “challenger” in B2B but businesses and consumers are warming up to the operator’s business practices, he claimed, as O2 celebrated eight consecutive quarters of revenue growth and operating income before depreciation and amortisation (OIBDA).

Satisfaction 

“Can O2 reach more into the business segment? Yes. Our customer satisfaction is up to 83 per cent, the next best is 69 per cent.

We are, in essence, the challenger in B2B, we think we’ve got more opportunity in B2B, and actually the customers we’re signing are warming to the way we do business, and that’s not turning up and selling a bit of technology, it’s about engaging and providing an experience that is second to none.

“But we’re not going to let up on consumers, when it comes to 5G the customers will benefit from the reliability and speed. But the biggest opportunity we see in 5G is B2B and what I call adjacent markets”.

Evans hit out at rivals for being reticent to share total connection numbers but recognised both BT/EE and Vodafone are still formidable competitors despite past financial results not reflecting so.

Evans claimed O2 is “undoubtedly the largest network” in the UK with a current total of 32 million mobile connections that includes its MVNO partnerships such as with Sky Mobile, Tesco Mobile, Giffgaff and Lycamobile.

For Q2 it added 100,000 contract customers while attaining and claiming an industryleading 1.0 churn rate.

Evans commented on rivals’ previous financial results, saying: “Comparing quarter on-quarter, Vodafone had worse results compared to last year. Its total base declined more than others and seem to be going through a tough time, there’s no doubt about that.

But big businesses do take time to come around and I’m sure Nick Read (Vodafone CEO-designate) and the team will shape up in due course.

“BT/EE has deliberately never reported total customer base in the last five years, it only shows post-paid connections – you know that and so do I. If you then read the small print and see that its base has been going backwards repeatedly quarter after quarter.

This quarter BT/EE made an announcement it won’t be talking about customer numbers. But BT/EE undoubtedly remains a formidable competitor.

I expect the mobile market overall and rivals to continue to grow and if none of them grow they’re under performing.”

5G and Government. 

O2 announced in April that 3,000 5G small cell sites will be rolled out in the next 12 months across the busiest boroughs in London using the 3.4GHz spectrum acquired earlier this year.

McManus calls the network standard a “game changer” that will enhance the UK in ways 3G and 4G cannot compare to, and in turn strengthening the economy, even post-Brexit.

O2 has been more than vocal about its developments with 5G. Many moves were made in its ambition to roll out 5G efficiently, such as turning entertainment venue The O2 into a 5G testbed or, in other words, a giant symbolic beacon of 5G for the UK.

The testbed will go live in the autumn. Evans also did not rule out utilising 5G spectrum to boost 4G if customer demand for the standard is slower than expected, while repeating his desire for deeper collaboration to ensure infrastructure can be constructed in time for commercial 5G.

He said: “Much has been said about 5G including our government which said 5G would be worth £173 billion of incremental UK GDP growth in the first ten years of its existence.

The development report said by 2026 the benefits from 5G will at that point be more than the benefits from fixed broadband, and that’s only eight years away.

McManus added: “Mobiles are already a powerful contributor to the UK economy, but we see 5G is going to accelerate that.

I’ve been in the industry for 30 years and I genuinely believe 5G will have a bigger impact than any other new technology since electricity.

“The biggest mistake we would have is not to invest in 5G. With the uncertainty of Brexit around the corner, that we invested so heavily in spectrum speaks a lot about our confidence in 5G’s  resilience.”

McManus acknowledged the government’s passion and vision for 5G but says “more engagement” is needed. On July 23 the government published the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review where it introduced measures to connect the majority of the population to 5G and full fibre broadband for all premises by 2033.

Commenting on the review, McManus said: “Frankly the devil is in the details. There’s a lot of headiness making encouraging noises which to me showed the government listened. So it’s half there with some of the things that have been said.

I feel really confident we will get the executions done on time but we need more engagement and the government has said that as part of the review. I’ve acknowledged it listened and there’s something we can really work on there, but we still have a long way to go before industry and government is totally aligned.”

Evans added: “The ducts and poles access is a good example of that. The government has been very clear about wanting to accelerate the rollout of 5G but legislation that was originally improved said there was a primary purpose of ducts and poles which was fibre broadband, not mobile.

“So, there’s an inconsistency – you’re telling us to accelerate but writing legislation that prevents us from doing so.

“That doesn’t make sense. So we’ve been engaging with government and out this week came the principle by 2020 the mobile industry will be able to utilise the infrastructure the fixed industry can use. It’s a shame its taken so long but it’s progress and we’ll see how it flows.”

O2 has written to firms in the FTSE 100 index to create use cases for 5G and further understand how to better utilise the technology.

Its “a step in the right direction” for O2’s 5G strategy, to convince the biggest influencers in B2B to embrace 5G according to McManus. He cites significant numbers that are impressive, provided all firms get onboard.

Combined, annual revenue of the index hits in excess £600 billion. Staff count is over seven million across 150 countries.

McManus said: “5G for me has got three very powerful application – enhance customer experience through connectivity, enable optimised new growth and opening new revenue streams, and drive much more efficiency through supply chain and product processes.

Secure 

“This is why we are taking the stance we want to take. We want businesses to work with us and co-create the use cases that will drive that benefit on what is the biggest stage possible in Europe, the UK”.

Evans added: “We need to understand 5G, that’s why we want to work with every industry to fully understand how to deploy it. That’s how we deal with B2B, we don’t sell technology in the business segment.

“We understand the need and then provide a solution. Then the technology is the enabler to the solution”.

Since the collapsed merger with Three two years ago, O2 has reported revenue and profit growth in the last eight quarters and seems to be standing tall, as it looks firmly ahead.

A lot of activity is promised by the operator as it looks to have a secure future with 5G and has no interest in being the first to launch the standard, Evans even bluntly said he “did not care” about being first and that if rivals were to rush to light up the first 5G site to grab headlines, his feeling would be one of “pure malcontent”.

Evan said: “We’re pleased to say we’re growing this business healthily. What O2 has done since the merger collapse is see consecutive quarters of growth, and the highest levels of returns in the UK market, which is the most advanced market for mobile in Europe.

“We now need to look ahead and ensure the UK remains the best in Europe for mobile, and that means the best in 5G. The benefits of 5G will no doubt be revolutionary”.

“I want to make Maxcom a major player in the UK. That’s what this is all about and that’s what I’m aiming to do.”

That was the strong message from Maxcom UK and Ireland country manager Chris Millington who sat down with Mobile News to reveal his plans and ambitions for the new challenger in the grand arena that is the UK mobile market.

He is also aiming to mount a challenge to his former employer – senior mobiles and services specialist Doro – which, he claims, is the only real challenge in the UK market for senior specific devices. Millington outlined his ambition to take a piece of the Swedish manufacturer’s market share.

Looking at Doro’s shipment figures for 2015, the Swedish manufacturer moved 750,000 products globally and claims to be market leader in the UK.

Maxcom is looking to take a 30 per cent chunk of that figure in the next 12 to 18 months of its UK charge which would, according to Millington, make Maxcom a “strong second” in the seniors mobile market.

Millington is a 25-year industry veteran who had stints at Kenwood, Sony and most recently for senior device and services specialist Doro, departing last year after serving for more than 20 years as UK managing director.

He was headhunted by Polish mobile manufacturer and distributor Maxcom in June 2017 when he confirmed his departure to Mobile News.