GPRS - time to target the business nomads

GPRS - time to target the business nomads CANNES - February 19, 2003 - The tribe of mobile business nomads should be the main target for any GPRS operator looking to increase revenues from mobile data services. So far this is an underserved but relatively wealthy segment that have a potential to generate much more revenues than today. In a recent report by leading wireless advisor Northstream the keys to successful Mobile office offerings are described. GPRS is the gateway to 3G for the wireless industry and its best hope for convincing users to move from simple voice calls to mobile data usage. Two years after the launch operators are still in search of success stories for mobile data services to be replicated in their own networks. - Travelling business users present an ideal target for operators in search of new sources of revenue, says Tommy Ljunggren, senior advisor at Northstream. - Business users strive to become more productive in their daily work through the use of an efficient IT solution. Many companies today already use Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology to securely access email, Intranet and other business systems remotely over the Internet. A natural evolution for these companies is to be able to access the same resources when on the move by using the data capabilities of mobile networks. To stimulate the use of GPRS for the mobile office, Northstream believes that operators should consider the following key elements when defining their strategies for mobile office services: Easy to justify It is essential that the offers operators make to businesses are clear and do not appear too fragmented. The price of usage must be predictable and easy to understand for the user to be able to justify the investment in his or her efficiency. The corporation need to feel that they are in control of the additional costs for mobile usage. Out-of-the-box experience A mobile office offering can only be successful if the overall service package is attractive and easy to use. It must work out-of-the-box, anywhere at any time with predictable quality and price. Pre- configuration, Over-the-air activation and extensive roaming agreements are all key ingredients in this formula. One size does not fit all Operators should have flexible offerings taking into account the different corporate segments. Some companies prefer to manage their VPN infrastructure themselves while others would rather leave it to the operators. Keep it simple The end-user experience when accessing a company's resources through GPRS should be as straightforward as possible. In particular, the initiation of the GPRS connection and the creation of the secure tunnel should not take more than 2-3 steps to be attractive. - A wider perspective, GPRS has great strategic value for all parties in priming operators, users, and service providers in multimedia services and mobile imaging. By pushing mobile office, multimedia and imaging to 2.5G, operators will enable 3G to mature before users migrate, says Tommy Ljunggren. Meet us in Cannes at the 3GSM World Congress, Hall 2 stand F57 and Hospitality Suite 301 and 303, or follow the event through live updates at www.northstream.se. About Northstream: Northstream provides strategic technology and business advice to the global wireless industry. Northstream has assembled a multinational team with some of the world's best experts and analysts on wireless communication business and technology. Northstream's list of clients include several of the world's leading operators and system suppliers, e.g. Vodafone, AT&T, NTT DoCoMo, Orange, Sonera, Telia, Mitsubishi, Ericsson, Nokia and Microsoft, as well as some of the leading investment banks and financial institutions. Northstream is established in Stockholm (Sweden), Sophia Antipolis (France) and Tokyo (Japan). For more information please visit us at: www.northstream.se For more information please contact: Tommy Ljunggren, Public Relations Manager Tel: + 46 705 91 00 64 press@northstream.se ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/02/19/20030218BIT01100/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/02/19/20030218BIT01100/wkr0002.pdf