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GSMA agreement is “defensive move”
6th October 2008
The GSM Association’s (GSMA) recent campaign to promote embedded mobile broadband connectivity is a "defensive move against Wi-Fi", according to one expert.
In reaction to an agreement between the GSMA and 16 technology companies to promote the pre-installation of 3G and 4G connectivity in laptops, Steve Hartley, from market analyst Ovum, has explained what he thinks is a major factor behind the initiative.
Mr Hartley believes that the agreement is in part a response to mobile broadband’s main rival as a portable internet technology - Wi-Fi.
He told ZDNet: "The GSMA has launched what is essentially an awareness campaign to help drive take-up and use of mobile broadband on laptops and other non-handset-type devices.
"It could be argued that any promotion is better than nothing, but it looks a lot like the initiative is designed as a defensive move against WiMax branding."
The 16 companies which united with the GSMA in the move include operators, device suppliers, software firms and chipset vendors.
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