NetEvents 2011: News roundup

Long Term Evolution (LTE) was a major talking point during NetEvents as across the globe more and more countries are getting on board and launching the next-generation networks.

However, the UK seems to have been left behind this massive move in the telecoms industry and the discussions being had were miles ahead of the minor trials we have been piloting on our shores.

The major issue in the UK was the drawn out process of auctioning off spectrum. This was the view of Nigel Wright, vice president of wireless product marketing at Spirent.

He told IT PRO: "The UK [is] bumbling about with the spectrum auction... and, irrespective of other technologies, the availability of spectrum - and in the US, great spectrum - is what is needed for LTE."

Wright also said Europe was lacking the "manic competition in the US" which was really driving LTE forward in North America.

However, he concluded it was only the tech savvy calling for LTE, adding: "Others just want to be able to stream their content, which we can do already."

Voice is still a money maker

Mobile phones are becoming more than a simple voice communications device and now have the ability to give us access to data of all shapes and sizes.

Mehmet Balos, the head of marketing at Genband, revealed statistics during a presentation at NetEvents showing the increasingly changing nature of handheld devices.

He claimed the number of Facebook minutes last year almost equalled the number of voice call minutes, whilst there were one-and-a-half SMS messages for every voice minute.

However, Balos claimed voice was still a big revenue stream for telecoms companies and they must not let it slide.

"Companies still use voice money to pay to build the data networks," he said.

"When LTE [Long Term Evolution] was designed, [the innovators] only talked about data, they don't have a voice solution. We have to find a solution... as it is voice that pays the bills."