WIRELESS STILL STAR AT LESS-CROWDED ITU TELECOM SHOW

DTV tie-ins to video streaming capabilities of next- generation mobile phones were displayed by several vendors, including NEC. NEC demonstrated what it billed as the first “working prototype” of a mobile phone outfitted with a terrestrial DTV broadcasting receiver. The company said terrestrial DTV broadcasting would start in Dec. in the Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka districts of Japan. NEC said it eventually planned programs tailored specifically for mobile phones as part of the DTV programming. The model is to be available commercially in Japan next year. Although the prototype has a 90-min. battery, the model at the outset will have a battery life of 2 hours, an official said. Following rollouts in Asia, he said the handset would be available for European flavors of DTV standards. Among the kinds of interactive programming envisioned for the phone is the ability to vote on certain call-in TV shows.

To the strings of a live violin quartet, Panasonic touted chips that integrate wireless capabilities with DTV broadcasting. The company displayed what it called a “3G remote control” that allows users to perform tasks such as in-home monitoring using a 3G phone equipped with a tone signal generator and TV conferencing capability. The company demonstrated a “super-mini-mobile” -- what it said was the smallest color handset on the market at 74 grams (26.1 ounces). Panasonic exhibited what it described as the first fax machine to combine ENUM and IPv6 technology, saying it could send and receive large detailed images at high speeds. Without explanatory text, the company also displayed a “winged image grabber,” which appeared to consist of a mobile handset with a clear back cover that flipped out as a viewfinder. Other futuristic offerings were a combination radio frequency ID/lipstick camera, a “bracelet viewer,” wireless headphones that looked like mauve earrings and a wireless terminal in the form of sunglasses.

European mobile operator Orange conducted a week-long service demonstration over a 3G network at the show, using a Nokia-supplied WCDMA network that ran interactive multiplayer gaming, high-speed downloads and live images from Web and security cameras at the Palexpo exhibit hall and in other European cities. Orange CEO Sol Trujillo said customers already could watch video clips on the carrier’s network but he said 3G speeds would take “mobile to the next stage.” Full commercial trials of Orange 3G services are to begin later this year in the U.K., with a commercial debut in mid- 2004.

Video streaming elements were on display in many handset models. Separately, NTT described its Broadband Passive Optical Network System (B-PON), which it said converged communications and broadcasting. It’s designed for peak data speeds of up to 100 Mbps with simultaneous multichannel video distributions of up to 500 channels, including terrestrial analog and DTV broadcasting, on a single fiber. The company said it had 200,000 subscribers to the service, which provides uninterrupted live programming while other users are online.

Some 3G technology on display didn’t even have voice capabilities. On a panel discussion Thurs., Mark Tolliver, chief strategy officer of Sun Microsystems, held up a new Hutchison device that he said had been available for 4 weeks. It had a screen the size and resolution of a Palm device and Tolliver described it as a “data hub” with e-mail, calendar and video streaming. The device costs $200 and Tolliver predicted such units “would be ubiquitous in a year or 2.”

Comverse displayed new voicemail technologies, including “visual voicemail,” which is being tested in the U.S. but isn’t yet offered by any carriers. The system runs on 2.5G or 3G wireless networks, streaming or downloading over data networks the contents of an in-box. Users can view a list of messages, providing an audio player that lets them listen in at any point in the streamed message. For 3G networks, Comverse demonstrated video call answering, which stores incoming video messages so a subscriber can access them later.

BP Solar showcased what it called “solar electricity -- the natural solution for telecom providers.” It said it could provide power for telecom applications ranging from “1W single wireless terminals to 4 kW backbone repeater stations.” It said its products provided backup power for telecom installations during power grid failures.

As expected (CD Oct 6 p3), Germany chose not to erect a national pavilion this year, although it had among the most lavish, multistoried displays in years past. France still had a national pavilion, although without Alcatel. The U.S. Pavilion appeared to have healthy foot traffic throughout the show, with one observer saying vendors seemed to be happy with the flow of attendees throughout the week. By far the most visible presence on the floor was from Asian vendors, with Chinese equipment-makers Huawei Technologies and ZTE having huge booths. Russia also had a hard-to-miss national pavilion this time.

Still, some parts of the 7 halls of the Palexpo conference center felt almost deserted at times, with empty chairs or bored-looking salespeople in stands. Media attendance also was down from 1999. While the ITU had scheduled press Q&A sessions after several forum panel discussions, early in the week it scratched the idea when not enough reporters took them up on the offer. One participant who was disappointed by the show’s turnout said the difficulty was that many vendors booked for the 2003 show shortly after Telecom ‘99, which was so packed with attendees it was difficult to move from one end of some halls to another. The expectation 4 years ago was that this show would have a similar volume of participants, he said. The ITU said before the show began it expected attendance of 115,000 this year, down from close to 176,000 in 1999. About 900 vendors had been set to come, compared with 1,146 in 1999.

One well-publicized point of controversy before the show began had been reports -- disputed by ITU -- that some members of the ITU Council wanted Secy.-Gen. Yoshio Utsumi to step down amid concerns over the union’s finances. The Council, which is seeking a balanced budget and more information about streamlining efforts, plans an extraordinary session later this month after choosing not to adopt the budget at a regularly scheduled May meeting. The controversy wasn’t visible in discussions here at the Forum, which consists of policy panels held throughout the show. But Utsumi dismissed the reports in an article in the show’s daily paper, saying it was “unfounded speculation” and defending his budget-cutting efforts. He said the percentage of budget cuts for the 2004-2005 period would produce a total reduction of 20% and would be “extremely painful” for programs and staff. In the wake of the news stories, the ITU also issued a lengthy statement disputing what it called “inaccurate and speculative media reports,” including an article in the Swiss business weekly L'Hebdo. It said the Council’s request for more transparency in the budget wasn’t related to financial management considerations “but to a requirement expressed by Council at the 2003 session for greater granularity of information at a micro-accounting level.”

One of the more light-hearted displays involved a contest by wireless network maker Elcoteq, with attendees vying for who could put a disassembled mobile phone back together the fastest. The winner at the show’s end was to receive a free heart rate monitor. While the glamour of large shows largely had dissipated, one element remained -- attractive women giving product demonstrations to lure attendees to booths. Moscow-headquartered CBOSS, which provides automated telecom billing and customer care solutions, was the most visible vendor to use that tactic, with a fleet of spandex-skirted dancing women.