Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Sonim walkie-talkies into GSM.html

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2002 05:22:38 -0500

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Wednesday October 30, 2002

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Sonim walkie-talkies into GSM

Recruits ex-Intel, ICL names

By
Mike Magee:
Tuesday 29 October 2002, 16:13

LET'S FACE IT, some mobile network operators would probably commit murder to get their hands on any new killer application which boosts ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) to pay for their 3G licences.

So Sonim's timing couldn't possibly be better. The company's Push-to-Talk software takes advantage of existing mobile data links to provide a 'Walkie-Talkie' alike facility over standard network technologies like GSM/GPRS, 3G and Wi-Fi.

Better still a Push-to-Talk facility is exactly the USP [Unique Selling Point] which has made Nextel in the USA the envy of rival operators. Nextel has increased its ARPU while simultaneously reducing customer 'churn' (swapping from one network operator to another).

In Europe the direct equivalent of Nextel would be a network built on TETRA like Dolphin which only recently emerged from administration so there's little direct competition.

What Sonim's software does is enable a GSM/GPRS handset user to select a user from their addressbook, press a button and say, "This is Ground control to Major Tom. Come in, Major Tom." If Major Tom has a live GPRS connection, he can respond, "This is Major Tom to Ground Control. etc etc."

The point here is that although a 'real time' conversation is taking place, it is a data rather than voice connection. And boosting revenues from data services is currently flavour of the month. Sonim's business model is to give the client software away for free and earn its revenues from server sales.

Consequently Sonim has just done a deal with Germany's Infineon, so that its extremely thin client will now feature in handset chipsets from Infineon. In turn those chipsets will show up in handsets from the likes of Siemens. The Inquirer has discovered that British based Sendo will almost certainly be first to market with handsets featuring a built-in Sonim client, although an o2 xDA user can load the necessary software today.

Most intriguing is the industry players who've joined CEO John Burns at Sonim. The list includes Scarsbrook from TI, John McNaulty from Intel and, most impressively, Dr Rob Wilmott (ex-ICL). Âµ

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