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

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2003 21:11:25 -0500

Sonim walkie-talkies into GSM

Recruits ex-Intel, ICL names

By Tony Dennis: 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). µ

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=5967

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