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Vodafone predicts new wave of wireless innovation
The telecoms industry will enjoy a decade of "sweet" innovation thanks to wireless technology, Vodafone's Arun Sarin said.
The telecoms industry will enjoy a decade of "sweet" innovation thanks to wireless technology, the head of British operator Vodafone said Tuesday, pledging to launch a full third generation (3G) mobile phone service by next October.
His counterpart at US hi-tech giant Cisco Systems, John Chambers -- who two years ago was downbeat on the telecommunications sector -- agreed that a recovery was underway following the collapse of the Internet bubble in 2000, and encouraged firms to prepare for fresh productivity within four years.
"The Internet hype has subsided," Arun Sarin, chief executive of the world's largest cell phone operator told a forum at a trade fair in Geneva.
"The revolutionary products promised in the year 2000 will indeed be coming to the market. 3G will fundamentally change how customers conduct business and how consumers receive information," he said.
"The wireless industry is on the verge of another decade of sweet innovation."
In 1991, total global revenue from telecommunications came to $350 billion -- 95 per cent from fixed-line operations, five per cent from mobiles.
Ten years on, the industry was worth $850 billion and revenue from mobile phones had grown to 40 per cent, according to Sarin.
"We believe the gap will continue to narrow with a bit of encouragement from us because people want to be mobile," he said, during a round table discussion at Telecom 2003.
Vodafone spends $3.3 billion a year on establishing a 3G mobile phone service -- with high-speed Internet access and top quality picture functions -- which Sarin believes will lead the industry forward.
"We are deploying 3G very aggressively. We believe 3G will be a catalyst for deploying many new products and services," he explained.
"We are fully committed to making 3G live up to its promises ... I believe when we bring out 3G handsets in large volumes ... in September-October we will be in a fantastic position to drive demand."
For his part, Chambers from Cisco Systems said, "I am now optimistic on the industry because of what it means for productivity.
"I see consistent opportunities in front of us to change productivity. Four years from now I see tremendous progress in voice communication."
