Electronica 2008 - Read our full show coverage from Munich
The evolution of the digital world strikes chord with Mark Twain. There is a trend of worldwide bandwidth growth, including in Europe where there is continued build out to meet this demand. At the same time, mobile operators are looking for new revenue streams that can be created from the existing infrastructure.
An example is the promise of “broadband anytime – everywhere,” which will enable HDTV content over wireless links. Europe is also is the base of two of the top four mobile phone manufacturers with close to 50% of the market share, which is a key to fostering a lead in EDGE technologies.
As Mark Twain once said: “history doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” we are indeed seeing the same paradigms evolve in the mobile industry as mentioned above. This clearly represents a huge opportunity for Europe to grow in the mobile device sector, particularly in 4G.
We are at a crossroads in the demand for bandwidth as consumers continue to seek more content via mobile services such as texting, listening to music or downloading television shows or HD video. The number of telephones in a country is a healthy indicator of an economy that is progressing in developing countries.
Currently, there is tremendous wireless infrastructure growth in emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, China and India where service providers are focused on delivering technologies that will help meet bandwidth demands. Digital technologies are a key enabler that will, at affordable prices, make it possible for consumers in these countries to have access to new technologies in the future.
Michael Droemmer is European market segment manager at Agilent Technologies.