Hutchison 3G: rushing to market

While H3G seems to be the best-placed new entrant 3G mobile operators in Europe, it's hardly in an enviable position. H3G plans a limited roll-out this year, but its handsets will not switch properly between 2G and 3G networks. Given consumer antipathy towards new mobile technologies that don't work, H3G might be best advised to delay its launch.

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Hutchison 3G: the strongest content just might be enough

H3G is building a strong stable of mContent, from Premiership football to Kiss FM. It needs to. Making money in the UK market will be touch and go even with the best content, many of the people who created the Orange brand, and a first-mover advantage in 3G. If its early launch plans run into trouble, H3G could still hit serious problems.

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Hutchison: bringing in the bucks for Italian 3G

Some people clearly haven't lost faith in 3G. All the vendors' money, and a third of the banks', has been lent without guarantees from H3G's parent Hutchison Whampoa. If the venture folds, they will not get it back. It's still not certain that new entrant 3G operators will make money, but Hutchison's ability to gain funding is reassuring news for others in its position.

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Information sharing and the DPA

As information sharing moves higher up the government agenda for improving and modernizing public services in the UK, confusion over sharing personal data abounds within the sector. There is a need for a balanced approach to sharing personal information, but it must be done for good reason and while maintaining the principles of data protection.

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Joint In2Pay solution is attractive but consumer reaction remains unclear

ViVOtech and DeviceFidelity have partnered to bring a full range of applications for mobile commerce to smartphones. For the payments industry, this could be a big step forward in building momentum behind all kinds of contactless applications. However, only the success of the recently announced trials and customer experience will determine the feasibility of further developments in this area.

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KPN Mobile: the second coming isn't pre-paid

While i-mode is being hailed as the 'second coming' for European mobile data services, various obstacles may deter its uptake. In particular, KPN is not rolling out a pay-as-you-go service - instead, it requires a subscription. This is likely to deter young users, whose viral marketing has been one of the factors driving the service's Japanese success.

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LANs: financial services spend to see slow growth

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Logica/CMG: not messaging but drowning

Although merging is a good move for Logica and CMG, its only effect will be to cut costs; LogicaCMG will struggle in MMS just as much as its predecessors did. It seems strange that two established IT firms have invested so much in building mobile infrastructure businesses that - even before MMS launched - seemed to have limited long term potential.

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Logica: sending out an SMS SOS

The unit has been extremely successful over the last couple of years, driven by the boom in SMS. However, SMS' growth is slowing and the major network equipment players are moving into Logica's space. On the plus side, the company has learned from the problems in the rest of the tech industry and is already implementing cost-cutting measures.

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M-payment cooperation in the Netherlands is important but retailers will need to be convinced

Some of the world's largest banks and mobile network operators are working together for a national roll-out of m-commerce in the Netherlands, anticipated to commence in 2012. While cooperation at this level is important to the future widespread adoption of the technology, retailers as well as consumers will need to be convinced of the benefits.

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