The history of mobile broadband: part 3 – the bubble bursts

Expectations of the impact of mobile broadband triggered a scramble for 3G spectrum in Europe in the early 2000s. Bidding wars followed as operators paid huge sums to secure precious licenses. But it soon emerged that the technology wasn’t able to deliver on the hype. In the third film in our history of mobile broadband series, senior ICT industry figures look back on the path to the crash and the shoots of recovery though HSPA.

Participants give their views on why they think the crash happened, how it impacted on various players in the industry and how spectrum allocation differed in Europe and Japan.

They also reflect on 3G video calling, the early differentiator from 2G services. But that too had its problems, requiring the reintroduction of a 100-year-old business model of selling phones in pairs. The service never took off.

The first real indications of 3G technology delivering on its potential came later, with the move to HSPA.

Film contributors are: Ola Ahlvarsson, Chief Executive Officer, Keynote Media; Richard Windsor, Global Technology Specialist, Nomura Bank; Jan Uddenfeldt, Chief Technology Officer, Sony Ericsson; Hideyuki Tsukada, Senior VP, Technology Unit, Softbank; Håkan Eriksson, Chief Technology Officer, Ericsson; Mike Wright, Executive Director, Networks and Access Technologies, Telstra; Håkan Djuphammar, Head of System Architecture, Ericsson; Jayesh Easwaramony, VP ICT Practice, Frost & Sullivan; and Bengt Nordström CEO, Northstream.