Gajda noted that the mobile communications industry is extremely bright especially on this side of the world, saying that Asia is both a high growth area that is full of opportunities, as well as a prime catalyst. He also pointed out the success of GSM adoption worldwide, saying that there are now more than 2.65 GSM subscribers’ and a thousand new subscribers are being added to this base every minute. “3GSM is no longer a vision, but a reality,” he stressed.

At the session, he went through some of the major trends in the mobile space especially:
·          The leapfrogging happening especially in the emerging and developing world;
·          The bridging of the digital divide;
·          More value added services.

Special mention was made of High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) which Gajda noted is a key development in the industry which will finally deliver the promise of broadband. He added that we will soon see the commercial roll-out of the latest version of HSPA by 2008 and this will revolutionize the whole mobile industry.

He also touched on three hot applications of the mobile world – music, gaming and cinema. Music he said is already well developed in the mobile space. With regards to gaming, there were a few initial hick-ups, but this space is picking up he said. However, it’s the unique characteristics of cinema that makes it stand out and if delivered well, Gadja said, the online community better start getting worried.

·          Instant messaging
According to Gajda, the GSMA has 2.65 billion messaging clients and aims to add Instant Messaging (IM) to SMS. “Interoperable IM services in an aim and it will be a powerful tool as there are a lot of capabilities of IM that SMS cannot satisfy. IM sets up a presence together with dialogue in almost real time. SMS will definitely not fade away; IM will just build on it.” He added that IM services will be launched by February 2007.”

GSMA Initiatives – Past, Present & Future
·          Emerging Market Initiative
Gajda took us through some of the key programs of the GSMA, touching firstly on the success of GSMA’s Emerging Market Initiative (EMH) which was launched in February 2005, noting that it has lowered the floor, seen 10s of millions of take-up and especially important, reduced the barriers of mobility. “GSMA will carry on driving this program to spur the penetration of the mobile industry especially in the developing and emerging markets,” Gajda emphasized.

Motorola has been the Emerging Market Handset vendor since June 2005 and this has been endorsed till the end of this year. The handset manufacturer has introduced phones for this scheme attractively priced between US$30 to US$40.

Any GSM operator in an emerging market can participate in the program and EMH handsets are currently available in more than 50 countries. As a result, mobile telecommunications services have been made available to many more millions of people and a new market segment has been formed for the mobile industry.

However, the GSMA estimates that there are more than one billion people worldwide who still won’t be able to afford a mobile phone for the foreseeable future. To help give these people access to telecommunications, the GSMA is funding projects designed to stimulate the rollout of ‘shared access’ mobile solutions across the developing world.

One such scheme uses specialized software from South African company Sharedphone, which enables ultra-low cost handsets from Motorola to work like a mobile ‘payphone’. Local entrepreneurs can sell airtime on these phones to people wishing to make a call or send a text message. This innovative approach allows an entrepreneur to set up a payphone business for just the cost of a handset.

The shared access initiative is one of several projects being funded by the GSMA’s Development Fund. Its goal is to give 80% of the world’s population access to mobile communications by 2010 even if they don’t all own a handset. All this is in line with their overall plan to ‘bridge the digital divide’.

·          Development Fund
Built on the success of the EMH program and as part of its wider "Bridging the digital divide" program, the GSMA is also working to tackle the other costs. The GSMA, adds Gajda, is acutely aware that there currently exists between 1-1.5 billion people around the world without affordable access to mobile services. It therefore established the GSMA Development Fund in October 2005 to catalyze the uptake of initiatives that use GSM technology for social, economic and environmental development.

In its first year of operation, the Association identified and delivered pilot projects that are already bringing benefits to local communities, said Gajda. “In the last twelve months the GSMA and its partners have made huge strides in demonstrating the social and economic potential at the ‘bottom of the pyramid,’ and the inherent opportunities available for all members of the mobile value chain.”

He also noted that Motorola has greatly contributed to the Development Fund, which uses mobility to drive and sustain social as well as economic issues.

The Development Fund is supporting several development projects in emerging markets. This is funded by the EMH program under which, for every EMH handset sold, Motorola and the mobile phone operators participating in the program are together contributing 50 cents to the fund.
The concept of ‘Shared Access’ is one of the successful initiatives aimed at providing mobile communications to all, whilst fostering a business practice that is both socially responsible and profitable for all stakeholders.

·          Expatriate Mobile Money Transfer Market
The GSMA will also be looking into the expatriate mobile money transfer market, which Gajda noted is “huge” in this region. He noted that currently, a lot of the expatriates’ money is “being sucked up by the system” and this definitely has to be addressed. The 3GSMA will be pushing a mobile remittance eco-system to help redress the current situation and ensure a fair-playing field for everyone involved – the users, operators and mobile and application manufacturers/developers and content owners. Pilot programs supporting this vision will soon be initiated in the region.

Gajda stressed that GSM has never been about the technology – its strength is based on its eco-system, which he noted is the largest in the world. “The community is extremely important and the success of all our initiatives depends on the market power of our community,” he concluded.