MWC 2023. Day three. The cry of European operators and the search for a path to efficiency

Hello.

This year at the exhibition there is an unusually large landing of Russian operators, meetings are underway with

vendors of both hardware and softwaresolutions. In conditions when almost all infrastructure equipment suppliers have officially left Russia and do not do business in our country, such meetings look strange. At the very least, they are surprising. As one of the top managers said, “in all previous years there was no such busy schedule, we do not leave the hotel and meet, meet, meet.” When I asked how successful these meetings were, the answer was short - very successful. In the conditions of the crisis, equipment suppliers themselves figure out how to work with Russian operators, what they can do. Every penny counts for companies.

In the aspect of saving on everything and even on matches, another story is interesting. Such a joke goes around the exhibition along with European operators.

“The top managers of T-Mobile and Vodafone meet, one asks the other:

How many people have you fired today?

— A hundred.

“Hmmm, I’m a thousand.

— Where are you in a hurry? For what? There is still a month until the end of the quarter, you can draw a beautiful wave in the report, today a hundred, tomorrow two hundred, then three hundred, then five hundred, and then down and repeat again.

“Thank you, I didn’t even think about the aesthetics of the process.”

The gallows humor, but to be Europeanoperators have nowhere. They literally walk around with outstretched hands and beg for discounts on infrastructure equipment, they have an extremely negative economy. The old song is repeated about the main thing that needs to be taxed by American IT companies that load operator networks to their fullest, but do not build them. The wretchedness of such logic is obvious, without the services of these companies, such as Google or Microsoft, operators would not have such a need for their services. But life is such that it makes them stand with outstretched hands. For example, Orange CEO Christel Heidemann spoke exactly about this, about “fair play”, when infrastructure costs should be borne by those whose services people use. In my opinion, this is inherently unfair. Imagine that in addition to paying for water, you will also be billed for repairing pipes throughout the city, as you create a load, consume water and wear out the infrastructure. Stupidity? Obviously yes.

Reviews of people at the exhibition coincide in sensations -something like that is in the air, you need to joke more. Formally, everyone came to cheer each other up, but there are simply no solutions that can rectify the situation. A lot of communication, which ends with a summarizing statement: this is not the time to be optimists.

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Imagine that you go into a bar where on the wallsthere are many televisions, each showing its own program - one is playing football, the second shows the news, the third is playing a funny sitcom. Today you can't hear the soundtrack from every TV, but if your headphones and phone support Auracast, a standard that appeared at the end of last year, then you can select the sound from the desired TV, as well as select the soundtrack! A sort of individual streaming, when the stream goes to many devices. Sounds promising and allows you to install large screens in gyms, public places. In a word, wherever there are a lot of people. And your headphones will give you access to sound, while you will not disturb others. The cool thing is that in the end you can even choose an audio track, for example, watch a movie in the language that is closer to you.

Connecting to the desired channel is similar to searching for a Wi-Fi network, select the desired name from the list, and everything starts working.

The standard was developed by the Bluetooth SIG and will begradually spread. In places like airports, you can connect to flight related announcements at a specific gate. In fact, you will hear everything that happens with your flight, and this is a nice little thing. It is not very clear whether it is possible to listen to your own music so that ads are wedged in at that moment.

For large audiences, where the back rows do not always hear the speaker well, it will be possible to amplify the voice in the broadcast, in fact, connect to the stream. Which is also good.

Exhibitions often give out audio guides, theyturn on at a specific point when you approach the exhibits. With Audiocast, you can use your headphones for this purpose. The number of scenarios that you can think of is huge, but what is interesting here is that the familiar and well-known Bluetooth standard continues to grow in possibilities, each of which looks interesting.

Nokia rebranded OZO Audio, systemswhich allows you to turn audio conversations or videos into three-dimensional, you hear your colleagues, as if in real life, someone is closer, someone is further away, you understand which direction to look. The binding also goes to the video, that is, during such a call, the match between the picture and the voice will be maximum. Now Nokia calls the technology Immersive Voice and offers to license it to hardware manufacturers. This is another approach to the projectile, and the technology is not so unique, as a result, it is not worth waiting for its distribution. Competing solutions look no less interesting. And this is the direction in which audio will develop, in particular, in personal headphones. We will gradually create a three-dimensional picture of sound, place the listener in a different environment than today.

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A very remarkable story of times of crisis,when the European operator T-Mobile suddenly decided to release phones under its own brand, calling them T Phone. Look at the picture that depicts one of the models.

The cost of these devices is 199 and 249 euros withoutcontract, within the framework of the contract they are offered from one euro (subscription to services from 12 months). Before us are typical Chinese smartphones, they have 5G support, they appeared in a number of Eastern European countries at the end of 2022, and will go on sale in Germany in March.

Let's look at the specifications:

	T Phone Pro	T phone
Camera	Rear Facing: 50MP Main + 5MP Ultra-wide + 2M Depth + 2MP Macro + LED Flash. Front Facing: 16MP, 2K @ 30fps video	Rear Facing: 50MP Main + 2MP Depth + 2MP Macro + LED Flash. Front Facing: 5MP, 2K @ 30 fps video
Memory	6GB RAM / 128GB ROM / up to 2TB Micro SD Card	4GBRAM/ 64GB ROM/ up to 2TB Micro SD Card
Battery	5000 mAh with USB C + 15W fast charging + wireless charging	4500 mAh with USB C + 15W fast charging
5G	YES	YES
chipset	MediaTek Dimensity 700 / Octa Core - 2* 2.2GHz + 6*2GHz	MediaTek Dimensity 700 / Octa Core - 2* 2.2GHz + 6*2GHz
Screen	6.82" HD+ w/2.5D Glass	6.52" HD+ w/2.5D Glass
security	face unlock and fingerprint sensor	face unlock and fingerprint sensor
water protection	IP52 / IPX2	IP52 / IPX2
NFC	YES	n/a
Headphones	3.5mm earphone jack	3.5mm earphone jack
operating system	Android 12 + OS Upgrade MR	Android 12 + OS Upgrade MR
Dimensions	173.92mm x 77.8mm x 8.99mm	166.61mm x 76.42mm x 8.76mm
Weight	214g	195g

Nothing special, these devices do not stand out, exceptthe fact that, within the framework of the crisis, operators are again starting to look for efficiency, trying to create “own” solutions. As we understand it, this is an ODM model, where the Chinese factory makes everything on a turnkey basis. But since the products of Uncle Liao's factory will not be in demand, the operator gives his name to the product. And at the same time claims that he created these smartphones in close cooperation with Google. It is as close as any Chinese factory, for example, the mandatory certification process can be called such cooperation. In a word, we have a very intricate description of what is commonplace for the market. I think that in the near future we will see the resumption of production of such operator devices in Europe, and in other countries of the world. A new generation of managers is looking for their own success stories and repeating what we have already experienced in the market in the past.

Smartphones with flexible screens - statistics and forecasts

At the Tecno presentation, CounterPoint analysts spoke about the market for smartphones with flexible screens. I liked the part about the state of the market today and what will happen in the near future.

It is curious that the opinion about the development of the market in our countrymore or less matches. At this congress, smartphones with flexible screens showed everything without exception. They are related by the same approach, as well as rather high prices. For example, with the cost of Tecno Phantom V Fold for Russia there is no understanding, but it will not be low. But for India in pre-orders it will be about $1,000. Excellent price.

The fight for this new market segment is intensifying,Little by little, Samsung's sales will be eroded by newcomers to the segment. And at the same time they go in a single wave, their products are very similar to each other. For example, look at the model Honor Magic Vs, in real life it has a great resemblance to the same Tecno.

More will join the race in the third quarterseveral companies, in fact we will get more than a dozen manufacturers, each of which gives its own reading of the Fold. And this is an interesting story that requires detailed consideration, in the near future I will make a separate article about this.

Small Conclusions

The crisis is felt in everything, it cannot be hiddenattempts to put on a cheerful expression and not notice what is happening around. Even from the stage, maxims about justice are sometimes heard, which hints at the depth of the ongoing crisis. And this is only its first third, we have not even reached the middle. On the one hand, of course, it is fearful that everything can get out of control, on the other hand, there are no prerequisites for this crisis to become irreversible, I prefer to interpret it as a health-improving procedure for the markets. Someone will fall heavily, someone, on the contrary, will grow, we equalize the potential difference. And our country has an advantage, so we continue to work and grow. Looking at MWC from afar, you feel the same thundercloud that has gathered over the telecom. But our industry is a safe haven compared to many other industries.

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