 FT-IT and FT Telecoms - Complete forward schedule
Updated: November 2, 2001
Here are synopses for the next few months, and summaries of later issues of the FT-IT Review and FT Telecoms, with an updated list of contributors and correspondents. Please note: this is the only document we release which gives writers' names, where they have been decided.
The FT-IT Review and the FT Telecoms supplements are published on a regular twice-a-month format, appearing on the first and third Wednesday of each month. FT-IT takes up three of every four slots. FT Telecoms will take up the fourth slot (i.e. the third Wednesday of alternate months).
NB: The inclusion of an article in the synopsis does not necessarily guarantee the article will appear in the newspaper, because of occasional space constraints. The associated web sites, www.ft.com/ftit and www.ft.com/fttelecoms, are published on the same day as the newspaper version and carry the full list.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Background information and suggestions for articles or themes that have not yet been assigned to individual writers should be sent, by e-mail only please, to itsurveys@ft.com where they will be considered by Andrew Baxter, FT-IT editor. Please do not use individual e-mail addresses, fax numbers or post.
Once articles have been assigned, please send information directly to the writers concerned, but PLEASE THINK BEFORE YOU SEND - SPAM IS AN IRRITATION. All the writers are on e-mail, please see list of freelance writers at the end. (FT staff writers are all on firstname.surname@ft.com) Information should arrive six weeks ahead of publication.
PICTURES, ILLUSTRATIONS:
Pictures, illustrations and charts can also be sent to itsurveys@ft.com - as JPEGs, PDFs etc.
FT Telecoms, November 21
Main theme: mobile phone manufacturing
1. Overview
These are challenging times for the mobile phone industry. After a decade of surging growth, global sales of handsets fell for the first time in the second quarter of this year, by 8.4 per cent to 89.76m units year on year, as operators reduced handset subsidies and consumers held back from making replacement purchases. But if the current state of the market is a concern for manufacturers, the future looks terrifying - or at least terrifyingly difficult to predict. Manufacturers are having to grapple with the technological issues involved in designing the new handsets for GPRS and 3G systems without knowing how much attention each should receive relatively, with little hard data on how many units the operators will need or when they will want them, and a growing sense that end-users are quite happy with the functionality of their existing phones. On top of all that, those handset operators that are also in the infrastructure business know that 3G may arrive sooner than later only if financially-pressed network operators share equipment, thus reducing equipment sales. Steering a course through all this will be a severe test of manufacturers' product development, design and production strategies. The first hurdle comes in the next few weeks with Christmas. Shipments of GPRS have already been delayed, and are urgently needed by operators and retailers if the holiday season is to provide the hoped-for boost to handset sales. Dan Roberts
2. Financial issues
With mobile phone makers under pressure, two key financial questions remain to be answered. Handset subsidies are being reduced in the UK and some countries have never had them, so will subsidised handsets become a thing of the past? And are mobile manufacturers which provided vendor financing for mobile network infrastructure regretting it? Some in the industry argue that both the handset subsidies and the vendor financing have been necessary to kickstart a new industry and market, but it appears the industry can now ill afford either. Joia Shillingford
3. The big league manufacturers
Nokia, Motorola and Ericsson are commonly viewed as the big three in the mobile phone industry, but in fact Ericsson's 8.3 per cent second quarter market is only marginally ahead of Siemens on 7.9 per cent and Samsung on 6.9 per cent, according to recent Gartner figures. Nokia remains comfortably ahead of Motorola but all these companies have undergone painful surgery in recent months as production forecasts have been revised downwards. After the retrenchment, which are best placed to weather the difficult conditions ahead? FT Stockholm office (i.e. Chris Brown-Humes or Nicholas George)
4. The minor league
Several minor players remain to carve up the roughly 25 per cent of the market not held by the five biggest manufacturers, and most of these smaller manufacturers are regional players. After the buffeting of the past year, the big question now is how many of these companies will throw in the towel or combine to increase their market clout. Richard Handford
5. Japanese manufacturers
The big names in the Japanese mobile-phone manufacturing industry, such as NEC and Matsushita, have benefited from the huge success of NTT DoCoMo's i-mode service, and stand to benefit further if Foma, the operator's pioneering 3G mobile phone service is a success - as new phones will be needed. The equipment industry has been deeply involved in intensive efforts over the past few months to iron out technical problems - within the handsets and in the handset/network interface - ahead of the scheduled launch of commercial services in October 2001. A smooth launch could be very important for the Japanese manufacturers' overseas ambitions, giving them a crucial head-start in 3G. FT Tokyo office (i.e Michiyo Nakamoto or Alexandra Harney)
6. Foma launch - special report
A package of articles on the commercial launch of Foma, NTT DoCoMo's name for its 3G service, with reports from users, a full analysis of the technology problems and how DoCoMo and its suppliers surmounted them, and reflections on the importance of the launch for the development of mobile telephony worldwide. FT Tokyo office.
7. OEMs' manufacturing strategies
The downturn in the mobile phone market has forced many handset manufacturers to review their manufacturing strategies. Some, such as ericsson, are pulling out of manufacturing altogether, concentrating on product development and leaving the actual issues to contract manufacturers. But there are risks involved in this approach when each product range has such a short shelf-life, requiring handset manufacturers to keep tight overall control. There are also fears that the reduction in the industry's manufacturing capacity could further delay shipments of GPRS and 3G handsets. A review of the big decisions of the past year, and a look ahead to future likely developments, including the possibility of further outsourcing to the Far East. Neil McCartney
8. Contract manufacturers and tier one suppliers
A review of the main companies involved, from major names such as contract manufacturers Celestica and Flextronics to suppliers of chips and low value-added parts such as casings. The downturn in the market has an inevitable knock-on effect for these companies, although many are cushioned by having a wide range of customers beyond the telecoms sector. Neil McCartney
9. Joint ventures and co-operation
The growing costs of developing sophisticated mobile phones are spurring the formation of alliances between manufacturers. In August, two Japanese manufacturers, NEC and the Matsushita group, agreed to form a development alliance in advanced mobile handsets, beginning with a 3G phone for the European market, while earlier this year Ericsson tied up with Sony in a joint venture. Are more tie-ups of this kind, whether national or international, likely, and what are their chances of success? Sarah Parkes
10. Design issues
As every teenager knows, mobile phones have become smaller, sleeker and funkier over recent years as manufacturers and operators have realised that design is a key differentiator - indeed superior design is one reason often cited for Nokia's dominant position. But there are fears that the new 3G phones will reverse the trend, because of the need to carry more data, more functionality and a bigger screen. And chipset manufacturers have yet to design a chip that can handle both 2G and 3G radio signals, which will be vital in the early years of 3G when coverage will be patchy. So how can handset designers avoid a return to the brick-like devices of a decade ago? Fiona Harvey
10a. Profile
Radioscape, a leading UK-based develop of software-defined radio products, has, with its Communications Virtual Machine, a system which should allow it to develop designs for 3G phones more quickly than conventional methods. Fiona Harvey
11. New devices
We already have smartphones, clamshells and palm devices, but suppliers have promised many new information devices with new form factors designed to be more convenient and easier to use than an all-in-one "PC in your pocket". RIM's Blackberry for e-mail is one and consumer goods companies are also gearing up. We look at what is coming and compare the two approaches. Rod Newing
12. Camera phones
A consensus seems to be growing that photo-messaging sending pictures over the mobile could be the new "killer-app" or as close to it as we are likely to see (recent surveys showing this is the service most users would want to see developed). At present Japanese mobile manufacturers have the edge in this technology - BT brings a camera phone made by Sharp onto the Christmas market this year. Will this be a weapon for them to take market share from Nokia? Maija Pesola
13. 3G Viewpoint - special guest writer (commissioned)
Telecoms in Africa - special report
14.Overview
Africa is home to one in eight of the world's population but at the beginning of the millennium had only one in 50 of the world's fixed telephone lines, one in 60 of mobile subscribers, and less than one in 100 of the world's internet users. But things are changing: liberalisation is underway in some countries, and in countries from South Africa to the Ivory Coast, mobile uptake has been so rapid that mobile phones now outnumber their fixed-line counterparts. And the continent continues to make good progress in internet development. A special report on the latest developments as revealed at ITU Telecom Africa 2001, due to have been held in Johannesburg from Nov 12-16. Sarah Parkes
Regular features
15. View from the top. Ciena chief executive Gary Smith, interviewed by Fiona Harvey
16. GPRS and 3G update. Neil McCartney
17. News review. Joia Shillingford
Other articles
18. Packet switching explained - Dan Roberts
19. Internet telephony. Emma Charlton
20. B2B telecoms sites. Laurence Neville
To read the rest of these documents you will need Adobe Acrobat which is a free download available by following this link.
Synopsis for December 5 2001 edition, themes for the first half of 2002 and editorial contacts.
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