Term

paper of
Topic: - Oligopoly-A study
Econom
of various mobile phone
ics
service providers

Submitted to: - Submitted by:-

Lect. Mr. Sayed Tabrez Rayees Ahmad.

Hassan A-05
11
S1007
 Introduction
A mobile phone (also called mobile, cellular phone, cell phone or hand phone) is an electronic device
used for full duplex two-way radio telecommunications over a cellular network of base stations known
as cell sites. Mobile phones differ from cordless telephones, which only offer telephone service within
limited range through a single base station attached to a fixed land line, for example within a home or an
office.

A mobile phone allows its user to make and receive telephone calls to and from the public telephone
network which includes other mobiles and fixed line phones across the world. It does this by connecting
to a cellular network owned by a mobile network operator. A key feature of the cellular network is that
it enables seamless telephone calls even when the user is moving around wide areas via a process
known as handoff or handover.

In addition to being a telephone, modern mobile phones also support many additional services, and
accessories, such as SMS (or text) messages, email, Internet access, gaming, Bluetooth, infrared, camera,
MMS messaging, MP3 player, radio and GPS. Low-end mobile phones are often referred to as feature
phones, whereas high-end mobile phones that offer more advanced computing ability are referred to as
smartphones.

The first handheld cellular phone was demonstrated by Martin Cooper of Motorola in 1973, using a
handset weighing in at two kilos. In the year 1990, 12.4 million people worldwide had cellular
subscriptions. By the end of 2009, only 20 years later, the number of mobile cellular subscriptions
worldwide reached approximately 4.6 billion, 370 times the 1990 number, penetrating the developing
economies and reaching the bottom of the economic pyramid.

An evolution of mobile phones Radiophones have a long and varied history going back to Reginald
Fessenden's invention and shore-to-ship demonstration of radio telephony, through the Second World
War with military use of radio telephony links and civil services in the 1950s, while hand-held mobile
radio devices have been available since 1973.

The first mobile telephone call made from a car occurred in St. Louis, Missouri, USA on June 17, 1946,
but the system was impractical from what is considered a portable handset today. The equipment
weighed 80 lbs, and the AT&T service, basically a massive party line, cost $30 USD per month plus 30 to
40 cents per local call.
In 1960, the world’s first partly automatic car phone system, Mobile System A (MTA), was launched in
Sweden. MTA phones were composed of vacuum tubes and relays, and had a weight of 40 kg. In 1962, a
more modern version called Mobile System B (MTB) was launched, which was a push-button telephone,
and which used transistors in order to enhance the telephone’s calling capacity and improve its
operational reliability. In 1971 the MTD version was launched, opening for several different brands of
equipment and gaining commercial success.

Martin Cooper, a Motorola researcher and executive is considered to be the inventor of the first
practical mobile phone for hand-held use in a non-vehicle setting, after a long race against Bell Labs for
the first portable mobile phone. Using a modern, if somewhat heavy portable handset, Cooper made the
first call on a hand-held mobile phone on April 3, 1973 to his rival, Dr. Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs.

The first commercially automated cellular network (the 1G generation) was launched in Japan by NTT in
1979, initially in the metropolitan area of Tokyo. Within five years, the NTT network had been expanded
to cover the whole population of Japan and became the first nation-wide 1G network. In 1981, this was
followed by the simultaneous launch of the Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT) system in Denmark,
Finland, Norway and Sweden.NMT was the first mobile phone network featuring international roaming.
The first 1G network launched in the USA was Chicago based Ameritech in 1983 using the Motorola
DynaTAC mobile phone. Several countries then followed in the early 1980s including the UK, Mexico and
Canada.

The first "modern" network technology on digital 2G (second generation) cellular technology was
launched by Radiolinja (now part of Elisa Group) in 1991 in Finland on the GSM standard which also
marked the introduction of competition in mobile telecoms when Radiolinja challenged incumbent
Telecom Finland (now part of TeliaSonera) who ran a 1G NMT network.

In 2001 the first commercial launch of 3G (Third Generation) was again in Japan by NTT DoCoMo on the
WCDMA standard.

One of the newest 3G technologies to be implemented is High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA).
It is an enhanced 3G (third generation) mobile telephony communications protocol in the High-Speed
Packet Access (HSPA) family, also coined 3.5G, 3G+ or turbo 3G, which allows networks based on
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) to have higher data transfer speeds and capacity.
All mobile phones have a number of features in common, but manufacturers also try to differentiate
their own products by implementing additional functions to make them more attractive to consumers.
This has led to great innovation in mobile phone development over the last twenty years.

The common components found on all phones are:

■a rechargeable battery providing the power source for the phone functions

■an input mechanism and display to allow the user to interact with the phone. The most common input
mechanism is a keypad, but touch screens are also found in some high end smart phones.

■basic mobile phone services to allow users to make calls and send text messages.

■All GSM phones use a SIM card to allow an account to be swapped among devices. Some CDMA
devices also have a similar card called a R-UIM.

■Individual GSM, WCDMA, iDEN and some satellite phone devices are uniquely identified by an
International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number.

Low-end mobile phones are often referred to as feature phones, and offer basic telephony, as well as
functions such as playing music and taking photos, and sometimes simple applications based on generic
managed platforms such as Java ME or BREW. Handsets with more advanced computing ability through
the use of native software applications became known as smart phones. The first smartphone was the
Nokia 9000 Communicator in 1996 which added PDA functionality to the basic mobile phone at the
time. As miniaturization and increased processing power of microchips has enabled ever more features
to be added to phones, the concept of the smartphone has evolved, and what was a high-end
smartphone five years ago, is a standard phone today.

Several phone series have been introduced to address a given market segment, such as the RIM
BlackBerry focusing on enterprise/corporate customer email needs; the Sony Ericsson Walkman series
of music phones and Cyber shot series of camera phones; the Nokia N series of multimedia phones, the
Palm Pre the HTC Dream and the Apple iPhone.

Other features that may be found on mobile phones include GPS navigation, music (MP3) and video
(MP4) playback, RDS radio receiver, alarms, memo recording, personal digital assistant functions, ability
to watch streaming video, video download, video calling, built-in cameras (1.0+ Mpx) and camcorders
(video recording), with autofocus and flash, ringtones, games, PTT, memory card reader (SD), USB (2.0),
dual line support, infrared, Bluetooth (2.0) and Wi-Fi connectivity, instant messaging, Internet e-mail
and browsing and serving as a wireless modem. Nokia and the University of Cambridge demonstrated a
bendable cell phone called the Morph.

Software and applications

A Toshiba TG01 phone with touchscreen featureThe most commonly used data application on mobile
phones is SMS text messaging. The first SMS text message was sent from a computer to a mobile phone
in 1992 in the UK, while the first person-to-person SMS from phone to phone was sent in Finland in
1993.

Other non-SMS data services used on mobile phones include mobile music, downloadable logos and
pictures, gaming, gambling, adult entertainment and advertising. The first downloadable mobile content
was sold to a mobile phone in Finland in 1998, when Radiolinja (now Elisa) introduced the downloadable
ring tone service. In 1999 Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo introduced its mobile internet service,
i-Mode, which today is the world's largest mobile internet service.

The first mobile news service, delivered via SMS, was launched in Finland in 2000. Mobile news services
are expanding with many organizations providing "on-demand" news services by SMS. Some also
provide "instant" news pushed out by SMS.

Mobile payments were first trialled in Finland in 1998 when two Coca-Cola vending machines in Espoo
were enabled to work with SMS payments. Eventually the idea spread and in 1999 the Philippines
launched the first commercial mobile payments systems, on the mobile operators Globe and Smart.
Today mobile payments ranging from mobile banking to mobile credit cards to mobile commerce are
very widely used in Asia and Africa, and in selected European markets.

Power supply

Mobile phone charging service in Uganda Mobile phones generally obtain power from rechargeable
batteries. There are a variety of ways used to charge cell phones, including USB, portable batteries,
mains power (using an AC adapter), cigarette lighters (using an adapter), or a dynamo. In 2009, wireless
charging became a reality, and the first wireless charger was released for consumer use.
Standardization of Micro-USB connector for charging

Starting from 2010, many mobile phone manufacturers have agreed to use the Micro-USB connector for
charging their phones. The mobile phone manufacturers who have agreed to this standard include:

■LG

■Motorola

■Nokia

■Research In Motion

■Samsung

■Sony Ericsson

On 17 February 2009, the GSM Association announced that they had agreed on a standard charger for
mobile phones. The standard connector to be adopted by 17 manufacturers in the Open Mobile
Terminal Platform including Nokia, Motorola and Samsung is to be the micro-USB connector (several
media reports erroneously reported this as the mini-USB). The new chargers will be much more efficient
than existing chargers. Having a standard charger for all phones, means that manufacturers will no
longer have to supply a charger with every new phone.

In addition, on 22 October 2009 the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) announced that it had
embraced micro-USB as the Universal Charger Solution its "energy-efficient one-charger-fits-all new
mobile phone solution", and added: "Based on the Micro-USB interface, UCS chargers will also include a
4-star or higher efficiency rating — up to three times more energy-efficient than an unrated charger."

Charger efficiency

The world's five largest handset makers introduced a new rating system in November 2008 to help
consumers more easily identify the most energy-efficient chargersThe majority of energy lost in a mobile
phone charger is in its no load condition, when the mobile phone is not connected but the charger has
been left plugged in and using power. To combat this in November 2008 the top five mobile phone
manufacturers Nokia, Samsung, LG Electronics[dead link], Sony Ericsson and Motorola set up a star
rating system to rate the efficiency of their chargers in the no-load condition. Starting at zero stars for
>0.5 W and going up to the top five star rating for <0.03 W (30 mW) no load power.

A number of semiconductor companies offering flyback controllers, such as Power Integrations and
CamSemi, now claim that the five star standard can be achieved with use of their product.

Battery

Formerly, the most common form of mobile phone batteries were nickel metal-hydride, as they have a
low size and weight. Lithium ion batteries are sometimes used, as they are lighter and do not have the
voltage depression that nickel metal-hydride batteries do. Many mobile phone manufacturers have now
switched to using lithium-polymer batteries as opposed to the older Lithium-Ion, the main advantages of
this being even lower weight and the possibility to make the battery a shape other than strict cuboid.
[18] Mobile phone manufacturers have been experimenting with alternative power sources, including
solar cells and Coca Cola.

GSM mobile phones require a small microchip called a Subscriber Identity Module or SIM Card, to
function. The SIM card is approximately the size of a small postage stamp and is usually placed
underneath the battery in the rear of the unit. The SIM securely stores the service-subscriber key (IMSI)
used to identify a subscriber on mobile telephony devices (such as mobile phones and computers). The
SIM card allows users to change phones by simply removing the SIM card from one mobile phone and
inserting it into another mobile phone or broadband telephony device.

A SIM card contains its unique serial number, internationally unique number of the mobile user (IMSI),
security authentication and ciphering information, temporary information related to the local network, a
list of the services the user has access to and two passwords (PIN for usual use and PUK for unlocking).

SIM cards are available in three standard sizes. The first is the size of a credit card (85.60 mm × 53.98
mm x 0.76 mm). The newer, most popular miniature version has the same thickness but a length of 25
mm and a width of 15 mm, and has one of its corners truncated (chamfered) to prevent misinsertion.
The newest incarnation known as the 3FF or micro-SIM has dimensions of 15 mm × 12 mm. Most cards
of the two smaller sizes are supplied as a full-sized card with the smaller card held in place by a few
plastic links; it can easily be broken off to be used in a device that uses the smaller SIM.
The first SIM card was made in 1991 by Munich smart card maker Giesecke & Devrient for the Finnish
wireless network operator Radiolinja. Giesecke & Devrient sold the first 300 SIM cards to Elisa (ex.
Radiolinja).

Those cell phones that do not use a SIM Card have the data programmed in to their memory. This data is
accessed by using a special digit sequence to access the "NAM" as in "Name" or number programming
menu. From there, information can be added including: a new number for the phone, new Service
Provider numbers, new emergency numbers, new Authentication Key or A-Key code, and a Preferred
Roaming List or PRL. However, to prevent the phone being accidentally disabled or removed from the
network, the Service Provider typically locks this data with a Master Subsidiary Lock (MSL). The MSL also
locks the device to a particular carrier when it is sold as a loss leader.

The MSL applies to the SIM only so once the contract has been completed the MSL still applies to the
SIM. The phone however, is also initially locked by the manufacturer into the Service Providers MSL. This
lock may be disabled so that the phone can use other Service Providers SIM cards. Most phones
purchased outside the US are unlocked phones because there are numerous Service Providers close to
one another or have overlapping coverage. The cost to unlock a phone varies but is usually very cheap
and is sometimes provided by independent phone vendors.

A similar module called a Removable User Identity Module is present in some CDMA networks, notably
in China, Mobile phones in society

Market share

Mobile phone subscribers per 100 inhabitants 1997–2007

The world's largest individual mobile operator is China Mobile with over 500 million mobile phone
subscribers [citation needed]. The world's largest mobile operator group by subscribers is UK based
Vodafone [citation needed]. There are over 600 mobile operators and carriers in commercial production
worldwide [citation needed]. Over 50 mobile operators have over 10 million subscribers each, and over
150 mobile operators have at least one million subscribers by the end of 2009 (source wireless
intelligence).

LG Sony
Source Date Nokia Samsung RIM Others References
Electronics Ericsson
IDC Q1/2010 36.6% 21.8% 9.2% 3.6% 3.6% 25.3%
Gartner Q1/2010 35.0% 20.6% 8.6% 3.4% 3.1% 29.3%

Other manufacturers include Apple Inc., Audiovox (now UTStarcom), CECT, HTC Corporation, Fujitsu,
Kyocera, Mitsubishi Electric, NEC, Panasonic, Palm, Matsushita, Pantech Wireless Inc., Philips,
Qualcomm Inc., Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM), Sagem, Sanyo, Sharp, Sierra Wireless, SK Teletech, T&A
Alcatel, Huawei, Trium, Toshiba and Vidalco. There are also specialist communication systems related to
(but distinct from) mobile phones.

Growth in BRICI Countries

They take advantage of cheaper price call in same operator and also don't mind of cheap hand phone
from China with price from less than $20 and a lot of them at least twitter enabled even the cheapest
ones. Indonesian cellular users use their phones as PCs do for mobile e-mails, mobile payments and e-
commerce (The highest country users among BRICI - Brazil, Russia, India, China and Indonesia -
countries). Indonesia also the most Facebook and Twitter social networking users. Among China, India
and Indonesia, Indonesia has predicted for the best organic growth in telecommunications revenue. The
study has been done by Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Media

In 1998, one of the first examples of selling media content through the mobile phone was the sale of
ringtones by Radiolinja in Finland. Soon afterwards other media content appeared such as news,
videogames, jokes, horoscopes, TV content and advertising. Most early content for mobile tended to be
copies of legacy media, such as the banner advertisement or the TV news highlight video clip. Recently
unique content for mobile has been emerging, from the ringing tones and ring back tones in music to
"mobisodes," video content that has been produced exclusively for mobile phones.

In 2006 the total value of mobile phone paid media content exceeded internet paid media content and
was worth 31 Billion dollars (source Informa 2007). The value of music on phones was worth 9.3 Billion
dollars in 2007 and gaming was worth over 5 billion dollars in 2007.

The advent of media on the mobile phone has also produced the opportunity to identify and track Alpha
Users or Hubs, the most influential members of any social community. AMF Ventures measured in 2007
the relative accuracy of three mass media, and found that audience measures on mobile were nine
times more accurate than on the internet and 90 times more accurate than on TV.[original research?]

The mobile phone is often called the Fourth Screen (if counting cinema, TV and PC screens as the first
three) or Third Screen (counting only TV and PC screens).[weasel words] It is also called the Seventh of
the Mass Media (with Print, Recordings, Cinema, Radio, TV and Internet the first six).
Usage
Examples

Mobile phones are used for a variety of purposes, including keeping in touch with family members,
conducting business, and having access to a telephone in the event of an emergency. Some people carry
more than one cell phone for different purposes, such as for business and personal use. Multiple SIM
cards may also be used to take advantage of the benefits of different calling plans—a particular plan
might provide cheaper local calls, long-distance calls, international calls, or roaming. A study by
Motorola found that one in ten cell phone subscribers have a second phone that often is kept secret
from other family members. These phones may be used to engage in activities including extramarital
affairs or clandestine business dealings. The mobile phone has also been used in a variety of diverse
contexts in society, for example:

 Organizations that aid victims of domestic violence may offer a cell phone to potential victims
without the abuser's knowledge. These devices are often old phones that are donated and
refurbished to meet the victim's emergency needs.
 Child predators have taken advantage of cell phones to secretly communicate with children
without the knowledge of their parents or teachers.
 The advent of widespread text messaging has resulted in the cell phone novel; the first literary
genre to emerge from the cellular age via text messaging to a website that collects the novels as
a whole. Paul Levinson, in Information on the Move (2004), says "...nowadays, a writer can write
just about as easily, anywhere, as a reader can read" and they are "not only personal but
portable".
 Mobile telephony also facilitates activism and public journalism being explored by Reuters and
Yahoo! and small independent news companies such as Jasmine News in Sri Lanka.

Sharing

Cell phone sharing is a phenomenon that exists around the world. It is prevalent in urban India, as
families and groups of friends often share one or more mobiles among their members. Two types of
sharing which exist are "conspicuous" and "stealthy" sharing. An example of conspicuous sharing takes
place when someone calls the friend of the person they are trying to reach in hopes of being able to talk
to that individual; stealthy sharing occurs when an individual uses another's cell phone without their
knowledge. Phone sharing does not only take place because of its economic benefits, but also often due
to familial customs and traditional gender roles. An example of cell phone sharing occurs in Burkina
Faso. There it is not uncommon for a village to have access to only one cell phone. This cell phone is
typically owned by a person who is not natively from the village, such as a teacher or missionary.
Although the cell phone is the sole property of one individual, it is the expectation that other members
of the village are allowed to use the cell phone to make necessary calls. Although some may consider
this a burden, it can actually be an opportunity to engage in reciprocal obligations. This type of cell
phone sharing is an important for the small villages in Burkina Faso because it allows them to keep up
with the expectations of the globalizing world.

Restrictions on usage
There exists a community that believes mobile phone use represents a long-term health risk, although
this is currently disputed by the World Health Organization, with forthcoming mobile phone usage
recommendations in 2010.Certain countries, including France, have warned against the use of cell
phones especially by minors due to health risk uncertainties. Groups of scientists, such as the US based
group Bio initiative, argue that because mobile phone use is recently introduced technology, long-term
"proof" has been impossible and that use should be restricted, or monitored closely, while the
technology is still new. Use while driving Mobile phone use while driving is common but controversial.
Being distracted while operating a motor vehicle has been shown to increase the risk of accident.
Because of this, many jurisdictions prohibit the use of mobile phones while driving. Egypt, Israel, Japan,
Portugal and Singapore ban both hand-held and hands-free use of a mobile phone whilst many other
countries –including the UK, France, and many US states– ban hand-held phone use only, allowing
hands-free use.

Due to the increasing complexity of mobile phones –often more like mobile computers in their available
uses– it has introduced additional difficulties for law enforcement officials in being able to tell one usage
from another as drivers use their devices. This is more apparent in those countries that ban both hand-
held and hands-free usage, rather those who have banned hand-held use only, as officials cannot easily
tell which function of the mobile phone is being used simply by visually looking at the driver. This can
mean that drivers may be stopped for using their device illegally on a phone call, when in fact they were
not; instead using the device for a legal purpose such as the phones' incorporated controls for car stereo
or satnav usage – either as part of the cars' own device or directly on the mobile phone itself.

Cases like these can often only be proved otherwise by a check of the mobile operator’s phone call
records to see if a call was taking place during the journey concerned. Although in many countries the
law enforcement official may have stopped the driver for a differing offence, for example, for lack of due
care and attention in relation to their driving, Schools.

Some schools limit or restrict the use of mobile phones. Schools set restrictions on the use of mobile
phones because of the use of cell phones for cheating on tests, harassment and bullying, causing threats
to the schools security, distractions to the students and facilitating gossip and other social activity in
school. Many mobile phones are banned in school locker room facilities, public restrooms and swimming
pools due to the built-in cameras that most phones now feature.

A recently published study has reviewed the incidence of mobile phone use while cycling and its effects
on behaviour and safety.

Privacy

Cell phones have numerous privacy issues.

Governments, law enforcement and intelligence services use mobiles to perform surveillance in the UK
and the US. They possess technology to remotely activate the microphones in cell phones in order to
listen to conversations that take place near to the person who holds the phone.

Mobile phones are also commonly used to collect location data. The geographical location of a mobile
phone can be determined easily (whether it is being used or not), using a technique known
multilateration to calculate the differences in time for a signal to travel from the cell phone to each of
several cell towers near the owner of the phone. List of bestselling phones

By model

# Manufacturer Model Release year Units sold

1 Nokia 1100 2003 250 million
2 Nokia 1200 2007 150 million
3 Nokia 1110 2005 150 million
4 Nokia 3200 1999 150 million
5 Nokia 2600/2610/2626/2630 2004 135 million
6 Nokia 1600/1650/1661 2006 130 million
7 Motorola RAZR V3 2004 130 million
8 Nokia 3310 2000 126 million
9 Nokia 1208/1209 2007 100 million
10 Nokia 6010/6020/6030 2004 75 million

By manufacturer

Manufacturer Model Release year Units sold

Nokia 1100 2003 250 million
Motorola RAZR V3 2004 130 million
Samsung S8300 Tocco Ultra 2009 12 million
K310
Sony Ericsson 2006 15 million
W810
LG Chocolate 2009 15 million
Apple iPhone 3GS 2009 35 million
M30/M35i 2000
Siemens 15 million
A50 2002
BenQ-Siemens S68 2006 15 million
RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8100 2006 15 million
Alcatel One Touch Mini 708 2009 5 million
Palm Centro 2007 2 million
HTC Touch 2007 2 million

Future evolution: Broadband Fourth generation (4G)

The recently released 4th generation, also known as Beyond 3G, aims to provide broadband wireless
access with nominal data rates of 100 Mbit/s to fast moving devices, and 1 Gbit/s to stationary devices
defined by the ITU-R[38] 4G systems may be based on the 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution) cellular
standard, offering peak bit rates of 326.4 Mbit/s. It may perhaps also be based on WiMax or Flash-OFDM
wireless metropolitan area network technologies that promise broadband wireless access with speeds
that reaches 233 Mbit/s for mobile users. The radio interface in these systems is based on all-IP packet
switching, MIMO diversity, multi-carrier modulation schemes, Dynamic Channel Assignment (DCA) and
channel-dependent scheduling. A 4G system should be a complete replacement for current network
infrastructure and is expected to be able to provide a comprehensive and secure IP solution where
voice, data, and streamed multimedia can be given to users on a "Anytime, Anywhere" basis, and at
much higher data rates than previous generations. Sprint in the US has claimed its WiMax network to be
"4G network" which most cellular telecoms standardization experts dispute repeatedly around the
world. Sprint's 4G is seen as a marketing gimmick as WiMax itself is part of the 3G air interface. The
officially accepted, ITU ratified standards-based 4G networks are not expected to be commercially
launched until 2011.