GSMA mark 'defensive move against WiMax branding'

The new GSMA-led initiative by 16 companies may be unnecessary and seems to be a "defensive move" against WiMax, according to a senior analyst at Ovum.

Steven Hartley expressed doubt about the $1 billion (£565 million) marketing campaign which will see a mark placed on devices that are mobile broadband-ready, specifically to push high-speed packet access (HSPA) technology.

In a statement, Mr Hartley said the initiative was "essentially an awareness campaign to help drive take-up and use of mobile broadband on laptops and other non-handset-type devices".

"Yet, mobile-broadband uptake is already growing rapidly without it.

"It could be argued that any promotion is better than nothing, but it looks a lot like the initiative is designed as a defensive move against WiMax branding."

He also believed that migration to laptops containing mobile broadband technology would be slow because the replacement cycle of the devices is longer than for mobile phones.

Another advantage of USB modems, which is the current preferred choice for mobile broadband access, is that the can be pooled for business use, unlike a laptop, he added.