Gold Sponsors

Submitted on April 9 2010, 10:20 am by Steve Parker

What: 4th Annual KWA Charity Golf Outing

Where: Herriage Hill Golf Club, 1050 Valley View Drive Shepherdsville, KY 40165

When: July 22nd, 2010. Registration starts at 10:30 AM, shotgun start at 12:00 PM.

The Kentucky Wireless Association invites you to our 4th Annual Charity Golf Outing. This year’s event will be held at the beautiful Heritage Hill Golf Club in Shepherdsville, Kentucky.

Email Steve Parker at steve.parker@gdit.com for more details on registration and sponsorship opportunities.

Heritage Hill Golf Club is a new 18-hole championship golf course located just minutes from Louisville in Shepherdsville, Kentucky.

Former Jack Nicklaus design associate Doug Beach planned the 7,100+ yard golf amenity to test golfers of all abilities while remaining fun to play.

Come out and enjoy its five star service and what is becoming greater Louisville’s premier daily fee golf course.

Submitted on November 2009, 05:36 am by Steve Parker

The 2010 Board of Directors has been chosen. The members representing the Association are:

Steve Parker - General Dynamics

Brandy Bowlin - Crown Castle

Craig Thieman - CommScope

Todd Briggs - Briggs Law Office

Frank Sellinger - FSTAN

Roy Helm - Vortex Wireless

Mark Mosher - Radiant Network

Tara Runion - Crown Castle

Submitted on 30 July 2010, 12:46 pm by Fierce Wireless

Nokia Siemens Networks is talking to several private-equity firms about potentially selling a stake in the company, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, which cited unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

The report said that NSN, a joint venture between Finland's Nokia and Germany's Siemens, is holding preliminary talks on the topic. Silver Lake Partners, TPG, Blackstone, Bain Capital and KKR are among the firms NSN is talking to, and the deal could see a buyout firm owning up to one-third of the equipment vendor. News of the talks comes shorty after NSN agreed to acquire Motorola's (NYSE:MOT) wireless networks business for $1.2 billion--a move that strengthens NSN's position in North America and Japan and which the report said was a bid to enhance NSN's attractiveness to potential partners.

Importantly, no formal proposals have been made and all of the parties could walk away without any deal being reached. The goal of a potential buyout is to get NSN ready for an initial public offering in a few years, the report said, which would allow the parent companies to exit. A Nokia Siemens spokeswoman declined to comment.

The partnership between Nokia and Siemens is set to last until 2013. However, a separate recent Journal report painted a picture of a strained relationship between Nokia and Siemens over the joint venture. That report said that both Nokia and Siemens have recently entertained the idea of exiting the venture.

Despite the recent high-profile Motorola win, as well as a deal with Harbinger Capital partners to provide and manage the private-equity firm's LightSquared wholesale LTE network, things have not been smooth of late for NSN. The company posted a $2.08 billion operating loss in 2009, and Nokia said in its second-quarter earnings statement that NSN will maintain its market share in 2010 rather than grow faster than the market in 2010.

For more:
- see this WSJ article (sub. req.)

Submitted on 30 July 2010, 11:43 am by Fierce Wireless

The second-quarter numbers for the global handset market are in, and it's time to start parsing the information. Research firms Strategy Analytics and IDC released separate, detailed looks at market share, shipment and growth information for the world's Tier 1 cell phone makers and smartphone vendors.

Top five global mobile phone vendors' market share, second quarter 2010:

Source: Strategy Analytics

Top five global mobile phone vendors' market share growth, first quarter 2009 to second quarter 2010:

Source: Strategy Analytics

The numbers:

Global Handset Shipments (Millions of Units)	2008	Q1'09	Q2'09	Q3'09	Q4'09	2009	Q1'10	Q2 '10
Nokia	468.4	93.2	103.2	108.5	126.9	431.8	107.8	111.1
Samsung	196.6	45.8	52.3	60.2	68.8	227.1	64.3	63.8
LG	100.8	22.6	29.8	31.6	33.9	117.9	27.1	30.6
RIM	23.5	7.3	8.0	8.5	10.7	34.5	10.6	11.2
Sony Ericsson	96.6	14.5	13.8	14.1	14.6	57.0	10.5	11.0
Others	292.4	61.1	66.0	67.7	82.4	277.2	71.1	79.8
Total	1178.3	244.5	273.1	290.6	337.3	1145.5	291.4	307.5

Global Handset Vendor Marketshare %	2008	Q1'09	Q2'09	Q3'09	Q4'09	2009	Q1'10	Q2 '10
Nokia	39.8%	38.1%	37.8%	37.3%	37.6%	37.7%	37.0%	36.1%
Samsung	16.7%	18.7%	19.1%	20.7%	20.4%	19.8%	22.1%	20.7%
LG	8.6%	9.2%	10.9%	10.9%	10.1%	10.3%	9.3%	10.0%
RIM	2.0%	3.0%	2.9%	2.9%	3.2%	3.0%	3.6%	3.6%
Sony Ericsson	8.2%	5.9%	5.1%	4.9%	4.3%	5.0%	3.6%	3.6%
Others	24.8%	25.0%	24.2%	23.3%	24.4%	24.2%	24.4%	26.0%
Total	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%

Growth Year-over-Year %	2008	Q1'09	Q2'09	Q3'09	Q4'09	2009	Q1'10	Q2 '10
Nokia	7.2%	-19.3%	-15.4%	-7.9%	12.2%	-7.8%	15.7%	7.7%
Samsung	22.0%	-1.1%	14.4%	16.2%	30.3%	15.5%	40.4%	22.0%
LG	25.2%	-7.4%	7.6%	37.4%	31.9%	17.0%	19.9%	2.7%
RIM	92.6%	69.8%	42.9%	41.7%	40.8%	46.8%	45.2%	40.0%
Sony Ericsson	-6.6%	-35.0%	-43.4%	-45.1%	-39.7%	-41.0%	-27.6%	-20.3%
Others	-10.9%	-13.5%	-8.2%	-14.8%	17.0%	-5.2%	16.4%	20.9%
Total	5.0%	-13.7%	-8.1%	-4.3%	14.8%	-2.8%	19.2%	12.6%

Source: Strategy Analytics

Top three global smartphone vendors' market share, second quarter 2010:

Source: Strategy Analytics

Handset market analysis:

IDC said the worldwide mobile phone market continued to show signs of improvement during the second quarter of 2010, driven primarily by smartphone vendors and companies outside the top five leaders worldwide. According to IDC, mobile phone vendors shipped a total of 317.5 million units during the second quarter, 14.5 percent from the 277.2 million units shipped during the second quarter of 2009. According to Strategy Analytics, lower-end 2G models in emerging markets and high-end 3G touchscreen phones in mature regions drove growth. Among the top-five brands, RIM and Samsung outgrew their major rivals, due to robust demand for Qwerty phones and touchphones. The firm said Apple held steady with 3 percent market share.

Vendor analysis:
        Nokia
--IDC said Nokia faces challenges in the high-end of the smartphone market, against Chinese vendors within emerging markets, and from falling behind other vendors in the Americas. Still, the company should not be taken lightly with its strong brand, manufacturing and distribution.
--Strategy Analytics said the much-awaited flagship N8 smartphone, with an upgraded Symbian^3 user-experience, should arrive well in time for the European holiday season and help to stabilize profit margins during the second half of the year. However, the firm cautioned that a lack of retail presence and media coverage in the high-value U.S. 3G market mean the N8 may not meet its full global sales potential.
      Samsung
--IDC said Samsung experienced strong year-on-year growth via progress in the United States and emerging markets and success in its touchscreen devices. At the same time, the combination of soft demand in Europe, late launches of key smartphone models, and product mix adjustments resulted in revenue and profit decline for the quarter.
--Strategy Analytics said Samsung's multi-tier range of candy bars, sliders and touchphones are still selling relatively well. The Galaxy S smartphone, with a 1 GHz processor and 4-inch screen, is the vendor's next shot at the premium market and the firm said it has gotten off to a relatively good start.
      LG
--IDC said the launch of two Android-powered smartphones--the Ally and the Optimus Q--helped bolster LG's smartphone portfolio, while the continued success of the youth-oriented phones and messaging devices helped drive continued success in the traditional mobile phone market. But the firm said LG suffered financially from declines from an aging portfolio and expenses incurred from R&D and marketing.
--Strategy Analytics said it has been known for at least two years that LG's smartphone portfolio is weak, and that under-performance in a high-profit sub-segment has finally caught up with it. The firm said LG will need to deliver at least one flagship premium 3G smartphone with above-average usability and an attractive portfolio of fun media services.
    RIM
--IDC said RIM scored major gains due to its singular focus on smartphones.
--Strategy Analytics said RIM was the fastest growing handset vendor among the big five global players. However, the firm said there are some regional challenges facing the Canadian brand. Strategy Analytics said it believes Asia, Europe, Africa and South America were relatively healthy during the quarter, but RIM's North American position is still coming under pressure from Apple, Android and others. Much rides on RIM's forthcoming OS 6 upgrade.
      Sony Ericsson
--IDC said Sony Ericsson continued to make positive strides as the company realigned its focus, and that emphasis on its growing smartphone platform was key to its success for the quarter.
--Strategy Analytics said that, despite an improving hardware lineup, Sony Ericsson's services strategy remains a little confusing and its portfolio of multiple sub-brands, such as PlayNow Arena, needs attention.

Annual global handset shipment growth by vendor in the second quarter of 2010:

Source: Strategy Analytics

For more:
- see this Strategy Analytics release
- see this IDC release
- see these handset numbers from the first quarter of 2010
- see these handset numbers from the fourth quarter 2009
- see these handset numbers from the third quarter 2009
- see these handset numbers from the second quarter 2009
- see the wireless industry's performance so far in the second quarter

Submitted on 30 July 2010, 2:25 pm by Wireless Week

Motorola Inc., the maker of cell phones and other telecommunications equipment, spent $880,000 in the first quarter to lobby the federal government on laws that sought to discourage electronics manufacturers from using minerals from rebel-held mines in the Congo, according to a disclosure...

Submitted on 30 July 2010, 2:25 pm by Wireless Week

Communication-equipment maker Harris Corp. said Friday it completed its $525 million acquisition of satellite provider CapRock Communications.The deal was first announced in May. Harris said the deal expands its international presence and customer base.Private equity firm ABRY Partners was the...