My Company

I work in the mobile communications industry for one of the UK's mobile network operators - O2. The company was formed when we were spun off from BT in 2001. We were an independent company, that was listed on the Stock Exchange, operating mobile networks in the UK, Ireland, Germany, the Isle of Man and for a while in the Netherlands. The network in the Netherlands was sold off, however, early in the life of O2. In addition, we own Airwave that provides a secure digital communications network for emergency services such as Police, Fire and Ambulance. We also started a successful joint ventures to create Tesco Mobile in the UK and Tchibo Mobilfunk in Germany.

Then in late 2005, the Spanish Telecommunications company Telefónica made a bid for us that was accepted. The deal was concluded in February 2006 and we are now a part of one of the biggest telecommunications companies in the world. We have thrived under Telefónica and as a result took ownership of a fixed network and a mobile network in the Czech Republic and a mobile network in Slovakia. We also now have a fixed network in Germany that is integrated with the mobile business there. For more information about O2, its products and services, click on the link at the side.

My Work

I work in the Standards Team in the Group Technology department which is based in Slough. Most of my job involves participation in international standards groups that specify new features and services on the GSM/GPRS and UMTS digital mobile systems. The GSM/UMTS standard is continuously evolving and there are some exciting new features that are being introduced. Among these are higher speed data transmissions, intelligent phones and more advanced network features that will make your mobile phone an ever more useful tool. Specifically, I currently participate in the SA1 requirements group in 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project); the Services Review Group (SRG) of the GSM Association and a few of the specific GSM Association project groups.

These meetings can take place in many different parts of the world because they involve delegates from many different telecommunications companies. I therefore have to travel a lot for my work more or less anywhere but particularly in Europe, USA and Asia. Fortunately, I like travelling but I seem to spend more time at Heathrow Airport than anywhere else!

Development of Mobile Communications

Since the first GSM mobile communication systems were launched way back in 1991, there has been a lot of development. The GSM system was enhanced to add GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) for data transmission and other features were added also. More recently UMTS, the 3rd Generation system, was standardised and there are now many 3G networks in operation. Work has continued also on 3G to add more enhancements. I have written an article detailing the development of mobile communication systems, you can download this by clicking on the link on the left.