Europe UK : According to a recent Dell'Oro report the average selling prices for UMTS wireless equipment is expected to fall to less than 30% of its GSM equivalent within the next 3 years - yet UMTS equipment is vastly more complex than GSM.

This crushing pressure on prices and margins is coming at a time when the industry has barely begun to pay back the investment made in new 3G Wireless infrastructure products. The industry has to restructure to reduce costs - and it is responding with initiatives to "open up" the architecture of the Basestations, outsourcing development costs to specialised suppliers and cutting production costs through commoditised components and subsystems.

But there are two different initiatives, OBSAI and CPRI, led by different groups of Wireless Infrastructure companies. Which will win out? Or are both of limited relevance as powerful technologies - and suppliers - crossing over from other industries bring lower costs through much greater economies of scale? Will highly integrated silicon solutions, new backhaul technologies and powerful emerging suppliers make microcell approaches the fast-track to new low-cost systems? And will lower system prices mean greater volumes and a return to growth for the industry?

The "Commodity Basestation" conference will explore the real issues facing the Wireless Infrastructure industry through sessions covering the following issues:

-- The economic drivers for industry change

-- Updates on the emerging basestation architecture standards and
how they can deliver the necessary business improvements

-- Comparison of Wireless Infrastructure with other industries
that have already become commoditised - what is common, what
is different and what the future Wireless Infrastructure
industry might look like

-- Perspectives from Operators and Network Equipment suppliers on
the business and technical priorities to move the industry
forward

-- How new technologies, increasingly-sophisticated subsystem
suppliers and integrated silicon solutions could reshape the
industry landscape

Companies speaking at the conference include Credit Suisse First Boston, Hutchinson, Nokia, Lucent, Motorola, OBSAI, Intel, Andrew, Powerwave, PA Consulting, picoChip, Xilinx and Analog Devices.

A one-day workshop session on April 27th will provide an overview of the proposed standards and the technical issues affecting basestation evolution.

The delegate cost for attending the conference is GBP1195 + VAT (GBP995 +VAT if registered before March 1st)