Released on = August 10, 2006, 4:30 am

Press Release Author = Visiongain

Industry = Telecommunications

Press Release Summary = San Francisco, CA and London, UK; 10 August 2006: As the
trend towards outsourcing network operations and content applications gains
momentum, IMS will become one of the key technologies to be hosted by mobile
operators worldwide. Visiongain has found that over 40% of all operators will adopt
some form of Managed Services strategy by 2011, and that the complexity of IMS will
stimulate much of this growth from 2007 onwards. These are some of the findings
from visiongain's latest report, "Managed services and hosting 2006-2011:
Rationalising"Managed services and hosting market to gain further impetus from IMS,"
says visiongain report network and content outsourcing".

Press Release Body =
As operators look for innovative ways to gain competitive advantage and increase
operating profits through lower OpEx and CapEx, the outsourcing of network
operation, application hosting and service delivery is gaining increasing traction.
Visiongain has found that over the coming years operators will further re-evaluate
their value chain to identify their core competencies and use Managed Services for
profitable growth.

Hosting and Managed Services will converge as vendors shape their service strategies
in the coming years, according to visiongain.

"As the wireless industry passes into its maturity phase, it is becoming critical
for operators and vendors to revive the lifecycle stage for future sustainability,"
says visiongain analyst and the report's lead author Prachi Nema.

"Operators want to launch a wider range of data services such as Mobile IM, mobile
TV and push-to-talk over cellular (PoC) to tap into new revenue streams. However,
these applications currently do not have a mass-market appeal and often remain niche
services appealing only to a few customer segments," says Nema.

"As all data services require huge investments from operators, there is high level
of financial risk involved in case the services are not valued and adopted by
subscribers. Our research suggests that a number of mobile operators realise that
outsourcing in such a scenario eliminates their up-front investments and fixed
costs, while also speeding the time-to-market process," concludes Nema.

This report provides a comprehensive step-by-step framework that mobile network
operators need to consider when deciding on and adopting their Managed Services
strategies, including a risk and benefit assessment. In addition, it provides a
detailed analysis of the market, including regional and global forecasts for network
operations outsourcing, applications hosting and services delivery.

Companies mentioned in the report include:

3 Italy, 3 Denmark, 3 Sweden, 3 UK, Absolute Music, Accenture, Adif, Alcatel,
Alltel, Amena, Amena, Aspiro, Auna, BASE, Bcgi, Belgacom, Bharti Tele-Ventures,
Bouygues Telecom, Brasil Telecoms, BT, Capgimini, Carolina West Wireless, caymanone,
Centennial Wireless, Centertel, Chariton Valley Wireless Services, China Mobile,
Cingular, Cisco, ClearMode, Codetoy, Cube80, Diveo, dtms, E-bay, EDS, Emitel, EMT,
End2End, E-Plus, Ericsson, FashionTV, Fastlink, Fido, FT, Gemplus, Genasys, Ghana
Telecoms, Golden State Cellular, GrameenPhone, Harris, HP, Huawie, HungaroTel,
Hutchison Australia, Hutchison Essar, IBM, ICE, in&phone, Indigo Wireless, Invitel,
IXI, Kamera, Lastminute.com, LogicaCMG, Lucent, Lycos, M1, Manx Telecoms, Maxis,
Micrososft, Midwest Wireless, Mixipix, Mobilaris, MobileCom, Mobilkom, Mobily,
Mobinil, Mobistar, Monortel, Motorola, Motricity, MSN, Napster, Nawras, Nokia,
Nortel, NTS , O2, Oi, Olista, Omnitel, Oni, ONI, Optimus, Orange, Orange
Switzerland, Orange UK, Orange France, Orange, Pantel, PCS Wireless, Polkomtel,
Proximus, PT prime, Realnetworks, Reuters, RFI, Rogers Wireless, Rural Cellular
Corp, Saudi Telecoms, casaNet, SBB, Seamobile, SFR, Siemens, Sonaecom, SONOFON,
Sony, BMG, STS GmbH, Surfkitchen, Sun Cellular, SunCom Wireless, Sunrise,
Surfkitchen, Swisscom, Swisscom, Tele2, Telecoms Argentina, Telecoms Colombia,
Telecoms New Zealand Telefónica Móvil (Chile), Telemar, Telemar/Oi, Telford,
Netherlands, Telia Mobile, TeliaSonera, Telstra, TIM, TMN, T-mobile, T-Mobile
International, T-online, Trueposition, T- Systems, TV Cabo, Tyntec, Unisys, Unwired,
Verisign, Verizon Wireless, Virgin Mobile, Vivo, Vodafone, Vodafone Fiji, Vodafone
Netherlands, Vodafone Ireland, Vodafone UK, Warid Telecoms, Warner Music
International, Wataniya Telecoms, Wateen Telecoms, Western Wireless, WestLink


ENDS

Notes for Editors
If you are interested in a more detailed overview of this report, including the
Executive Summary, charts and images, please send an email to
sara.peerun@visiongain.com or phone Sara on +44 (0) 207 336 6100.

About visiongain
Visiongain is one of the fastest growing and most innovative independent media
companies in Europe. Based in London, UK, visiongain produces a host of
business-2-business conferences, newsletters, management reports and e-zines
focusing on the Telecoms, Pharmaceutical and Defence sectors. \'Visiongain has a
global client base, with offices in London and San Francisco.

Visiongain publishes reports produced by its in-house analysts, who are qualified
experts in their field. Visiongain has firmly established itself as the first
port-of-call for the business professional, who needs independent, high quality,
original material to rely and depend on.

For more information on visiongain, please visit the website:
www.visiongainintelligence.com



Web Site = http://www.visiongain.com

Contact Details = Visiongain
4th Floor
BSG House
226-236 Tooting High St
London EC1V 2QY

Tel: +44 (0)20 7336 6100
Fax: +44 (0)20 7549 9932

Contact Sara Peerun: sara.peerun@visiongain.com