On the mobile security front, Germany's Brokat, Ireland's Baltimore Technologies and Finland's F-Secure are separately working to develop the best way to protect transactions made over mobile phones. They will try to sell that technology to the wireless operators, several of which have joined the ranks of firms like Microsoft and GE at the top of rankings of global corporations with the highest stock market capitalization. The U.K.'s Vodafone AirTouch and Japan's NTT DoCoMo rank fourth and fifth respectively. And the big are getting bigger. Germany's Deutsche Telekom has rounded out its regional positions in Europe and Asia with its planned purchase of VoiceStream, a U.S. wireless operator with national coverage.
Size increasingly matters.
The global wireless market will probably be dominated by four to six major multinational groups within the next few years, and the exorbitant prices operators have shelled out for third-generation wireless licenses in Europe have helped speed up the consolidation. One example is the teaming of NTT DoCoMo with Dutch phone company KPN and Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa to bid for mobile licenses in Europe. But Hutchison, KPN Mobile and NTT DoCoMo may still make a joint bid for third-generation mobile licenses in France and Belgium. Estimates vary widely on how long it will take operators to recoup their investments in the third generation of mobile services. Whatever the total tab, mobile data services will play an important part in paying it off.