End2End chose Denmark: Boosting the mobile Internet from a Danish powerbase

This UK-founded WAIP needed close placement to its European launch markets, a mature internet market and a world class pool of IT talent – Denmark provided them all

Why Denmark?

"The scale of our investment made the choice of location absolutely crucial, and we put a lot of concentrated effort into getting it right. Denmark offered the best solution to our combination of needs - central placement in regard to our first phase European markets, a mature mobile internet market, a world class pool of IT talent in Aalborg, plus a well served and cost effective hub for data transmission in Copenhagen.”

Jim Reynolds
Chief Executive Officer
End2End

 

End2End
The British-founded Wireless Application Infrastructure Provider (WAIP) End2End has chosen Denmark as the central location for its ambitious plans to supply managed and hosted end-to-end solutions for mobile e-services. End2End was established in Denmark in November 2000 with operations and development placed in Aalborg and its HQ located in Copenhagen. End2End has already signed agreements with the Danish mobile operator Sonofon and One2One in the UK, and currently has a network of 3 'Points of Presence' in Europe. From its base in Denmark, End2End plans to expand to other European markets. The company currently has a total of 60 employees.

Investing in a wirefree future
End2End is strategically partnered by Hewlett-Packard, Cisco Systems and the venture capital arm of Deutsche Bank, and has received $110 million in funding. HP supplies integration services, while Cisco supplies the access architecture, linking it to the Internet and to End2End’s customers. By supplying complete, customised, carrier-grade solutions, End2End enables mobile operators to become competitive in the wirefree e-services market in a matter of weeks, while allowing the customer to concentrate their internal focus and resources on core operator competencies. Current applications include games and entertainment, with more sophisticated applications such as m-commerce, streaming media and intelligent networked applications soon to follow. GPRS and UMTS are the central focus areas for the future, which End2End believes will generate significant growth in the supply and use of wireless data communication.

IT puts Aalborg on the world map
It is no surprise that the new wave of systems and software development initiatives for the mobile internet is expected to come from Aalborg, Denmark's fourth largest city. Aalborg University, through its Institute of Data Technology and Centre for Personal Communication, has pioneered the development of the wireless internet. Aalborg has become an acknowledged centre for mobile telephone design over the last ten years. Know-how and experience in creating mobile user interfaces combined with state-of-the-art technology has generated the ideal qualifications for developing cutting edge mobile internet solutions. Companies such as Ericsson, Nokia and Motorola already conduct R&D in the Aalborg area.

"With an innovation record easily rivalling Sweden's IT powerhouse at Kista, Aalborg is attracting top grade students from around the globe" says Jim Reynolds. "This gives End2End a local resource pool of exceptionally skilled systems and software engineers ready to spearhead the next generation of mobile services."

A mature wireless market
Scandinavia's mobile network operators are already well ahead of European competitors in understanding and effectively marketing the mobile internet to their experienced customer base. Denmark is particularly notable for its internet and e-commerce market maturity, and this was another key criterion in End2End's location decision. E-commerce is a concept familiar to many Danes, with Denmark leading Europe regarding Internet penetration, familiarity and use (82% according to EITO October 2001). More than 68% of the population own a mobile telephone, and the already well developed
last updated: 2005.05.04