THE COMPANY
HMS Wireless Consulting is a limited liability company incorporated in Vermont and based in Washington, D.C. and San Jose, CA. The company provides services internationally, principally in emerging markets. It has relationships with experienced engineers in many countries that enable it to bring both global and local expertise to bear on providing wireless telecommunications and broadband solutions.
BUSINESS PURPOSE
HMSW works with network operators and service providers, equipment vendors, financial institutions, development agencies, and local and regional authorities to provide low-cost communications services and mobile applications in emerging markets, with a particular focus on the unique opportunities available in underserved rural areas.
UNIQUE BUSINESS STRATEGY
For many companies, particularly in the telecommunications and financial sectors, the next great wave of growth will come from emerging markets, especially from rural regions and low-income communities that have typically been difficult to serve with any hope of financial return on investment. At the same time, governments and development institutions have struggled with how to provide vital services and support to rural populations in the face of non-existent infrastructure. Mobile networks and mobile applications—including mobile banking and transactions—as well as broadband wireless networks offer a major part of the solution to these issues, as long as they can be provided profitably, sustainably and in a manner that does not preclude seamless evolution to future requirements and capabilities. To overcome the challenges of serving low income population and rural areas as well as adding new services such as mobile banking, however, is likely to require adopting and integrating unfamiliar technology platforms and service modalities.
HMS Wireless Consulting (HMSW) provides a range of practical technology solutions as well as technology-neutral planning and advisory services for achieving low-cost, profitable network coverage and connectivity, especially in rural and low-income markets. HMSW’s partners bring decades of experience in the cellular, mobile payments, data networking, and wireless broadband industries, as well as recognized thought leadership in the use of pro-poor business strategies and digital technologies in pursuing development objectives. The company is positioned to assist telecommunications companies and other service providers in assessing, integrating, and deploying new solutions to reach these objectives. Among other assignments, HMS Wireless Consulting has designed pilot broadband networks for a major Philippine carrier, designed and deployed a WiFi/VOIP pilot for rural coverage for a mobile carrier in Vietnam, assisted a major Mexican telecommunication company in assessing its rural coverage options and business models, designed wireless broadband networks for service providers in Cambodia and Mexico, and conducted research for both the GSMA, the World Resources Institute and for an industry-leading mobile carrier.