Deloitte’s 2010 predictions start with mobile: the continued rise of smartphones and the move to mobile VOIP. Increased mobile data usage may strain the capacity of existing networks but Deloitte thinks that use of better technologies will avoid congestion. However it also foresees a change from “all you can eat” to metered mobile data plans in North America. The report also predicts a more relaxed approach to reliability and further steps to reduce carbon footprints.
Deloitte’s global telecommunications predictions
January 27th, 2010The future of mobile
January 23rd, 2010There was a stellar line-up of mobile CTOs at the “Cellular 25” event last week – all of the UK networks were represented, as well as Ericcson, Motorola, Nokia Siemens, Qualcomm and infrastructure provider Arqiva. Some of the presentations are not yet available online, but those already available include John Cunliffe of Ericsson on the importance of mobile in reducing carbon emissions and the prospects for machine to machine (M2M) communications. (Congratulations to Geoff Varrall of RTT for spearheading the event.)
Mobile won’t be able to achieve the exciting future mapped out by these telecom gurus without plenty of its raw material – spectrum. Aegis System’s recently released report on the digital dividend, prepared for the Greek regulator EETT, focuses on one source – re-allocating spectrum formerly used by terrestrial TV transmissions. The report discusses the technical issues involved as well as reviewing progress in Europe and elsewhere.
OECD reports
January 18th, 2010The TelecomStatistics.com scanner has picked up a flurry of OECD reports recently, though some are dated December 2009 or earlier.
The OECD’s biennial Communications Outlook contains, as usual, a wealth of data on telecommunications, Internet and broadcasting in OECD countries, as well as policy discussions. As a data source it is even more valuable as the OECD provides links to electronic versions of the tables and graphs.
In “Indicators of broadband coverage” the OECD provides data on national coverage of broadband access technologies (xDSL, cable modem, FTTH and 3G) as well as a discussion of the different metrics used to measure coverage.
OECD – Indicators of broadband coverage
The report “International Mobile Roaming Charging in the OECD Area” provides ‘information and analysis on market developments and pricing in international mobile roaming service’. While not making any recommendations for action, it does highlight the large discrepancies in pricing: the cost to a roamer of sending a text message to their home country varies by a factor of five between the cheapest and most expensive networks. The report includes data on roaming traffic (voice and SMS), wholesale changes and revenues for selected countries, as as comparative data on taxation and charging structures.
Mobile Internet
January 6th, 2010Mobile Internet is the theme of this first post of 2010. Telecomstatistics.com has been a mobile data enthusiast for 20 years, from the days when a CDLC modem operating at 2400 bits per second was state of the art.
Qualcomm has recently released a white paper on mobile content “Going Beyond the App Store: How Wireless Operators Will Win by Putting Consumers in Control of Their Mobile Content Experience”. The paper argues that users are looking for personalised content and that operators had better meet this demand rather than overwhelming their customers with apps. The paper includes results from TNS market research and global mobile internet user projections.
Qualcomm – Going Beyond the App Store
The Internet and Mobile Association of India has also recently released a report on mobile Internet: “Mobile Internet in India”. India is the second largest mobile market in the world and mobile Internet may well compensate for poor access to fixed broadband connections. The report mainly surveys the factors behind the transition to mobile Internet but does include some data.
