January 31st, 2011
Three of Deloitte’s four predictions this year relate to mobile data and the technologies that are competing to service all of the smartphones, tablets and netbooks that are roaming in the wild. Deloitte predicts that many carriers will delay rolling out 4G networks by making their existing 3G networks work harder e.g. by using 3.5G (HSPA+). Secondly public WiFi networks will carry a larger proportion of traffic, particularly mobile video. Thirdly, Deloitte predicts that retailers will begin to offer free WiFi to customers, both to entice customers to linger and to provide product and stock information. Finally, despite improvements to the speed, cost and availability of video calling, Deloitte predicts that it will remain a niche service.
Deloitte Technology, Media and Telecommunications predictions for 2011
Posted in Broadband, Forecasts, Mobile, Tony Hay, Uncategorized | No Comments »
September 3rd, 2010
While BCG’s new report highlights the diversity of Internet usage in the five countries, two key differences between the BRICI countries and more developed economies are the lower levels of home Internet access and home PC ownership. There are two principal responses: mobile broadband usage and Internet cafes. Thus BCG reports the BRICI mobile broadband user base tripled in the last three years, and that, for example, more than half of Internet users in rural China go online at Internet cafes.
The Internet’s New Billion
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
August 25th, 2010
BCG’s short note identifies eight trends that it claims are shaping the telecom industry, as well as competitive threats from companies as diverse as Best Buy, Google and Macquarie Infrastructure Group. It goes on to outline several strategic options to meet these challenges.
The Future of Telecommunications: As Wireless Earnings Wane, Carriers Confront Hard Choices
Posted in Fixed, Tony Hay, Uncategorized | No Comments »
August 19th, 2010
The FCC’s Omnibus Broadband Inititiative (OBI) has just published a interesting paper on broadband usage and performance. It analyses the differences between advertised and actual speeds, noting that often the perceived discrepancies are due to network congestion rather than physical limitations of the customers’ connections. The paper also includes data on consumer usage of broadband. While it is not surprising that average data usage increases roughly in proportion to access speed, the difference between the mean monthly usage (9.2GB) and the median usage (1.7GB) is less obvious. Consumption of broadband is highly skewed: some users use over 1000GB per month with 1% of users responsible for 25% of total usage.
BROADBAND PERFORMANCE. An analysis of residential consumer usage of broadband and the performance of fixed broadband connections
Posted in Broadband, Tony Hay, Uncategorized | No Comments »
March 19th, 2010
Booz & Co’s new perspective “Winning in MENA’s New Media Scene” analyses how the global new media trends – digital TV and smartphones replacing print media and analogue broadcasting – are taking hold in the region. It notes global and regional trends and forecasts growth in usage, revenues, user segments and revenue split. It identifies the need for strategic partnerships to exploit the new media value chain.
Booz – New media in the Middle East and North Africa
Tags: MENA, Middle East, New media
Posted in Tony Hay, Uncategorized | No Comments »
March 16th, 2010
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation has reviewed the past quarter century of the Internet economy in its latest report: “The Internet Economy 25 Years After .com”. From the first “.com” registration in March 1985 through the Dotcom bubble to the diverse Internet economy of today the report reviews developments worldwide, discusses dotcom business models, estimates the economic benefits and projects future trends.
ITIF – 25 years of the Internet economy
Tags: Internet
Posted in Tony Hay, Uncategorized | No Comments »
January 18th, 2010
The 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.
OECD Communications Outlook
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.
International Mobile Roaming Charging in the OECD Area
Tags: Broadband, Internet, Mobile, roaming
Posted in Tony Hay, Uncategorized | No Comments »
