Showing posts with label fixed mobile convergence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fixed mobile convergence. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Cablevision Systems Corp. Introduces Mobile Portal

If you are looking for some idea of what a cable-centric wireless service might look like, consider what Cablevision Systems Corp. is doing. After putting into place an extensive metro Wi-Fi network, it is launching a  mobile version of its Optimum.net Web portal that's designed for all forms of cellular handsets but tailored for the company's 2.5 million cable modem subscribers.

The new mobile platform, accessible to handset browsers at m.optimum.net, is starting off with features including email, local traffic, weather, movie theater info, and access to Cablevision's digital TV lineup, but a remote DVR scheduler is on the roadmap.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Comcast to Use Smarter Phones to Enhance Wired Experience

Devices increasingly are key as service providers seek to add value to their wired and wireless experiences. "Compelling end user devices are definitely part of the story," says Chris Mairs, MetaSwitch CTO.

So it comes as no surprise that Comcast plans to roll out new cordless phones that add email and other Internet features, as Verizon is doing as well.

http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=174853&site=cdn

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Mobile Broadband Supplemental, But High Risk of Substitution

A huge explosion in mobile broadband use in Europe over the next five years largely will be driven by consumers, and largely will complement, not supplant, wired broadband connections, predict researchers at Analysys Mason.

That said, a separate forecast by Informa Telecoms & Media suggests the potential for broadband substitution will remain high.

Analysys Mason projects148 million mobile broadband connections in Europe by 2014, when they will account for almost half of all broadband connections in the region.

The potential for fixed-line voice substitution also will remain high. About 40 percent of total mobile traffic was generated in the home environment in 2007, says Informa Telecoms & Media.

By 2013 it is expected to reach 58 percent, with about eight percent of total mobile traffic offloaded to fixed broadband. In 2008, the home environment likewise represented more than 43 percent of total mobile data traffic and will climb to 60 percent by 2013.

That's the danger for fixed services providers, particularly in single-person households, households of non-related persons and households where every person in the household above a certain age has a mobile.

Mobile use at home will represent about 40 percent of total mobile usage, while use at work will represent 30 percent of usage, with nine percent of calls initiated while users are moving. About 21 percent of calls will be generated from other public environments.

"In the same way that voice traffic has moved from old fixed line telephony service PSTN to mobile, there is reason to believe that a significant percentage of Internet traffic generation will move away from fixed personal computers to mobile devices including mobile handsets, mobile Internet devices (MIDs) and connected notebooks," says Malik Saadi, Informa principal analyst.

As more casual users adopt mobile broadband, they typically will do so as a complement to tethered broadband, usually opting for prepaid subscriptions rather than monthly contracts, Analysys Mason forecasts. Prepaid subscriptions will account for 59 percent of mobile broadband connections in 2014, up from eight percent in 2008.

New customers will tend to behave differently from early adopters and users who have substituted wireless for wired connections, many observers believe. Most significantly, use will be casual. So, at some point, continued growth of mobile broadband in the U.S. market likewise will require charging mechanisms better suited to casual users, who will not be inclined to add substantial fixed-fee subscriptions when their anticipated usage is relatively light.

58% of Mobile Use In-Home by 2013

About 40 percent of total mobile traffic generated in the home environment  in 2007, says Informa Telecoms & Media. By 2013 it is expected to reach 58 percent, with about eight percent of total mobile traffic offloaded to fixed broadband.

In 2008, the home environment likewise represented more than 43 percent of total mobile data traffic and will climb to 60 percent by 2013.

Mobile voice minutes of use in the home environment represented about 42 percent of total mobile voice traffic by the end of 2008. Mobile voice usage at home will gradually increase to reach 49 percent by 2013.

Mobile use at work will represent 30 percent of usage, with nine percent of calls initiated while users are moving. About 21 percent of calls will be generated from other public environments.

"In the same way that voice traffic has moved from old fixed line telephony service PSTN to mobile, there is reason to believe that a significant percentage of Internet traffic generation will move away from fixed personal computers to mobile devices including mobile handsets, mobile Internet devices (MIDs) and connected notebooks," says Malik Saadi, Informa principal analyst

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Mobile IS Voice


Enterprises and consumers still spend lots of money on voice services delivered over some sort of wired connection, including "plain old telephone service" as well as newer replacement services such as cable-provided "digital voice" (voice over IP) or hosted business phone services.

But wireless is where the action is moving. And while lots of different approaches to integrating wireless and wireline access are being tested and deployed, it's hard to escape the conclusion that wireless increasingly is the dominant way people "do voice," even when some amount of talking shifts to PC-to-PC format.

There will be lots more integration of features and call delivery between wireless and wired modes, to be sure. But there will be an equally large amount of wireless substitution as well, even in the enterprise customer segments.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Telcos More Open to 3rd Party Partners

One difference between 2006 and 2007 was that global telco executives began to shift attitudes about the importance of working with third party application and service providers. Where they might arguably have been more focused in 2006 on cost cutting and other internal measures, 2007 found executives more focused on how to position themselves for new services.

Though there arguably is more recognition that advertising operations will demand partners, there also seems to be more recognition that core communications capabilities can be leveraged as a revenue stream if those features are made available to other application and service providers.

This is a very big and quite important shift in thinking.

Friday, January 4, 2008

Carphone Warehouse in Play?


Shares of Carphone Warehouse Group, Europe's largest mobile handset retailer, rose the most in more than five years in London trading on speculation the company may receive a takeover offer, says the Bloomberg news service.

"Rumors about bid interest from Vodafone and Best Buy have been doing the rounds for some time," says Jimmy Yates, a London-based trader at CMC Markets.

What is interesting is the strategy context driving some of the rumored suitors. Best Buy has a small stake in Carphone Warehouse, which operates 2,400 stores across Europe. Best Buy also is collaborating with the U.K. chain to boost sales of mobile products in the U.S. Best Buy stores.

So you might argue that Carphone is simply a way for Best Buy to expand its footprint in its current business.

But keep in mind that Carphone also has 2.5 million Digital Subscriber Line customers. It also has a backbone network. Consider that Best Buy's Geek Squad is in the technology services business.

And recall that Best Buy owns Speakeasy, a provider of business-class broadband access and voice services in the U.S. market. Sure, Best Buy can grow its retail footprint. But by acquiring Carphone Warehouse, Best Buy makes an even bigger bet to become a more-significant provider of broadband access, business voice and mobile services.

For Best Buy, its core business is more than acting as a retail distribution channel. It is a service provider. Owning Carphone Warehouse would only deepen that commitment.

Now consider the possibility that Vodafone might acquire Carphone Warehouse. The idea there is not so much that Vodafone wants to become a mass market electronics retailer. Vodafone, long a dominant wireless service provider, now must also become a multiple-services provider, and broadband-based services provided over wireline networks are part of the vision.

Carphone Warehouse would give Vodafone much more heft, in that area. It might not strike you as significant that wireless and wireline services are converging. It might be a bit more surprising that retailers are moving from simple channel partners into the service provider business.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Do People Want Dual Mode, Convergence?


Dean Bubley has a nice list of things that will happen in the wireless market this year. Several caught my eye, one of them being that in our rush for all things "converged," we might be missing something, and taht is that people might be better at managing multiple devices, numbers and identities than we usually give them credit for.

Bubley argues that suppliers and service providers have a hard time creating the "one device that does everything" because, in fact, "people are happy with complexity."

"People like multiplicity," Bubley argues. "They want multiple service providers."

Some people certainly seem not to mind complexity, multiple bills or providers. Others probably prefer to buy in a sort of "best of breed" mode, despite some incremental friction.

I suspect that although lots of people say they like triple play services because it is more convenient using one provider instead of three, the adoption driver really is the discount.

The issue here probably is that many attempts to converge functions, identities and so forth involve some compromises, some effort and some limitations. People might be willing to put up with some amount of complexity or effort to get more choice.

But not much. According to the Reuters news service, half of all malfunctioning products returned to stores by consumers are in full working order, but customers can’t figure out how to operate the devices.

Product complaints and returns are often caused by poor design, but companies frequently dismiss them as “nuisance calls,” Elke den Ouden found in her thesis at the Technical University of Eindhoven in the south of the Netherlands.

The average consumer in the United States will struggle for 20 minutes to get a device working, before giving up, the study found.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

XO Preps FMC Service

XO Communications and Sotto Wireless will begin trials of a fixed mobile convergence solution in Seattle. The Unwired Office integrates customers’ fixed and wireless communications services into a single platform with one smart phone that can be used in the office or on the go for voice, email and Internet access as well optional IP desk phones.

The Unwired Office includes a business phone system, broadband network access and mobile phone service. Features include a high-speed dedicated Internet access; hosted private branch exchange system; individual smart phones with one telephone number for office and mobile calling, wireless email and messaging; optional IP desk phones; and anywhere coverage through in-office Wi-Fi networks and wireless service. In addition, the service enables businesses to transparently extend the office phone system to the home or branch office by using existing cable or digital subscriber line broadband services.

The service uses dual-mode smart phones from Nokia, such as the Nokia E61i, that feature both office Wi-Fi and cellular network connectivity options, full keyboards, and productivity applications. The hybrid wireless capabilities allow employees to use the Nokia smart phones to make calls over Wi-Fi networks and use cellular networks when employees are away from the office.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Demand is Going to Grow for "Unconverged" Experiences


Maybe some of you already agree that "Swiss Army knife" mobile platforms have to make compromises. And one of the compromises is ease of use. There's just so much complexity a user can put up with before the alternative--a simpler device--starts to make sense. And we are getting there.

Sure, you have to carry multiple devices. But think about it: most of us already do that, and as nice as one device would be, choosing between a notebook and a mobile phone or email device is too tough a choice. I carry two or three communications devices everywhere, if on the move. And then an iPod Shuffle for music. For short periods of time I will make do with either an email device or a smart phone in the pocket. But the other devices are there.

If an airplane is involved; if I am going to be "out of town," two is the minimum number of devices, and I usually carry three. Yes, it is a hassle. But so is restriction to one device. So far at least, three is the irreducible number.

And there might be a consumer backlash coming even from the ranks of users who don't have to "run and gun" with heavy text entry. Universal McCann's European office has surveyed 10,000 Internet users in 21 countries and found that demand for a convergent device such as the iPhone is actually pretty low, at least in the U.K. market.

About 41 percent of the 500 Britons surveyed expressed an interest in owning a converged mobile handset, on par with France and South Korea. Interest in Japan, Taiwan, the U.S. market and Germany was even lower, with only 27 percent of Japanese respondents expressing an interest. Now, those are significant numbers for Apple, to be sure.

The interest was greatest in Mexico at 79 percent and similarly high in other developing markets, including Brazil and Malaysia at 72 percent and India at 70 percent. The point is that these are markets where the smart phone will be the PC. The irreducible number there is one.

In the U.K. market, most people already own a mobile phone and one or more of the devices that the iPhone could replace, with 24 percent of respondents owning five or more devices. For example, 82 percent of Britons own a mobile phone and 48 percent own an MP3 player, the research suggests.

There is demand for new services. Some 48 percent said they would like iPod video capabilities on their mobile phone.

About 43 percent said they wanted wireless Internet capability and 28 percent want audio-only iPod functionality.

Convergence is in many ways a compromise driven by financial limitations, not aspiration. In the markets where multiple devices are affordable, the vast majority would prefer that.

Up to a point, multiple features are important. It's a simple example, but the 5-megapixel camera on a Nokia N95 is way better than no camera or a 2-megapixel camera on a BlackBerry.

The point is that there is a limit to how much complexity and how many trade-offs a user is going to put up with to have "just one device."

And then there are the cultural issue. I think we are reaching a point where "always connected" has to be balanced. "Real," as opposed to "digital" life is going to start looking really attractive at some point. I think the move already has begun.

"Unconverged," indeed "not digital, not connected" pursuits are going to be seen as more interesting, as the pendulum starts to swing back. When "connected" starts to become a burden, people will "unconnect." When "convergence" starts to become too complex, with too many trade-offs, people will "uncoverge." Just watch.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Now This is a Smart Move


T-Mobile has rolled out the BlackBerry Curve 83200 with Wi-Fi support, so the device can be used with T-Mobile's Hotspot@Home system or on public hotspots. As part of that plan, the Curve can be used for unlimited calling from the home or public Wi-Fi zones. That costs an extra $10 a month.

The in-home router T-Mobile sells is optimized for voice and costs about $50 but there is a rebate, we understand.

Dual-mode service with limited or unappealing handsets is a main reason why femtocells, which place no restrictions on end user handset choice beyond the limitations of handsets any given carrier will support, have seemed to me a wiser choice for fixed-mobile consumer applications. Giving Curve Wi-Fi is smart.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Is Voice the Killer App for IMS?


You have seen this story before: a new service rolls out and providers look for the "killer app." Then it turns out the killer app is something people already do, but the innovation allows them to do it in a new way, or maybe a better way.

To some extent, voice is a bit of that sort of thing for broadband Internet access, as email was something approaching a killer app for dial-up Internet access. Though the initial "killer app" for broadband was fast Internet access, voice becomes a very important incremental value.

"We are seeing a pattern in Europe of VoIP being delivered by companies that control the broadband infrastructure," notes Stephan Beckert, TeleGeography analyst. "It's an add-on feature to broadband."

So what is the killer app for fixed-mobile services? It's voice again, allowing legacy providers to hang on to more of their fixed-line business than otherwise; allowing mobile providers to displace landline traffic with mobile; or new providers to displace business phone systems.

So what is the killer app for IP Multimedia Subsystems? Wouldn't it be surprising if it turned out to be voice?

So what's the logic? Assume wireline carriers might lose as much as $13 billion in annual revenues by 2011, in part because 34 percent of U.S. households might elect to go "mobile only." So enter IMS, allowing mobile users to take advantage of cheaper Wi-Fi-based calling over their broadband lines.

Assume the landline carriers then lose just $8 billion in revenue to cord cutters. That's a $5 billion annual revenue stream. So put that in perspective. All U.S. multichannel video providers put together earn about $4 billion a year from pay-per-view and video-on-demand services.

So if wireline carriers just prevent landline erosion, they make more money than the whole U.s. VOD and PPV providers put together.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Are Landlines Becoming a Giffen Good?


Widespread use of VoIP tends to cause voice prices to fall. And classical economic theory would suggest that consumption of wireline calling should increase, as a result. In some cases that seems to be what happens. People call globally more often when the prices are lower.

But it just is possible,under some specific circumstances,for price declines to cause reduced consumption.

A Giffen good, for example, is an “inferior” good for which a rise in its price makes people buy even more of the product as its price rises. Conversely, there is less demand as price falls. To be sure, such Giffen goods are exceedingly rare. But one is tempted, when looking a mobile versus fixed line calling, to ask whether there are not some similarities.

Mobile calling now leads wired connections by a three-to-one margin globally and more people are shifting to "wireless only" calling. And though it is a loose analogy, perhaps we might think of mobile calling as a "superior" product and wireline calling as an "inferior" good, not in terms of intrinsic worth but in terms of the way people consume each product.

Giffen goods are named after Sir Robert Giffen, who was attributed as the author of this idea by Alfred Marshall in his book Principles of Economics. The classic example of potato consumption during a famine now is viewed as unsupported.

But in July, Robert T. Jensen, an economist at Brown University, and Nolan H. Miller, a professor of public policy at Harvard University, published an article for the National Bureau of Economic Research on Giffen goods.

The two economists say they have located a real-world Giffen good, namely rice and wheat flour in the central Hunan and Gansu provinces of China.

As Giffen suggested more than 100 years ago, goods whose price and demand move in the same direction are most likely to be essential products such as food on which households spend a large part of their incomes (and that's why neither VoIP nor landline voice service can be called Giffen goods in a formal sense).

Wheat flour and rice fit the bill in central China. When the price of the good falls, households appear to shift buying to meat. So lower prices cause less consumption.

Jensen and Miller look at poor Chinese consumers and demonstrate that they consume more rice or noodles, their staples, as prices go up.

Still, neither VoIP nor landlines strictly meet the criteria for consideration as Giffen goods. But it is an interesting notion. Might lower landline calling prices caused by VoIP actually lead to lower usage, in the presence of mobile alternatives that might be likened to “superior” goods, as compared to landline which might be thought of as an “inferior” good?

If so, lower landline calling prices will simply hasten the transition to more preferred mobile calling. I wouldn't push the loose analogy too far. But there some parallels.

As the chart suggests, consumers can buy either commodity Y or commodity X (line MN,where M = total available income divided by the price of commodity Y, and N = total available income divided by the price of commodity X).

The line MN is the consumer's budget constraint.

If there is a drop in the price of commodity X, the reduced price will alter relative prices in favour of commodity X, known as the substitution effect. This is illustrated by a movement down the indifference curve from point A to point B.

At the same time, the price reduction causes the consumers' purchasing power to increase, the income effect (line MP where P = income divided by the new price of commodity X).

The substitution effect (point A to point B) raises the quantity demanded of commodity X from Xa to Xb while the income effect lowers the quantity demanded from Xb to Xc.

The net effect is a reduction in quantity demanded from Xa to Xc making commodity X a Giffen good by definition.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

T-Mobile Prepping FMC Service?


T-Mobile, which has launched a dual-mode (GSM plus Wi-Fi) Hotspot@Home service, looks like it is getting ready to integrate landline service as well. T-Mobile is working with Linksys on a router that integrates home phone lines into the service along with providing VoIP service over cell phones, according to documents with the Federal Communications Commission.

In June, T-Mobile launched its Hotspot@Home service, which allows T-Mobile cell phone subscribers to transfer calls seamlessly between the T-Mobile cellular network and a Wi-Fi hot spot in the home.

My issue with the implementation is that it only supports two phones: the Samsung t409 and the Nokia 6086. So far, no tier one provider has found its dual-mode service very attractive to users when device limitations are that stringent.

The new router, not yet available but already bearing the model appellation WRTU54G, also has two slots that support two GSM SIM cards, allowing users to add up to two additional mobiles.

If T-Mobile wants to unify the access to VoIP and other IP-based communication services, over Wi-Fi in the home, wired connection in the home, at a T-Mobile Hotspot or on the GSM network, that might be more interesting. But there still is the handset issue. Given a choice between the tri-mode feature (even with seamless VoIP across all devices)and relatively unrestricted handset choice, I think handset choice wins, just about every time.

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