An unnamed Telstra executive tells Australia-based ChannelNews that the Telstra version of the Apple iPhone will run at download speeds as high as 42 Mbps.
"We know what is coming we have seen the new device and it will be available on our network as soon as it is launched in the USA," the executive is reported as promising. "By Christmas this phone will be capable of 42 Mbps which will make it faster than a lot of broadband offerings and the fastest iPhone on any network in the world."
Whether fully correct in all details or not is less important than the ultimate reality of the claim. Wireless providers indeed are readying networks that will run that fast, and faster in the future.
Mobile devices capable of communicating that fast might not be as disruptive as mobile voice threatens tethered voice in some markets.
The larger issue is that once mobile broadband connections run that fast, and ultimately faster, some percentage of single-household users might well find mobile broadband a suitable replacement for fixed connections.
My gut level expectation, though, would be that most mobile broadband connections will supplement rather than supplant fixed broadband. There simply are too many other interesting reasons to maintain a fixed broadband connection.
Mobile voice does not suffer from form factor issues that make it a convenient replacement for tethered voice, for example.
Mobile broadband might cannibalize fixed broadband in some cases, but logically as a substitute for PC connections.
An iPhone operating that fast will enable sessions that largely are supplemental to fixed broadband.
Friday, May 23, 2008
42 Mbps iPhone?
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Consumer Feedback on Smartphone AI Isn't That Helpful
It is a truism that consumers cannot envision what they never have seen, so perhaps it is not too surprising that artificial intelligence sm...
-
We have all repeatedly seen comparisons of equity value of hyperscale app providers compared to the value of connectivity providers, which s...
-
It really is surprising how often a Pareto distribution--the “80/20 rule--appears in business life, or in life, generally. Basically, the...
-
Is there a relationship between screen size and data consumption? One might think the answer clearly is “yes,” based on the difference bet...
1 comment:
Interesting rhetoric. My understanding is that Optus and Vodafone are offering the iPhone in Australia and Telstra have not committed to the product.
Post a Comment