Mobile Video: "Developing" Regions Use More Than North Americans

North Americans are less than half as likely as the global average to watch online video using a mobile device, according to a new study from The Nielsen Company. The somewhat-surprising finding suggests that mobile video services might be more important to users in many parts of the world other than North America or Europe.

As a region, North America only scores 45 on the Index of Mobile Video Usage (Past 30 Days).

With a score of 100 representing the global average, this means North Americans are 55 percent less likely to watch mobile video than international online consumers as a whole.

nielsen-video-mobile-nation-august-2010

Almost A Third Of U.S. Households Have Cut The Landline Cord

Almost 30 percent of U.S. households have cut the cord, up from about 25 percent a year ago, says Citi Investment Research analyst Jason Bazinet.

Over the past nine quarters, wireless substitution has accelerated, with more than one percent of households cutting the cord every quarter, or five percent a year, Bazinet says.

Almost A Third Of U.S. Households Have Cut The Landline Cord

Intel Buys McAfee: Why?

Intel Corporation is acquiring security software firm McAfee. The $7.68 billion deal has been approved by boards of both companies. So why is the chipmaker buying a security software firm? One can argue it is a move "up the stack" from hardware to applications. That is true, but probably not the key driver.

Intel now can craft products that combine hardware and software, and that is an upside. But perhaps the most compelling argument is that Internet devices now are moving away from PCs and other similar devices to other machines that one does not traditionally associate with security suites, such as sensor networks, automated teller machines, medical devices, cars or TVs.

Intel now appears to regard security for all those devices, and its chip-buying customers, to be on par with its strategic focus areas in energy-efficient performance and Internet connectivity.

Intel Changes The Game With McAfee Buyout

A Net Neutrality "Grand Compromise" is Necessary, Not an Option

At the end of the day, unless the major stakeholders in the network neutrality debate can come to some enduring compromise, broadband investment in the United States is likely to be quite constrained.

That is why agreements such as Google and Verizon have struck, are so important. At the end of the day, unless private commercial interests can be persuaded there is a way forward that encompasses all the key interests, there can be no outcome satisfactory for the public interest, either.

This one graphic suggests why ISPs, as well as application providers, will have to reach a grand compromise. Voice, for over 100 years, has been the underpinning for all public networks, but that is not going to be the case in the future. For the moment, voice continues to underpin mobile and fixed networks.

But nobody believes that will last. ISPs and service providers must find ways to at least replace the lost voice revenues with new revenue sources. Application providers, specifically, and the public interest, in general, also require robust investment in the new broadband and IP networks of the future. But investments always require some expectation of profit. Absent that, investment will not happen.

ISPs are going to have to give up some possible revenue streams. That is what the Google-Verizon agreement stipulates, in essence.

But application providers are going to have to give some ground on network management. Without such agreement, broadband investment will be imperiled. Some do not believe that to be the case, to be sure.

But the investment community has spoken loud and clear, for decades, about broadband and capacity upgrades by cable and telcos that investors worried would not provide a financial return. If one believed that the federal government, or other units of government, could make those investments after private interest collapsed, then collapse would not permanently affect broadband deployment.

But there is not such option any longer. U.S. networks will be built by private investment, or not at all. Despite some carping, that is why the Google-Verizon agreement is so important, and why wider industry agreement on some grand compromise, is essential, not optional. Nobody is going to get everything they might want. But all of us need to get enough to keep moving forward.

The worst outcome for the public interest is continued stalemate.

Private Net Neutality Discussions Restarted

Some key Internet and telecommunications firms apparently have restarted private talks to develop a proposal for how Internet traffic should be managed, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The new discussions are hosted at the offices of the Information Technology Industry Council, a Washington-based lobbying group that represents dozens of tech companies.

Cisco Systems Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are said to be among the firms trying to reach some agreement satisfactory to the stakeholders and the Federal Communications Commission. Apparently Google and the FCC are not at present involved in the talks.

Facebook Message Congestion?

As is the case with Twitter, mobile users tend to receive many more Facebook, than text messages, in a month's time.

That might suggest more reliance on Facebook and Twitter for communication programs is a reasonable decision.

But it might also indicate the odds of getting noticed are much lower for Facebook or Twitter campaigns.

Twitter or Text? Clutter Might be a Factor

Twitter has emerged a huge generator of mobile messages, dwarfing text messages, for example.

That should convince some mobile marketers that Twitter is a channel they ought to be using.

Others will see too much "clutter" and might prefer text messaging as a channel.

But SMS remains a highly-personal medium where the risk of end user irritation is quite high.

Twitter might be a more congested channel, but the risk of end user irritation is far lower.

Hughes Network Systems Gets $59 Million Broadband Stimulus Award

Hughes Network Systems has been awarded $58.7 million to provide satellite broadband services to consumers and businesses nationwide, garnering the single biggest award under the The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009  "broadband stimulus" program.

Significantly, the award, as well as others gotten by Wildblue, Echostar and Spacenet, represent the first time Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service funds, traditionally used to support rural telco and cooperative projects, have gotten funding.

Hughes Network Systems estimates 258,685 people will benefit, as well as 3,200 businesses.

Echostar got a  $14 million award to offer satellite broadband service to rural residential and commercial subscribers. The funds will provide service to 42,478 people and 1,888 businesses.

Spacenet got an $8 million award, which will allow Spacenet to offer satellite broadband service to rural residential subscribers in Alaska and Hawaii.

Wildblue got $20 million to provide satellite broadband service to rural residential and commercial subscribers in the west and midwest United States. About 110,150 people and 4,896 businesses might be served.

Mobile Search and Display Advertising Growing Fastest

While it's still too early for most research firms to form reliable estimates for location-based mobile advertising spending, the most relevant figures would be mobile display ad spending, which is expected to increase 59.7% this year, reaching $166 million. By 2013, eMarketer expects mobile display ad spending to reach $546 million.

Overall, the mobile advertising market will reach an estimated $593 million this year, up 42.5% from 2009. By 2013, it's expected to reach $1.5 billion.

eMarketer estimates advertising spending on Facebook will reach $835 million in the US this year, up from $500 million in 2009. Worldwide, Facebook is expected to bring in an estimated $1.28 billion in advertising revenue.

"HBO Go" to Use Expected Business Model

Up to this point, the business model that has made the most sense for mobile-accessed linear TV is to allow subscribers of such multichannel programming to watch that same programming on a mobile device, sometimes only within a subscriber's home.

The bigger advance, of course, is totally mobile viewing. Time Warner's HBO service likely will be among the first programmers to test demand for that sort of untethered service.

The “HBO Go” streaming video service for Apple’s iPad as well as other mobile devices, will make it easier for HBO subscribers to watch HBO original series and movies while on the go or at home.

As reported from Bloomberg, by early 2011, “HBO Go” will be available to HBO’s paying subscribers (all 29 million) at no additional cost “through all major cable systems, on Apple Inc.’s iPad, on mobile devices and elsewhere.

HBO Expanding Mobile Presence

Verizon to Put Live TV on the iPad

Verizon plans an iPad app that will allow FiOS subscribers to watch the same linear programming that is available on their TV screens on their tablet devices, but only within their own homes. That particular provision has everything to do with content rights, and illustrates the crucial role content rights will have in enabling new forms of linear TV delivery.

Verizon to Put Live TV on the iPad

Chrome OS Tablet to Launch on Verizon Nov. 26?

HTC is said to be the manufacturer of a new Chrome-powered tablet, slated for sale on Nov. 26, 2010. The tablet is expected to be available on the Verizon Wireless network.

Google launching a Chrome OS tablet on Verizon, goes on sale November 26

HTC Incredible Users Significant Wi-Fi Hotspot Users

Though Apple devices continue to dominate the top 10 devices using public Wi-Fi hotspots, the HTC Droid Incredible has become the most popular Android device, followed closely by the Motorola Droid.

Both the Android and RIM platforms increased 1.2 and .07 percent respectively, while Apple's platform declined 2.3 percent in the second quarter of 2010.

Android might or might not be viewed as representing the most-successful class of "iPhone killer" devices. What seems clear is that it is seen by many users as a workable alternative, and is used in much the same way as an iPhone is.

Media Center - JiWire.com

Chrome Web Store Will Feature Games

The new Google-sponsored Chrome Web Store will feature games, at least initially.

HSPA+ is Why You Might Want the Coming T-Mobile USA G2

The main reason you might want to buy a G2 device from T-Mobile USA when it is available is simply that you might, at least for a while, be using it on the fastest mobile broadband network available in the United States.

The G2 will operate on T-Mobile USA's new HSPA+ network, which should run even faster than Clearwire's fourth generation WiMAX network.