T-Mobile USA has taken the first commercial step in the roll-out of its third-generation (3G) wireless network, launching its UMTS/HSDPA network in New York City. Also, contrary to some early reports suggesting only voice service might be available immediately, the network will be data-enabled from the start.
T-Mobile plans to continue the rollout of its 3G network across major metropolitan markets through the year. By year's end, T-Mobile expects its high-speed data network will be available in those cities where a majority of its subscribers currently use data services.
Yay!
Monday, May 5, 2008
T-Mobile FINALLY Launches 3G
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.
Femtocells: Technology or Business?
ABI Research projects that 100,000 femtocell units wll ship in 2008. Volume deployments won't begin until 2010, when $100 price points will be possible, in volume. The other issue is whether femtocells are embedded in other widely-used consumer gear, such as Wi-Fi routers.
The really critical issue will be whether initial carrier deployments are supported by robust business models and service plans that extend beyond pure fixed-mobile substitution goals,” says ABI Research vice president and research director Stuart Carlaw.
The issue there is that some innovations are very useful and widely deployed, but don't necessarily create a business model. Wi-Fi is the best example of that. So one has to wonder whether femtocells will wind up being a very-useful technology--reducing service provider investment in macrocells, for example--or whether a new revenue stream of some sort can be created.
The most obvious example would be enhanced ability fo wireless providers to compete effectively in the wireline substitution business, where the new revenue stream is cannibalization of fixed line subscriptions. The other obvious issue is ability to sell voice-optimized fixed line broadband subscriptions.
The really critical issue will be whether initial carrier deployments are supported by robust business models and service plans that extend beyond pure fixed-mobile substitution goals,” says ABI Research vice president and research director Stuart Carlaw.
The issue there is that some innovations are very useful and widely deployed, but don't necessarily create a business model. Wi-Fi is the best example of that. So one has to wonder whether femtocells will wind up being a very-useful technology--reducing service provider investment in macrocells, for example--or whether a new revenue stream of some sort can be created.
The most obvious example would be enhanced ability fo wireless providers to compete effectively in the wireline substitution business, where the new revenue stream is cannibalization of fixed line subscriptions. The other obvious issue is ability to sell voice-optimized fixed line broadband subscriptions.
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.
Enterprise Mashups Coming
Mashup tools have so far been used mostly for simple enterprise applications like adding geographical information--typically Google Maps--to corporate data. But that's changing. IBM, for example, has introduced two offerings for building mashups that pull together data from multiple data bases and applications.
One of the tools is aimed at non-technical users while the other development is a mashup environment. WebSphere sMash supports dynamic scripting languages and widget-development tools. IBM Mashup Center allows business users to drag and drop components from local, enterprise and Web sources to create new applications.
JackBe Corp. and Kapow Technologies also have added support for Excel to existing mashup tools.
One of the tools is aimed at non-technical users while the other development is a mashup environment. WebSphere sMash supports dynamic scripting languages and widget-development tools. IBM Mashup Center allows business users to drag and drop components from local, enterprise and Web sources to create new applications.
JackBe Corp. and Kapow Technologies also have added support for Excel to existing mashup tools.
JackBe uses a plug-in is connected to a spreadsheet so that whenever data is changed, the Presto server updates the data, allowing the most-current version to be consumed by other applications.
Kapow sells an on-demand enterprise mashup service that allows companies to incorporate data from various Web sites and services directly into Excel spreadsheets.
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.
Same DRM for Windows, Adobe, Silverlight: Widevine
Widevine Technologies has announced immediate availability of Widevine Cypher to protect content delivered to Microsoft Windows Media Player versions 9, 10, 11 and Silverlight versions 1 and 2.The new capability means content now can be securely delivered in Windows Media, Silverlight and Adobe Flash environments using a single content protection solution. The innovation is an example of lots of the important "wrap around" features that will be necessary if digital content businesses are to be built with any scale.
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.
Internet Use Now Totally Mainstream
More than a third of U.S. consumers born before 1946 (seniors) use the Internet, according to Pew Internet and American Life Project. Pew also said that more than half of the younger members of this group (ages 62 to 71) are online.Older users also use the Internet for the same reasons younger users do: to stay in touch with other people. Nearly six out of 10 U.S. Internet users 62 and older use search engines. Among other activities, almost one quarter of the group banks or pays bills online and one fifth are video gamers.
Multichannel video, PCs, game consoles, mobile voice and use of the Internet now are totally mainstream.
Use of digital video recorders is nearing that point, as are text messaging and MP3 players.
But there's still a ways to go with other innovations such as VoIP and mobile broadband. Unified communications is no where close to being mainstream. It typically takes three to seven years for a successful mass market digital innovation to reach 50 percent penetration of households.
The big exception is high definition television, which will reach--and surpass--that status virtually overnight as a result of government mandate in February 2009.
As for the thousands of other bleeding-edge applications, most will fail to gain widespread mass market adoption. That's always the case for digital consumer electronics.
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.
67% Growth in VoIP Server Licenses
Whatever instability may be coming in some parts of the U.S. VoIP market, global growth--especially in Europe--is robust. The most recent analysis by iLocus shows 67 percent annual growth in VoIP server licenses sold globally, with traffic up 35 percent.
For the second consecutive year, Europe outpaced rest of the world in VoIP penetration. All major European operators--whether wireline or wireless--have a VoIP offering in place and have announced that they will be deploying IMS platforms.
The difference between deployments in the U.S. and European markets is the attitude and actions of incumbents. In the U.S. market, incumbents have not yet decided to make a major effort to sell VoIP; in Europe that already has happened. Because of carrier reluctance, challengers, especially the cable companies, have made significant market share gains.
What happened in Europe will happen in the U.S. market, however. At some point, AT&T and Verizon will decide to push VoIP aggressively, and the dynamics of the market will shift as much as they have in the fdial-up and broadband access markets, which initially were dominated by independent providers.
But fixed line replacement isn't the only place to watch for change. VoIP as a mobility and Web or enterprise application is early in its development right now. Though it might seem inconceivable, revenues from those sorts of applications will one day be significant. If that is not apparent it is simply because applications and business models in the mobility and Web and software spaces are seminal. Even Skype, as popular as it is, only represents two percent or so of global long-distance traffic, for example. So it will take some time before anybody notices.
Still, note that nearly 25 percent of mobile virtual network operators--wireless providers that do not own their own networks--already offering or testing mobile VoIP. By 2010 more than two thirds say they will have a mobile VoIP offering in place.
For the second consecutive year, Europe outpaced rest of the world in VoIP penetration. All major European operators--whether wireline or wireless--have a VoIP offering in place and have announced that they will be deploying IMS platforms.
The difference between deployments in the U.S. and European markets is the attitude and actions of incumbents. In the U.S. market, incumbents have not yet decided to make a major effort to sell VoIP; in Europe that already has happened. Because of carrier reluctance, challengers, especially the cable companies, have made significant market share gains.
What happened in Europe will happen in the U.S. market, however. At some point, AT&T and Verizon will decide to push VoIP aggressively, and the dynamics of the market will shift as much as they have in the fdial-up and broadband access markets, which initially were dominated by independent providers.
But fixed line replacement isn't the only place to watch for change. VoIP as a mobility and Web or enterprise application is early in its development right now. Though it might seem inconceivable, revenues from those sorts of applications will one day be significant. If that is not apparent it is simply because applications and business models in the mobility and Web and software spaces are seminal. Even Skype, as popular as it is, only represents two percent or so of global long-distance traffic, for example. So it will take some time before anybody notices.
Still, note that nearly 25 percent of mobile virtual network operators--wireless providers that do not own their own networks--already offering or testing mobile VoIP. By 2010 more than two thirds say they will have a mobile VoIP offering in place.
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.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Scottsdale Muni Wi-Fi Shuts Down
Scottsdale's muni Wi-Fi network, operated by Wildfire Broadband, has gone out of business, according to the Scottsdale, Arizona-based East Valley Tribune. As has been the case for nearly all other municipal Wi-Fi efforts, the networks have failed to attract enough customers.
It is reason at this point to theorize that mobile broadband--both data cards for PCs and smart phones--arecannibalizing some of the potential demand. Some of the remainder of demand is satisfied by free Wi-Fi at coffee shops, hotels and other locations.
Wi-Fi is a great technology. It just might not be much of a service provider business.
It is reason at this point to theorize that mobile broadband--both data cards for PCs and smart phones--arecannibalizing some of the potential demand. Some of the remainder of demand is satisfied by free Wi-Fi at coffee shops, hotels and other locations.
Wi-Fi is a great technology. It just might not be much of a service provider business.
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.
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