Verizon to Add 25 HDTV Channels

Verizon FiOS TV will add more than 60 new channels to the lineup, including high-definition sports and multicultural content.

Verizon plans to expand its lineup to offer by the end of the year up to 150 HD channels, which will include all available major HD programming.

Other Verizon HD choices include hundreds of video-on-demand (VOD) titles per month, with 1,000 HD VOD titles by the end of the year.

Verizon will roll out the new content, region by region, to areas where FiOS TV is available, beginning in early July. The new channels will be activated in FiOS systems across the country over the following few months.

Included in the new content will be more than 25 high-definition channels, bringing the total number of HD channels to between 52 and 65, depending on the customer's location.

$55 Billion Health Vertical Spending

The hospitals, physicians, pharmaceutical companies, and insurance providers that make up the $2.3 trillion US healthcare system will be spending $55 billion on telecommunications services over the next five years, says Insight Research Corporation.

Spending by the US healthcare industry on telecommunications services will grow at a compounded rate of 8.4 percent over the forecast period, increasing from $7.5 billion in 2008 to $11.3 billion in 2013.

VoIP Market Revenues $44 Billion in 2013

The global consumer VoIP market grew from approximately 16 million in 2005 to over 50 million in 2006, says In-Stat. By 2011, 38 percent of broadband households worldwide will subscribe to VoIP services.

As a result, consumer VoIP revenue will grow from $15 billion to nearly $44 billion over the next five years.

Europe is the region where VoIP use is most extensive, In-Stat says. So incumbent service providers in other regions where VoIP is less a factor might want to pay attention to the adoption triggers in Europe.

For an incumbent telecom provider, there are lots of good business reasons for delaying full-blown VoIP marketing. A full-scale switch from legacy TDM to VoIP probably harms revenue, no matter what approach or packaging route is taken.

But there comes some point where the switch has to be made. So looking at the European triggers is an exercise worth conducting.

Cisco Ranks Top E-Tailers

The top 10 overall e-commerce sites, in rank order of flawless execution that make online shopping exceptionally easy for consumers are Amazon.com, Best Buy, Sears, Circuit City, Quelle, Otto, Macy’s, FNAC, Bol.com and Argos Home Retail Group, says Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group.

But mobile shopping and social networking are redefining the online experience, Cisco says. "Two big take-aways emerged," says Lindsay Parker, Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group director. "Most significant was mobility." The second big thing was importance of social networking, Parker says.

"We accessed the sites using mobile devices and found that of the 45, 42 percent allow viewing of product information," Parker says. "Many appear to have refortmatted for mobile screens."

"But only 15 percent support transactions," she notes. And only 10 percent support SMS communications. On some sites, customers can use SMS capabilities to check inventory and be notified when an order is ready for pickup.

On transaction side, "Amazon does a terrific job in terms of ease of use," says Parker. The Amazon site "clearly is designed for mobile navigation and completing transactions."

"Amazon really shows what a good mobile site looks like," Parker says.

From social networking angle, Parker was surprised that only 17 percent of sites provided connection to communities on the site, a place where you could interact with other customers, or with Facebook.

"Amazon did that best, as well," says Parker. But 52 percent of sites did provide shopper reviews That's important because perhaps 50 percent of shoppers indicate they checked a review before buying online, she adds.

"One big change we see is that as you talk about customer experience, it is much more of a 'pull' world rather than a 'push' world," Parker says. "The consumer is more in control."

Retailers who figure this out will be well ahead, she adds.

Cisco expects mobile commerce to follow an adoption pattern similar to that of cell phones, an important fact since there are three times as many mobile-phone subscribers (3.3 billion) as Internet users (1.3 billion) worldwide.

The Cisco IBSG study assessed 45 retailers from North America and Europe in three categories (Global 500, Web 15 and Innovators) and looked at two aspects of online shopping from the consumer’s point of view. The first is “foundational” capabilities, which are nonnegotiable, “must have” characteristics. These include an intuitive graphical user interface, search capabilities and a convenient purchasing process. The second is “emerging” capabilities, which are the more sophisticated aspects, such as social networking and multichannel integration, that add even greater value to the customer’s experience.

Comcast to Boost Upstream in FiOS Areas

Comcast will boost upload speeds for its customers in Verizon FiOS areas June 5 or so, reports Broadband Reports.com.

The rumor is that 6 Mbps customers will see their upstream speeds boosted to 1 Mbps, while 8 Mbps customers will see their upstream speeds boosted to 2 Mbps.

As we understand, prices will not change. Competition works, apparently.

Want 2 Hours Free Wi-Fi at Starbucks?

Buy a $5 gift card, or by enter your personal information in the company's database for a rewards program. Starbuckswill give you 2 hours of free Wi-Fi.

40% GPS Mobile Device Growth Through 2012

Worldwide shipments of GPS-integrated mobile devices will grow at an annualized rate of nearly 40 percent over the next five years, reaching 834 million units in 2012, according to Parks Associates.

Mobile handsets and smartphones will constitute the majority of shipments up to 2012, but personal navigation devices will remain the most widely used and preferred navigation choice in the next three years, says Harry Wang, Parks Associates senior analyst.

“GPS will come to your mobile handset as a standard feature, but mobile carriers are still a couple of years away from turning GPS into a money-making, mass-market feature,” Wang says. Currently, consumers prefer PNDs thanks to the combination of a bigger screen, more versatile functions, and growing affordability.