Wireless Backhaul: Big Bucks?

Mobile backhaul has been a big topic of discussion among service providers over the past several years. In part the interest is driven by the concentrated nature of the opportunity. With multiple new broadband networks being built, and upgrades required to virtually all the existing mobile networks,  providers have a few big customers who can order up thousands of links at a time.

And though it remains unclear just how much more backhaul bandwidth will be required, at least some observers think that once networks such as Clearwire get up to speed, and acquire some customer mass, the requirements at each base station might be as high as 2 Gbps. For providers used to selling T1 connections to mobile cell sites, that's a huge opportunity. 

At Least 96% of U.S. Households Can Buy Cable Modem Service

In Canada, virtually all households in urban centers and 78 percent of households in rural areas were within the broadband footprint at the end of 2006, says the Organization for Economic Cooperation and 

Broadband coverage is also extensive in the OECD’s second largest country, the United States. High-speed cable modem service is available to 96 percent of end-user premises in the United States. DSL coverage is in the high-70s percent penetration. 

Metered or Bucketed Usage Plans? Only One is a Problem

Looking at moves to bandwidth caps by Comcast and other service providers, some observers are concerned about the possible impact of what is termed "metered" usage on user behavior. It's a reasonable concern. Back in the old days of dial-up access, metered usage clearly depressed usage, which exploded in the U.S. market when AOL moved to "unlimited" packaging. 

So observers are right to worry about potential depressing effects on new user behaviors and applications. The concern probably is misplaced, however. There is a difference between "buckets," which feature a usage cap, and "metered" usage. The customer reaction also is quite different. 

Metered usage isn't welcomed by users, primarily because it introduces uncertainty. Users do not like to wonder what their bills will look like, so there is a clear preference for predictability.

But if the buckets are sized appropriately, and when users have some experience to gauge the appropriate buckets, usage does not seem to suffer. Strict metering undoubtedly would depress usage. Buckets will not, if constructed with reasonable parameters and when users have some way to predict and adjust their plans if needed.

The other issue is that lots of other services are offered on a strictly metered basis, and that can be good for light users. Light text message users benefit from a la carte, metered usage charges. Moderate usage quickly allows users to figure out that a bucket is a better deal.

And even metered usage is tolerated, if the prices are reasonable enough. Most users pay for water, natural gas or electricity on a simple metered basis. As long as users know roughly what to expect, and the rates are not outrageous, it does not seem to be a problem. 

Buckets of wireless minutes, buckets of usage that blur the distinction between "long distance" and "local" consumption clearly have encouraged usage. 

Telecom Professionals Say Wireless is Where the Action Is

A recent survey of telecom professionals confirms what industry professionals probably also agree on: wireless is where the action now is. Some 72 percent of respondents believe the biggest opportunities lie within three categories: wireless (40 percent), infrastructure engineering and manufacturing (16 percent), and mobile application development (16 percent). So make the votes ofr wireless 56 percent of the opportunity.

When asked about the immediate future of telecommunications, 70 percent of respondents said they believe the industry would grow or remain consistent, according to TelecomCareers, an online job board for telecommunications, media and technology professionals.

Does Chrome Matter?

Does Google’s new Chrome browser matter? Lehman Brothers analyst Douglas Anmuth thinks so, says Erick Schonfeld, Seeking Alpha commentator. Anmuth points out that Firefox having gained approximately 20 percent market share over the past four years. He thinks Google Chrome could be adopted faster, and gain 15 percent to 20 percent share within two years.

A lot of the attention so far has been on the possibility of Chrome being a Windows killer, by supercharging Web browsing and Web apps so you really won’t need desktop applications. Anmuth believes mobility might be the bigger play, if, as he expects, Chrome will be bundled directly on Android mobile devices. 

The other angle: Google Gears, used to synchronize online documents and data for offline use, might be quite valuable for mobile applications that must operate in a fluid access environment. 

And Google Gears can be very useful for Web apps on mobile devices, where network connections can be spotty.

Global IP Traffic Up 53%

International Internet traffic grew 53 percent between mid-2007 and mid-2008, down from 61 percent the preceding year, say researchers at TeleGeography.

Two Percent Chrome Usage Today?

Web analytics startup GetClicky says that almost two percent of all Internet traffic to the 45,000 websites they monitor is coming from Google Chrome today, according to TechCrunch. 

TechCrunch visitors seem to like Firefox quite alot. In fact, TechCrunch users probably are not like most Internet users. But 56 percent of TechCrunch readers from the last 30 days use Firefox, compared to 31 percent for Internet Explorer and 10 percent for Safari.