Dish Eyeing LightSquared Business Model?

Dish Network recently stirred speculation about whether it now wants to expedite its construction of a national Long Term Evolution network, simply by indicating in a yet-private communication to the Federal Communications Commission that Dish wants to "revise" its plans. Revised plan?

Some have speculated that the request is to accelerate the proposed construction timetable, but that isn't clear. It might make sense, if Dish believes it now has a chance to supplant LightSquared as a major wholesale partner.

Dish Network needs an FCC waiver to use its satellite communications frequencies to support a terrestrial mobile network, as LightSquared also requires.

LightSquared has run into a wall because of interference with the Global Positioning System.  Dish's proposal is seen as less problematic, as the frequencies it acquired last year from bankrupt satellite operators TerreStar and DBSD North America are further away from the spectrum used by GPS systems. Dish the successor to LightSquared?

Some now speculate that Dish might seen an opening, if, as some speculate, LightSquared fails to gain approval to use its spectrum to support a terrestrial Long Term Evolution network. Up to this point, Dish Network has suggested it would use its spectrum to build and operate a retail network.

There is no reason in principle why Dish could not operate both as a wholesale provider and a retailer, but there always is channel conflict when firms do so. 

On the other hand, since LightSquared already has identified more than 30 wholesale customers, a Dish Network move to offer wholesale services would give Dish an immediate customer base and potential revenue, even if it decides there are retail branded operations it also wishes to support.

U.S. Mobile Advertising Grows Faster than Expected

The U.S. mobile advertising market is growing far faster than expected, driven by the rapid ascension of Google’s mobile search advertising business, advertisers’ growing attraction to display inventory on tablet and smartphone devices, and the growing roster of mobile ad networks such as Google’s AdMob, Apple’s iAd, and Millennial Media, eMarketer says.



Mobile advertising spending in the US reached $1.45 billion in 2011, up 89 percent from $769.6 billion in 2010. 


This year, US mobile ad spending will grow 80 percent to $2.61 billion.



The most significant adjustment in this forecast comes as a result of “Google’s exceptional mobile advertising performance,” which has propelled mobile search advertising far faster than previously expected, eMarketer says.



eMarketer estimates Google’s share of overall U.S. mobile ad revenues reached 51.7 percent, or about $750 million, in 2011. Mobile advertising grows faster than expected.


The firm previously forecast U.S. mobile ad spending would grow 47 percent  to $1.8 billion in 2012, up from $1.2 billion last year.

Apple Sets Sales Records, Has $97 Billion in Cash

Apple first quarter results show record quarterly revenue of $46.33 billion and record quarterly net profit of $13.06 billion.


The company sold 37.04 million iPhones in the quarter, 15.43 million iPads and 5.2 million Macs. Apple also has an astounding $97 billion in cash. Any "normal" company would face unbearable pressure to distribute that cash to shareholders. Apple Reports First Quarter Results 

• Revenue: $46.33 Billion versus $38.76 billion expected

• EPS: $13.87 versus $10.07 expected

• iPhone units: 37.04 million versus 30.2 million expected 

• iPad units: 15.4 million 13.2 million expected 

• Mac units: 5.2 million versus 5 million expected 

• iPod: 15.4 million versus 13.9 million expected, according to Bloomberg

• Gross Margin: 44.7% versus 41.8% expected

• March quarter revenue: $32.5 billion versus $31.9 billion expected

• March quarter EPS: $8.50 versus $8.00 expected

• Apple now has $97 billion in cash, short term, and long term securities

• The iPhone's average selling price is up to $660

17% of Global Workers Telecommute

About 17 percent of workers around the globe, particularly employees in the Middle East, Latin America and Asia, telecommute frequently, and nearly 10 percent work from home every day, according to a new Ipsos poll sponsored by Reuters. About one in five workers worldwide telecommute

Ipsos surveyed a total of 11,383 online connected employees from 24 countries. 

Telecommuting is primarily taking place in emerging markets: those working in the Middle East and Africa (27 percent), Latin America (25 percent) and Asia-Pacific (24 percent) are considerably more likely than those in North America (nine percent) and Europe (nine percent) to telecommute ‘on a frequent basis.’

More specifically, employees in of India (56 percent), Indonesia (34 percent), Mexico (30 percent), Argentina (29 percent), South Africa (28 percent) and Turkey (27 percent) are most likely to be pursuing this form of employment.

On the other end, those in Hungary (three percent), Germany (five percent), Sweden (sixc percent), France (seven percent), Italy (seven percent) and Canada (eight percent) are least like to telecommute ‘on a frequent basis.’

Those with a high level of education are most likely to telecommute on a frequent basis (25 percent) followed by those under the age of 35 (20 percent) and those with a high household income (20 percent). 

Are Android Users Subsidizing iPhone Users at Verizon Wireless?

Subsidies Verizon Wireless is paying to entice consumers to buy Apple iPhones might also be penalizing Android devices, some now argue. Though top Android devices cost as much as Apple iPhones, high-end Android devices often sell for prices $100 to $200 higher than the iPhone.

In other words, Verizon is trying to recoup some of its cash flow and operating margin by making Android handset users pay more for their devices than Apple iPhone users.

Verizon is betting that buyers who want the high-end Android phones will pay, so they're marking those models up.

John Hodulik, an analyst at UBS AG has estimated that the iPhone subsidy could be as high as $400 per iPhone customer. If 13 million of the devices get sold in a year that implies a which $5.2 billion hit to earnings. Some argue that devices should not be subsidized, since doing so means consumers have to sign contracts. But iPhone subsidies are quite a big expense for firms such as Verizon Wireless.

From at least one perspective, contracts and subsidies offer value for consumers and service providers, with users getting devices they want at $400 lower prices, while service providers can smooth out recurring service revenues and reduce customer churn.

Apple has set a standard entry price of its newest smartphones at $199, with higher end models available with more storage. This year however, Verizon has set a new contract price for its high end Android phones at $299.

The implications are clear enough. If you like high-end Android devices, do not buy them from Verizon.

Both the Motorola Droid RAZR and the just released Google-branded Samsung Galaxy Nexus are $299 with a two year Verizon contract, and both are listed as costing $649 without a contract.

In contrast, Apple's 16GB iPhone 4S is offered for only $199, even though it costs the same $649 without a contact. Apple is getting a $450 subsidy, compared to just $350 for Android licensees Motorola and Samsung.

Verizon's $199 Android phones, including the Samsung Droid Charge, Motorola Droid 3 and Droid Bionic, cost $499, $459 and $589 respectively without a contract, making their subsidies worth just $300 to $390, or $150 to $60 lower than Apple's, one might note.  

The closest Verizon's phones currently come to an iPhone subsidy appears to be the HTC Thunderbolt, which is being offered for $149, a $420 subsidy compared to its $569 full retail price. However, this involves a special promotional discount of $100, making the "sale" price of Android models still higher than regular price of any of Verizon's iPhones. Verizon Wireless can do what it wants, of course. But consumers should also do what they want.

75% of Enterprises Use Social Media for Customer Service

Businesses use social media for a variety of reasons. Some 96 percent of respondents told Booz  & Company that they are using social media for “advertising and promotions.” 


Some 88 percent use social media for public relations.  Some 75 percent use social media for  customer service.  Social value in business 

Tablet, E-Reader Ownership Doubles in One Month: Unprecedented

The share of adults in the United States who own a tablet of some sort nearly doubled from 10 percent to 19 percent between mid-December 2011 and early January 2012.

The ownership of e-readers also surged from 10 percent to 19 percent over the same time period. Tablet ownership doubled in two months

That is an unprecedented growth rate for any consumer electronics device. Tablet ownership also had been on a strong adoption path earlier in 2011 as well, but doubling in 30 days from a base of 10 percent seems never to have occurred before.

To be sure, 10 percent adoption historically has been an inflection point: it is the point in an adoption process that represents critical mass, after which adoption accelerates.

You'll have to click on this chart to view it in more detail, but it is one of the most useful bits of historical evidence you can use to estimate how long it might take an application, service or device to reach 10 percent penetration of U.S. households, for example.

There are some caveats. Not every innovation succeeds. This chart only shows you what happened with the most-popular consumer electronics services and products.

The reason for sharing the chart is that a panel I was recently on was asked how long it might take for near field communications technology to be adopted by a significant number of U.S. consumers.

My response, based on past work studying consumer electronics adoption rates, was that it can take quite a significant amount of time, between three and 10 years, to reach the crucial 10-percent-of-homes threshold, which seems to be the point at which any innovation really begins to accelerate, in terms of adoption.  Consumer adoption patterns

Also, the more complicated the ecosystem, the longer it will take. Apple iPhones and iPads did not take long to reach the 10-percent penetration mark, because they operate in a fully-developed ecosystem where all that is required is purchase of a product, to obtain the value.