200 Million Voice Lines Will Disappear Next 5 Years

Infonetics Research expects more than 200 million traditional voice access lines to get dropped over the next the 5 years as people continue to "cut the cord" and switch to mobile alternatives. 


Total mobile subscribers are forecast by Infonetics to pass the six-billion mark in 2012, and to approach seven billion by 2016.

Surface by Microsoft features Integrated Keyboard

Some activities call for a keyboard. Surface comes with an integrated kickstand and a 3mm thin, pressure sensitive cover that doubles as a fully functioning keyboard and trackpad. 


The "Touch Cover" connects to the Surface with a single magnetic click. That's interesting. 


Many users, who have to do significant content creation, not just content consumption, have required PCs, up to this point. 


That is a potentially key differentiator in the tablet space. Of course, some of us, for the moment, still wonder about whether a mouse actually is needed to complete the navigation experience, when in "content creation" mode. 


Still very interesting. 

IDC Increases Media Tablet Forecast

International Data Corporation (IDC) has increased its forecast for the worldwide tablet sales to 107.4 million units for the year, up from its previous forecast of 106.1 million units. 


In the latest forecast update of the Worldwide Quarterly Media Tablet and eReader Tracker, IDC also revised upward its 2013 forecast number from 137.4 million units to 142.8 million units. And by 2016 worldwide shipments should reach 222.1 million units, IDC says. 

Chart: Worldwide Media Tablet Shipments Split by OSHistorical and Forecast* 2010 - 2016 (Units in Millions)Description: Tags: Author: IDCcharts powered by iCharts

Microsoft May Be Closing Developer Gap

Over the last couple of years, there has been an all-out war among Apple, Google, Microsoft, RIM and others to win the hearts and minds of developers. 


It appears that Microsoft Microsoft is now closing the gap, at least in terms of developers increasing attention to the Microsoft platform.

By 2015, :PSTN Voice Might be Only 10% of Total Lines

Axvoice has gathered up some nice overall statistics on the state of the telecom industry. No surprise: VoIP and mobile services are growing, landline voice is declining. By 2015, legacy voice lines using TDM might represent only about 10 percent of all voice lines in service. 


That is going to put huge pressure on incumbents who have to support those lines, and will lead to more pressure to decommission the entire public switched network, as the fixed costs of supporting that particular service will be hugely expensive, compared to either fixed network VoIP or mobile voice. 

Mobile Broadband Subscribers Grew 50% in 2011

“The number of mobile broadband subscribers jumped nearly 50 percent in 2011 to 846 million and we expect that number to reach 2.6 billion by 2016, driven by Brazil, Russia, India, China and others in the developing world,” says  Stéphane Téral, Infonetics Research principal analyst for mobile infrastructure and carrier economics. 


“We anticipate Asia Pacific to account for over half of the world’s mobile broadband subscribers by 2016, while Latin America will see the fastest growth,” he says. 

Global Telecom Investment Grows in 2012, Lead by Mobile

Infonetics Research expects worldwide service provider capital investment to climb in 2012, then level out in 2015 and 2016 at around the $345 billion mark.

Global telecom carrier capital spending grew three percent to $301 billion in 2011, up from 2010 levels, according to Infonetics Research. Spending on every type of network equipment grew in 2011, with the exception of TDM voice, which continued its steep decline.

Telecom service provider revenue grew six percent to $1.8 trillion worldwide in 2011 over 2010, Infonetics also says Stéphane Téral, principal analyst for mobile infrastructure and carrier economics at Infonetics Research.

"We’re expecting a telecom capex hike in 2012 as operators around the world ramp their spending like crazy to launch LTE networks, modernize their mobile networks, and carry out national wireline broadband initiatives,” says Téral.

Clearwire, Sprint, and T-Mobile USA in the United States;NTT DoCoMo and Softbank Mobile in Japan and KT, LGU+, and SK telecom in South Korea will be among the carriers expected to increase their capital investments in 2012.

China also recently allocated $58 billion for further investment in telecom infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Europe's Big Five have increased capital investment two  percentage points for the first time in five years.

In Latin America, operators increased capex 25 percent in 2011, led by América Móvil and Telefónica.