Monday, July 2, 2012

Anyfi Networks Helps Fixed Networks Support Wi-Fi Access

Anyfi Networks thinks it can help fixed network service providers add a "mobility" or "untethered" capability outside the subsciber's home, using software.

"By remotely upgrading your home gateways with our patent pending software you can transform your existing infrastructure into a mobile broadband network, license exempt and Wi-Fi compatible, literally overnight," Anyfi says.

"Anyfi.net Simple"  lets a fixed-line broadband operator extend the home Wi-Fi user experience outside the home, the company says. "Since devices always authenticate against the home gateway the connection is automatic and completely secure," Anyfi Networks says.

"The trick is combining Wi-Fi with IP, Internet Protocol, to break the tie between logical network and physical infrastructure, much in the same way as Voice over IP separates your phone service from the physical line. You can think of it as Wi-Fi over IP," the company says.

Anyfi claims that a fixed-line operator having a high density of broadband subscribers in certain urban areas could actually become mobile operators overnight, just by upgrading the modem software remotely, transforming the infrastructure into a radio access network.

Anyfi says that the ability to offload mobile traffic to any Wi-Fi access point depends on a business relationship between the "home" ISP and the operator of the remote Wi-Fi hotspot. In other words, Anyfi does not enable access to Wi-Fi hotspots whose owners do not agree to cooperate.



Deutsche Telekom, Sprint to Back Firefox Phones

Deutsche Telekom and Sprint will support a new Firefox smart phone platform to turn up the heat on Google and Apple in the mobile software market, starting in 2013. Smart, Telecom Italia, Telenor and Etisalat also are backing the Firefox platform.

Mozilla Foundation, creator of Firefox Internet browser, said phone makers ZTE and TCL Communication Technology will roll out the first Firefox phones using Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors in early 2013.

Whether the support will manage to create a serious alternative remains a question. You might argue that telcos generally have had little to no success creating viable alternatives to either Apple's iOS or Android, so far.

A combination of forces are at work, including consumer preferences, not just operator support, and so far, customers simply have preferred both Apple and Android devices. You might also argue that consumers do not actually buy "operating systems," but rather the full bundle of values any device represents.

Still, some might argue the Firefox devices will be less costly for consumers, so some demand could exist in the "lower cost device" end of the market.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

NFC Has to Solve Problems People Didn't Know They Had

Mobile payments solves a problem nobody, or few people, really have, one sometimes hears. It might be reasonable, even for its supporters, to argue that adoption will take some time, given the complexity of the required ecosystem.

In fact, the question of "what problem is getting solved?"  has many potential answers. With specific regard to near field communications, one might suggest that it is not yet clear which specific problem NFC "solves."

Many might argue that, in developed regions, the payment process in fact is not "broken," making NFC-based mobile payments less a needed substitute and more a feature or capability that adds value in some other way.

It is possible that the ultimate answer will be that NFC solves a problem people don't know they have, as Apple has created products that people did not "know" they needed.

Friday, June 29, 2012

Square Processes $11 Million Worth of Transactions a Day

Square processes at a rate of $5 million a day (up from $3 million in 2011, and $4 million in March 2012), Sybase says. Others say Square processes $11 million a each day.


Assuming Square gets a 2.75% cut of all of the $11 million in payments processed per day, that’s around $300,000 in gross revenue per day, or a $110 million annual revenue run rate.
Square revenue

LTE Will Reach 1 Billion Users by 2017

So says 4G Americas.

Mobile Payments Will Reach $245 Billion by 2014

According to 2011 data from Ernst & Young, mobile payments are expected to reach $245 billion in transaction value by by 2014. The actual forecast transaction is probably not so important. 


Neither is the forecast number of mobile money users are expected to total 340 million, equivalent to about five percent  of global mobile subscribers.


Perhaps the more-important issue are the categories of mobile money Ernst & Young believe offer revenue potential for mobile service providers globally. 



Mobile payment technologies and scenarios1

 SMSNFCMobile internet
Payment typePerson-to-person
Person-to-business
Business-to-person
Person-to-business
Business-to-business
Person-to-person
Person-to-business
Use caseDomestic remittance
International remittance
Branchless banking
Contactless payments
Identification- and marketingrelated services
In-app payments
Mobile wallet transactions
CharacteristicsPayment services for the
unbanked and underbanked
High levels of cross-industry collaborationExtension of online payment services
ExamplesSalary payments (Roshan, Afghanistan)
Money transfer (M-PESA, Kenya; Obopay)
Transit payments (Mobile FeliCa, Japan)Mobile wallet (Paypal, Zong, Starbucks)
Payment providers and enablersStart-ups
Mobile operators
Money transfer companies
Handset manufacturers
Card issuers
Mobile operators
Handset manufacturers
Merchants
Start-ups
Web services players
Start-ups
Mobile operators
Merchants
Mobile operator participationHighMediumLow

Voice over LTE Gains Momentum, From Low Base

"The US and Asia, especially South Korea, are leading the voice over LTE charge, with Verizon Wireless, Metro PCS, SK Telecom and LG U all planning to launch VoLTE services this year,” says  Stéphane Téral Infonetics Research principal analyst for mobile infrastructure and carrier economics.

"South Korea and Hong Kong have already successfully launched LTE data roaming and by August, SK Telecom expects to have the Samsung Galaxy S3, the first handset to support VoLTE on their network," he says.

Keep in mind that the growth is from a small end user base. By 2016 VoLTE will make up only about 14 percent of global mobile VoIP revenue, while over-the-top mobile VoIP continues to make up the lion's share by far,” he says.

We Might Have to Accept Some Degree of AI "Not Net Zero"

An argument can be made that artificial intelligence operations will consume vast quantities of electricity and water, as well as create lot...