Sunday, June 7, 2015

Will Mobile Supply 90% of Internet Access by 2020?

If, by 2020, about 90 percent of humans can buy Internet access from a mobile broadband network, it is safe to predict that Internet access will largely be provided by mobile service providers.

If availability is as robust as Ericsson believes, service providers will have ample incentives to create service plans most potential users can afford.

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Saturday, June 6, 2015

Facebook Lite Launched

It has been quite a long time since any developer really needed to worry about writing really-efficient code.

It has been a long time since any major app has had to be designed to work with limited bandwidth, storage and computing power.

In markets where gigabits of storage cost only cents, few worry about device clock speed and fixed network Internet access inexorably pushes toward gigabit per second ranges, Wi-Fi really is becoming nearly ubiquitous and Long Term Evolution networks are highly available, the notion that efficiency really matters is a bit foreign.

But efficiency is a big issue and a big cost element in markets where reliable access is limited to 2G networks, 3G coverage is spotty at best and there are no fixed networks, while people use feature phones or lower-end smartphones.

Efficiency means better user experience and lower end user costs in many markets where cost is a big issue.

So it is that Facebook has created Facebook Lite , a new version of Facebook for Android that uses less data and works well across all network conditions, said Vijay Shankar, Product Manager for Facebook Lite.

“More than a billion people around the world access Facebook from a range of mobile devices on varying networks,” he said. “In many areas, networks can be slow and not able to support all the functionality found in Facebook for Android.”

Facebook Lite enables a reliable Facebook experience when bandwidth is at a minimum.

The Facebook Lite app consumes less than 1MB so it is fast to install and quick to load. It includes Facebook’s core experiences like News Feed, status updates, photos, notifications and more.

Facebook Lite is available in countries across Asia, and soon will be launched in parts of Latin America, Africa and Europe, Shankar said.

Were consistency an issue, one would expect to hear complaints about creation of a two-tier Internet.

Friday, June 5, 2015

Smartphones will Represent 70% of All Mobile Phones in Service by 2020

By 2020, 70 percent of all mobile phones in service globally will be smartphones, Ericsson now predicts. Video continues to be the key growth factor, with 60 percent of all mobile data traffic forecast to be from online video by 2020.

Global mobile subscriptions are growing by 1.5 percent quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of 2015 and around five percent year over year, with Asia driving much of the growth.

India grew the most in terms of net additions (26 million), followed by China (eight million), Myanmar (five million), Indonesia (four million) and Japan (four million).

source: Ericsson

Ultimately, Dish Network and T-Mobile US are Sellers, Not Buyers

Some might reasonably argue that, no matter what happens with Dish Network and T-Mobile US (acquisition or not), both assets ultimately belong to owners that structurally must be “sellers” not “buyers.”

Sprint likely also remains a strategic seller, not a buyer, even if the potential unwillingness of its owner to sell is an issue.

The obvious strategic buyer is Comcast. But a combined Dish Network and T-Mobile US presents some problems.

Comcast does not need, and likely does not want, the satellite TV assets Dish Network owns. So it might want to spin them off. To whom that could be done is the issue. Dish CEO Charlie Ergen is correct that Dish Network is an asset that dwindles, over time. Any potential buyer would have to deal with that, as well.

Some might argue a combined T-Mobile and Dish is a far more attractive asset, in the sense that it combines T-Mobile US facilities with Dish Network spectrum.

But that same argument would hold for Sprint--facilities and lots of spectrum--as well. And there would not be the need to spin off the satellite TV assets. But Sprint seems not to be for sale. T-Mobile US is for sale.

A bigger Dish Network arguably is more attractive for a firm such as Comcast, even with the need to dispose of the satellite TV assets, because of the enhanced spectrum holdings.

But, under different conditions, Sprint would provide the same benefits to Comcast.

In one clear sense, Dish Network might be acquiring T-Mobile US to escape the satellite TV niche, and also to set up a more attractive eventual exit.

Wi-Fi Gaining Traction in Sri Lanka

Wi-Fi hotspots might be a more important platform for Internet access across South Asia than many presently believe.

Chanuka Wattegama, board director of the Information and Communication Technology Agency in Sri Lanka, said Sri Lanka has a low-cost Wi-Fi project that offers the first 100MB for free each month.

About 40 percent of users manage to stay under the 100 MB mark, he said. Perhaps paradoxically, some larger mobile operators seem to believe highly available Wi-Fi helps theire business, while smaller providers fear the low-cost Wi-Fi service is a threat.

The M Hotel Singapore | 10-11 September 2015

Which platforms will win the race to connect the next two billion in Asia?

Spectrum Futures 2015 will examine spectrum abundance:

Licensing use of spectrum impossible to use in the past
Sharing spectrum without clearing existing users
Wi-Fi, balloons, new satellite constellations and other new platforms

Spectrum Futures 2015 will bring together regulators and service providers from throughout the Asia-Pacific region to allow the exchange of ideas about key policies to help emerging markets like India, the Phillipines, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia and Myanmar connect to their populations to the Internet within the next decade.

Join the conversation at Spectrum Futures 2015.