Mobile Operators Get Into Single Sign-On with ZenKey

Single sign-on is a feature lots of consumers routinely use, in part because password management now is so difficult. U.S. mobile operators, though arguably late to the game, now plan to launch their own single sign-on service, called ZenKey. To be sure, the carriers tout the advantages of multi-factor authentication, including sources such as phone number, account type, user credentials, account tenure and subscriber identity module details. 

On the other hand, ZenKey will have to compete with Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as providers of single sign-on features. On the other hand, ZenKey is among the most-logical ways to use data stores mobile operators possess. 

The Mobile Authentication Taskforce--AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon--will announce the ZenKey in October 2019. 

The foray into password management might hinge on whether it is as easy to use as the other single sign-on services, or perhaps easier, if that is possible. Whether consumers believe the story about multi-factor advantages is another obvious issue. Also, we might get a test of how much trust consumers have in their mobile service providers, compared to the other big brand names in the space. 

source: Techtarget

DirecTV Funds 93% of AT&T Interest Payments

Cash flow is the issue and the rationale for the original purchase of DirecTV by AT&T. That remains the case, despite subscriber losses across the linear video ecosystem and the satellite delivery segment. Some might prefer that AT&T divest DirecTV assets, but there are big cash flow implications. And that, in the end, is the crux of the matter. 

AT&T has huge free cash flow requirements, to support its dividend and reduce debt loads. It was never clear to me what else AT&T might have done--instead of acquiring DirecTV--to grow its cash flow fast. 

The big attraction for any sale of the DirecTV assets is lower debt, but at the cost of lost cash flow. DirecTV might throw off about $6.3 billion in annual free cash flow, assuming DirecTV U.S. revenues of $27.5 billion and profit margins of 23 percent, translating into an EBITDA (cash flow) of about $6.3 billion.

Keep in mind that AT&T’s total interest obligations annually are about $6.8 billion. In other words, DirecTV cash flow funds abut 93 percent of AT&T’s total interest payments.  

source: Forbes

How Attractive is 5G Fixed Wireless?

How attractive is 5G fixed wireless as a substitute product for existing fixed network internet access? Substantial, according to a new Parks Associates survey. 

According to Craig Leslie, Parks Associates senior research analyst, "once the technology is explained to them, almost half are interested in replacing their fixed-line internet service with 5G home services."

As always, consumers say they will take certain actions, and then do not; or say they will not do some things, and then do them. So it is difficult to make too-certain predictions about consumer behavior related to 5G fixed wireless, when consumers are not required to consider price, retail packaging and other elements of service. 

On the other hand, substituting 5G fixed wireless for fixed network service does not require, as does 5G mobile phone service, investing in new handsets with substantial costs. In all likelihood, the effective cost of switching fixed internet access service should be minimal, if, as expected, ISPs make customer premises gear available at low recurring charges, at subsidized prices and in ways familiar to consumers. 

Demand for mobile 5G service likewise seems relatively high, with the caveat that respondents likely were not told they would have to buy new smartphones to use 5G, and in various price ranges possibly up to $1000 or more. 

That noted, more than 33 percent of U.S. broadband households (perhaps 80 percent of all homes) cite some level of familiarity with 5G and over 40 percent of U.S. broadband households are interested in 5G, according to Parks Associates. 

Ultimately, 5G will be used by nearly all consumers, as 4G now is. 

source: Parks Associates

Only 13 percent of respondents reported they would pay higher fees for 5G service, which is not a surprising finding, nor necessarily indicative of actual future behavior, once the concrete value propositions are commercial realities. 

And that transition could come fairly rapidly. According to Parks, 20 percent of broadband households bought at least one new smartphone in the first quarter of 2019. At that rate, a substantial opportunity to introduce 5G devices exists, once the networks are more developed, the supply of handsets is diverse and value propositions clearer.

What is DOCSIS 4.0?

Cable TV operators believe their hybrid fiber coax networks can keep increasing bandwidth. DOCSIS 4.0 supports 10 Gbps speeds. 

U.K. Connectivity Service Providers Score Poortly for Customer Service

Telecom service providers tend to score among the worst U.S. industries for customer satisfaction. Apparently, things are similar in the United Kingdom.  U.K. consumer product reviewer Which? Found that three of the five firms ranked worst for customer service in 2019 are connectivity service providers.

Mobile provider 02 did rank in the top half, however. 

source: Which?

What Will be Distinctive about 5G?

In a nutshell, the key to profitable 5G deployment is to invest as though the value is bandwidth reinforcement for 4G, in areas of greatest need, without all the futuristic stuff, so cost is contained. 

That overlay approach would focus 5G investment on cell site coverage areas where there is greatest demand, using dynamic spectrum sharing and other tools to gradually introduce 5G on a network-wide basis. That allows 5G investment to happen largely within existing capital budgets. 

Still, the new platform creates the foundation for distinctive new use cases that are virtually certain to emerge. 

That has been the case for every prior mobile generation. Where the lead app for analog mobile was simply voice “on the go,” for business users and well-heeled consumers, 2G added text messaging. 

source: Qualcomm

The 3G network added mobile web access and mobile email. The distinctive 4G experience is the ability to consume video. It is not clear what might emerge in the 5G era for consumer apps. Most observers believe enterprise apps and internet of things (machines talking to machines) will be distinctive features of 5G.

Jim Keller of Intel Says Moore’s Law is Not Dead

Jim Keller of Intel helped architect Athlon64 and Ryzen processors. And he says Moore's Law can continue.