In an effort to mollify concerns about signal interference with GPS systems and users, LightSquared now has proposed operating at lower power for a period of time. To the extent that transmitter power is what causes the interference, the lower mobile tower transmission power levels should help. Just how much help that move will have, has to be tested.
Also, LightSquared only proposes to operate at lower power for a period of time, then would ramp power levels back up. Some might consider that an odd proposal. Perhaps the thinking is that GPS receiver manufacturers and end users would then have a transition period to wean themselves off devices that currently experience interference. LightSquared proposes lower-power solution
Some might doubt this will help LightSquared. In principle, the new user has to demonstrate it does not interfere with other existing users. If interference again becomes a problem in the future, LightSquared could be barred from operating. Permanently lower power levels would seem to be a different matter.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
LightSquared Proposes to Operate at Lower Power
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Yelp More Important than Facebook?
First of all, Yelp is all about local businesses, things to do, places to eat and be entertained. You can assume that when a user goes to Yelp, that user is trying to find someplace to go, or something to do, and wants information before making a choice.
In other words, the odds of converting a prospect into a customer arguably are higher than for a typical search.
Yelp combines social networking with community-generated reviews. Online since 2004, Yelp helps people find and share the best (and worst) of businesses. Yelp can help build exposure, allow businesses to monitor public opinion and research what potential buyers are looking for.
Yelp can support posting of discount offers, announcements and news about events.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Clearwire Raises $715.5 Million
Clearwire Corporation has raised $715.5 million in new capital, including a public offering of 201,250,000 shares of Class A common stock at $2.00 per share, raising net proceeds of $384.1 million, after underwriters' discounts and commissions.In addition, Sprint has purchased 173,635,000 shares of Class B Common Stock and a corresponding number of Class B units in Clearwire Communications LLC, which will provide Clearwire with an additional $331.4 million in net proceeds. The total net new capital available to Clearwire following today's closings is $715.5 million.
"This equity raise is a critical step for Clearwire to achieve its long-term business plan of creating the first wide-channel TDD-LTE 4G network in the U.S.," said Erik Prusch, president and CEO of Clearwire. Clearwire raises fresh capital
Some might have been skeptical Clearwire could raise that much, so quickly, or that Sprint would again up its investment in Clearwire. But all that has happened.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Is Distribution King?
At various times, it has been argued that content, distribution, context or some attribute actually is the crucial bottleneck, choke point or nexus of value in the media business.
Sometimes it has seemed that distribution was king; at other times content appeared to the gating partner in the ecosystem; while during the wildness of the Internet bubble it was argued that "context" was king.
All absolute observations are likely wrong to some degree, no matter what the prevailing view. Some might argue that in some ways, especially where it comes to online video, that "ubiquity" is king.
There is an argument to be made. Consider Netflix, which seems to have an for virtually every popular Internet-connected digital device you can think of. Is distribution still king?
It is true that consumers now are more in charge of when and how they watch video content than ever before. That increasingly means that getting convenient gateways to content on the widest possible number of devices is an important strategy for distributors. In many cases, that means an app.
As a result, the distribution companies that will win are those that recognize the need to be everywhere.
When it comes to capturing consumers’ attention now, a piece of content is only as good as its distribution, some will argue. That is true.
It also is true that even extensive distribution is of modest help unless the distributor has the "good content" most people want. So, as usual, you can make an argument that distribution is king, or that content is king.
Sometimes it has seemed that distribution was king; at other times content appeared to the gating partner in the ecosystem; while during the wildness of the Internet bubble it was argued that "context" was king.
All absolute observations are likely wrong to some degree, no matter what the prevailing view. Some might argue that in some ways, especially where it comes to online video, that "ubiquity" is king.
There is an argument to be made. Consider Netflix, which seems to have an for virtually every popular Internet-connected digital device you can think of. Is distribution still king?
It is true that consumers now are more in charge of when and how they watch video content than ever before. That increasingly means that getting convenient gateways to content on the widest possible number of devices is an important strategy for distributors. In many cases, that means an app.
As a result, the distribution companies that will win are those that recognize the need to be everywhere.
When it comes to capturing consumers’ attention now, a piece of content is only as good as its distribution, some will argue. That is true.
It also is true that even extensive distribution is of modest help unless the distributor has the "good content" most people want. So, as usual, you can make an argument that distribution is king, or that content is king.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Facebook Represents 52% of Online Sharing
Facebook now controls a thin majority of online sharing, according to data released today by AddThis. Facebook makes up 52.1 percent of all sharing on the web for the year 2011 to date, up from 44 percent last year and 33 percent the year before.
The statistics were gathered through the ClearSpring-owned company's sharing plugin, which is used by more than 11 million sites.
Social sharing
Social sharing
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
SkyDrive For iPhone Launches
Microsoft has launched SkyDrive for iPhone, the company's cloud storage and document collaboration service that lets users upload, store, and share things like videos, pictures, and documents.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Large U.S. Banks Split on Retail Mobile Payments
Large U.S. financial institutions will be introducing more sophisticated mobile banking apps in 2012, with an emphasis on transactional services such as remote deposit capture and mobile person-to-person payments, which will account for the bulk of mobile investment in 2012.
The banks surveyed remain split on plans to support mobile point-of-sale payments. While the surveyed financial institutions demonstrated a clear understanding of what it will take to make mobile point-of-sale payments a reality, many articulated a chicken-and-egg scenario in which concerns about consumer demand and merchant acceptance are hindering greater investment from their own institutions.
Plans to provide support for mobile point of sale payments vary greatly, with two of the surveyed financial institutions currently piloting such offerings, three saying they planned to support them at some point and the remaining five saying they had no plans to support mobile point-of-sale payments in the foreseeable future.
The survey, conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Fiserv in September 2011, evaluated the plans of 10 banks and credit unions that in total hold more than a third of all U.S. deposit accounts. Fiserv banking survey
While financial institutions view the progress of non-traditional competitors such as technology and telecommunications providers as a validation of mobile payments, and as a promotional tool to build consumer and merchant interest, the majority of the financial institutions surveyed stated that such announcements have had no or minimal impact on their own mobile payments strategy. “This may put them at risk of delivering new capabilities too late,” says Fiserv.
In the near term, banks likely have little to fear from new competitors in the core banking services part of the ecosystem. But banking executives cannot be unaware that in Canada, Rogers, the provider of cable TV and mobile services, already has applied for a charter to become a bank.
The initial thrust there seems to be the issuance of branded credit cards. But nobody thinks it will end there. Porting those capabilities to mobile devices will likely come next. The white paper is here.
The banks surveyed remain split on plans to support mobile point-of-sale payments. While the surveyed financial institutions demonstrated a clear understanding of what it will take to make mobile point-of-sale payments a reality, many articulated a chicken-and-egg scenario in which concerns about consumer demand and merchant acceptance are hindering greater investment from their own institutions.
Plans to provide support for mobile point of sale payments vary greatly, with two of the surveyed financial institutions currently piloting such offerings, three saying they planned to support them at some point and the remaining five saying they had no plans to support mobile point-of-sale payments in the foreseeable future.
The survey, conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Fiserv in September 2011, evaluated the plans of 10 banks and credit unions that in total hold more than a third of all U.S. deposit accounts. Fiserv banking survey
While financial institutions view the progress of non-traditional competitors such as technology and telecommunications providers as a validation of mobile payments, and as a promotional tool to build consumer and merchant interest, the majority of the financial institutions surveyed stated that such announcements have had no or minimal impact on their own mobile payments strategy. “This may put them at risk of delivering new capabilities too late,” says Fiserv.
In the near term, banks likely have little to fear from new competitors in the core banking services part of the ecosystem. But banking executives cannot be unaware that in Canada, Rogers, the provider of cable TV and mobile services, already has applied for a charter to become a bank.
The initial thrust there seems to be the issuance of branded credit cards. But nobody thinks it will end there. Porting those capabilities to mobile devices will likely come next. The white paper is here.
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
-
We have all repeatedly seen comparisons of equity value of hyperscale app providers compared to the value of connectivity providers, which s...
-
It really is surprising how often a Pareto distribution--the “80/20 rule--appears in business life, or in life, generally. Basically, the...
-
Who gets to use spectrum, and concerns about interference from other users, now appears to be an issue for Google’s Project Loon in India. ...
