Wi-Fi enabled handset shipments have exploded over the past year, and will continue to show strong growth over the next several years. With the increasing availability, Wi-Fi hotspot usage by handheld devices has increased significantly.
As a percentage of total network connects, handhelds (mobile smartphones, etc.) increased from 20 percent in 2008 to 35 percent in 2009. By 2011 handhelds will account for half of hotspot connects, according to the latest study by In-Stat.
Other factors are affecting handheld Wi-Fi usage growth as well. There are now a predominance of mobile carriers offering services within the hotspot market, resulting in the promotion of Wi-Fi enabled handset devices.
New dual-mode Wi-Fi phones are coming to the market. Growth in applications, such as content download, or even more so VoIP over Wi-Fi (VoFi), will drive usage of handheld devices over the coming years.
Emerging high-growth markets, such as China, are now witnessing the launch of new hotspot services -- where they had previously restricted Wi-Fi usage on handhelds.
"The ubiquity of Wi-Fi has created hotspot coverage as an expected amenity at many places of business," says Frank Dickson, In-Stat analyst.
While consumer or leisure users do not often carry a laptop, they do have Wi-Fi enabled handhelds and are using these devices to access hotspots. This, coupled with the service being bundled with mobile plans, is making hotspot access much more consumer-oriented compared to the former business focus.
In-Stat's market study found the following:
- Hotspot estimated usage increased in 2009 by 47 percent, bringing total worldwide connects to 1.2 billion.
- Wi-Fi handset shipments grew from 2007 to 2008, by over 50 percent. This growth is a result from increased phone functionality, falling price points, and carrier promotion.
- Wi-Fi-enabled entertainment device, such as cameras, gaming devices, and personal media players (PMPs) shipments will increase from 108.8 million in 2009 to 177.3 million in 2013.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Navigate Internet Video with a Wireless Mouse
The forecast growth for IP Video adoption and consumption has been a hot topic of our commentary during 2009. Of course, you can anticipate my continued coverage of this significant storyline in 2010.
For all those people who have yet to discover the abundance of video content online -- and particularly those who still doubt that watching streamed IP Video on a television screen is an enjoyable experience -- this insight may help.
We launched the IP Video Curator project to explore this evolving landscape. Slowly but surely, it's becoming progressively easier to find the online video content that you crave, based upon your own personal (and perhaps eclectic) interests.
Once you've found what you're looking for, you may experiment watching long-form content on a larger screen, such as a standard television in your home. If you already own one of the newer PCs, then you may have access to the single cable HDMI PC-to-TV connection solution.
Otherwise, many of the portable laptop and notebook PCs in the marketplace include an S-Video out connector, and the majority also includes a headphone connector. Once you purchase the cables required to hook-up a PC to the TV, you’ll be ready to experience IP Video on a big screen.
If you're like me, and you find yourself browsing numerous Web sites to discover new content, or to view one of the many live TV channel streams from around the world, then you will miss the familiar convenience of your TV remote control for content navigation.
Fortunately, there's a simple solution. You can connect a Wireless Mouse to your PC and easily navigate to the streaming video content from the comfort of your couch or easy-chair -- then conveniently start, pause or stop the video playback.
I use an affordable Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse (model 96672) from Verbatim. The application software, that's provided with the mouse, enables you to reconfigure the center scroll/tilt wheel. Select the "escape" key function to be activated when you downward-click the wheel -- this will make it possible to leave the "full screen" mode of any video player, and return to a Web page.
I highly recommend the addition of a wireless mouse, beyond this video viewing application, because it's a real benefit for many other routine uses as well.
How might the lean-back experience of IP Video improve? During 2010, I anticipate that more Web sites will offer an optimized user interface for large-screen viewing, similar to the simplified YouTube XL design from Google.
For all those people who have yet to discover the abundance of video content online -- and particularly those who still doubt that watching streamed IP Video on a television screen is an enjoyable experience -- this insight may help.
We launched the IP Video Curator project to explore this evolving landscape. Slowly but surely, it's becoming progressively easier to find the online video content that you crave, based upon your own personal (and perhaps eclectic) interests.
Once you've found what you're looking for, you may experiment watching long-form content on a larger screen, such as a standard television in your home. If you already own one of the newer PCs, then you may have access to the single cable HDMI PC-to-TV connection solution.
Otherwise, many of the portable laptop and notebook PCs in the marketplace include an S-Video out connector, and the majority also includes a headphone connector. Once you purchase the cables required to hook-up a PC to the TV, you’ll be ready to experience IP Video on a big screen.
If you're like me, and you find yourself browsing numerous Web sites to discover new content, or to view one of the many live TV channel streams from around the world, then you will miss the familiar convenience of your TV remote control for content navigation.
Fortunately, there's a simple solution. You can connect a Wireless Mouse to your PC and easily navigate to the streaming video content from the comfort of your couch or easy-chair -- then conveniently start, pause or stop the video playback.
I use an affordable Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse (model 96672) from Verbatim. The application software, that's provided with the mouse, enables you to reconfigure the center scroll/tilt wheel. Select the "escape" key function to be activated when you downward-click the wheel -- this will make it possible to leave the "full screen" mode of any video player, and return to a Web page.
I highly recommend the addition of a wireless mouse, beyond this video viewing application, because it's a real benefit for many other routine uses as well.
How might the lean-back experience of IP Video improve? During 2010, I anticipate that more Web sites will offer an optimized user interface for large-screen viewing, similar to the simplified YouTube XL design from Google.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Social Media Savvy "Talent Puddle" in 2010
Forward-looking companies are turning their attention to social media sites, but are neglecting the Mobile Internet channel for deepening customer relationships, according to the latest market study by Econsultancy and digital agency, cScape.
While presence on social networks has almost doubled from 23 to 44 percent of companies and use of micro-blogging has gone up five-fold (from 7 to 35 percent) year-on-year, only 11 percent of companies surveyed are planning a significant investment in the mobile channel.
A large proportion (41 percent) of companies are not planning any investment at all in mobile in 2010, while a further 49 percent are planning only limited investment.
Why is there this inaction, given the increased use of multimedia-enabled mobile smartphones and the groundswell adoption of Mobile Internet apps in 2009?
Over half of marketers blame this inertia on a lack of experienced human resources -- which was also cited as an obstacle to improving online engagement in general in the last 12 months by 52 percent; about the same percentage as last year.
The social media Practitioner limited talent pool is the key roadblock to progress -- upon honest reflection, it's more like a relatively shallow talent puddle, when compared to the abundant availability of legacy marcom Luddites pondering their collective fate.
In addition, while social media usage has blossomed since last year and 61 percent of marketers say that they expect consumers to be less tolerant of poor service over the next year, only a quarter are tapping into user feedback and ratings for product development and innovation.
With 29 percent saying they're encouraged to use social media to build customer dialogue, and yet only 17 percent having processes or workflows in place to enable staff use of social media, it's clear that many companies aren't prepared for the marketing reality in 2010.
Linus Gregoriadis, Econsultancy's Research Director, said "Companies should be thinking hard about their strategies for mobile and for channeling online feedback from customers back into the product development process, but the research suggests that this is not the case."
“Lack of resources, skills and experience are cited as obstacles, but today's customers expect a seamless approach when they deal with companies -- irrespective of whether they are calling them up for information, commenting on a blog or trying to buy something online while on the move."
While presence on social networks has almost doubled from 23 to 44 percent of companies and use of micro-blogging has gone up five-fold (from 7 to 35 percent) year-on-year, only 11 percent of companies surveyed are planning a significant investment in the mobile channel.
A large proportion (41 percent) of companies are not planning any investment at all in mobile in 2010, while a further 49 percent are planning only limited investment.
Why is there this inaction, given the increased use of multimedia-enabled mobile smartphones and the groundswell adoption of Mobile Internet apps in 2009?
Over half of marketers blame this inertia on a lack of experienced human resources -- which was also cited as an obstacle to improving online engagement in general in the last 12 months by 52 percent; about the same percentage as last year.
The social media Practitioner limited talent pool is the key roadblock to progress -- upon honest reflection, it's more like a relatively shallow talent puddle, when compared to the abundant availability of legacy marcom Luddites pondering their collective fate.
In addition, while social media usage has blossomed since last year and 61 percent of marketers say that they expect consumers to be less tolerant of poor service over the next year, only a quarter are tapping into user feedback and ratings for product development and innovation.
With 29 percent saying they're encouraged to use social media to build customer dialogue, and yet only 17 percent having processes or workflows in place to enable staff use of social media, it's clear that many companies aren't prepared for the marketing reality in 2010.
Linus Gregoriadis, Econsultancy's Research Director, said "Companies should be thinking hard about their strategies for mobile and for channeling online feedback from customers back into the product development process, but the research suggests that this is not the case."
“Lack of resources, skills and experience are cited as obstacles, but today's customers expect a seamless approach when they deal with companies -- irrespective of whether they are calling them up for information, commenting on a blog or trying to buy something online while on the move."
Monday, December 28, 2009
Reality Check: State of the Media Democracy
Digitization, broadband, and mobile technologies are forcing drastic changes to existing business and service provider revenue models. How should your organization respond?
To ensure you are making the right decisions, you need to understand how consumer preferences and habits are changing as well.
According to the latest market study by Deloitte, their fourth edition of the "State of the Media Democracy" survey provides a generational reality check on how consumers are interacting with technology, purchasing products, and responding to advertising -- and what they want in the future.
International in scope, the survey continues to focus on consumers between the ages of 14 and 75 from countries like Brazil, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, South Korea and India.
Conducted by an independent research firm from September 11th through October 13th 2009, the latest Deloitte market study explores distinct differences among four generations.
Highlights from the Deloitte study include:
Over 70 percent of U.S. consumers rank watching TV in their top three favorite media activities. And, when ranked alongside activities such as surfing the Web, listening to music or reading, 34 percent of Americans place it at the top of the list -- a 26 percent increase from last year.
U.S. consumers used the following platforms to watch TV shows.
- 77 percent watched them live on their home TV.
- 30 percent watched them via their DVR and home TV.
- 17 percent watched them via a free IP video service (Hulu, etc).
- 18 percent watched via the show's Web site, up from 13% last year.
- 10 percent viewed them from a video-sharing site (YouTube, etc).
- 3 percent watched them on a portable video player.
- 2 percent watched them on their mobile or smartphone.
To ensure you are making the right decisions, you need to understand how consumer preferences and habits are changing as well.
According to the latest market study by Deloitte, their fourth edition of the "State of the Media Democracy" survey provides a generational reality check on how consumers are interacting with technology, purchasing products, and responding to advertising -- and what they want in the future.
International in scope, the survey continues to focus on consumers between the ages of 14 and 75 from countries like Brazil, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, South Korea and India.
Conducted by an independent research firm from September 11th through October 13th 2009, the latest Deloitte market study explores distinct differences among four generations.
Highlights from the Deloitte study include:
Over 70 percent of U.S. consumers rank watching TV in their top three favorite media activities. And, when ranked alongside activities such as surfing the Web, listening to music or reading, 34 percent of Americans place it at the top of the list -- a 26 percent increase from last year.
U.S. consumers used the following platforms to watch TV shows.
- 77 percent watched them live on their home TV.
- 30 percent watched them via their DVR and home TV.
- 17 percent watched them via a free IP video service (Hulu, etc).
- 18 percent watched via the show's Web site, up from 13% last year.
- 10 percent viewed them from a video-sharing site (YouTube, etc).
- 3 percent watched them on a portable video player.
- 2 percent watched them on their mobile or smartphone.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Tips for 2010 Social Media Marketing Strategy
eMarketer reports that as marketers become more experienced using social media, they naturally progress from the "trial phase" of their online marketing efforts toward a more strategic use.
While most marketers are still in a state of flux, according to the MarketingSherpa assessment, about one-quarter of social media marketers have already made it to the strategic phase of their efforts. Frankly, I doubt that percentage is accurate, based upon what I've witnessed.
eMarketer says that gaining maturity means improving the ability to tie objectives to specific metrics. Marketers in the strategic phase are significantly more likely than those in earlier phases of the process to measure their success across all objectives.
That said, an increase in Website traffic was the number one objective targeted and measured by all marketers surveyed. In contrast, finding mentors and retraining your legacy marketing staff, to regularly interact and engage online, should be the highest priority.
Meaning, you simply can't adequately scale your daily online activity if it's the responsibility of a few people that are deemed the "social media expert" group.
"Defining specific objectives for a social marketing initiative is only half the battle. The other half is aligning those objectives with corresponding metrics," according to the MarketingSherpa report. "This alignment is important because it enables an organization to measure its progress in achieving the objectives and proving ROI."
Therefore, how many members of your total marketing team are fully trained and aligned with the essential acts of content re-purposing, online discussion monitoring and active participation?
If your organization is typical, then it's likely to be very few people -- and there's your challenge for 2010, as most traditional advertising and marketing communication practices are proven to be totally ineffectual.
Most social marketing budget investment (60 percent) next year will go toward staff salaries for activities -- such as blogging, content development and monitoring of social channels. Another two-fifths will be consumed by outside help from agencies, consultancies and service providers.
So, I offer these two key tips to help you make the most of your marketing budget in 2010, and truly evolve to a strategic use of current social media marketing techniques.
Raise the bar of expectations, and develop a meaningful plan to "mainstream" this essential activity in your marcom team. Note, your first priority is to retain the talent that is able to create content and actively engage. Next, determine who is willing and able to learn new skills. The remainder of the team must go, so you have available budget to perform the tasks in-house or via external talent.
Don't rush to hire agency talent or consultants. First make sure your internal team fully utilizes the free social media tools before you spend anything on fee-based professional services. Then, selectively hire supplemental talent to fill any skill or resource gaps -- insist that mentoring and skills transfer (to your internal marcom team) is an integral part of the project statement of work.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Multi-Service Business Gateway for SMB Apps
Multi-Service Business Gateway (MSBG) equipment manufacturers have shifted their focus from the U.S. enterprise branch-office market to small businesses and selected vertical markets around the world, according to the latest market study by In-Stat.
Here in Austin Texas, CLEAR recently launched its 4G WiMAX wireless service -- continuing their Cisco 4G WiMAX solutions deployment -- including service offerings specifically targeted at local small businesses.
According to In-Stat, worldwide MSBG revenue is expected to grow slowly from $729 million in 2009 to $951 million in 2013. MSBGs are defined as products purposely designed for small business and branch office applications that integrate multiple communication voice, data, and video functions into a single device.
Since 2007, the number of enterprise branch offices in the U.S. has declined by nearly 6 percent to 1.48 million establishments. Small business start-ups and the expansion of enterprise branch offices are expected to climb, but not until 2011.
Full economic recovery in the U.S. will not be realized for an extended period of time. Keith Nissen, In-Stat Principal Analyst, points out that MSBG equipment suppliers are increasingly focusing on international markets, especially India, China and Latin America that were less hard hit by the global downturn.
In-Stat's market study found the following:
- MSBGs sales in developing countries are being justified based on the replacement of expensive TDM trunks with less expensive IP connections.
- A market for MSBGs with WiMAX, or cellular mobile network connectivity, is now also emerging in Europe and North Africa.
- In-Stat forecasts negligible small business and branch office growth in the U.S. through 2013, but in other regions the number of these offices will be expanding by up to 4 percent annually.
Here in Austin Texas, CLEAR recently launched its 4G WiMAX wireless service -- continuing their Cisco 4G WiMAX solutions deployment -- including service offerings specifically targeted at local small businesses.
According to In-Stat, worldwide MSBG revenue is expected to grow slowly from $729 million in 2009 to $951 million in 2013. MSBGs are defined as products purposely designed for small business and branch office applications that integrate multiple communication voice, data, and video functions into a single device.
Since 2007, the number of enterprise branch offices in the U.S. has declined by nearly 6 percent to 1.48 million establishments. Small business start-ups and the expansion of enterprise branch offices are expected to climb, but not until 2011.
Full economic recovery in the U.S. will not be realized for an extended period of time. Keith Nissen, In-Stat Principal Analyst, points out that MSBG equipment suppliers are increasingly focusing on international markets, especially India, China and Latin America that were less hard hit by the global downturn.
In-Stat's market study found the following:
- MSBGs sales in developing countries are being justified based on the replacement of expensive TDM trunks with less expensive IP connections.
- A market for MSBGs with WiMAX, or cellular mobile network connectivity, is now also emerging in Europe and North Africa.
- In-Stat forecasts negligible small business and branch office growth in the U.S. through 2013, but in other regions the number of these offices will be expanding by up to 4 percent annually.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
6 Billion Youtube Video Streams in November
IP Video year-over-year, unique viewers, total streams, streams per viewer and time per viewer were up, led by 17 percent growth in total streams during November 2009, according to the latest market study by Nielsen.
There were 138.4 million unique viewers of online video that month. They watched 11.2 billion video streams, or about 81 streams per viewer. Viewers spent 200 minutes per viewer, on average, watching online video streams.
One notable example of this amazing growth -- retaining its number one rank, by far -- Youtube served up 6,753,100,000 total video streams in November 2009.
Nielsen combines patented panel and census research methodologies to provide an accurate count of viewing activity and engagement along with in-depth demographic reporting.
Online video viewing is tracked according to video player, which can be used on site or embedded elsewhere on the Web. For example, if a "Saturday Night Live" clip from NBC.com is embedded on a personal blog, that video would be attributed to NBC because of the NBC video player.
A unique viewer is anyone who viewed a full episode, part of an episode or a program clip during the month. A stream is a program segment. Note, Nielsen VideoCensus measurement does not include video advertising.
Effective with June 2009 data reporting, Nielsen has made several enhancements to the VideoCensus service, including a panel that is eight times larger, more granular reporting and improved accuracy and representativeness.
For some sites, trending of previously-reported data with current results may show percentage differences attributable to these product enhancements and should only be compared directionally.
There were 138.4 million unique viewers of online video that month. They watched 11.2 billion video streams, or about 81 streams per viewer. Viewers spent 200 minutes per viewer, on average, watching online video streams.
One notable example of this amazing growth -- retaining its number one rank, by far -- Youtube served up 6,753,100,000 total video streams in November 2009.
Nielsen combines patented panel and census research methodologies to provide an accurate count of viewing activity and engagement along with in-depth demographic reporting.
Online video viewing is tracked according to video player, which can be used on site or embedded elsewhere on the Web. For example, if a "Saturday Night Live" clip from NBC.com is embedded on a personal blog, that video would be attributed to NBC because of the NBC video player.
A unique viewer is anyone who viewed a full episode, part of an episode or a program clip during the month. A stream is a program segment. Note, Nielsen VideoCensus measurement does not include video advertising.
Effective with June 2009 data reporting, Nielsen has made several enhancements to the VideoCensus service, including a panel that is eight times larger, more granular reporting and improved accuracy and representativeness.
For some sites, trending of previously-reported data with current results may show percentage differences attributable to these product enhancements and should only be compared directionally.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Content to be Next OTT Video Battleground
According to the latest market study by Futuresource Consulting, televisions and Blu-ray video disc players that are capable of accessing IP Video content directly from the Internet emerged in Europe during 2009.
It's a growing category, with a forecast of more than 20 percent of flat panel TVs shipped in 2010 being able to connect to the Internet (via Ethernet and/or Wi-Fi).
"In Europe, four of the major brands have already launched Internet connected TV products that go beyond basic home networking functionality and allow delivery of over-the-top (OTT) web services," says David Watkins, Research Consultant at Futuresource.
This includes basic weather and news pages, social networking, video streaming and catch-up TV. Although initially limited to high-end and mid-range products, Watkins believes that we're going to see a web connectivity feature on an increasing number of products next year -- eventually, becoming a standard capability within two to three years.
Futuresource expects related content creativity to be the next battleground and a key driver for connection and usage -- particularly through interaction with social networking sites and access to recently released movies.
By the end of 2010, the installed base of connected TVs will swell to 15 million devices, representing nearly 10 percent of the total number of flat panel TVs in use.
The next step for manufacturers will be to add more compelling video services, including paid for movie streaming that will create revenue sharing opportunities with content owners, aggregators and application developers.
Visit my IP Video Curator project, to learn more about these content aggregation and personalized filtering resources.
Futuresource expects sophisticated services to be launched early in 2010, including major catch-up TV services and VoD services, which will offer stiffer competition to the premium subscriptions offered by Pay TV operators.
A a result of this evolutionary development, where direct online IP Video access is built-in to most TV sets, it's not clear yet how this will impact the the market opportunity for hybrid set-top box (STB) devices.
It's a growing category, with a forecast of more than 20 percent of flat panel TVs shipped in 2010 being able to connect to the Internet (via Ethernet and/or Wi-Fi).
"In Europe, four of the major brands have already launched Internet connected TV products that go beyond basic home networking functionality and allow delivery of over-the-top (OTT) web services," says David Watkins, Research Consultant at Futuresource.
This includes basic weather and news pages, social networking, video streaming and catch-up TV. Although initially limited to high-end and mid-range products, Watkins believes that we're going to see a web connectivity feature on an increasing number of products next year -- eventually, becoming a standard capability within two to three years.
Futuresource expects related content creativity to be the next battleground and a key driver for connection and usage -- particularly through interaction with social networking sites and access to recently released movies.
By the end of 2010, the installed base of connected TVs will swell to 15 million devices, representing nearly 10 percent of the total number of flat panel TVs in use.
The next step for manufacturers will be to add more compelling video services, including paid for movie streaming that will create revenue sharing opportunities with content owners, aggregators and application developers.
Visit my IP Video Curator project, to learn more about these content aggregation and personalized filtering resources.
Futuresource expects sophisticated services to be launched early in 2010, including major catch-up TV services and VoD services, which will offer stiffer competition to the premium subscriptions offered by Pay TV operators.
A a result of this evolutionary development, where direct online IP Video access is built-in to most TV sets, it's not clear yet how this will impact the the market opportunity for hybrid set-top box (STB) devices.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Operators Prepare for Mobile Internet Surge
Demand for smartphones, regular mobile phones, and wireless broadband services continues to drive the carrier base station market, according to the latest market study by In-Stat. The number of newly deployed macro cellular base stations will grow over 10 percent in 2009.
Of new macro cellular base station shipments, WCDMA base station shipments will make up the lion's share of all base station shipments worldwide, accounting for about 50 percent of the total base station revenue.
By 2013, In-Stat forecasts that the percent that WCDMA contributes to total base station revenue will exceed 70 percent and LTE base stations will account for another 20 percent of the total.
"WCDMA/HSPA base stations will be the work horses of wireless data networks," says Allen Nogee, In-Stat analyst. "Many operators, worldwide, are in the process of rolling out, or enhancing, their current CDMA networks, including a very large rollout of CDMA by China Unicom. China Unicom was awarded the WCDMA contract to provide services in China. WCDMA will gain the most subscribers, with CDMA2000 and TD-SCDMA taking the distant second and third positions."
In-Stat's market study found the following:
- From 2008 to 2013, total base station revenue is forecast to decrease by almost 3 percent CAGR. Not only do base stations continue to drop in price, but also the mix of base stations is changing. Smaller base stations are being deployed, and many more LTE base stations are forecast to ship. LTE base stations are significantly cheaper than WCDMA base stations and this will account for much in the way of decreased base station revenue going forward.
- While there is no growth for GSM in areas that are transitioning to WCDMA, there is growth of GSM subscribers in Africa, India, China, and Latin and South America. Still, In-Stat believes that GSM base station shipments will decline every year going forward.
- The fastest base station technology to grow, in terms of compound annual growth rate is TD-SCDMA, but this can be a bit misleading, because TD-SCDMA is a new technology recently licensed as a 3G technology in China and the technology didn't exist much before 2007.
- LTE is rolling out. The majority of the committed operators have roll-outs scheduled for 2012 and 2013. In the U.S., Verizon is in the process of deploying LTE. Verizon has said that it hopes to have 20–30 markets with operating LTE by the end of 2010, with more in 2011, and an LTE smartphone as well in 2011.
Of new macro cellular base station shipments, WCDMA base station shipments will make up the lion's share of all base station shipments worldwide, accounting for about 50 percent of the total base station revenue.
By 2013, In-Stat forecasts that the percent that WCDMA contributes to total base station revenue will exceed 70 percent and LTE base stations will account for another 20 percent of the total.
"WCDMA/HSPA base stations will be the work horses of wireless data networks," says Allen Nogee, In-Stat analyst. "Many operators, worldwide, are in the process of rolling out, or enhancing, their current CDMA networks, including a very large rollout of CDMA by China Unicom. China Unicom was awarded the WCDMA contract to provide services in China. WCDMA will gain the most subscribers, with CDMA2000 and TD-SCDMA taking the distant second and third positions."
In-Stat's market study found the following:
- From 2008 to 2013, total base station revenue is forecast to decrease by almost 3 percent CAGR. Not only do base stations continue to drop in price, but also the mix of base stations is changing. Smaller base stations are being deployed, and many more LTE base stations are forecast to ship. LTE base stations are significantly cheaper than WCDMA base stations and this will account for much in the way of decreased base station revenue going forward.
- While there is no growth for GSM in areas that are transitioning to WCDMA, there is growth of GSM subscribers in Africa, India, China, and Latin and South America. Still, In-Stat believes that GSM base station shipments will decline every year going forward.
- The fastest base station technology to grow, in terms of compound annual growth rate is TD-SCDMA, but this can be a bit misleading, because TD-SCDMA is a new technology recently licensed as a 3G technology in China and the technology didn't exist much before 2007.
- LTE is rolling out. The majority of the committed operators have roll-outs scheduled for 2012 and 2013. In the U.S., Verizon is in the process of deploying LTE. Verizon has said that it hopes to have 20–30 markets with operating LTE by the end of 2010, with more in 2011, and an LTE smartphone as well in 2011.
Monday, December 21, 2009
New Growth Forecast for Mobile Internet Users
In 2009, there are now more than 450 million Mobile Internet users worldwide, a number that will more than double by the end of 2013. Driven by the popularity and affordability of mobile phones, smartphones, and other wireless devices, IDC expects the number of mobile devices accessing the Internet to surpass the one billion mark over the next four years.
"The number of mobile devices with Internet access has simply exploded over the last several years," said John Gantz, chief research officer at IDC. "With a wealth of information and services available from almost anywhere, Internet-connected mobile devices are reshaping the way we go about our personal and professional lives."
With an explosion in applications for mobile devices underway, the next several years will witness another significant change in the way users interact with the Internet and further blur the lines between personal and professional applications.
The most popular online activities of Mobile Internet users are similar to those of other Internet users: using search engines, reading news and sports information, downloading music and videos, and sending/receiving email and instant messages.
Over the next four years, IDC expects some of the fastest growing applications for mobile Internet users will be making online purchases, participating in online communities, and creating blogs.
Accessing online business applications and corporate email systems will also grow rapidly as businesses move to empower their mobile workforce.
IDC's market study highlights include:
- More than 1.6 billion people – a little over a quarter of the world's population – used the Internet in 2009. By 2013, over 2.2 billion people – more than one third of the world's population – is expected to be using the Internet.
- More than 1.6 billion devices worldwide were used to access the Internet in 2009, including PCs, mobile phones, and online video game consoles. By 2013, the total number of devices accessing the Internet will increase to more than 2.7 billion.
- China continues to have more Internet users than any other country, with 359 million in 2009. This number is expected to grow to 566 million by 2013. The United States had 261 million Internet users in 2009, a figure that will reach 280 million in 2013. India will have one of the fastest growing Internet populations, growing almost two-fold between 2009 and 2013.
- Presently, the United States has far more total devices connected to the Internet than any other country. China, however, is the leader in in the number of mobile online devices with almost 85 million mobile devices connected to the Internet in 2009. The number of Internet devices in India, both mobile and fixed, is expected to grow commensurate with the number of Internet users.
- Worldwide, more than 624 million Internet users will make online purchases in 2009, totaling nearly $8 trillion (both business to business and business to consumer). By 2013, worldwide eCommerce transactions will be worth more than $16 trillion.
- Worldwide spending on Internet advertising will total nearly $61 billion in 2009, which is slightly more than 10 percent of all ad spending across all media. This share is expected to reach almost 15percent by 2013 as Internet ad spending grows surpasses $100 billion worldwide.
"The number of mobile devices with Internet access has simply exploded over the last several years," said John Gantz, chief research officer at IDC. "With a wealth of information and services available from almost anywhere, Internet-connected mobile devices are reshaping the way we go about our personal and professional lives."
With an explosion in applications for mobile devices underway, the next several years will witness another significant change in the way users interact with the Internet and further blur the lines between personal and professional applications.
The most popular online activities of Mobile Internet users are similar to those of other Internet users: using search engines, reading news and sports information, downloading music and videos, and sending/receiving email and instant messages.
Over the next four years, IDC expects some of the fastest growing applications for mobile Internet users will be making online purchases, participating in online communities, and creating blogs.
Accessing online business applications and corporate email systems will also grow rapidly as businesses move to empower their mobile workforce.
IDC's market study highlights include:
- More than 1.6 billion people – a little over a quarter of the world's population – used the Internet in 2009. By 2013, over 2.2 billion people – more than one third of the world's population – is expected to be using the Internet.
- More than 1.6 billion devices worldwide were used to access the Internet in 2009, including PCs, mobile phones, and online video game consoles. By 2013, the total number of devices accessing the Internet will increase to more than 2.7 billion.
- China continues to have more Internet users than any other country, with 359 million in 2009. This number is expected to grow to 566 million by 2013. The United States had 261 million Internet users in 2009, a figure that will reach 280 million in 2013. India will have one of the fastest growing Internet populations, growing almost two-fold between 2009 and 2013.
- Presently, the United States has far more total devices connected to the Internet than any other country. China, however, is the leader in in the number of mobile online devices with almost 85 million mobile devices connected to the Internet in 2009. The number of Internet devices in India, both mobile and fixed, is expected to grow commensurate with the number of Internet users.
- Worldwide, more than 624 million Internet users will make online purchases in 2009, totaling nearly $8 trillion (both business to business and business to consumer). By 2013, worldwide eCommerce transactions will be worth more than $16 trillion.
- Worldwide spending on Internet advertising will total nearly $61 billion in 2009, which is slightly more than 10 percent of all ad spending across all media. This share is expected to reach almost 15percent by 2013 as Internet ad spending grows surpasses $100 billion worldwide.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Social Media Benchmarking Study Results
eMarketer reports that business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) marketers actively adopted social media in 2009. According to research from Business.com, however, the two types of marketers have very different social site usage patterns.
The market study found that those B2B companies already using social media were much more active in the space than their B2C counterparts -- especially microblogging, discussions on third-party sites, blogging and monitoring company mentions.
B2Cs were ahead in a few areas -- such as social media advertising, user ratings and reviews, and online communities for target customers.
B2B firms were more likely overall to maintain a social network profile. They were also managing profiles across more social sites and were significantly more likely to be present on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
In contrast, B2C companies were more likely to use Facebook and MySpace.
B2B was more active in measuring most social success metrics as well. B2C firms we more likely to use revenues to gauge their efforts. More B2Bs were looking at Web traffic, brand awareness, and prospect lead quality and volume.
Web traffic was the top metric for both types of company, however.
B2B firms used Twitter search more (60 percent) to monitor mentions of their company or brand, compared with 35 percent of B2C firms. Google Alerts was slightly smaller -- 59 percent of B2Bs versus 40 percent of B2Cs. B2C firms were slightly more likely (61 percent) to monitor mentions via Google search, compared to 60 percent of B2B firms.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Decline of Digital Media Adapters Predicted
According to the latest market study by The Diffusion Group (TDG), the global market for digital media adapters (DMAs) will be virtually nonexistent by 2014 -- a result of manufacturers shifting to embedded solutions and growing demand for video platforms that feature native Internet connectivity.
The DMA device will be rendered obsolete, based on TDG's assessment, before it gains a solid footing. This and other themes are discussed in TDG's latest digital media analysis, Broadband-Enabled TV: Evolution of OTT Hardware Platforms.
First introduced in the early part of the decade, the DMA has been a non-starter, "a solution in search of a problem," notes Colin Dixon, managing partner at TDG and author of the new report.
"The optimism of early supporters was premised upon the belief that consumers were eager to network their PC and Internet media with their TV and home entertainment system, in which case a DMA would appear to be a reasonable solution. In reality, mass interest in this type of media sharing failed to materialize and, consequently, the DMA has languished."
There exists a certain irony in the DMA's demise, notes Dixon. "Now that demand for TV-based Internet connectivity has finally arrived, there are a growing number of multi-purpose platforms such as game consoles and Blu-ray players capable of enabling this experience, thus subverting the need for a separate dedicated bridge device like a DMA."
While consumers may be driven to buy a new game console or Blu-ray player to play disc-based games or watch disc-based movies, they soon discover that by simply connecting these devices to the Internet, an entirely new world of OTT video entertainment is opened.
In addition, standards such as UPnP and DLNA have also brought digital media portability into a number of devices that have already earned their place beneath the TV including game consoles and DVRs. "There simply is no reason for a consumer to buy a DMA today," noted Dixon.
TDG's latest digital media analysis is the second in a two-part report series on the emerging opportunities associated with Over-the-Top (OTT) video services. This second report analyzes and forecasts global demand for a variety of OTT video platforms -- including games consoles, Blu-ray players, hybrid set-top boxes, Internet set-top boxes, media-centric PCs, and networked digital TVs.
The DMA device will be rendered obsolete, based on TDG's assessment, before it gains a solid footing. This and other themes are discussed in TDG's latest digital media analysis, Broadband-Enabled TV: Evolution of OTT Hardware Platforms.
First introduced in the early part of the decade, the DMA has been a non-starter, "a solution in search of a problem," notes Colin Dixon, managing partner at TDG and author of the new report.
"The optimism of early supporters was premised upon the belief that consumers were eager to network their PC and Internet media with their TV and home entertainment system, in which case a DMA would appear to be a reasonable solution. In reality, mass interest in this type of media sharing failed to materialize and, consequently, the DMA has languished."
There exists a certain irony in the DMA's demise, notes Dixon. "Now that demand for TV-based Internet connectivity has finally arrived, there are a growing number of multi-purpose platforms such as game consoles and Blu-ray players capable of enabling this experience, thus subverting the need for a separate dedicated bridge device like a DMA."
While consumers may be driven to buy a new game console or Blu-ray player to play disc-based games or watch disc-based movies, they soon discover that by simply connecting these devices to the Internet, an entirely new world of OTT video entertainment is opened.
In addition, standards such as UPnP and DLNA have also brought digital media portability into a number of devices that have already earned their place beneath the TV including game consoles and DVRs. "There simply is no reason for a consumer to buy a DMA today," noted Dixon.
TDG's latest digital media analysis is the second in a two-part report series on the emerging opportunities associated with Over-the-Top (OTT) video services. This second report analyzes and forecasts global demand for a variety of OTT video platforms -- including games consoles, Blu-ray players, hybrid set-top boxes, Internet set-top boxes, media-centric PCs, and networked digital TVs.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
800 Deployments in Global IPTV Forecast
The November 2009 edition of the IPTV Global Forecast was released by MRG. Their latest market study uses the most recent information from over 800 IPTV deployments around the world, and includes a forecast for IPTV subscribers, service revenue, and system revenue from 2009 to 2013.
Additionally, this worldwide market assessment forecasts over 28 discrete market sectors in 4 geographic regions.
Because the 2009 subscriber total exceeded the last forecast by 2 million, the new forecast indicates that global IPTV subscribers will grow from 28 million in 2009 to 83 million in 2013 -- a compound annual growth rate of 31 percent.
Who is setting the pace for market development? There's no change. According to MRG's assessment, the European region will continue to lead in IPTV deployments in 2013 with 48 percent share, followed by Asia-Pacific, North America and Rest of World.
"Now that the economy seems to be improving, and Service Providers are still reporting solid growth, this Fall edition has adjusted the forecast accordingly," stated Jose Alvear, MRG IPTV Analyst.
This was done in response to the better than expected growth exhibited by the major IPTV Service Providers around the world in 2009.
Total service revenue for 2013 is projected at $38 billion, also up sharply from the last forecast. MRG's new report includes additional information on strategies and new services being added to IPTV offerings.
"Consumers are beginning to understand the advantages of IPTV," says Gary Schultz, MRG President. "Simultaneously, IPTV Operators are facing more competition, driving rapid investment in both infrastructure and new services."
The four regions analyzed in the market study include a breakdown of capital spending, service revenue, DSL and IPTV subscribers.
Seven discrete IPTV system sectors are analyzed, including Access Systems, Video Headends, Video-on-Demand, Set-top Boxes, Middleware, Content Protection or Digital Rights Management, and System Integration or Professional Services.
Additionally, this worldwide market assessment forecasts over 28 discrete market sectors in 4 geographic regions.
Because the 2009 subscriber total exceeded the last forecast by 2 million, the new forecast indicates that global IPTV subscribers will grow from 28 million in 2009 to 83 million in 2013 -- a compound annual growth rate of 31 percent.
Who is setting the pace for market development? There's no change. According to MRG's assessment, the European region will continue to lead in IPTV deployments in 2013 with 48 percent share, followed by Asia-Pacific, North America and Rest of World.
"Now that the economy seems to be improving, and Service Providers are still reporting solid growth, this Fall edition has adjusted the forecast accordingly," stated Jose Alvear, MRG IPTV Analyst.
This was done in response to the better than expected growth exhibited by the major IPTV Service Providers around the world in 2009.
Total service revenue for 2013 is projected at $38 billion, also up sharply from the last forecast. MRG's new report includes additional information on strategies and new services being added to IPTV offerings.
"Consumers are beginning to understand the advantages of IPTV," says Gary Schultz, MRG President. "Simultaneously, IPTV Operators are facing more competition, driving rapid investment in both infrastructure and new services."
The four regions analyzed in the market study include a breakdown of capital spending, service revenue, DSL and IPTV subscribers.
Seven discrete IPTV system sectors are analyzed, including Access Systems, Video Headends, Video-on-Demand, Set-top Boxes, Middleware, Content Protection or Digital Rights Management, and System Integration or Professional Services.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Demand for 3D Video Content on CE Devices
According to the latest market study by Ipsos, recent survey data indicates that younger U.S. consumers (age 18-34) are particularly interested in enjoying 3D video content on consumer electronics (CE) devices -- such as a TV or PC.
"Given the broad-based declines in consumer fortunes caused by the Great Recession, entertainment-focused firms have huge motivation to identify the next new thing to drive demand," explains Todd Board, Senior Vice President at Ipsos MediaCT.
Because interest in 3D content skews young, and also male, there's a compelling connection between the appeal of 3D video content and the kinds of highly immersive videogames that this group also favors.
This same 18-34 market segment also reported the highest intention to buy an HDTV in the next 3 months.
"While we can't directly equate holiday season HDTV purchase intent with more broad-based 3D video market potential, we do see the confluence among 18-34 consumers as an important milestone," Board continues.
Even with the burden of the ongoing downturn hitting this age group especially hard, their appetite for new technology options is unfazed -- based on these findings and other MOTION data on their interest in videogames, e-readers, smartphones, and digital media.
Concludes Board, "While interest in new technologies doesn't magically convert into willingness-to-pay, where consumer segments show persistent appetite, CE and content firms must focus product development and marketing attention, especially in this environment."
A diversified technology and media company like Sony -- deeply involved in CE, the gaming space, and movie production -- could benefit from continued interest in 3D visual entertainment among younger consumers.
"Given the broad-based declines in consumer fortunes caused by the Great Recession, entertainment-focused firms have huge motivation to identify the next new thing to drive demand," explains Todd Board, Senior Vice President at Ipsos MediaCT.
Because interest in 3D content skews young, and also male, there's a compelling connection between the appeal of 3D video content and the kinds of highly immersive videogames that this group also favors.
This same 18-34 market segment also reported the highest intention to buy an HDTV in the next 3 months.
"While we can't directly equate holiday season HDTV purchase intent with more broad-based 3D video market potential, we do see the confluence among 18-34 consumers as an important milestone," Board continues.
Even with the burden of the ongoing downturn hitting this age group especially hard, their appetite for new technology options is unfazed -- based on these findings and other MOTION data on their interest in videogames, e-readers, smartphones, and digital media.
Concludes Board, "While interest in new technologies doesn't magically convert into willingness-to-pay, where consumer segments show persistent appetite, CE and content firms must focus product development and marketing attention, especially in this environment."
A diversified technology and media company like Sony -- deeply involved in CE, the gaming space, and movie production -- could benefit from continued interest in 3D visual entertainment among younger consumers.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Upside for Entertainment Devices with Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi wireless connectivity has taken the entertainment device market by storm, with cameras, gaming devices (handheld and consoles), and various personal media players (PMPs) incorporating the technology to date.
Wi-Fi-enabled entertainment device shipments will increase from 108.8 million in 2009 to 177.3 million in 2013, according the latest market study by In-Stat.
"While a growing number of entertainment devices have Wi-Fi embedded, most product categories only have a few players -- often with a single company dominating the market," says Victoria Fodale, In-Stat analyst.
For gaming consoles and gaming devices, Nintendo dominates the market, selling 79 percent of Wi-Fi-enabled consoles and 87 percent of Wi-Fi-enabled handheld devices in 2009.
In-Stat's market study found the following:
- Although the Apple iPod Touch clearly has the dominant Wi-Fi-enabled PMP market share, many vendors now have offerings in the space.
- Nikon shipped 91 percent of Wi-Fi-enabled digital cameras in H1 2009.
- For the past several years all gaming consoles have had Wi-Fi embedded, which is a trend that will continue throughout the forecast period.
- The most significant variance in handhelds will be the type of Wi-Fi embedded.
- Beginning in 2010, these devices will begin shipping with 802.11n, while previously all devices were being shipped with the 802.11b standard.
Wi-Fi-enabled entertainment device shipments will increase from 108.8 million in 2009 to 177.3 million in 2013, according the latest market study by In-Stat.
"While a growing number of entertainment devices have Wi-Fi embedded, most product categories only have a few players -- often with a single company dominating the market," says Victoria Fodale, In-Stat analyst.
For gaming consoles and gaming devices, Nintendo dominates the market, selling 79 percent of Wi-Fi-enabled consoles and 87 percent of Wi-Fi-enabled handheld devices in 2009.
In-Stat's market study found the following:
- Although the Apple iPod Touch clearly has the dominant Wi-Fi-enabled PMP market share, many vendors now have offerings in the space.
- Nikon shipped 91 percent of Wi-Fi-enabled digital cameras in H1 2009.
- For the past several years all gaming consoles have had Wi-Fi embedded, which is a trend that will continue throughout the forecast period.
- The most significant variance in handhelds will be the type of Wi-Fi embedded.
- Beginning in 2010, these devices will begin shipping with 802.11n, while previously all devices were being shipped with the 802.11b standard.
Monday, December 14, 2009
U.S. Seniors are Growing Internet User Group
According to the latest Nielsen market study, Internet users that are 65+ years of age make up less than 10 percent of the active universe, but their numbers are on the rise.
In the last five years, the number of seniors actively using the Internet has increased by more than 55 percent -- from 11.3 million users in November 2004 to 17.5 million in November 2009.
Among people 65+, the growth of women in the last five years has outpaced the growth of men by 6 percentage points.
More people 65+ are going online and they are also spending more time on the Web. Online time for seniors increased 11 percent in the last five years -- from approximately 52 hours per month in November 2004 to just over 58 hours in 2009.
"The over 65 crowd represents about 13 percent of the total population and with this increase in online usage, they are beginning to catch up with their offline numbers," notes Chuck Schilling, research director, at Nielsen.
Online visitors 65 and older partake in a variety of activities, from e-mail to bill paying. With 88.6 percent of seniors, checking personal e-mail was the number one online activity performed in the last 30 days. Viewing or printing online maps and checking the weather online were the second and third most popular online activities -- with 68.6 and 60.1 percent, respectively.
The number one online destination for people over 65 in November 2009 was Google Search, with 10.3 million unique visitors.
Overall, the number of unique visitors who are 65 or older on social networking and blog sites has increased 53 percent in the last two years alone. Moreover, 8.2 percent of all social network and blog visitors are over 65, just 0.1 percentage points less than the number of teenagers who frequent these sites.
In the last five years, the number of seniors actively using the Internet has increased by more than 55 percent -- from 11.3 million users in November 2004 to 17.5 million in November 2009.
Among people 65+, the growth of women in the last five years has outpaced the growth of men by 6 percentage points.
More people 65+ are going online and they are also spending more time on the Web. Online time for seniors increased 11 percent in the last five years -- from approximately 52 hours per month in November 2004 to just over 58 hours in 2009.
"The over 65 crowd represents about 13 percent of the total population and with this increase in online usage, they are beginning to catch up with their offline numbers," notes Chuck Schilling, research director, at Nielsen.
Online visitors 65 and older partake in a variety of activities, from e-mail to bill paying. With 88.6 percent of seniors, checking personal e-mail was the number one online activity performed in the last 30 days. Viewing or printing online maps and checking the weather online were the second and third most popular online activities -- with 68.6 and 60.1 percent, respectively.
The number one online destination for people over 65 in November 2009 was Google Search, with 10.3 million unique visitors.
Overall, the number of unique visitors who are 65 or older on social networking and blog sites has increased 53 percent in the last two years alone. Moreover, 8.2 percent of all social network and blog visitors are over 65, just 0.1 percentage points less than the number of teenagers who frequent these sites.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Latest UK Internet Usage Segmentation Data
More than 39 million UK residents use the Internet in 2009, according to the latest assessment by eMarketer. By 2013, nearly 44 million will be online -- more than 70 percent of the total British population.
Usage has risen in all age groups, but especially among young people. The UK's Office of Communications (Ofcom) reported that two-thirds of children ages 5 to 7 were online in 2009 -- an increase of 16 percentage points since 2007.
Among children ages 8 to 11, Web penetration rose from 65 percent in 2007 to 77 percent in 2009.
"Marketers can be confident that virtually all segments of the UK population -- except some senior citizens and lower-income households -- are using the Web more than ever to research products and services and to keep tabs on brand offerings," said Karin von Abrams, eMarketer senior analyst.
Most UK Web users are online more frequently, too. Ofcom noted that in 2009, 73 percent of adults who had been online in the previous three months were daily Internet users, compared with 69 percent in 2008.
Men continued to outnumber women online, according to The Nielsen Company. But women edged them out among Internet users under 50 years old.
Wireless Internet usage was also somewhat stronger among men than among women, based on data from the UK Office for National Statistics.
"With nearly two-thirds of all UK residents using the Web, virtually all customer groups are now represented there," noted Ms. von Abrams. "But that has a downside for marketers too. Audiences are fragmenting -- mirroring the offline world."
Friday, December 11, 2009
European Broadband Driven by Lowest-Price
More people in Europe are basing their broadband service subscriptions on price rather than on whether the service is delivered via fixed or mobile networks. This trend that will have a major impact on how telecom network operators position and promote their services, according to the latest market study by Pyramid Research.
In Europe, the level of competition in each market -- and attractive competitive pricing -- have emerged as the determining factors affecting subscriber broadband purchase decisions.
"The dynamics in the fixed broadband market are shaping those in the mobile broadband segment, and as mobile technologies improve and mature, they will have a stronger impact on the fixed segment," notes Jan ten Sythoff, Manager of mobile content at Pyramid Research.
There is a stronger correlation between GDP per-capita and broadband adoption when cellular and fixed networks are measured together than if fixed and mobile broadband technologies are examined separately, which strongly suggests that subscribers tend to choose between the two when making purchase decisions.
Mobile operators now need to ensure that their broadband packages are positioned competitively with other mobile and fixed broadband offers, while fixed operators also need to focus on both sectors, with pricing and bundling as key differentiators.
Broadband penetration continues to grow across Europe. Fixed broadband penetration rates in a number of countries are high in relation to the levels of income. The high penetration rates are driven by low-cost, unregulated services provided through neighborhood networks or Wi-Fi -- as seen in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.
In other countries, fixed broadband penetration is low compared with the level of income, and in markets such as Portugal and Austria, mobile broadband has filled the gap left by less than competitive fixed markets.
Growth in mobile broadband can be expected in markets where overall broadband penetration is low. Pyramid expects rapid uptake of 3G in Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine once the networks provide good coverage.
They anticipate limited opportunities for fixed-mobile broadband bundles, because the services are competitive more than they are complementary.
In Europe, the level of competition in each market -- and attractive competitive pricing -- have emerged as the determining factors affecting subscriber broadband purchase decisions.
"The dynamics in the fixed broadband market are shaping those in the mobile broadband segment, and as mobile technologies improve and mature, they will have a stronger impact on the fixed segment," notes Jan ten Sythoff, Manager of mobile content at Pyramid Research.
There is a stronger correlation between GDP per-capita and broadband adoption when cellular and fixed networks are measured together than if fixed and mobile broadband technologies are examined separately, which strongly suggests that subscribers tend to choose between the two when making purchase decisions.
Mobile operators now need to ensure that their broadband packages are positioned competitively with other mobile and fixed broadband offers, while fixed operators also need to focus on both sectors, with pricing and bundling as key differentiators.
Broadband penetration continues to grow across Europe. Fixed broadband penetration rates in a number of countries are high in relation to the levels of income. The high penetration rates are driven by low-cost, unregulated services provided through neighborhood networks or Wi-Fi -- as seen in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.
In other countries, fixed broadband penetration is low compared with the level of income, and in markets such as Portugal and Austria, mobile broadband has filled the gap left by less than competitive fixed markets.
Growth in mobile broadband can be expected in markets where overall broadband penetration is low. Pyramid expects rapid uptake of 3G in Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine once the networks provide good coverage.
They anticipate limited opportunities for fixed-mobile broadband bundles, because the services are competitive more than they are complementary.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
GSM Mobile Service Growth in the Americas
Based on data provided by Informa Telecoms & Media, 3G Americas reported that the Latin America and Caribbean region had over 447 million total GSM-HSPA subscriptions as of third quarter of 2009.
There were 119 GSM operators serving every country in the region, with 73 million new GSM-HSPA subscriptions added in the year ending September 2009. The uptake of UMTS-HSPA mobile broadband technology is evidenced by its growth -- from fewer than 28,000 subscriptions in September 2007, up to 2.5 million by September 2008, and totaling nearly 12 million in September 2009 in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Erasmo Rojas, Director of Latin America and the Caribbean for 3G Americas, says "The number of UMTS-HSPA subscriptions in Latin America grew by 9.4 million in 12 months -- an amazing 380 percent annual growth rate. Clearly, a strong HSPA footprint exists in the region today with 50 commercial networks in 23 countries."
Eva Benguigui, Senior Research Analyst at Informa, added "Mobile Broadband connectivity has been the key service to propel the growth of UMTS-HSPA technology in the Latin America and Caribbean region due to the low household penetration of fixed broadband in most of the countries in the region."
In all of the Western Hemisphere, a total of 577 million GSM-HSPA subscriptions were reported by Informa as of third quarter of 2009, representing a 73 percent market share. There were 18.4 million new subscriptions added to the GSM family of technologies in the third quarter of 2009, and 81 million in the year ending September 2009, for a 16 percent annual growth.
Globally, there were 317 UMTS-HSPA commercial networks reported, 300 of which used HSPA technology and served customers in 128 countries. UMTS-HSPA currently boasts nearly 414 million global 3G subscriptions representing more than 9 percent of the world's total mobile wireless subscriptions.
From the 217 million HSPA subscriptions expected worldwide by year-end 2009, Informa forecasts that this number will rise to 1.2 billion in 2013 and exceed 2 billion shortly after year-end 2014.
As of September 2009, the GSM family of technologies reached nearly 4 billion subscriptions worldwide and 89.5 percent share of market with service on 860 networks in 220 countries.
There were 119 GSM operators serving every country in the region, with 73 million new GSM-HSPA subscriptions added in the year ending September 2009. The uptake of UMTS-HSPA mobile broadband technology is evidenced by its growth -- from fewer than 28,000 subscriptions in September 2007, up to 2.5 million by September 2008, and totaling nearly 12 million in September 2009 in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Erasmo Rojas, Director of Latin America and the Caribbean for 3G Americas, says "The number of UMTS-HSPA subscriptions in Latin America grew by 9.4 million in 12 months -- an amazing 380 percent annual growth rate. Clearly, a strong HSPA footprint exists in the region today with 50 commercial networks in 23 countries."
Eva Benguigui, Senior Research Analyst at Informa, added "Mobile Broadband connectivity has been the key service to propel the growth of UMTS-HSPA technology in the Latin America and Caribbean region due to the low household penetration of fixed broadband in most of the countries in the region."
In all of the Western Hemisphere, a total of 577 million GSM-HSPA subscriptions were reported by Informa as of third quarter of 2009, representing a 73 percent market share. There were 18.4 million new subscriptions added to the GSM family of technologies in the third quarter of 2009, and 81 million in the year ending September 2009, for a 16 percent annual growth.
Globally, there were 317 UMTS-HSPA commercial networks reported, 300 of which used HSPA technology and served customers in 128 countries. UMTS-HSPA currently boasts nearly 414 million global 3G subscriptions representing more than 9 percent of the world's total mobile wireless subscriptions.
From the 217 million HSPA subscriptions expected worldwide by year-end 2009, Informa forecasts that this number will rise to 1.2 billion in 2013 and exceed 2 billion shortly after year-end 2014.
As of September 2009, the GSM family of technologies reached nearly 4 billion subscriptions worldwide and 89.5 percent share of market with service on 860 networks in 220 countries.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Rapid Adoption of IP Video on TVs in 2010
Results from an IMS Research market study shows that by the end of 2010, nearly 55 percent of all TV Households in the Americas will have access to Internet video, with 25 percent of these capable of displaying Internet video onto their TV set.
Rebecca Kurlak, an IMS Research consumer electronics (CE) analyst, says "Now that retailers are actively marketing Internet-enabled devices, we can expect to see mass market adoption. As Blu-ray players have begun to offer price points that fall below $199, this price reduction will create a domino effect on other CE device prices."
This has already been observed by actions taken by the game console market in Q3 2009. IMS currently estimates that by the end of 2010, 35 percent of TV shipments in the Americas will have internet connectivity (Ethernet and/or Wi-Fi) built-in.
It will take about five years for the gap to close between connected TVs and other devices. Consumers continue to select devices that offer ease of use, and it just makes it easier for the user to seamlessly search for content on one device. Plus, there is no additional set-up involved, which continues to be a hurdle for many of the devices on the market.
Game consoles already have the lead in this segment, which can mostly be attributed to gamer demographics. And, console manufacturers have continued to evolve their position in this space. But, it will become more of a necessity that they continue to re-invent their value adds.
Kurlak adds "I think that even gamers will switch to accessing Internet video mostly on the TV in order to have a one-stop access point to the different content libraries. Having one program guide is much easier to navigate then searching independently on different devices."
In addition to TV and broadband household forecasts, the IMS study provides detailed analysis of retail device shipments and revenues. Equipment forecasts include internet connected devices such as Blu-ray players, game consoles, media extenders, proprietary equipment, retail DTT+IP STB and connected TV sets.
A new feature of the their report includes a segmentation of households by pay-TV versus ad-supported services. IMS Research believes that they are the first to incorporate this segmentation in their reporting.
Rebecca Kurlak, an IMS Research consumer electronics (CE) analyst, says "Now that retailers are actively marketing Internet-enabled devices, we can expect to see mass market adoption. As Blu-ray players have begun to offer price points that fall below $199, this price reduction will create a domino effect on other CE device prices."
This has already been observed by actions taken by the game console market in Q3 2009. IMS currently estimates that by the end of 2010, 35 percent of TV shipments in the Americas will have internet connectivity (Ethernet and/or Wi-Fi) built-in.
It will take about five years for the gap to close between connected TVs and other devices. Consumers continue to select devices that offer ease of use, and it just makes it easier for the user to seamlessly search for content on one device. Plus, there is no additional set-up involved, which continues to be a hurdle for many of the devices on the market.
Game consoles already have the lead in this segment, which can mostly be attributed to gamer demographics. And, console manufacturers have continued to evolve their position in this space. But, it will become more of a necessity that they continue to re-invent their value adds.
Kurlak adds "I think that even gamers will switch to accessing Internet video mostly on the TV in order to have a one-stop access point to the different content libraries. Having one program guide is much easier to navigate then searching independently on different devices."
In addition to TV and broadband household forecasts, the IMS study provides detailed analysis of retail device shipments and revenues. Equipment forecasts include internet connected devices such as Blu-ray players, game consoles, media extenders, proprietary equipment, retail DTT+IP STB and connected TV sets.
A new feature of the their report includes a segmentation of households by pay-TV versus ad-supported services. IMS Research believes that they are the first to incorporate this segmentation in their reporting.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Mobile Multimedia Services Asia-Pac Upside
At the end of 2009, IDC expects mobile multimedia services to make up 11 percent of total mobile services revenue in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) -- surpassing SMS revenue contribution for the first time.
In 2008, almost at par, SMS contribution to revenue was 10.3 percent, while mobile multimedia services amounted to 10.1 percent. IDC predicts that SMS contribution will plateau at 10 percent for the next few years, while mobile multimedia services will continue to ride on growth trajectory.
Early drivers of growth in mobile multimedia content have been ringtones and wallpaper downloads, particular with the younger demographics.
"Today, the emergence of handsets featuring larger screens and even touch-screen interfaces has pushed the uptake of mobile multimedia services to a new level," said Alex Chau, Senior Research Manager at IDC. "This has spurred content and application developers to develop tens of thousands of applications to satisfy this new demand amongst mobile users."
Up until recently, mobile handsets did not feature advanced operating systems and connectivity that allowed quick content transfers. Subscribers were unable to share downloaded content with others, resulting in low adoption for content services.
Today's setting is very different, as most mobile devices have, at minimum, built-in networking capability such as USB, Bluetooth, or WiFi. This gives mobile users tremendous freedom and a broader access to content for personalization of devices as well as to share the content.
The proliferation of EDGE, 3G UMTS and 3G HSPA-enabled handsets has helped to spur the demand for mobile multimedia services over the years. However, the next stage of growth will require mobile operators to invest in and upgrade mobile networks in the region in order to handle the explosive mobile packet data traffic growth.
In the markets where operators have already upgraded to HSPA 7.2, 14.4 Mbps and HSPA+ 21 Mbps, the take up of USB-dongle HSPA cards has been overwhelming, driving operators to ration the registration of new subscribers.
As competition amongst the mobile operators intensifies across the region, IDC believes price will no longer inhibit the uptake for new services. In developed markets, the differentiation between operators will come down to price alone.
In the past, early adopters could leverage network quality and new services as a selling point to attract users, but as competitor networks matured, these advantages quickly disappeared.
Many operators will try to avoid the inevitable as long as possible by offering exclusive contents but with more competitors such as Apps Stores entering into the market, the market will become more competitive, which will lead to an eventual price war, benefiting mobile users in APEJ.
In 2008, almost at par, SMS contribution to revenue was 10.3 percent, while mobile multimedia services amounted to 10.1 percent. IDC predicts that SMS contribution will plateau at 10 percent for the next few years, while mobile multimedia services will continue to ride on growth trajectory.
Early drivers of growth in mobile multimedia content have been ringtones and wallpaper downloads, particular with the younger demographics.
"Today, the emergence of handsets featuring larger screens and even touch-screen interfaces has pushed the uptake of mobile multimedia services to a new level," said Alex Chau, Senior Research Manager at IDC. "This has spurred content and application developers to develop tens of thousands of applications to satisfy this new demand amongst mobile users."
Up until recently, mobile handsets did not feature advanced operating systems and connectivity that allowed quick content transfers. Subscribers were unable to share downloaded content with others, resulting in low adoption for content services.
Today's setting is very different, as most mobile devices have, at minimum, built-in networking capability such as USB, Bluetooth, or WiFi. This gives mobile users tremendous freedom and a broader access to content for personalization of devices as well as to share the content.
The proliferation of EDGE, 3G UMTS and 3G HSPA-enabled handsets has helped to spur the demand for mobile multimedia services over the years. However, the next stage of growth will require mobile operators to invest in and upgrade mobile networks in the region in order to handle the explosive mobile packet data traffic growth.
In the markets where operators have already upgraded to HSPA 7.2, 14.4 Mbps and HSPA+ 21 Mbps, the take up of USB-dongle HSPA cards has been overwhelming, driving operators to ration the registration of new subscribers.
As competition amongst the mobile operators intensifies across the region, IDC believes price will no longer inhibit the uptake for new services. In developed markets, the differentiation between operators will come down to price alone.
In the past, early adopters could leverage network quality and new services as a selling point to attract users, but as competitor networks matured, these advantages quickly disappeared.
Many operators will try to avoid the inevitable as long as possible by offering exclusive contents but with more competitors such as Apps Stores entering into the market, the market will become more competitive, which will lead to an eventual price war, benefiting mobile users in APEJ.
Monday, December 07, 2009
Portable Electronics Device Shipment Growth
The weak economic environment is taking its toll across most consumer markets. Consumer electronics devices are no exception. Yet even economic pressure can't overcome a broader migration to mobile and portable devices, as indicated by the proliferation of portable electronics categories.
Portable electronics device shipments will grow more than 10 percent in 2009 versus 2008 according to the latest market study by In-Stat.
The category, which includes digital radio receivers, e-readers, edutainment toys, handheld game consoles, MP3 players, portable media players (PMPs), and personal navigation devices (PNDs), is expanding to over 400 million units in 2009.
By 2013, it will approach 600 million units. While some segments, such as handheld game consoles and MP3 players, have hit maturity and peaked, other segments continue to emerge.
"We're seeing significant growth in the e-reader segment, as it evolves from a nascent market," says Stephanie Ethier, In-Stat analyst. "And, while MP3 players have peaked, this represents more of a migration to video-capable devices, as shipments of PMPs continue to expand."
In-Stat's market study found the following:
- Shipments of portable entertainment devices in Europe will be 157 million units in 2013. Shipments to Japan will be 58 million.
- Worldwide unit shipments for PNDs will reach approximately 56 million units in 2012.
- Total worldwide shipments of PMP & MP3 players will reach 225 million in 2009, with Asia-Pacific representing the largest geographic market.
- Worldwide e-reader shipments are expected to grow from almost 1 million units in 2008 to nearly 30 million units in 2013.
Portable electronics device shipments will grow more than 10 percent in 2009 versus 2008 according to the latest market study by In-Stat.
The category, which includes digital radio receivers, e-readers, edutainment toys, handheld game consoles, MP3 players, portable media players (PMPs), and personal navigation devices (PNDs), is expanding to over 400 million units in 2009.
By 2013, it will approach 600 million units. While some segments, such as handheld game consoles and MP3 players, have hit maturity and peaked, other segments continue to emerge.
"We're seeing significant growth in the e-reader segment, as it evolves from a nascent market," says Stephanie Ethier, In-Stat analyst. "And, while MP3 players have peaked, this represents more of a migration to video-capable devices, as shipments of PMPs continue to expand."
In-Stat's market study found the following:
- Shipments of portable entertainment devices in Europe will be 157 million units in 2013. Shipments to Japan will be 58 million.
- Worldwide unit shipments for PNDs will reach approximately 56 million units in 2012.
- Total worldwide shipments of PMP & MP3 players will reach 225 million in 2009, with Asia-Pacific representing the largest geographic market.
- Worldwide e-reader shipments are expected to grow from almost 1 million units in 2008 to nearly 30 million units in 2013.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
How B2B Marketers are Using Social Media
eMarketer reports that results of a BtoB magazine survey indicate that social media marketing will be of more importance to business-to-business (B2B) marketers in 2010. However, it's not clear how many B2B marketers are fully utilizing digital marketing tools.
Website, e-mail and search spending are online tactics likely to increase, and social media is close behind. Six in ten B2B marketers planned to increase their spending on social media marketing in 2010.
Fifty-four percent of respondents currently use social media for marketing. That was up 9 percentage points from November 2008 and about 4 points from June 2009.
"Thought leadership" was the main intended purpose, though about one-half hoped to "generate leads" through social media activities. That said, what about all the other stages of the B2B buying-cycle?
As an example, most enterprise IT leaders seek out information and guidance to procure complex technology products and services, and yet few vendors make this type of content readily available online.
In addition, respondents to a prior survey by Visible Technologies and SiriusDecisions had identified somewhat different priorities. The top way those survey participants leveraged social media was for "generating awareness," followed by "customer engagement."
About one-third of respondents had created a customer community, while one-fifth used podcasts. Slightly fewer (18 percent) relied on blogs, and only 14 percent were tweeting. Success with social media tools was mainly being measured through Web traffic, response rates and qualified leads.
Moreover, most B2B marketers reported tracking results themselves, either manually or with a monitoring tool. One-fifth relied on an Ad or PR agency for metrics, while 21 percent reported not tracking their success at all.
Friday, December 04, 2009
Managed Services for Unified Communications
The upside potential of Unified Communications (UC) -- merging IP telephony, conferencing and collaboration, and messaging -- are on a steeply rising curve of adoption within the enterprise.
According to a the latest market study by ABI Research, the market's size was just $302 million in 2008, but will rise quickly to nearly $4.2 billion in 2014.
"Companies have been buying only those component technologies that they think will deliver immediate value," says ABI Research practice director Stan Schatt. "It's only later that they start tying it all together as true Unified Communications."
Once that happens, synergies multiply: for example, many companies have messaging by voice and email, but when they are integrated, a user can see voicemails and have emails read aloud. Such synergies can deliver increased productivity and efficiency, and greater customer satisfaction.
Big corporations with multiple locations will benefit most immediately from Unified Communications, but many vendor systems are not interoperable. There are still gaps where no standards exist.
Even the largest vendors don't make everything, so there's a premium on partnerships. A few vendors will try to sell end-to-end solutions, but most others will attempt to integrate their offerings with the legacy components they find.
That opens a tremendous opportunity in replacing older equipment. Moreover, there are now hosted UC services that enables organizations to gain the benefits of of these advanced technologies without the cost and complexity of self-installed systems.
The largest companies may have the required integration expertise in-house, but, says Schatt, "We foresee a booming market for managed services, simply because Unified Communications is tricky and many companies won't want to spend the time and effort to do it themselves."
Despite the large potential, UC vendors won't find it all plain sailing. They are up against internal corporate turf wars, a widespread lack of understanding of the benefits Unified Communications can deliver, and a high initial cost.
According to a the latest market study by ABI Research, the market's size was just $302 million in 2008, but will rise quickly to nearly $4.2 billion in 2014.
"Companies have been buying only those component technologies that they think will deliver immediate value," says ABI Research practice director Stan Schatt. "It's only later that they start tying it all together as true Unified Communications."
Once that happens, synergies multiply: for example, many companies have messaging by voice and email, but when they are integrated, a user can see voicemails and have emails read aloud. Such synergies can deliver increased productivity and efficiency, and greater customer satisfaction.
Big corporations with multiple locations will benefit most immediately from Unified Communications, but many vendor systems are not interoperable. There are still gaps where no standards exist.
Even the largest vendors don't make everything, so there's a premium on partnerships. A few vendors will try to sell end-to-end solutions, but most others will attempt to integrate their offerings with the legacy components they find.
That opens a tremendous opportunity in replacing older equipment. Moreover, there are now hosted UC services that enables organizations to gain the benefits of of these advanced technologies without the cost and complexity of self-installed systems.
The largest companies may have the required integration expertise in-house, but, says Schatt, "We foresee a booming market for managed services, simply because Unified Communications is tricky and many companies won't want to spend the time and effort to do it themselves."
Despite the large potential, UC vendors won't find it all plain sailing. They are up against internal corporate turf wars, a widespread lack of understanding of the benefits Unified Communications can deliver, and a high initial cost.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
HDMI in PCs Enable OTT Video Use on TVs
Device interface evolution helps multimedia usage to blossom in the digital home. High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) adoption continues to gain ground across several segments. Meanwhile, the now legacy Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is gradually declining, according to the latest study by In-Stat.
Within the PC segment, HDMI made significant strides in 2008, doubling its penetration from 6.1 percent in 2007 to 12.3 percent in 2008. The number of mobile PCs (laptops, notebook, etc) with HDMI increased 76 percent over the same period. That's an important metric, because PC HDMI cable connections make it easier to watch over-the-top (OTT) video on an HDTV screen.
"HDMI's success continues to be led by the consumer electronics (CE) segment," says Brian O’Rourke, In-Stat analyst. "HDMI has been adopted nearly universally in digital televisions (DTV), which account for the single largest HDMI application."
The next big HDMI growth area is in portable CE devices, including digital camcorders, digital still cameras, and portable media players (PMPs). Vendors hope to drive adoption of HDMI into mobile phones, where the more than one billion annual shipments are a tempting target.
DVI and HDMI are related, high-bandwidth, unidirectional, uncompressed digital interface standards.
In-Stat's market study found the following:
- HDMI-enabled product shipments will increase at an annual rate of 20.3% through 2013.
- DVI-enabled product shipments will decrease at an annual rate of 8.1 percent through 2013.
- The industry has developed smaller connectors such as mini-HDMI and micro-HDMI to make the standard more attractive to mobile device makers.
- The Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL), developed by HDMI chip vendor Silicon Image, is an attempt to create a standard to transfer HD video off of mobile phones.
Within the PC segment, HDMI made significant strides in 2008, doubling its penetration from 6.1 percent in 2007 to 12.3 percent in 2008. The number of mobile PCs (laptops, notebook, etc) with HDMI increased 76 percent over the same period. That's an important metric, because PC HDMI cable connections make it easier to watch over-the-top (OTT) video on an HDTV screen.
"HDMI's success continues to be led by the consumer electronics (CE) segment," says Brian O’Rourke, In-Stat analyst. "HDMI has been adopted nearly universally in digital televisions (DTV), which account for the single largest HDMI application."
The next big HDMI growth area is in portable CE devices, including digital camcorders, digital still cameras, and portable media players (PMPs). Vendors hope to drive adoption of HDMI into mobile phones, where the more than one billion annual shipments are a tempting target.
DVI and HDMI are related, high-bandwidth, unidirectional, uncompressed digital interface standards.
In-Stat's market study found the following:
- HDMI-enabled product shipments will increase at an annual rate of 20.3% through 2013.
- DVI-enabled product shipments will decrease at an annual rate of 8.1 percent through 2013.
- The industry has developed smaller connectors such as mini-HDMI and micro-HDMI to make the standard more attractive to mobile device makers.
- The Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL), developed by HDMI chip vendor Silicon Image, is an attempt to create a standard to transfer HD video off of mobile phones.
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Asia-Pacific Social Net Users Going Mobile
Social Network Site (SNS) users in the Asia-Pacific region indicate that mobile is now the best way to access their network, potentially overtaking PCs as the device of choice, according to the latest market study by IDC.
In countries such as China, India, Korea, and Thailand, over 50 percent of the users interviewed have now made accessing SNSs via the mobile phone a weekly habit.
This is particularly widespread in the China and Thailand markets, where 62 and 65 percent of respective users regularly obtain news alerts and notifications, receive and reply to messages, upload photos, or update personal status and profiles on popular SNSs via mobile phone browsers.
By contrast, Australia and Singapore see the lowest percentage of users who access mobile versions of SNSs, where only 19 and 25 percent of respective users login weekly via their mobile browsers.
"The prevalence of owning a cellular phone over a PC in China, India and Thailand has directly boosted the popularity of mobile SNS access," said Debbie Swee, Market Analyst at IDC. "In Korea, however, there is strong usage for a different reason -- the market is technologically advanced and has already seen mass adoption of mobile Internet as compared with all other countries surveyed in the study."
As for Australia and Singapore, despite also being technologically advanced markets, the overwhelming importance of the PC over mobile has created strong inertia against adopting regular mobile access of SNSs.
Mobile operator pricing strategies are possibly keeping many non-users away from mobile social networking. The majority of users who have never logged in to SNSs through mobile phones before have cited the hefty data tariffs as the main obstacle. These service fees can be in the form of mobile Internet, SMS or MMS access.
SNS users have, however, asserted that more are likely to try out mobile versions of SNS if telcos offer more affordable data rates. The availability of user-friendly mobile applications is also perceived as a notable area of improvement -- albeit to a lesser extent.
The survey findings thus show that mobile phones and mobile Internet hold the promise of changing the SNS landscape in the Asia-Pacific region. Particularly in markets where PC penetration is relatively low, mobile phones have the potential to eventually overtake the PC as a preferred way of accessing SNSs.
For mobile operators in China, India and Thailand, IDC believes a low flat-rate Internet access fee would complement and increase mobile SNS adoption. However, in Australia, Korea and Singapore where data tariffs are already relatively low, operators need to correct users’ misconceptions of pricey data plans through advertising and other marketing efforts.
Failing to do so could mean that mobile Internet applications and services, not just mobile SNSs, will take longer to truly take off.
In countries such as China, India, Korea, and Thailand, over 50 percent of the users interviewed have now made accessing SNSs via the mobile phone a weekly habit.
This is particularly widespread in the China and Thailand markets, where 62 and 65 percent of respective users regularly obtain news alerts and notifications, receive and reply to messages, upload photos, or update personal status and profiles on popular SNSs via mobile phone browsers.
By contrast, Australia and Singapore see the lowest percentage of users who access mobile versions of SNSs, where only 19 and 25 percent of respective users login weekly via their mobile browsers.
"The prevalence of owning a cellular phone over a PC in China, India and Thailand has directly boosted the popularity of mobile SNS access," said Debbie Swee, Market Analyst at IDC. "In Korea, however, there is strong usage for a different reason -- the market is technologically advanced and has already seen mass adoption of mobile Internet as compared with all other countries surveyed in the study."
As for Australia and Singapore, despite also being technologically advanced markets, the overwhelming importance of the PC over mobile has created strong inertia against adopting regular mobile access of SNSs.
Mobile operator pricing strategies are possibly keeping many non-users away from mobile social networking. The majority of users who have never logged in to SNSs through mobile phones before have cited the hefty data tariffs as the main obstacle. These service fees can be in the form of mobile Internet, SMS or MMS access.
SNS users have, however, asserted that more are likely to try out mobile versions of SNS if telcos offer more affordable data rates. The availability of user-friendly mobile applications is also perceived as a notable area of improvement -- albeit to a lesser extent.
The survey findings thus show that mobile phones and mobile Internet hold the promise of changing the SNS landscape in the Asia-Pacific region. Particularly in markets where PC penetration is relatively low, mobile phones have the potential to eventually overtake the PC as a preferred way of accessing SNSs.
For mobile operators in China, India and Thailand, IDC believes a low flat-rate Internet access fee would complement and increase mobile SNS adoption. However, in Australia, Korea and Singapore where data tariffs are already relatively low, operators need to correct users’ misconceptions of pricey data plans through advertising and other marketing efforts.
Failing to do so could mean that mobile Internet applications and services, not just mobile SNSs, will take longer to truly take off.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
The End of Growth for Mobile Voice Services
We knew that the day would eventually come when the mobile phone service growth engine would run out of fuel. Well, that day is coming soon. Mobile voice service revenues are on a trajectory to reach their peak in 2010, after which they are likely to start declining, according to the latest market study by ABI Research.
Vice-president for forecasting Jake Saunders comments, "Mobile voice has had a meteoric rise since digital cellular networks such as GSM were deployed in 1992. We forecast annual mobile voice revenues to reach $580 billion in 2010. From 2011 on, rising subscriber saturation will increasingly erode mobile voice revenues, not just in developed markets but also in a number of emerging markets."
By 2014, mobile voice revenues will have contracted by 9.6 percent.
While mobile operators have received a substantial boost from value-added services such as messaging and Mobile Internet, competition is squeezing margins for a variety of services and carriers. Total mobile data services should generate $169 million in 2009 and will grow at a CAGR of 9 percent until 2014.
By the end of 2009 the declines in annual average revenue per user (ARPU) will have been felt most severely in Asia-Pacific (-8.7 percent to $105) and Africa (-7.8 percent to $134). ARPU in 2009 in North America will have contracted, but only by -0.6 percent to $526). Mobile Internet revenue ($52) from use of smartphones, netbooks and other devices will help to prop up overall service revenue for the region.
Wireless capital expenditure, on the other hand, shrank 5 percent in 2009 to $132.5 billion. The global recession was widely felt in all parts of the world.
Saunders notes, "As handset sales plummeted in 4Q-2009, end-users did not return their handsets nor did they put their handsets aside and refuse to use them. They did, however, try to cap tariff plan usage. Carriers therefore held up a number of CAPEX-related projects to free up some cashflow."
As the economy has stabilized in 2H-2009, wireless carriers have started to resume capital expenditure. Key areas of spending are core network and radio access network upgrades to support higher data throughput.
Vice-president for forecasting Jake Saunders comments, "Mobile voice has had a meteoric rise since digital cellular networks such as GSM were deployed in 1992. We forecast annual mobile voice revenues to reach $580 billion in 2010. From 2011 on, rising subscriber saturation will increasingly erode mobile voice revenues, not just in developed markets but also in a number of emerging markets."
By 2014, mobile voice revenues will have contracted by 9.6 percent.
While mobile operators have received a substantial boost from value-added services such as messaging and Mobile Internet, competition is squeezing margins for a variety of services and carriers. Total mobile data services should generate $169 million in 2009 and will grow at a CAGR of 9 percent until 2014.
By the end of 2009 the declines in annual average revenue per user (ARPU) will have been felt most severely in Asia-Pacific (-8.7 percent to $105) and Africa (-7.8 percent to $134). ARPU in 2009 in North America will have contracted, but only by -0.6 percent to $526). Mobile Internet revenue ($52) from use of smartphones, netbooks and other devices will help to prop up overall service revenue for the region.
Wireless capital expenditure, on the other hand, shrank 5 percent in 2009 to $132.5 billion. The global recession was widely felt in all parts of the world.
Saunders notes, "As handset sales plummeted in 4Q-2009, end-users did not return their handsets nor did they put their handsets aside and refuse to use them. They did, however, try to cap tariff plan usage. Carriers therefore held up a number of CAPEX-related projects to free up some cashflow."
As the economy has stabilized in 2H-2009, wireless carriers have started to resume capital expenditure. Key areas of spending are core network and radio access network upgrades to support higher data throughput.
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