Blog | News & Information on Wireless Services & Telecommunications
Posted: 06/03/10 by Mobile Future Team
As a general rule, summer spells long days and warm temperatures, providing increased opportunities for sunning, socializing, and of course: summer love. Catering to the seemingly insatiable demands of consumers year-round, players across the wireless industry continue to launch an impressive slew of new and/ or improved smart phones and feature phones that consumers are sure to adore just in time for the season of love. A majority of the new devices are profiled here, with a link to an informative slideshow with pictures and descriptions of the new technologies.
Go ahead and fall in love all over again.
Posted: 05/20/10 by Molly Kocour
Today, during its monthly meeting, the Federal Communications Commission released its annual Mobile Wireless Competition Report, which analyzes the state of competition in the mobile industry and, for the first time, also includes information about the broader mobile ecosystem. In contrast to previous versions of the study, the FCC officials who prepare the Mobile Wireless Competition Report did not issue a judgment on the wireless industry’s effective competitiveness, but instead left it open for the Commissioners’ interpretation.
While the Commissioners’ opinion varied, Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter issued the following statement in response to the assessment of competition in the wireless marketplace.
“The innovation that defines today’s wireless sector is unprecedented. The bipartisan, light-touch regulatory approach of the past two decades has fostered competition that has resulted in the world’s lowest per-minute voice wireless prices, largest 3G customer base and most varied and innovative applications and device markets.
“We applaud the Commission for taking a broader look at the wireless sector but it’s hard to understand given all the facts and data in the record why it chose not to conclude that wireless is competitive. American wireless is an extremely vibrant sector that is helping to drive economic recovery, job growth and investment. Going forward, we urge the FCC to recognize this thriving sector while maintaining a policy climate that continues to encourage competition driven above all by consumer demand and the vision of innovators.”
You can read more about competition in the wireless marketplace here.
Posted: 05/20/10 by Jonathan Spalter
This Thursday in its monthly public meeting, the FCC will consider — as it does each year — the state of competition in the wireless marketplace. It is an important assessment and one that merits a cold, hard look — as the new FCC is wont to do — at the underlying facts and data.
Here are some of the key facts about the American wireless marketplace:
Our nation currently is home to the world's lowest per-minute voice prices, largest 3G customer base and most innovative and voluminous applications and device markets. More than nine out of 10 Americans have mobile devices. One in four of us favor them so much that we left our landline telephone service in the last century. Two-thirds of us have a choice of five or more wireless providers and a range of plans from family discounts to pre-paid, no contract options to "all in" voice, data and texting for as little as $50 a month.
By any measure — from the number of facilities-based competitors to the market share of individual companies — U.S. consumers enjoy the most competitive wireless marketplace on earth. Turn on your radio, your TV or open your newspaper and you plainly see compelling evidence of vibrant competition and consumer choice.
A recent memo from the FCC's general counsel, which lays out Chairman Julius Genachowski's "third way" proposal for net neutrality regulation, even cites industry claims that "one of the greatest successes in this industry in the last twenty years (is) the growth of wireless services."
A quick glimpse at the frenetic pace of this growth more than proves the point. Verizon and Google have gone public with their ambitions to challenge the AT&T/Apple iPad alliance. HP, Dell and others are also in hot pursuit. Cox is becoming the first U.S. cable company to offer wireless services directly to consumers and businesses. Regional players like Leap Wireless and MetroPCS are thriving. T-Mobile has vowed to deliver the fastest available speeds across its 3G footprint by year's end. Sprint is prepping the launch of its Evo 4G device, the first to run on its much-heralded 4G network. And, the FCC's recent approval of the Harbinger-Skyterra merger promises the emergence of a fifth national wireless player.
With so many choices, Americans can afford to be among the most communicative in the world, spending more than six billion minutes each day on their mobile phones and sending five billion daily text messages.
Importantly, the competition and consumer choice extends well beyond service providers. America is home to more than 240,000 mobile applications and at least seven competing applications stores. At the Apple App Store alone, more than three billion applications have been downloaded since its launch less than two years ago.
The U.S. is the envy of the mobile innovation world for the robust nature of our networks and the diverse array of consumer choices in devices, applications and service options.
While the FCC urges substantial reforms on multiple fronts, it would be judicious for the Commission to point out where the marketplace is working. Audiences from consumers to policymakers to Wall Street are actively speculating as to how broad or restrained the FCC's new regulatory push ultimately will be — and the potential impact for better or for worse from jobs and economic recovery to innovation and investment. Drawing a bright white line by affirming that competition is clearly working in wireless would offer a reassuring distinction amid a potential tangle of new red tape.
If the Commission aims to make good on its promise to advance a competitive, innovative and consumer-powered marketplace, now is the time and this week's mobile competition report is the place to make clear the upper limits of its regulatory ambitions.
This article was originally published on Huffington Post on May 19, 2010.
Posted: 01/20/10
The San Francisco Chronicle recently published an op-ed by Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter outlining the rapid growth of wireless and the need for sound public policy so that innovation and investment will continue.
As wireless connectivity takes on an even more central role in our economy and our society, we must acknowledge that we have come so far, so fast primarily because of the decisions of consumers and the vision of innovators, rather than the interventions of government. There is so much potential still to unleash, if we chart a constructive and balanced path forward.
You can read Jonathan’s op-ed here.
Posted: 01/04/10 by Mobile Future Team
The Duluth News Tribune in Minnesota recently published an op-ed piece by Mobile Future Advisor Diane Smith. The piece details Diane’s success as an entrepreneur in rural America, and the many ways that technology helps small business and promotes economic opportunity.
The wireless sector employs nearly 2.7 million Americans - from applications developers to retail store workers to network engineers - and contributes $100 billion annually to our nation's economy. In the last year alone, wireless companies have invested more than $20 billion in networks that are expanding opportunities for the next generation of connected businesses.
You can read the rest of Diane’s op-ed here.
Posted: 12/02/09 by Jonathan Spalter
Last Friday ushered in the holiday shopping season, and while
consumers were clamoring for the best bargain, this year they had a new
tool in their artillery - their cell phone.
With an array of smartphone choices from the Palm Pre to the iPhone,
several new Blackberry models, and the Droid - never before have
Americans had so many options at their disposal. That's not to mention
the proliferation of retail m-commerce sites, and applications that can
help you navigate stores, compare prices and even send coupons straight to your mobile phone. For customers, cell phones have become the ultimate aid in savvy shopping.
The Wall Street Journal reported that on Black Friday, "mobile online payments through PayPal surged 650%" and mobile searches grew to 200,000 from around 5,000 in 2008.
This is good news for retailers, but more importantly it signals that
2009 is likely to be seen as a tipping point for the mobile web.
Today, nearly 40 percent of new phone sales are smartphones, a
figure that will surely rise with the current holiday promotions. And a
recent report projects that by 2011 a majority of phones in the U.S.
will be connected smartphones that put PC-like functionalities in the palm of your hand.
What's driving this growth is a fundamental shift in how we use our wireless devices.
According to a recent survey of nearly 1,000 phone users:
"[S]martphone users are no longer just reading e-mail or
scheduling appointments but also surfing the Web, streaming video and
music, downloading games, and snapping pictures. Smartphones are now
seen more by consumers as minicomputers than as cell phones."
This is a giant step forward for U.S. connectivity and greatly
beneficial to American consumers, but it also raises key questions for
federal policymakers.
With the surge in smartphone adoption and mobile web usage, wireless data traffic in North America is expected to double every year between 2008 and 2013.
If this forecast holds true, it means that we are facing what FCC
Chairman Julius Genachowski calls a 'looming spectrum crisis.' The FCC
needs to take action by opening up new wireless spectrum. Thankfully,
Chairman Genachowski recognizes this challenge and is taking steps to
address it.
However, as we witnessed with the last auctions, the path to
spectrum allocation can be a lengthy and bureaucratic process, and
consumers also need more immediate solutions. Wireless network
management helps ensure as seamless a consumer experience as possible,
no matter how busy the wireless networks become. As we seek solutions
to address exponentially increasing mobile usage, we should keep in
mind the constructive policies and engineering practices that made this
growth possible in the first place.
As evidenced this Black Friday, wireless innovation is working for
America. When considering policy changes, the FCC must first do no
harm. Government policies should support mobile's still-nascent
potential and growth, but consumer choices and mobile innovation should
guide wireless' bright future.
This article was originally posted on Huffington Post.
Posted: 06/10/08 by Jo-Anne Basile
The world of wireless is changing. Ten years ago, it was inconceivable that you could check email, surf the Internet, listen to music and play games using only your phone. Today, you need only look at the iPhone, Blackberry Curve or Palm Treo to realize that you can do all of the activities listed above and so much more. The advances in cell phone utility is just starting to realize its potential, and experts forecast that over the next decade, the wireless industry will continue to boom.
Forecasters predict that:
- By the year 2018, wireless broadband technology is expected to generate approximately $860 billion in additional gross domestic product.
- In the next eight years, the projected total value of wireless broadband and mobile voice services is expected to exceed $427 billion.
- By 2016, the US is projected to have 81.9 million enterprise users, with 83% using wireless broadband.
These figures are all from the recently-released Ovum Report. The Ovum Report is a study funded by the CTIA (Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association), which focused on the impact that the use and deployment of wireless broadband technology currently has, and is projected to have on the U.S. economy. The 2008 study was a follow-up to the 2005 Ovum Report, which studied the macroeconomic impact of the U.S. industry.
These findings affirm that while wireless technology is important to most Americans, its continued growth is also vital to the U.S. economy. Economic gains were most evident in the healthcare and small business sectors. According to the report, "in 2005, productivity improvements due to use of mobile broadband solutions across the U.S. health care industry were valued at $6.9 billion." That number is expected to triple by 2016. While healthcare has witnessed big gains, the increase in productivity due to mobile wireless services carries across the board and was valued at $185 billion in 2005. And despite current economic difficulties, wireless technology has enabled businesses to increase efficiency and productivity benefitting the economy.
With figures quoted in the billions, I sometimes find it hard to wrap my head around the reality of the situation. However, when I look at my cell phone, I realize how far the industry has come. What was once a brick-sized calling device is now a computer weighing only ounces. Yet, this realization is dwarfed by the enormous potential that the wireless industry has in store for the future. What is technologically inconceivable today may be the reality of tomorrow.
Posted: 04/25/08 by Chris Parandian
As many futurists know, I was covering the WCA conference in DC this week. Accordingly, I had the opportunity to hear a FCC Roundtable with the wireless staffers for the respective FCC Commissioners. It was very informative.
Fred Campbell (Chief, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau) kicked off the discussion and mentioned his priority to successfully get the D Block auctioned by the end of the DTV transition. Obviously, there are issues regarding the conditions that are a part of holding that license but getting the D Block done was a sentiment shared by all the participants. Mr. Campbell also mentioned his goal of making sure that the AWS III (2155-2175MHz) spectrum got allocated in 9 months (as specified in the NPRM). He did not elaborate on whether that spectrum would be licensed or unlicensed spectrum.
Bruce Gottlieb (Commissioner Copps) mentioned his continued interest in carriers opening up their networks and believes that this move will help unleash more innovations in the wireless sector. He is pleased with the Commission's efforts to get spectrum out in the market but believes the results are a "mixed bag." For instance, he is concerned with excessive concentration of wireless spectrum and is interested in seeing some wholesaling requirements on future allocations.
Renee Roland Crittendon (Commissioner Adelstein) believes oversight of the DTV transition is important and will be watching related education efforts to inform folks of the transition. Ms. Crittendon supports future wholesaling conditions and emphasized that tradeoffs are a part of these policy decisions. She also is interested in making sure spectrum is not sitting fallow and is made available for service providers.
Wayne Leighton (Commissioner Tate) stated that Ms. Tate is passionate about broadband deployment as well as making sure the DTV transition is successful. With regard to wireless broadband deployment, Mr. Leighton is concerned that the weakening capital markets could be an impediment to some of those efforts.
Overall, a very informative panel and all the representatives were excited about our mobile future...
Posted: 03/11/08 by Jo-Anne Basile
It was a cool day in October 1981 when they flipped the switch in Chicago, beginning communications revolution for Americans, which we call cell phones.
It boggles the mind to think about where we've come in these 27 years. The number of users is staggering: today there are nearly 250 million users in the U.S. and 3.3 billion wireless devices in use on the planet, and with more than 1,000 activated each minute. What's even more amazing is how many different uses of wireless devices we have today. In a little more than 25 years the use of wireless devices has evolved from the simple voice-communicating, the mundane-to the sophisticated transport of critical data and video - medical, financial and more. Wireless also has the unique honor of providing the link that will fuel economic development for nations throughout the world. Yes, indeed, given the opportunity, humans have discovered endless ways to make use of wireless technology. Although the illustrations are too numerous to list, if we focus on a few, it helps put the communications revolution squarely in place.
A particularly good example of how wireless creates change is how it can jumpstart lesser developed nations into the global marketplace. Confronted with the need for a reliable communications network where little or no infrastructure existed, countries have turned to wireless as the most efficient and economical network to build quickly. This happened in the mid-1990's when many of the Eastern block nations, newly freed from the old Soviet Union, turned to wireless as the only communications tool that could link businesses with vital opportunities. Now, with the ability to connect reliably and quickly to the outside world economic opportunities previously closed off became open.
In less than three decades, about half the world's population uses wireless technology in big and small ways every day. Wireless is not only a revolution in technology but it has created a revolution wherever it has gone. Stay tuned to this spot as we explore more of the "revolution" that wireless built in future blogs.
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Tags: Competition, Smartphone, Social Networking, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, Wireless Innovation