Blog | News & Information on Wireless Services & Telecommunications
Posted: 07/22/10 by Mobile Future Team
Last winter's Vancouver Olympics had some great moments: Lindsay Vonn and Bode Miller picking up golds. Joannie Rochette's final. Ovechkin's hit on Jagr.
And according to a briefing this week from NBC, millions of you were watching this on the tiny screen.
Alan Wurtzel, president of research and media development of NBC Universal, told a conference on the mobile Internet that mobile viewership of the Olympics surged between the 2008 Beijing Games and Vancouver. During the Beijing summer games, NBC reported that 15 percent of viewers watched events through their mobile devices.
Just 18 months later in Vancouver, that number almost doubled to 27 percent. About 1.2 million mobile users used a Winter Olympics mobile app, also a large increase from 2008.
NBC's figures are in keeping with other evidence of the boom in mobile web usage. Nielsen estimates cited by Wurtzel peg the growth of mobile web users during the same period at nearly 50 percent (49 million users to 72 million).
So the mobile revolution accelerates. And to think: The London Olympics begin on July 27, 2012, or almost exactly two years from today.
Posted: 07/14/10 by Mobile Future Team
The wireless industry reached an impressive benchmark last Thursday, with the number of wireless service subscriptions surpassing 5 billion globally. After taking into account individuals with multiple subscriptions, the number, which is up from 720 million in 2000, suggests just under 5 billion of the world’s 6.9 billion people are connected wirelessly. Furthermore, Ericcson, the company who first released the estimates, predicts at the current rate of 2 million additional subscriptions per day, we will see 50 billion connected devices by 2020. The popular and expeditious transition to the mobile Internet shows the demand for wireless devices is here to stay, with consumers realizing more than ever the benefits of mobile connectivity.
To read more about Ericcson's findings, click here.
Posted: 06/30/10 by Mobile Future Team
There are now two types of surfing you can do at the beach; wave surfing and surfing WiiMAX/4G Internet on your laptop. Clearwire®, the mobile Internet product and services provider, rolled out three new devices last week to engage consumers in the WiiMAX revolution. With the Clearspot(s) and mobile 4G USB unit, customers can receive 4G speed Internet anywhere—like the beach—under the clear coverage network, which already includes cities in twenty states with more to be added soon.
Frugal-minded parents rejoice! Just in time for summer vacation and in advance of the back to school blitz, Best Buy is now offering discounted, WiiMAX enabled laptops that can connect to the Clearwire® mobile internet service. Summer road trips will never be the same.
Posted: 05/19/10 by Mobile Future Team
With the school year winding down and temperatures heating up, it’s clear that summer is upon us. And for many Americans, the coming months are among the most popular for travel. Whether you’re “stay-cationing” close to home or planning an international adventure, mobile applications in conjunction with popular travel guides are making it easier than ever to plan the perfect getaway.
As discussed in an article by the Associated Press , publishers are moving more and more content online and working to develop a greater number of applications to provide travelers with a more tailored on-the-go experience.
For example, Eyewitness Travel Guides publisher Dorling Kindersley recently launched a user-centric site that allows visitors to create their own guidebooks and download them free of charge. Popular location-based applications—like maps, suggested points of interest, and restaurant recommendations and reviews—continue to orient travelers frequenting new locations.
Unsurprisingly, such services have gained the most traction among domestic travelers, as many Americans are reluctant to abandon their guidebooks overseas only to be hit with increased roaming charges. Nevertheless, if your flight to Norway is rerouted thanks to that pesky volcano and you end up in St. Tropez, your smartphone can ensure you still have the vacation of your dreams (starting by directing you to the nearest retail center so you’re not stuck sporting a cold-weather wardrobe…).
Posted: 05/18/10 by Jonathan Spalter
"High speed Internet empowers people with disabilities to become more independent. [It] can remove barriers that keep people with disabilities from participating in everyday activities such as employment, education, civic responsibilities and social connection."
From a joint statement by: The American Association of People with Disabilities and The Communications Workers of America
For America's 54 million people with disabilities, two important events happen this summer. First, there's Memorial Day, when disabled veterans will proudly lead ceremonies and officials will emphasize the need to help those injured in conflict.
Second, July 26th is the 20th anniversary of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA was a long time in coming and is probably the single most empowering law during the past generation. But while the ADA has been instrumental in providing legal help for Americans with disabilities, something else is doing an important job in improving basic living standards.
It's your mobile phone.
That's the conclusion of a new research paper that Mobile Future issued today. For all the talk about texting, streaming video, gaming and other apps, one of the most heartening mobile developments involve affordable, life-changing improvements for those with disabilities. The FCC also recognizes this development and hosted a workshop to explore ways in which new technologies can offer opportunities to meet the communications access needs of people with disabilities.
Take the hearing impaired. In 2006, according to the CDC, 37 million adults in the United States had trouble hearing (ranging from a little trouble to being deaf). That's an increase of more than five million since 2000.
As described in Mobile Future's paper, a new wireless system developed at the Georgia Tech Research Institute offers those with hearing difficulties the ability to caption events in real-time. The device translates spoken words into text and displays it on a screen.
Meanwhile, according to Scientific American, researchers at the University of Washington (Seattle) are developing software that lets mobile phone users communicate through sign language and real-time video instead of being limited to text messaging.
But what about those who can't see? Some of the same technology that lets you save money while shopping is also turning the phone into an electronic seeing-eye companion.
As we discovered, mobile apps can use smartphone cameras to scan labels and announce the contents of grocery items, their nutrition labels, and even pill bottles. When merged with GPS technology, these apps can assist the visually impaired by giving them step-by-step directions through their smartphone.
Know someone with a speaking disability? An estimated 6 to 8 million Americans have this challenge. Many, if not most, can now take advantage of low- or no-cost communications apps on their cell phone. There's voice output software that conveys typed messages; downloadable text-to-speech software can be an effective, less-costly alternative to speech devices covered by private insurance and Medicare.
Also, some experts say that children with speech impairments often prefer using "mainstream" technology which is less stigmatizing.
Mobile Future's research paper is meant to be both an assessment and a celebration of the key innovations that are helping those with disabilities. It is also a "look-ahead" at the next phase wireless technologies in the pipeline which promise even more transformational impacts for the one in five Americans who live with disabilities.
This column was originally posted on Huffington Post on May 13, 2010.
Posted: 05/10/10 by Mobile Future Team
The Charleston Gazette in West Virginia recently published an op-ed piece by Mobile Future Advisory Board Member Diane Smith. The piece centers on the negative impact net neutrality regulations would have on job creation and emerging opportunities across the wireless industry.
While there is great promise ahead in communications, there may also be a looming threat to future entrepreneurship and new employment opportunities. A recent study by The Brattle Group examining the employment and economic impacts of network neutrality regulation found extensive controls would restrict technology advances, innovation and job growth. And a recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejecting the Commission's claim of authority to enforce existing Internet freedom principles adds even more uncertainty to the broadband ecosystem.
You can read the rest of Diane's op-ed here.
Posted: 04/23/10 by Mobile Future Team
A new report by economist Coleman Bazelon at The Brattle Group and sponsored by Mobile Future takes an empirical look at the potential impact proposed Network Neutrality regulations could have on jobs in the broadband sector and jobs growth in the U.S. The paper, "The Employment and Economic Impacts of Net Neutrality Regulation: An Empirical Analysis" makes several key findings including:
- Revenue growth in the broadband sector could slow by about one-sixth over the next decade;
- Broadband sector jobs lost could be expected to total 14,217 in 2011, growing to 342,065 jobs by 2020;
- Economy-wide, 65,404 jobs could be put in jeopardy in 2011, with the total economy-wide impact growing to 1,452,943 jobs affected by 2020.
These numbers are particularly troubling to innovators in the mobile space which is expected to experience the most broadband growth over the next decade.
To learn more, you can read a press release that summarizes the paper's findings here or download the full whitepaper here.
Posted: 04/16/10 by Mobile Future Team
Morgan Stanley Internet and mobile trend analyst, Mary Meeker, described the pace of mobile innovation as "unprecedented, I think, in world history" while speaking at a conference for Chief Information Officers.
She also pointed to devices like iPhone and Android that are changing how we communicate and the flourishing U.S. apps ecosystem. Meeker predicted that "the innovation in the mobile internet is going to be right here in the United States of America for quite a while."
Meeker contends that mobile innovation will completely outpace the desktop Internet in terms of adoption rates over time.
Check out this graph from a Morgan Stanley report released earlier this year that makes the case:
Posted: 04/15/10 by Molly Kocour
Congress is making progress on important legislation that is near and dear to Mobile Future's heart - the Radio Spectrum Inventory Act. This week, the House passed the bill, which is co-sponsored by Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), and charges the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications & Information Administration to account how and where private stakeholders are using spectrum. It is expected to be passed by the Senate and signed into law soon. Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter issued the following statement in response to the bill's passage:
“We applaud the passage of the Radio Spectrum Inventory Act in the House. With wireless Internet usage projected to grow at 100 times the rate of wireless voice traffic over the next 10 years, spectrum is a precious resource. The passage of this bill helps pave the way to make more spectrum available quickly and responsibly to keep pace with consumer demand and enable the next wave of mobile innovation and economic opportunities.”
You can read more about spectrum here.
Posted: 04/15/10 by Mobile Future Team
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski issued a statement last Thursday outlining the Commission’s ongoing efforts to achieve the much-applauded National Broadband Plan (NBP).
"We are putting the National Broadband Plan into action," said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. "The Commission's Bureaus and Offices have already begun executing on the strategy the National Broadband Plan lays out to connect all Americans to broadband, unleash innovation and investment, enable job creation, and ensure a bright future of economic opportunity and prosperity."
And to ensure these goals — employment, continued innovation and investment, the FCC must tread carefully among potential regulation landmines. We want to nurture the broadband sector, which has been a tremendous boon to our country and economy — not stifle it with unnecessary roadblocks.
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Tags: Applications, Mobile Broadband, Mobile TV, Smartphone, Wireless Innovation