Impressive DBS Growth Offers Encouragement for Telcos Deploying Video -- According to Yankee Group estimates, "direct broadcast satellite (DBS) operators DIRECTV and EchoStar had a combined total of 24.8 million subscribers at the end of 2004, up from 21.6 million a year earlier. DIRECTV gained 1.7 million subscribers while EchoStar gained 1.4 million. Although population growth drove part of this growth, much of it has come at the expense of cable. In the same time frame, we estimate that cable operators lost between 600,000 and 800,000 subscribers. Although troubled cable companies Adelphia and Charter accounted for about half of those losses, others including Time Warner, Insight and Mediacom also lost a substantial number of subscribers."
Alternative Payment Methods (APMs) – comprising digital wallets, instant payments, and QR payment systems – are experiencing explosive growth that's reshaping the global financial services marketplace. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research , the combined global transaction value for APMs is projected to reach $142 trillion by 2030. What's particularly fascinating is the underlying driver behind this trend: a growing desire for financial sovereignty, with nations developing domestic payment ecosystems rather than remaining dependent on international financial networks. Payment Ecosystem Market Development In 2024, approximately 45 percent of the global population used digital wallets – a remarkable adoption rate for a technology that barely existed a decade ago. China leads this transition, with 95 percent of its population using WeChat's payment functionality. WeChat exemplifies the "super app" phenomenon, where payment capabilities are in...