"There�s renewed speculation that Google is planning to enter the telco arena as more revelations come to light about the company�s (very) low-profile U.S. fibre purchases together with news of an interesting alliance with a Wi-Fi enterprise that owns a customer location search technology. The September edition of the magazine Business 2.0 says that Google is quietly assembling a collection of alliances and assets that could enable it to offer Wi-Fi services funded by location-based advertising. And it also reveals that Google may be already test-driving the business model in San Francisco. The magazine confirms previous rumours that Google has been buying up cheap fibre across the U.S. from providers such as AboveNet, Cogent and WilTel. The immediate rationale for this is obvious: Google gets to keep more of its burgeoning traffic on-net and avoid high IP transit fees to connect to the access networks used by its customers. In doing so, Google effectively becomes an ISP itself, using peering arrangements to further cut its costs. However, what would happen if Google was to go just one step further and connect directly into the access network? Well, this may already be happening, says Business 2.0"
The global smartphone market closed 2025 with a story less about recovery and more about transformation. Premium product, ecosystem lock-in, and manufacturing scale are now the forces shaping competition. For business and technology leaders, the latest IDC market study data confirms that smartphones remain a critical indicator of consumer demand, supply chain health, and AI commercialization at the edge. Smartphone Market Development Global smartphone shipments grew 2.3 percent year-over-year in Q4 2025, reaching 336.3 million units and bringing full-year volumes to 1.26 billion units — a modest 1.9 percent annual increase, according to IDC. This smartphone growth emerged despite a memory shortage crisis, tariff volatility, supply chain disruption, and macroeconomic headwinds. What stabilized demand? Two factors: sustained growth in premium devices and strong foldable momentum, combined with accelerated purchases as consumers bought ahead of anticipated price increases. Buyers weren...