Digital Lifescapes

The evolution of network APIs is one of the telecom sector’s most compelling growth opportunities. Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) have long connected disparate systems, but within telecommunications, their transformation holds a pivotal role in ushering networks from siloed infrastructure toward open, programmable platforms. Juniper Research’s latest market study underscores how global network operators can unlock new applications, reshaping digital connectivity and enterprise innovation. Network API Market Development Historically, telecommunication networks have operated under a closed model, restricting third-party access and fostering complexity for developers. The new paradigm, supported by initiatives such as GSMA Open Gateway and CAMARA, is shifting the narrative. Operators are now embracing standardized APIs, allowing developers to integrate advanced network capabilities directly into their applications, bypassing proprietary barriers and unlocking greater innovative...

It's estimated there are over 1.1 billion personal vehicles currently in use globally. Juniper Research predicts steady growth for all eight key regions, with vehicles on the roads reaching 1.2 billion around the world in 2025. North America, West Europe, and the Far East & China have the highest number of vehicles in use per 1,000 persons of the population. In recent years there have been changes in the market, with higher adoption of hybrid and fully electric cars which require more complex operational monitoring technology. Plus, with more people embracing remote and flexible working models, the car can become a mobile office with all the associated business requirements, including reliable broadband connectivity. Connected vehicles can utilize several types of technology. Among those, existing mobile communications network infrastructure already plays a key role, in some cases, in tandem with short-range technology, such as Road-Side Units (RSUs). Connected Vehicles M...

In the last couple of years machine-to-machine (M2M) has become part of the arsenal of products offered by global telecom service providers and a significant revenue stream for M2M technology specialists. They've developed new value propositions, designed to reduce costs and increase efficiency for their clients. Meanwhile, new business models are beginning to account for new technology concepts and developments, one of the latest to gain significant market traction being the Internet of Things (IoT). New technologies, combined with existing ones, are now making the IoT vision a reality. Embedded SIM cards will increasingly dominate the M2M category, accounting for more than 50 percent of connections by the end of the decade, according to the latest study by Juniper Research. M2M Application Market Development  Outlined as a market driver in their study findings, the introduction of the GSMA embedded specification is likely to fuel the opportunity for mobile network service...

Important developments in the consumer and commercial telematics arena have subtly changed the nature of the industry altogether -- particularly within the consumer telematics space. Vehicle manufacturers are taking telematics extremely seriously, as connectivity can now make or break the sale of a much more valuable item, that is, the purchase of an automobile. Global revenues from consumer and commercial telematics are forecast to reach nearly $20 billion by 2018 -- with additional soft revenues being generated from areas such as car servicing, big data enabled by telematics, and enhanced customer service offerings. These additional soft revenues will form a key part of the future Connected Cars market as they will allow automotive manufacturers to generate revenues throughout the lifetime of the vehicle, rather than just at the point of sale. Findings from a new market study by Juniper Research, however, claims that these soft revenues will still remain a major untapped revenu...

Demand for multiple mobile profiles presents sizable opportunities in both developing and developed markets. In emerging markets, using more than one SIM card is common and is mainly driven by bargain hunting. In Botswana, for instance, the number of mobile subscriptions reached 152 percent of the population in 2012, even though only 66 percent of the population used mobile phones -- meaning that most mobile users held more than one SIM card. Savvy mobile network operators that are addressing the demand in three ways: dual-SIM handsets, traveler offers and virtual numbers -- according to the latest market study by Pyramid Research. The recent comprehensive study examined the multiple identities opportunity and how mobile network service providers are addressing it. Incentives for multiple mobile identities are different in developing and developed markets and the study took an in depth look at three main approaches to address the market. This assessment included case studies ...

Latin America will pass the milestone of 100 percent mobile phone penetration by the end of the first quarter 2011, according to the latest market study by Informa Telecoms & Media . However, despite this accomplishment, there are still 178 million people in the region without mobile communication services -- which represents 30 percent of its population. Brazil, the largest and most important mobile market in South America, had already passed the milestones of 100 percent penetration and 200 million subscriptions by the end of 2010. With 105 percent penetration at the end of December, Brazil is now the sixth-largest market globally with 206 million subscriptions and the seventh-largest by revenues. "Passing 100 percent penetration is a huge milestone for the mobile industry, but it's important to note that it does not mean that everyone in Latin America has a mobile phone," says Daniele Tricarico, senior analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media. Informa'...

Mobile service providers in Central and Eastern Europe will increase their annual service revenues by more than 30 percent to $77 billion in 2013, according to the latest market study by Informa Telecoms & Media. As the rise in voice revenues levels off from 2011, overall growth will be driven by a doubling in the value of data revenues which will reach $23.4 billion in 2013. Growth will be primarily driven by continued expansion of the mobile subscription base, which will increase almost 20 percenet, from 447 million at end-2008 to 534 million at end-2013. Growth will also be fuelled by the increasing tendency for people to maintain two or more SIM cards in active use -- in some cases buying the second for a mobile broadband connection. Annual mobile data revenues in Central and Eastern Europe will increase 107 percent from $11.3 billion in 2008 to $23.4 billion in 2013. As a result, the proportion of revenue generated by data is forecast to increase by more than half, from 19.4 p...

The global mobile phone market revenues will top $1.03 trillion by 2013, when the number of subscriptions worldwide will have risen to more than 5.3 billion, according to a market study by Informa Telecoms & Media. From end-2007 to end-2013, the global mobile market will see huge growth, increasing in size by over half (56 percent). It took over 20 years to reach 3 billion subscriptions, but another 1.9 billion net additions are forecast in just six years, with the global total nudging past the 5-billion milestone in 2011. With this extraordinary growth, total annual revenues derived from mobile operators will grow by over a third (33.9 percent), jumping from $769 billion in 2007 to $1.03 trillion six years later. More than three quarters (78 percent) of global net additions between 2007 and 2013 to come from markets in Asia Pacific, Africa and Latin America, which will be the powerhouses of organic growth over the next five years. Nearly half (47 percent) of the 1.9 billion global...

Mobile operators are starting to uncover new business models that help to address the problems posed by saturated mobile service markets and high handset subsidies, according to the latest market study by Informa Telecoms & Media. European mobile operator Telefonica O2 announced that its SIM-only service, Simplicity, now has almost half a million customers and accounts for one third of its online sales. The SIM-only concept was pioneered by discount MVNOs in northern Europe and is now being embraced enthusiastically by mobile operators. It holds two key attractions for mobile operators. First, it allows them to accelerate the migration from prepaid to postpaid price plans. And secondly, it significantly reduces subscriber acquisition and retention costs (SACs). SIM-only customers keep their existing phones so operators do not need to resort to costly device subsidies. The SIM-only business model is just one of the strategies analyzed in new research from Informa. Their report argue...