Digital Lifescapes

Telecom service providers have been seeking new, less capital-intensive, ways to deliver broadband Internet access to homes. Advances in fixed wireless communications will create opportunities to reach new subscribers. Exponential growth of 4G LTE coverage and capacity is driving wireless service growth for fixed broadband access, while fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), xDSL, and cable technologies reach nearly 50 percent of global households. As the 5G standardization process approaches completion, the technology will significantly accelerate global fixed wireless deployments. The results, so far, from new service tests and trials have been encouraging. Wireless Broadband Market Development ABI Research forecasts worldwide fixed wireless broadband subscribers will grow at a 30 percent CAGR to top 151 million in 2022. "The arrival of 5G technology will completely transform fixed wireless broadband network deployments," said Khin Sandi Lynn, analyst at ABI Research . Recen...

Sometimes the only way to increase market share is to go downward. Within the North American mobile communication market, where the monthly service price has remained relatively high when compared to more competitive markets, lowering subscriber costs was an inevitable outcome. Wireless revenue increased by just 1.1 percent year-to-year among benchmarked U.S. mobile network operators in 3Q16, according to the latest market study by Technology Business Research (TBR). Let's give credit where it's due. This situation is primarily the result of T-Mobile growing revenue 17.8 percent year-to-year on the strength of its 'Un-carrier' go-to-market strategies. Mobile Phone Service Market Development "While T-Mobile and Sprint remain able to increase wireless revenue by generating higher postpaid phone additions through competitive pricing, Verizon and AT&T are relying on value-added services to offset declining revenue from slowing phone subscriber growth,"...

It's been a busy year for those telecom service providers who are active in the Internet of Things (IoT) market. Currently, IoT accounts for less than 1 percent of most network operator's total revenue, according to the latest study by Analysys Mason . It will take until 2025 for IoT to exceed 5 percent of service provider total revenue, even starting from 1 percent and growing by 20 percent per year (assuming flat top-line revenues), which is roughly in line with current growth rates for their IoT businesses. Meanwhile, telcos may explore acquisitions or investments. Verizon was one of the few operators to make a move in 2016, investing over $3 billion on its acquisitions of Fleetmatics, Telogis and other smaller firms. More network operators may follow Verizon's lead in 2017. Service Provider Outlook for IoT in 2017 Almost all presentations on 5G mention IoT, but few presentations on IoT mention 5G. IoT vendors are already developing solutions. Massive M2M connect...

Mobile internet users in North America have endured high-cost services (compared to other global regions) as a result of market consolidation -- where fewer service providers compete for customers. That all changed when the status-quo was broken by T-Mobile's lower prices. People rejoiced. Well, most people. Some mobile network operators struggle to generate new wireless communication service revenue growth in the U.S., due to the ongoing pricing war and the saturated smartphone market, according to the latest study by Technology Business Research (TBR). In an attempt to offset declining service revenue, some American mobile network operators are focused on expanding their connected device offerings and increasing equipment revenue through un-subsidized smartphone purchases. However, the smart ones also prepared for this scenario by lowering the inherent high costs within their operations. "Verizon remained the top-ranked U.S. wireless carrier in 2Q15 and led the industr...

Throttling over the top (OTT) video may be legal in the U.S. market, now that Verizon has convinced the courts to strike down net neutrality rules. However, there are alternative ways to address the growing video consumption challenges that would not alienate a broadband service providers customers to the same degree. As smartphones and tablets achieve greater market penetration, the data usage they bring shows no sign of slowing as subscribers expect good service whenever and wherever they want. With this growing demand, mobile broadband operators in particular need traffic optimization solutions for their networks now as they already struggle with network congestion, and it will likely get worse over time. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, they now forecast that Web and Video Optimization and Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) investment will increase to over $5 Billion by 2019. "The optimization solutions market continues to challenge those vendors, and co...

It's already apparent to most video entertainment industry analysts -- fewer people are interested in owning physical media and the recent results of DVD and Blu-ray disc sales in mature markets is a leading indicator of this growing trend. Other key trends are also emerging. Netflix helped boost subscription services to nearly 40 percent of the UK over-the-top (OTT) video entertainment market. The worldwide OTT video market reached nearly $11 billion in 2013, of which Netflix is also a significant contributor in the North American and expanding Latin American markets. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, OTT revenue share will shift to TVOD (transactional video on demand) and advertising as new video entertainment services emerge. Part of the driving force for TVOD, and more specifically EST (electronic sell-through), is going to be propelled by the eventual increased adoption of UltraViolet -- which today has an uncertain future. "While we still bel...

Even though 4G wireless technology overall share of cellular subscriptions stood at a meager 2.9 percent at the end of 2Q 2013, it is expected to account for slightly more than 20 percent of the total data consumed on mobile networks worldwide this year. After surpassing 3G mobile networks in 2016, 4G mobile networks will go on to capture two-thirds of data traffic by 2018, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. Moreover, 4G mobile data traffic will surge at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 82.2 percent between 2013 and 2018. Underpinning this high-growth traffic trend is the aggressive LTE network deployment by wireless network operators and the expanding portfolio of smartphones and tablets which are also falling in price. "These two factors work hand in hand to enable consumers to stream videos on their smartphones," said Ying Kang Tan, research associate at ABI Research . Already, Verizon saw video accounting for 50 percent of its network t...

According to the latest market study by Infonetics Research, traditional pay-TV subscribers are now far less loyal than they used to be. That new independence has freed many from the expense of high-cost video entertainment services. That being said, the cable TV industry is more characterized by churn than cord cutting, as subscribers take advantage of introductory pricing on satellite and IPTV subscriptions -- typically, that's 30-50 percent lower than their cable TV service fees. Infonetics released excerpts from its "Pay-TV Services and Subscribers report," which forecasts and analyzes the telco Internet protocol television (IPTV), cable video, and satellite video services markets. Apparently, this is a market in transition, as the economy motivates more pay-TV subscribers to seek a better value for their money. "Ongoing challenging economic conditions in the key revenue-generating markets of North America and Western Europe have resulted in slowing subscri...

As more Americans each month abandon landline phone service, mobile phone service growth becomes increasingly important to the legacy telecom service providers, such as AT&T and Verizon. However, Google and Apple continue to drive the upside opportunity in this market transition -- based upon the adoption of new smartphone applications. comScore released data about the key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending May 2011. Their latest market study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile phone service subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 24.8 percent market share. Google Android led among smartphone platforms with 38.1 percent market share. For the three month average period, 234 million Americans ages 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 24.8 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers, followed by LG with 21.1 percent share and Motorola with 15....