Digital Lifescapes

More CIOs and CTOs are seeking to gain benefits of a simplified and more manageable IT infrastructure for their organizations. As a result, worldwide integrated systems revenue is forecast to total $12.3 billion in 2018 -- that's an increase of 18.4 percent from 2017, according to the latest study by Gartner. The hyperconverged integrated systems (HCIS) segment will experience the strongest growth (55 percent). By contrast, integrated stack systems will experience a five percent decline. IT Integrated Systems Market Development "The majority of integrated systems replace existing infrastructure, which is great for cost, agility and consolidation of IT and efficiency metrics," said Naveen Mishra, research director at Gartner . When implementing this as part of a digital business initiative, however, IT organizations must look at how the potential savings of capital expenditure (capex), may be offset by potential shifts in operating expenditure (opex). According to ...

​Worldwide traffic on 3G and 4G mobile communication networks continues to reach new highs as operators strive to satisfy the insatiable craving for broadband access to the Mobile Internet. Around the globe, satisfying this demand -- by expanding network capacity -- will push mobile packet core spending to over $18 billion through 2019. Though much of the telecom market experienced a 1Q 2014 seasonal dip, mobile packet core expansion continues with just-in-time infrastructure deployment. First mover developed markets continue to lead, and now the Rest of the World demands additional capacity as network operators scale-up with the demand. Mobile network operators must make their network investment choices to meet this never-before experienced growth -- and have a good grasp of the growing demand in the foreseeable future. "Operators closely manage their CapEx and OpEx with a sharp eye on the top line," says Joe Hoffman, practice director at ABI Research . But while...

Some leading nations have already reached a major milestone in deploying next-generation wireless broadband capabilities. The mobile network operators in North America are nearing the end of the first wave of 4G LTE investment. Already Verizon’s LTE network boasts population coverage of more than 95 percent. Around 70 percent of the American people also have access to AT&T's LTE network. In Canada, the Telus LTE network covers 77 percent of the population while Bell and Rogers are hot on its heels. So, what's next for these mobile network service providers? How will each company choose to maximize the significant investment they've already made in wireless broadband infrastructure? "To be sure, there is still work to be done," says Ying Kang Tan, research associate at ABI Research . These operators are still tuning their networks, deploying small cells to improve capacity as well as indoor coverage, preparing their networks for Voice-over-LTE, and empl...

The spending on Long-Term Evolution (LTE) mobile network base stations will reach $12.3 billion in 2013, as service providers around the world update their infrastructure to fourth-generation wireless technology. Membership is not exclusive to the developed economies as emerging markets close the digital divide by aggressive network roll-out. Some of these emerging market LTE deployments are government-sponsored initiatives, as in Rwanda, while others are private ventures, as in Sri Lanka. 4G LTE has helped to reverse the downward trend in RAN expenditure in Western Europe last year and will do the same in Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Middle East in 2013 and Africa in 2014. "There are, however, differences in the type of capital expenditure (CapEx) incurred in different regions," said Ying Kang Tan, research associate at ABI Research . Operators in the developed markets are already taking steps to upgrade their networks to LTE-Advanced this year. Going forwa...

According to the latest global market study by Ovum, telecom service providers must continue to focus on cost controls to offset relatively flat revenue growth over the next five years. That being said, a significant ongoing cost is the employment of their internal workforce. Ovum believes telecom service providers may still have the potential to gain greater economies through their global telecom vendors -- in terms of network rollout, network operations, network optimization, customer experience and service quality management. Ovum forecasts a 2 percent annual growth rate in telecom service provider revenues between 2012 and 2018, as these carriers struggle to combat increased over-the-top (OTT) service competition. Moreover, their customers seem more interested in buying devices or mobile apps than telco services, and they continue to resist usage-sensitive billing for internet access. With little prospect of new revenue growth, Ovum anticipates that telecom service providers ...

Infonetics Research released excerpts from its latest market study, which tracks global mobile services revenue, mobile voice and data average revenue per user (ARPU), and mobile voice and broadband subscribers. "As we approach mobile phone market saturation, the mobile industry is undeniably shifting from voice to data, and over-the-top voice revenue is shifting away from mobile operators," notes Stephane Teral, principal analyst for mobile infrastructure and carrier economics at Infonetics Research . Infonetics reports that SMS use is now fading in places like Japan, the U.S., the Netherlands, and the UK market. It's being replaced by free applications over mobile broadband that enable internet browsing, email and -- more importantly -- video. Those services may be free to the smartphone app users, but carrying the associated data traffic is not free to the mobile network operators. Mobile service providers are investing a significant amount of their profits to ...

Due to a partial improvement in both the fixed (wireline) and mobile (wireless) network communication sectors, telecom service provider revenues passed the $1.91 trillion mark in 2011 -- that's compared to $1.79 trillion in 2010, according to the latest global market study by Ovum . Carrier capital expenditure (capex) investment also rose in 2011, but late-year economic jitters depressed the global growth rates. In a new Ovum report, Matt Walker, a Principal Analyst in Ovum’s Networks practice, said: "Economic worries caused budget cuts late in the year, hitting Service Provider capex." Overall for 2011, capex grew 9 percent to $306 billion, due to double-digit percentage growth in the first three quarters; capex declined 1 per cent year-over-year (YoY) in 4Q11. Among the top 10 capex spenders were two from North America (AT&T, Verizon), China’s three big carriers, NTT, and four European operators with multinational operations (DT, Telefonica, Vodafone, and FT...

How have mobile network service providers been preparing for the continued adoption of smartphones that will create a groundswell of new data traffic? We now know that global capital expenditure (CAPEX) weakened in the fourth quarter of 2011 for many mobile operators -- as they trimmed their budgets for the remainder of 2011. However, according to the latest market study by ABI Research , confidence is returning in the first half of 2012 as mobile network operators start to switch over from LTE trials to commercial service deployment in a number of key markets. "Mobile capital expenditure is forecasted to grow 9 percent to $111.1 billion in 2012, supported by renewed investment in radio access network (RAN) infrastructure and in-building wireless access," says Jake Saunders, vice president of forecasting at ABI Research. Operators have been reviewing their macro RAN architectures and are opting to scale up their rooftop and street-level small cells as well as distribute...

The developed Asian markets -- such as Japan and South Korea -- have always led the way forward in mobile network technology deployments and advanced applications. Now other markets in the region are actively investing in new infrastructure -- as the developing markets in the region catch up. ​"A number of Asian operators are bracing themselves for a quickening in 3G and 4G subscriber adoption in 2012," says Jake Saunders, vice president of forecasting at ABI Research. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, Asian capital expenditure in 2012 is forecast to increase 5.7 percent year-on-year to $58.8 billion. Across the region, over 63 percent of the CAPEX budget for 2012 will focus on the construction of radio access network infrastructure, 8 percent on upgrades and capacity expansions to the core network, and 29 percent on development of new technologies and new businesses, construction of backhaul transmission facilities, etc. Several Japanese operators...

Infonetics Research released its latest Service Provider report -- which analyzes telecom carrier capital expenditures (capex), operational expenses (opex), revenue per user, and subscriber trends by operator, operator type, region, and telecom equipment segment. "Telecom capital expenditures are bottoming out at $289 billion this year, and our cycle-based forecast model and conversations with service providers indicate that a new investment cycle will start in 2011 and last several years, with capex growing to $321 billion in 2014 before growth slows again" says Stephane Teral, principal analyst for mobile and FMC infrastructure at Infonetics Research. Overall, capital intensities will continue to slowly decline through at least 2014. because the world's telecommunications infrastructure is essentially built out. Infonetics market study highlights include: - From its peak in 2008, worldwide service provider capex declined 5.3 percent in 2009, and is on track to ...