Digital Lifescapes

Wireless communication services continue to evolve and serve the voice and internet access needs of people in rural or remote areas of the world. Geostationary satellites were first to market, and now other satellite systems are pervasive.  The deployment of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations for extending terrestrial network coverage are the current driver of new wireless services in the global telecommunications sector. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, this adoption will culminate in $141 billion worth of annual service revenues from satellites by 2030. Satellite Services Market Development "Satellite communications services have seen a new wave of enthusiasm and convergence with terrestrial networks looking to extend past their zones of coverage and bridge the digital divide," said Andrew Cavalier, industry analyst at ABI Research . Market developments have shown that satellite services like IoT, backhaul, commercial broadband, an...

The telecom marketplace continues to change as more CIOs and CTOs seek ways to improve voice services and cut costs. Moreover, the mobile telecom market has been prone to digital disruption, as voice over IP (VoIP) communication has evolved. The use of fixed-line telephone services has declined steadily, while there have been significant increases in the use of mobile phone services, Wi-Fi calling services, and over-the-top (OTT) mobile voice. Plus, the roll-out of superior mobile network connectivity modes -- such as 4G LTE, 5G, and in the foreseeable future, 6G networks -- will continue to transform the global communications market. Mobile Telecom Market Development The decline in fixed-line telephone services is reducing for a number of reasons, but it is primarily due to a significant increase in mobile phone and media tablet device ownership supporting data-intensive applications -- such as mobile games, mobile videos, and location-based services.  According to the latest worl...

Modern business communication and collaboration solutions are an essential platform for a distributed workforce. The global COVID-19 pandemic has brought these platforms to the forefront of digital transformation. Together, they'll form a foundation for many 'digital workspace' deployments. These multifaceted offerings aren't deployed because they're the best technology. They're used to drive meaningful advances in employee productivity, agility, and flexibility that are proven to help achieve desired business outcomes. The Unified Communications & Collaboration (UC&C) market grew 29.2 percent year-over-year and 7.1 percent quarter-over-quarter to reach $13.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020 (4Q20), according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). IT vendor revenue growth was also up by an impressive 24.9 percent for the full year of 2020 to reach $47.2 billion. Regardless, not all the IT vendors benefited from...

The mobile voice communication services market has been prone to technological disruption and over-the-top (OTT) software application innovation. Over the past decade, the mobile voice services landscape has been profoundly affected by several ground-breaking advances in new technology. These include the penetration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in communication services, the rise of highly customized OTT mobile voice and messaging apps, and the deployment of superior cellular wireless connectivity modes -- such as 4G LTE and 5G technology. Mobile Communications Market Development Looking ahead, demand for video calling solutions will drive additional growth opportunities. According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the number of mobile video calling services reached 1.8 billion globally in 2020 -- rising from 1.2 billion in 2019. This represents a growth of 50 percent over 12 months, as the global COVID-19 pandemic fuelled the need for mo...

How agile organizations enable online communication and collaboration for their distributed workforce is top of mind for most senior executives today. More savvy CEOs, across all industries, have rapidly increased investments in IT systems and services that empower employees to work from anywhere. The global unified communications & collaboration (UC&C) market grew 26.7 percent year-over-year and 6.6 percent quarter-over-quarter to $12.2 billion in the third quarter of 2020 (3Q20), according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). As enterprise leaders moved their teams from the crisis phase to the recovery phase, in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide growth of UC&C applications was driven by organizations across all business types and sizes. Unified Communications Market Development The IDC study uncovered a special interest in cloud-based solutions for voice, video, messaging, and collaboration for driving initiatives...

Voice-enabled user interfaces have reached mainstream adoption. The value chain for voice assistants is rapidly expanding to include emerging applications. Device vendors, system integrators, software app developers and cloud providers will offer solutions for a growing list of voice assistant use cases. Juniper Research estimates that voice assistants will be in use on over 4 billion devices by the end of 2020. The mass adoption of artificial intelligence, and chatbots in particular, is fueling the rapid shift towards voice-activated services. Voice Assistant Market Development Internet of Things (IoT) devices and more practical applications are enabling voice assistants to deliver tangible value. Microphones are everywhere and access to voice assistants has become ubiquitous, with more technology companies eager to monetize this trend. Voice communication isn't the only method of interaction with artificial intelligence (AI) software. For example, Google Assistant also su...

Mobile roaming enables customers of one mobile provider to use the network of another when the subscriber’s 'home network' is unavailable. As a result, network operators acquired agility in releasing new mobile communication services. Over the next five years, mobile network operators must ensure they can offer new 5G services to subscribers when roaming away from the home network. However, the majority of providers will launch offerings through alliances of sub-regional bilateral packages to gain access to other networks. Global Wholesale Roaming Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the global number of roaming subscribers will reach 1.1 billion by 2024 -- that's rising from 900 million subscribers in 2020. This represents a growth of 28 percent over the next four years. The new research forecasts that the wholesale roaming model will be crucial to mitigating threats from high data traffic generated by emerging tech...

The global mobile communication services market has always been prone to technological disruption and innovation. Over the past 10 years, however, the mobile voice services landscape has been profoundly affected by advances in new technology. These include the penetration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in communication services, the rise of highly customized Over-the-Top (OTT) mobile voice and messaging applications, and the rollout of superior connectivity modes such as 4G LTE and 5G. Mobile Voice Service Market Development To adapt, mobile network operators are migrating their networks to an all-IP ecosystem. Focus has moved beyond Evolved Packet Core (EPC) frameworks to converge data and voice services on the same network. In turn, this has created offerings such as Voice over LTE (VoLTE), Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWi-Fi) and HD Voice services. This has enabled mobile network operators to provide services that can compete directly with the OTT software app pr...

Mobile roaming allows customers of one network operator (home network) to use the network of another network operator (visited network). The visited network is normally outside the geographical coverage area of the customer’s home network. Mobile roaming has traditionally provided network operators with an opportunity to gain additional service revenues. However, regulatory policy interventions, such as the EU law to abolish roaming in member states, is having a negative impact on roaming revenues for many network operators across the globe. Mobile Roaming Market Development According to the latest market study by Juniper Research, mobile network operator revenues from international mobile roaming are expected to recover slightly, following a decline in 2017 after the introduction of RLAH (Roam Like at Home) in Europe and other markets. However, overall mobile roaming revenues are expected to stay flat over the next 4 years, representing around 6 percent of total operator b...

While the wearables trend began with the wristband device, sensor miniaturization has now progressed to a wide range of form factors. As an example, the 'hearable' or ear-based wearable device combines these sensor inputs and additional computing power with a variety of new use cases for the ear. More miniaturization will help drive the capabilities of the market, as well as push hearables capability into the mid-tier device market. This sector is uniquely positioned, with more mainstream market pricing, to change both the wearables space and the existing ear-based device sector. Being able to successfully navigate this evolving landscape will require both a clear vendor vision on what the sector can achieve and an awareness of what existing technology partners can bring to the market. Hearables Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, there will be an estimated 417 million hearables in use by 2022. This includes fitness-fo...

Automobiles are getting smarter and more connected to the world around them. The term 'Connected Cars' refer to devices installed in the vehicle which allow Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication or machine-to-human interaction. M2M is communication between two single machines with no human interaction. Regarding vehicle telematics, M2M technology enables data to be sent from the vehicle to another location and used for vehicle conditioning or to monitor driver behavior. Connected Cars Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, 775 million consumer vehicles will be connected via telematics or by in-vehicle apps by 2023, rising from 330 million vehicles in 2018. This is an average annual growth of 18.7 percent over the next 5 years. Juniper forecasts that automotive OEMs will enable in-vehicle infotainment systems to be accessible to third-party developers. In turn, this will accelerate the expansion of new technologies and ser...

Mobile communication service providers across the globe have been eager to uncover new sources of subscriber revenue as over-the-top (OTT) apps continue to disrupt their traditional business model offering voice calling and text messaging. These operators are currently under pressure due to investment in emerging technologies, including 5G and M2M networks. Thus, they must develop and deploy new capabilities that can leverage their networks to both increase revenues from voice services and reduce OPEX (Operational Expenditure). That said, the latest worldwide market study from Juniper Research has found that operator-billed mobile voice revenues will fall from $354 billion in 2018 to $197 billion by 2023 -- that's an average annual decline of 10 percent. Mobile Services Market Development The new research, Mobile Voice: Operator Strategies & Vendor Opportunities 2018-2023, identified a series of new opportunities which collectively would enable mobile network operators t...

Typically, VoIP is voice traffic that's carried over the public Internet. The launch of 4G LTE, and wireless hotspots in major cities around the globe, has brought about a downward trend in traditional switched telecom network activity. VoIP is more efficient than PSTN, and technology improvements in these areas have been instrumental in allowing VoIP to spread to the mobile environment. Market Development for VoIP Apps Juniper Research has revealed that the number of Voice over LTE (VoLTE) subscribers will rise from 488 million in 2016 to 3 billion in 2021, as network operators reap the benefits from widespread 4G infrastructure roll-outs. According to the Juniper assessment, there are now 165 operators in 73 countries investing in VoLTE, including 102 operators that have commercially launched an HD voice service using VoLTE in 54 countries. The market study found that the number of users adopting VoLTE services will likely overtake subscribers of Over-the-Top voice app ...

When smartphones are combined with cloud services, the converged capabilities are truly remarkable. And, cognitive computing and machine learning are enabling a new era of communication. By 2019, 20 percent of all user interactions with a smartphone will take place via virtual personal assistants (VPAs), according to the latest market study by Gartner. Gartner's annual mobile applications survey found that 42 percent of respondents in the U.S. and 32 percent in the UK used VPAs on their smartphones in the last three months. More than 37 percent of respondents (average across U.S. and UK) used a VPA at least one or more times a day. "The role of interactions will intensify through the growing popularity of VPAs among smartphone users and conversations made with smart machines," said Annette Zimmermann, research director at Gartner . Personal Assistant Market Development Apple 'Siri' and Google 'Now' are currently the most widely used VPAs on smartph...

Some consumer electronics (CE) manufacturers have learned from mistakes of the past. Maybe it was the flashing '12:00' on VCR clocks, or the TV remote controls with 40 near-identical tiny buttons, designers knew we needed better ways to program and control the everyday devices that we use. Now, on a growing number of CE devices, we can simply use our voice to perform routine tasks. While Apple Siri and Google Now are well-established smartphone features, it's in the emerging smart home that voice control systems will discover their full potential. Smart TVs, smart refrigerators, smart plugs, and many more devices will extend the reach and simplicity of managing the smart home environment using our voice. CE Voice Control Market Development With ABI Research forecasting more than 120 million voice-enabled devices to ship annually by 2021, voice control -- which combines speech recognition and natural language processing -- is becoming the key user interface within th...

Mobile communication technology is evolving. Voice over LTE (VoLTE) deployment is quickly ramping up, with improvements in network efficiency and spectrum reuse as the primary drivers. There are currently sixty-three VoLTE commercial networks in operation, according to the latest market study by IHS . This is a net addition of 23 VoLTE networks to the existing 40 that were online at the end of December 2015. In each of the currently operational 63 VoLTE networks, existing subscribers become de facto VoLTE users when they upgrade their devices to LTE-capable ones. As an example, the Verizon Advanced Calling service is a device-driven offering. Users do not sign up for Advanced Calling, but if they buy a device that supports VoLTE, then they are on the Verizon VoLTE network by default. How VoLTE Services are Being Deployed For the majority of those VoLTE networks, the service is marketed as a device -- such as a smartphone -- feature rather than something to which a user subscrib...

Many more consumer electronics devices will become part of the typical home network, as the Internet of Things (IoT) phenomena gains momentum. Meanwhile, the desire to create intuitive home spaces continues to increase, which in turn creates opportunities for more vendors to gain a share of the smart home market. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of smart home product owners used a smartphone to control or monitor their home automation devices, according to the latest market study findings by The NPD Group. Additionally, 73 percent of smart home owners already use voice commands, with 61 percent of those consumers expressing an interest in wanting to use voice to control more products in their homes. Smartphone App Software Integration "This reliance on smartphones to control and monitor the smart home is due, in part, to app compatibility, as nearly all home automation devices have an iPhone or Android app,” said John Buffone, executive director at The NPD Group . NPD beli...

The legacy online communication market has already been disrupted by mobile messaging apps -- such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Moreover, increasing competition and the ongoing upheaval of the telecom services industry will continue to transform the enterprise collaboration sector. The North American telecom conferencing services market is in a state of rapid transition as visual collaboration gains precedence over legacy audio conferencing. As emerging video communication services are driving expansion, the commoditization of mature technologies is tempering overall growth. As a result, the hosted audio, web, video and managed video conferencing service segments will each experience varying growth rates over the next seven years, according to the latest market study by Frost & Sullivan. Their recent analysis found that the conferencing market earned revenues of $4.5 billion in 2014 -- it's estimated to reach $5.9 billion by 2021, at a compound annual growth rate (...

Mobile network service providers are focused on defending their traditional voice services from new market disruption that threatens to further erode their legacy business model. Armed with new technology and bold plans for more rapid deployment, savvy operators are responding to the incursion. The number of VoLTE (Voice over LTE) connections is now anticipated to reach 2 billion by 2020, rising from an estimated 123 million in 2015, according to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research . The research uncovered that the marked improvement in voice quality, enabled by VoLTE, is likely to spur increased adoption of the technology by mobile network service providers across the globe. Besides, given the downward trajectory of voice service revenue trends, wireless network operators must act swiftly to slow the decline. Juniper found that direct revenues from VoLTE will likely be limited at first, with increased availability of compatible smartphones driving adoption o...

If you're thinking of holding on to your current smartphone because there's no compelling reason to upgrade, well you're not alone. The smartphone market in America has plateaued, now that most mobile network service providers removed phone subsidies and Apple offers unlocked iPhones directly to consumers (bypassing the U.S. wireless carriers). In addition, the ongoing use of Facebook Messenger app is negatively impacting the legacy SMS revenue stream. When you combine that with the ongoing adoption of other popular mobile messaging software -- such as WhatsApp -- the trend is really troubling to mobile operators. Besides, considering the outlook for Voice over Wi-Fi apps -- such as Google Hangouts Dialer -- the escalating OTT bypass trend now has the potential to cause a major market disruption. More mobile subscribers could downgrade to calling plans with fewer bundled cell network voice minutes. That being said, comScore released data from its latest study of key...