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  2. December 2011

December 2011

Morgan Stanley: What iPhone really needs is more carriers

In a series of well-researched charts, Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty has put her finger on the one factor -- all others being equal -- that really drives smartphone sales: The number of cell phone operators that sell the thing. In a report issued to clients, Huberty shared the results of an analysis of 760 carriers in 225 countries from 2007 to 2001. Over the past five years, the growth in total subscribers per year (17%) was split roughly 50/50 between new subscribers on existing carriers and subscribers signed up on new carriers. This holds true in spades, Huberty suggests, for Apple's iPhone, which since 2007 has gone from one carrier -- AT&T -- to nearly 230 carriers in 105 countries.

(11/21)

iPhone 4S data speeds, Web browsing fastest on AT&T, test shows

A study measuring the performance of the iPhone 4S on the three major US wireless carriers found AT&T to be superior in Web browsing and data downloads and uploads when compared to Apple's latest smartphone on either the Verizon Wireless or Sprint network. iPhone newcomer Sprint was found to be superior with its iPhone 4S for network voice quality on the uplink (when the user is speaking), but Sprint was also about five times slower in Web browsing and data downloads than AT&T, according to the study released by Metrico Wireless, a mobile performance measurement company.

Verizon finished in the middle on those data tests, but trailed the other two carriers in voice quality. Metrico measured five performance factors shortly after the iPhone 4S was launched on all three carriers in October: whether calls could be connected and held; voice quality; data performance; Web browsing by page load speeds and video performance. In all, Metrico performed 21,000 Web page downloads nationwide with the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 over the networks of the nation's largest three carriers. Metrico also ran more than 8,000 data download and upload tests and generated about 6,000 voice calls with recorded human voices. The tests were performed in a certified lab as well as several locations in five unnamed cities that Metrico called "representative of [network] conditions nationwide." Metrico did not pronounce any carrier a winner or loser in the study, noting that each had strengths. (11/18)

First responders lobby supercommittee, 'encouraged' about prospects for public safety network

Members of the Public Safety Alliance, which represents police and firefighters, met with lawmakers on the deficit-reduction supercommittee this week and said they were "encouraged" about the chances that the panel will allocate the "D Block" of spectrum for a public-safety network. Building a nationwide broadband network is a top priority for public safety officials because it would allow them to communicate using video and data during emergencies. It would also help first responders from different agencies communicate with each other.

(11/18)

House NY Dems: Protect Our Free TV

A six-pack of Democratic congressfolk from New York have cautioned the deficit reduction supercommittee about the unintended consequences of reclaiming broadcast spectrum for auction to wireless companies.

The committee is widely expected to be considering legislation authorizing spectrum auctions among the many proposals offered up to raise money or cut spending. The auctions are expected to raise several billion dollars -- it is not clear exactly how much -- for deficit reduction. In their letter, the legislators pointed out that a byproduct of those auctions and the station repacking that would result is that there would be a reduction in the number of channels, and thus TV stations, available to the more than 1.25 million viewers in the state who rely on over-the-air TV. "Unfortunately," they say, "the FCC's goal of reclaiming 120 MHZ of spectrum (the equivalent of 20 TV channels) may leave insufficient spectrum for the majority of stations currently serving cities including Buffalo, Syracuse, Watertown and Plattsburgh, and fewer stations in New York City and the state capital.

(11/18)

More smartphones now sold in China than in US

Smartphone adoption may be high in the U.S. but overall smartphone sales are highest in China.

A new research note published by Strategy Analytics estimates that 23.9 million smartphones shipped in China during the third quarter of 2011. That figure is slightly above the 23.3 million smartphones shipped in the US. Clearly, China’s much larger population is part of the reason, but this data suggests that in a country with 1.3 billion people, China is where it’s at for smartphone sales growth going forward. If the smartphone numbers aren’t convincing, consider that China is expected to surpass 1 billion mobile connections by May 2012. (11/23)

Minority Groups Heaviest Users Of Mobile Net

Hispanic, Asian and African-American mobile users are more likely than white mobile users to access the mobile Internet, according to a new study by eMarketer, suggesting that these minority groups are promising targets for mobile marketing and advertising.

The eMarketer finding is especially interesting considering that mobile phone penetration is highest among the white population, at 78.3%, compared to 77.3% for Asians, 74% among African-Americans, and 69.2% for Hispanics. Despite this, mobile Internet penetration is notably higher among the minority groups, with 52.9% of Hispanic mobile phone users accessing the mobile Web, along with 48.9% of African-Americans, and 48.1% of Asians -- compared to 36.3% for whites. Mobile Internet use by different ethnic groups should even out somewhat in coming years, according to eMarketer, although Hispanics will maintain a considerable lead. By 2015 mobile Internet penetration is forecast to grow to 71.1% for Hispanics, compared to 58.8% for whites, 62.8% for Asians, and 57.5% for African-Americans.

(11/18)

OTE, Vodafone Say Greek Phone Merger Needed to Prevent Failure

Deutsche Telekom AG and Vodafone Group Plc, having lost a combined $6.4 billion from their investments in Greece, are now pushing regulators to let mobile- phone companies merge to stay profitable as the country heads for a fifth year of recession.

More than two months since Vodafone started talks about a potential combination of its Greek unit with Wind Hellas Telecommunications SA, the companies have yet to reach an accord that can be put to regulators for approval. A merger of the wireless operators, Greece’s second- and third-largest, would create a duopoly with market leader Hellas Telecommunications SA, or OTE, which is 40 percent owned by Deutsche Telekom. “If they don’t approve it, you’ll soon have another bankrupt company in the market,” said OTE Chief Executive Officer Michael Tsamaz.

(11/21)

GAO tells Congress why federal IT projects succeed

Adequate funding, staff expertise and engagement from all stakeholders are among the critical factors common to most successful federal technology projects, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Traditionally, the government has struggled when acquiring technology thanks to the convoluted nature of the federal contracting process and the shortage of qualified contracting officers and technical personnel. Critics argue federal agencies get little return for the $80 billion the government spends annually on IT. The GAO released a report Nov 22 in response to a request from the Senate Homeland Security Committee to identify successful information technology acquisitions within the government, along with factors that contributed to their success.

(11/22)

Over 77.8 million now get broadband from top cable and telco operators in the US

The eighteen largest cable and telephone providers of broadband services in the U.S. acquired about 635,000 net additional high-speed Internet subscribers in the third quarter of 2011, a new report from Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) finds.

These top broadband providers, which have about 93% of the market, now account for over 77.8 million subscribers -- with cable companies having 43.6 million broadband subscribers, and telephone companies having 34.2 million subscribers. Many of the new subs were captured by cable operators, who added over 525,000 customers, about 83% of the net adds for the third quarter. Growth, however, slowed versus the third quarter of 2010, particularly among telcos who added about 38% of the subscribers they attracted last year. Cable's net ads were close to last year's pace, adding about 98% as many subs. Overall broadband additions in the third quarter of 2011 amounted to 77% of those in the third quarter of 2010.

(11/18)

White House inaction stalls FOIA recommendations

Recommendations for improving how agencies handle governmentwide Freedom of Information Act requests have been awaiting approval at the Office of Management and Budget for more than nine months, the director of the office that wrote the recommendations said.

The Office of Government Information Services is tasked with mediating disputes between FOIA requesters and the agencies processing those requests and with recommending policy changes to Congress and the president for how FOIA processing can operate more efficiently and transparently. Congress created the office in 2007, when it passed the Open Government Act, which updated the four-decade-old old Freedom of Information Act. The office, which opened its doors in September 2009, was intended to operate like a FOIA ombudsman that could mediate disputes and make recommendations from its perch inside the National Archives and Records Administration -- relatively removed from the hurly-burly of government operations. More than two years into its existence, however, the office hasn't been able to make any recommendations. (11/21)

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