Is this the end of a business model for wireless operators?
October 27, 2011
KPN reports weaker Q3, but keeps FY guidance | www.telecompaper.com
The success of mobile internet is hurting wireless operators. Core revenues are being cannibalized and the costs for increased required data capacity are exploding.
Reliance mast, or tower sale now back on cards.
May 31, 2011
Reliance mast sale on the cards, as FY results mixed | www.mobilebusinessbriefing.com
Having just announced final year figures, with flat revenues and profits down 71.1 per cent, Reliance also declared that depreciation and finance costs had significantly increased.The previously announced sale of its Tower unit, Reliance Infratel which had been put on hold, is now back on the cards as it faces continuing high levels of debt, especially as Reliance can no longer draw down on its China Development bank financing.Interested parties, already chosen, can now start Due Diligence.
Impact of Japanese component shortages limited
March 21, 2011
Japan's Electronic Component Turbulence Temporary | itchannelsales.wordpress.com
The impact, in the short term, of the recent disaster in Japan will be limited as only certain sets of components are directly sourced from Japan nowadays.Those components affected include high capacity Li-ON batteries (for laptops, notebooks and tablets) and lower down the component value chain items such as glass substrate for LCD panels.A lot of other components such as CPUs, graphics chips, wireless chips etc are now all sourced to a greater extent from China and Taiwan.
Cell site Tower rationlisation on its way?
March 21, 2011
AT&T Acquiring T-Mobile For $39 Billion; Let The Scrutiny Begin | moconews.net
Over the weekend AT&T sent out an email to T-Mobile USA, we want to buy your network.One of the many benefits of the merger will be the rationalisation of cell sites and hence a reduction in ongoing Opex of both sites and backhaul.While AT&T is looking to gain additional sites to fill in holes, duplicated sites are a good candidate for a reduction in the numbers needed. This will have a knock effect for tower operators, where the sites are not owned by either AT&T or T-Mobile.
Pressure on Sprint as AT&T buys T-Mobile USA
March 21, 2011
T-Mobile USA Sold to AT | www.cellular-news.com
While everyone had been expecting a Sprint - T-Mobile USA merger, AT&T shows it has the money in the bank to snap up T-Mobile's US network and customers, so moving it up to the number one spot.The question now, does Sprint buy the small guys or does Verizon buy Sprint? To understand this however you need to see why AT&T jumped when it did, Spectrum!AT&T needed T-Mobile for a) spectrum, b) cell sites and c) customers and T-Mobile did not have the money to fund a LTE roll out in the next 5 years.
Femto cells - will 2011 be the start of a new trend?
January 19, 2011
Femto cells were long characterised as being the holy grail for users who want to get more speed and better coverage when at home.Now, with the elimination of some of the issues (interference, cost) we might just see operators looking to deploy femto on a network basis, not just for home use but also in the Enterprise as traffic demand increases.This is all about data off-load and now its getting serious, femto's in volume can offer a neat solution especially in dense metro areas.
Demand for mobile data drives up tariffs
January 19, 2011
10 per cent of users take 90 per cent of mobile data, say researchers | www.telegraph.co.uk
Its clear that in 2011 demand for mobile broadband will continue to outstrip network operator capacity and carriers will have to look to,a) increasing capacity by diverting capital spending into backhaulb) curtail 'all you can eat' data tariffsc) continue to monitor traffic type, especially video which forms the bulk of all trafficThe above also questions whether new technologies, such as LTE and the hype regarding peak achievable speeds, will ever deliver all that is being promised.
Common mobile phone charger to drive consumer products
December 31, 2010
A Common Charger for Mobile Phones Now Expected in Early 2011 | www.cellular-news.com
With the agreement at both Standards and Government level of a specification for a common mobile phone charger, this now opens up the opportunity for equipment and device manufacturers to streamline their design and production facilities and introduce new products across a greater range of mobile phones from many more manufacturers.This break through should drive revenues and improve margins to the predominantly Taiwan and Chinese based manufacturers.
New CEO for KPN: background, expectations and impact
October 18, 2010
Eelco Blok to become new KPN CEO | www.broadbandtvnews.com
Today, KPN announced that it will propose to its shareholders that Eelco Blok would be named its new CEO. Blok is to succeed the successful Ad Scheepbouwer by April 2011. Mr Eelco Blok has a long track-record within KPN and is expected to follow continue KPN's existing strategy with is focused as maintaining it's strong multiplay position in the Dutch market, stimulate it's challenger position in neigbouring countries and a strong-focus on cash-flow.
Options for Telefonica and KPN following German mobile broadband auction
May 25, 2010
The German mobile broadband auction has left E-Plus (owned by Dutch KPN) without 800 MHz spectrum, which is required to roll out mobile broadband in rural areas. If the market study, executed by the German government, on redistributing lower 900 spectrum will not lead to a more favorable position for E-Plus, the German daughter of KPN will be forced to look at serious strategic alternatives: merging with Telefonica/O2 or an intense partnership with their Spanish competitor.
SOPA and the wisdom of Yogi Berra
January 19, 2012
Larger wafers present a growth opportunity for LEDs
January 6, 2012
Smartphones threaten digital camera industry
December 1, 2011
Google music launches: The end of the end for the music industry
November 22, 2011
The move to the cloud will impact multiple industries
November 17, 2011