Got 4G on the brain? If you work in telecom, you're certainly not alone.
As of June 2010, a Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) Report confirmed that 80 operators in 33 countries have committed to deploying Long Term Evolution. The specific benefits to investing in LTE technology are broadly understood, but for several operators worldwide, the real question is how to deploy the infrastructure in time to remain competitive, avoid subscriber churn and minimize risks involved.
"As most countries in the world use a global system for mobile communication-based networks, the evolution path of those networks, or LTE, generates better economies of scale for carriers," says Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Olga Yashkova. "Despite high-speed packet access' ability to enable the delivery of streaming video, audio and Internet data services, it is not good enough to be a true land line-last mile replacement option, which makes LTE a very attractive alternative to wireless operators."
Recently TMCnet tapped officials at RadiSys, a provider of hardware and software platforms for IP-based wireless, wireline and video networks, to understand the benefits of LTE, but also to gain insight into the risks associated with development and deployment; specifically, when and how to successfully deploy these solutions in order to reap the benefits of LTE.
Read more here.
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According to Mobile Business Briefing, PayPal "is reported to be in talks with Google to embed its payments platform in the Android operating system."
Evidently Bloomberg mentioned this on Friday, but nobody's commenting on the unconfirmed talks. What the upshot might, be, however, according to MBB, is that "users of Android phones may be able to pay for apps with PayPal as soon as this year," instead of having to use credit cards or Google's Checkout.
Industry observer David Murphy says that it won't necessarily make things move all that much faster -- "Google Checkout is, after all, is still a fairly convenient method for purchasing applications," it does "help Google attract users who, for whatever reason, have simply opted not to use Google's single payment service for their purchases."
And as MBB correctly surmises, the move "would be a huge boost to both Android Market and PayPal," what with PayPal's 87 million active accounts making it easier to get paid it might even encourage folks to make more apps for Android, which currently has about one-fourth of Apple's 225,000 apps.
Read more here.
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Reuters has reported that the ever-popular "source familiar with the situation" says the three-year-old Web video, shows and movies service "could sell shares to the public before next year," with the emphasis on "could," as everything is still unclear.
According to Reuters, even the very consideration of a public sale "underscores how quickly the world of movie and TV programing distribution is shifting," since "no longer is watching TV and movies on the Web or handheld devices the territory of early adopters or technophiles."
Industry observer David Goldman called the possibility " a significant test for the success of the online streaming video business... If its IPO fares well, it could give content providers hope that watching TV online has the potential to grow beyond its current niche status."
Hulu, owned by General Electric Co's NBC Universal, Walt Disney Co's ABC, News Corp's Fox Networks and private equity firm Providence Equity Partners, just started a paid, subscription- based service for their mobile devices, game consoles and TV sets last month. Reuters reported that the move was "to strike a balance between paid and ad-supported models."
Read more here.
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"Can Centrex survive or perhaps even thrive in the era of convergence?"
Industry observer Jay Brandstadter thinks it can, but maybe not in the form you've known it: "For those considering IP telephony alternatives, the hosted PBX offers the key advantages and economies of scale of the centralized approach and the rich feature capability and flexibility of the IP-PBX," he noted recently.
Hosted or "centralized" voice services, often called Centrex, Brandstadter explains, were declining when voice over Internet protocol came along in the late 1990s: "The capabilities and possibilities of the emerging IP-PBX added to the attractiveness of premises-based offerings for the enterprise."
As he notes, Centrex does offer value, it "eliminates most of the expense of buying and operating a PBX, and it has key central-solution attributes, such as easy growth/ scalability and use of highly reliable carrier-class platforms."
Read more here.
