mobile data

Mobile web has “senior” appeal

Mobile web use is actually growing fastest among seniors, according to a recent report. While much of this is due to the very low adoption rate there (3% of mobile web users are over 65), part is also likely due to the fact that applet-based or widget-based web tools are easier for seniors to navigate and more directly linked to their needs.

Research has tended to show that older users use the Internet more narrowly, “by rote,” and thus may be less interested in the range of things that you can do on broadband than with the specific need to find a restaurant or store, for example. This means that a wireline broadband appliance tuned to provide at-home information like TV schedules, health information, etc. might induce more seniors to adopt broadband at home.

Spectrum auction has free wireless Internet conditions

The FCC has cleared the way for auction of spectrum that would be conditional on providing free wireless Internet service. The move has been controversial because most in the FCC believe that there is no way to make such a service work.

Other attempts at free or low-cost wireless services, such as municipal WiFi, have largely collapsed because advertising sponsorship was not forthcoming and problems in performance tarnished the image of the service. It may be that the greatest impact of the measure will be on the mobile advertising space, where current wireless operators will be looking to secure new ideas that will keep their own services on top and reduce the viability of a purely ad-sponsored approach.

Nokia strategy reflects capex shift

Nokia is launching “Tube,” its newest smartphone today, and is expected to articulate its mobile strategy in greater detail. The company, like others, is addressing what appears to be a capex shift to wireless for 2009, a shift that would increase sales of RF and handsets and reduce that of traditional data equipment, including routers, switches, and optics.

Mobile broadband has less capacity demand than fixed, and while mobile backhaul will be an important application, our research shows it to be shifting more decisively to Carrier Ethernet and also that the total capacity requirements for mobile backhaul are lower than those of enterprise Ethernet services or consumer wireline broadband and video.

IBM focuses on enterprise mobile applications

The boom in enterprise use of smartphones and the fact that carriers are anxious to promote business customers’ use of data services combines to make the space an attractive target for IBM, not as a provider of equipment but as a facilitator of mobile enterprise applications.

The latest offerings from IBM include tools to let mobile users get easy access to applications from the road, a Citrix-like capability. We believe that mobile enterprise application opportunity will be a major driver behind U.S. operators’ FMC plans as well.

ITU approves 4G technical requirements

The ITU has approved its technical requirements document for 4G services and will be ready to consider technology applications this fall. This will certainly kick up the noise level in the WiMAX versus LTE battle, but the truth is that the issue may be less relevant because of the continued failure of the mobile operators to find a strong business case for non-voice services other than Internet access.

Cellular services at 100 Mbps may be technically feasible under either of the standards sets, but there is no way that Internet mobile access could sustain the investment given the price resistance of the users.

There are clearly major steps needed here, and the ITU and other standards bodies are not focusing on any feasible approach, in part because the business side of the process is out of their scope. We believe that the operators themselves have been struggling with what to do next, and they are becoming a bit more direct in their criticism of equipment vendors’ lack of help in this area.

Verizon backs LiMo

Verizon’s backing of LiMo is being perceived increasingly as a shot across Google’s bow, and also something that may be linked with an operator shift toward FMC and a more software-driven mobile strategy that moves away from IMS. The latter issue is, we believe, an important one for the industry, since any open platform strategy like LiMo or Android will devalue the network if no features are hosted there; everything becomes “over the top” by necessity.

New mobile data pricing targets travelers

The mainstream tech publications are picking up the theme of “mobile voice is a commodity” and citing the new data plans such as Verizon’s plan for 5GB per month for $60 as proof. We think the conclusion on voice is correct (we’ve stated it ourselves, so that’s no surprise) but we believe the new data plans are independently targeting a market sector the mobile carriers believe to be a key one—the “hotspot user”. A business traveler might well stay four or five nights in hotels and also visit airport lounges three to four times in a month, according to research, and if the traveler used hotel and hotspot Internet access would likely pay around $70 per month in service costs. The new plans are attempting to pirate these travelers through slightly lower pricing.