End of summer greetings from Charlotte and Dallas. This week we will cover comments from two wireless CEOs as well as update the latest iPhone 6S Apple ship dates.
Apple orders: Thank you, China!
In a couple of events related to last week’s Sunday Brief on...
Because of upcoming nonstop travel over the next two months, I took a hall pass from this year’s CTIA Super Mobility show. There was plenty of news, however, from Verizon Wireless’ announcement of its “5G” strategy and establishment of 2016 testbeds (more here); to...
IoT traffic volumes can put mobile networks at risk
A digital transformation is now underway, which is impacting the way we live our lives. As the “Internet of Things” becomes more prevalent, communications capabilities will be extended to billions of objects making signaling traffic a...
Wireless network complexity
Wireless networks are becoming more complex. This raises a question: Are we nearing a point where network complexity is moving beyond the capability of humans to manage? Are we already there?
Let’s look at just two data points to get a feeling for...
A lot of journalistic ink was spilled last week as media pundits tried to explain the mood of investors. “Don’t panic” was the most common theme through all of the gyrations, which included a brief period on Monday when Apple stock dipped below $93...
AT&T pushes fiber future, Samsung overwhelmed with iPhone users
AT&T recently held an analyst day to present a revised view of the company as a result of the DirecTV purchase (full deck and link to individual presentations can be found here). AT&T said a lot...
Last August, Sprint was in turmoil. The T-Mobile US merger continued to elicit a “no means no” response by the Federal Communications Commission. "Framily" results, while initially strong, were being impacted by a resurgent T-Mobile US.
Something had to change, and on Aug. 6,...
In today’s increasingly connected society, mobile phones have clearly become a necessity, with recent research from Ofcom revealing that in the U.K. alone, 93% of adults own or use a mobile phone. This year, 1.35 billion smartphones are expected to sell globally and 4G...
Telecommunication service providers – both telecom and cable providers of Internet, video, voice and wireless service, commonly referred to as “telcos” – have had a rough ride in recent years. This highly concentrated, highly regulated industry has experienced a series of disruptions, from both...
The telco mentality
Last week we rounded out telecom and cable earnings. To no one’s surprise, cable is trouncing its competitors and quickly turning into the favored high-speed data provider for both small business and residential markets. Here are some selected extracts regarding cable vs. telco...
The “Internet of Things” is growing at a phenomenal pace. Estimates about how many connected devices will be in operation by 2020 range from 25 billion to 75 billion. Even conservative analysts expect the amount of connected devices to quintuple over the next five...
Your mobile carrier has made it very expensive for you to leave the country with your mobile phone. Whether you live in the U.S., France or Uganda, the cost of mobile roaming can be a big expense for leisure or business travelers. Collectively, international...
T-Mobile US’ ‘to-do’ list
Last week, the new No. 3 carrier, T-Mobile US, held its quarterly earnings session – it’s hard to classify it as an earnings call since there are as many “tweets” and e-mail questions from avid followers as there are Wall Street analysts...
In 2013, according to IDC, the digital universe contained 4.4 zettabytes of data. By 2020, that figure will surge to 44 zettabytes. This 10x jump in data is the result of the explosion of mobile devices, cloud services and the millions of sensors and...
Verizon: On Edge
Verizon led off the earnings parade last week, and the headline was their anticipated growth rate (3%) compared to their previously stated growth rate (4%). The primary reason cited by Fran Shammo, Verizon’s CFO, was the Edge take rate:
"Some of the other...
Many high-tech companies, such as smartphone, aerospace, medical equipment and software manufacturers, are looking for ways to grow their businesses. Growth may be attainable by managing their information technology in new ways.
In today's digital business arena, however, these companies can face challenges. One is...
Wireless unlimited: Can it survive? How?
One of the great debates over the past several months has been the sustainability of unlimited data. While both Sprint and T-Mobile US offer unlimited plans (although Sprint just eliminated their $50 iPhone offer in favor of “All-In,” described...
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson met with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto last Thursday and announced that the company would be investing approximately $3 billion to bring the new AT&T network up to global standards (full announcement here). Contained in the announcement are some specific...
To the average person on the street, it may appear that mobile carriers are thriving. It’s hard to use the Web or flip on the TV without seeing flashy ads for the latest deal or the newest smartphone – all at lower and lower...
Defining unlimited; and T-Mobile US in the driver's seat
Last week, the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to fine AT&T Mobility $100 million for allegedly misleading customers about unlimited data plans. Despite many news outlets calling this the first of many “net neutrality fines,” the...
When entering a new place – restaurant, gym, home or other location – it’s just a matter of time before someone asks for the Wi-Fi password.
It’s becoming commonplace for public facilities to offer free Wi-Fi to their customers, allowing them to browse online free...
Deciphering the top trends of any quarter is difficult, and the second quarter of 2015 is no exception. There’s a lot of “reading between the lines” to figure out what’s really going to move the needle. This week’s trends are based on several conversations...
An infographic published by Dynatrace reveals just how pervasive mobile usage has become. For instance, mobile app downloads are expected to rise to 200 billion by 2017 – a 185% jump from 2013. A statistic of particular interest for merchants is that mobile users...
I have never seen a situation quite like it in my 22 years in the high-tech industry. I am referring to the sudden and more intense focus by executives on data security, digital trust and intrusion protection.
During my meetings with clients in the past...
