Archive for the ‘Mobile Services’ Category

NZ Telco Gap Widening According to Telco Analyst

Saturday, November 15th, 2008

Telco analyst Paul Budde has predicted the financial crisis will result in a drop in Telco consumer demand, putting additional pressure on telco service prices next year. According to Buddle New Zealand’s telco sector will fare better than that of Australia due to the existance of the framework for rolling out its national telco infrastructure aimed at leveling the playing field for seccond tier telcos.

Budde predicts a growth rate of between to 2% to 3% for the telco services market in 2009, depending on the severity of the local economic downturn.

With Vodafone gaining a solid foothold in the fixed line market, Telecom is under increasing pressure in both fixed line calling and broadband and predicted to overtake TelstraClear as Telecoms main rival.

Vodafone has historically held an edge over Telecom in mobile services and Budde predicts the gap will continue to widen. However, Telecoms more competitive 850MHz 3G HSPA network, due for rollout by mid 2009, will help to slow the gain. As more small competitors secure more attractive wholesale agreements, further pressure on prices will be inevitable.

However, outside of the pricing issue one can reasonably expect a further consolidation in the market, especially among smaller fixed-line telcos and ISPs.

TelstraClear has failed to gain any significant gain in market and with investment dollars now under scrutiny, we can expect Telstra to be tight with funds for the New Zealand subsidiary.

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Posted in Mobile Services, New Zealand, Telco News | No Comments »

New Mobile Player For NZ Market

Thursday, December 6th, 2007

A third player is due to enter the New Zealand mobile telecommunications market in 2008.

NZ Communications will offer New Zealand consumers another choice in mobile phone services, after entering into an agreement with Telecom for Telecom to  sell 5 MHz of paired cellular radio spectrum to NZ Communications, suitable for a wide range of cellular technologies.

 NZ Communications also has an agreement with Vodafone NZ, which allows NZ Communications to use Vodafone’s 2G network in areas where NZ Communications has no network coverage.

This entry signals the NZ Government’s regulatory settings in telecommunications are working , new players having more confidence to enter the New Zealand market.

Even better, is that the three players are working together to benefit consumers.

 The New Zealand government Digital Strategy vision is to deliver better, and more cost effective communications, technology and services to all New Zealanders. This vision is being adopted by leading providers in the New Zealand market, fostering new business relationships.

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Posted in Mobile Services, New Zealand, Telco News, Wireless Networks | No Comments »

Vodafone Australia and Optus Battle For Mobile Broadband

Sunday, December 2nd, 2007

Vodafone and Optus have both announced low-cost mobile broadband with high download limits this Christmas, in an attempt to win support for their respective slow networks with poor coverage. In comparison, Telstras networks are double the speed and double the size of the Vodafone and Optus networks.

Vodafone Offer

AU$39 per month 5GB [uploads included] on a 24-month contract, claiming it is “five times more value at almost half the price [than competitors]“.

This includes either a USB modem and E800 Expresscard. These currently operate on the 3.6Mbps network standard, but are capable of operating on the 7.2 Mbps standard, meaning customers will not need to buy a new device when Vodafone upgrades its 3G network.

Vodafones existing customers are able move to the new plan from lower plans, at no cost, and retaining the contract terms of their old plan. Customers on plans of higher value will have to pay a penalty of AU$15 per forfeited month.

And beware, the deal comes with catches – linking with other services. But the users also benefit from Vodafones data optimisation service, which compresses downloaded data up to a third, enabling users to make more of the download quota.

Optus Offer

2GB limit for AU$39.99 a month, but only when linked with an Optus mobile or business phone.

The Optus USB modem, although free, is on a rental arrangement, while the Vodafone USB modem or Expresscard is owned by the user.

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Posted in Australia, Mobile Services, Telco News | No Comments »

Social Responsibility Of Cellphone Users Heating Up

Thursday, November 8th, 2007

As the use of cellphones has pervaded every space on civilized Earth, those who do not wish to be subjected to the constant one sided chatter are heralding the wider use of cellphone jammers.

The cellphone jammer is not new, The jamming technology works by sending out a radio signal sufficiently powerful to override phones communication with cell towers. The range varies from several feet to several yards, and the devices cost from $50 to several hundred dollars. Larger models can be left on permanently to create a no-call zone. Exporters of jammers say demand is rising, with hundreds a month bound for the United States. The buyers include owners of cafes and hair salons, hoteliers, public speakers, theater operators, bus drivers and, increasingly, commuters on public transportation.

The popularity of this device has raised scrutiny from federal regulators and concern from the cellphone industry.

And it all stems from the lack of social responsiblity of users. But this ‘its all about me’ attitude is not restricted to the use of technology. Skyrocketing health costs, increasing road rage, neigbor-stress, all stem from individuals forcing their world, without responsibility for the impact, at the expense of others.

The unfortunate this is that jammers punish not only the offender, but also more discreet chatterers and emergency related workers.

In this case, both parties could he held as self focused; each believing their rights are above those around him/her.

I guess it comes down to what constitutes a reasonable expectation. One could not reasonably expect to receive a cellphone call in a restaurant, cinema or theater. On a commuter transport and othe close proximity public places, maybe calls could be restricted to receiving one minute voice clips, prompting a text message response.

Currently, using the jammers is illegal in the United States. The radio frequencies used by cellphone carriers are protected; the Federal Communication Commission can fine jammers up to $11,000 for a first offense.
Esmart

Posted in Mobile Services | No Comments »

Another Big Price Tag For Big Tech Buyout

Sunday, October 7th, 2007

Following on from our last blog “Hot Technology For 2007” mobile handset manufacturer, Nokia has just paid out a whopping $1.8 billion for Navteq, a digital-mapping company. Navteq’s software is used on GPS capable devices and websites. And in line with our own reckoning, Nokia is betting that location-based services will become increasingly popular among mobile-phone users.

So are these major price tags justified….it seems not always. Also in the news this week was EBays admission that it had paid too much for Skype, an internet phone service that Ebay acquired for $2.6 billion in 2005. EBay announced it would “take an impairment charge of $900m in the light of Skype’s disappointing performance”.

And you guys are always complaining your wife spends too much!!!

Posted in Industry Action, Mobile Services | 1 Comment »

Hot Technology For 2007

Saturday, October 6th, 2007

As we enter the last quarter of 2007, we take a look back over the year at what technologies are hot with business right now. The three that stand out are:

  1. Virtualization – large enterprises and SMB’s
  2. Mobile – Location based services for consumers
  3. Business Intelligence – enterprise initiatives

Virtualization

Small and medium size business users are adopting server virtualization technology more frequently than in years past. SMB users are discovering the cost and operational efficiencies that virtualization brings to their smaller IT operation. To learn more about the business benefits virtualization delivers to SMB’s http://www.accelacomm.com/jlp/temv.1/7/80144402/ .

Mobile LBS

A survey conducted earlier in the year by PocketPC Wire found consumers were finally ‘getting’ location-based services (LBS). With LBS, users can receive directions or find out where nearest gas station, bus stop or Starbucks is etc. They can personalize their information requests during set up to for instance, receive only traffic information that relates to their routes.

39 percent of respondents said their next mobile device would ‘most definitely’ include global positing system (GPS) technology. An additional 21 percent answered ‘probably,’ depending on the cost. Of the remaining respondents, 14 percent weren’t sure yet, 12 percent said probably not and 14 percent answered no.

A key driver for LBS is the growing number of cellphones and smartphones and cell phones that include integrated global positioning system (GPS) capability. As more of the market becomes GPS / LBS available, more products can be expected.

Business Intelligence

Business intelligence is the capture and use of enterprise data in a way that makes it readily available to business users using analytic tools at the desktop, to support good decision making.

The key to successful BI programs is in understanding that BI is NOT like most other IT programs. It is largely business driven and requires a completely different set of IT skills than other application development. This is a key stumbling block for businesses to overcome. Once they do, and get the right skills on board, the difference in adoption and success of the program is amazing.

Analytic tools have also got a lot smarter over the past year – and more affordable. With the recent rollout of Microsoft PerformancePoint, business intelligence is able to be integrated into standard Microsoft Office 2007 programs.

Key resources for Business Intelligence

The IQX.com – understanding business intelligence

TheBusinessIntelligenceGuide.com – implementing BI programs

Posted in Business Intelligence, Mobile Services, Virtualization | 1 Comment »

Cellular Calls Just Got A Whole Lot Cheaper

Wednesday, July 18th, 2007

T-Mobile’s new HotSpot@Home plan,for $10 extra a month, allows subscribers to make phone calls over a Wi-Fi network for free, without using any of any of their included free minutes.

T-Mobile provides users with special encrypted wireless router to set up at their home. The phones associated with the plan work in any hotspot that don’t require a login or in any T-Mobile hotspot anywhere in the world.

This means users can:

  1. Get a cheaper plan, as they will be using fewer minutes
  2. Use the phone to call home for free when you’re in a hotspot overseas, and
  3. Use the phone in areas that previously had poor service.

Blackberry 8300At present the range of phones do not well support the HotSpot@Home plan, but with the impending arrival of T-Mobile’s Blackberry 8300, things are about to change for the better…..finally!

Posted in Mobile Services, Wireless Networks | No Comments »

Yahoo Go – Widgets On The Move

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007

Yahoo now lets you take all your Yahoo services with you using Mobile Widgets. Yahoo! Go is the first application optimized for the “small screen” of a mobile phone.

Yahoo Go Widget ScreensUses a “Carousel“ to navigate amongst various Yahoo! Go widgets: email, local info & maps, news, sports, finance, entertainment, weather, Flickrâ„¢ photos and search.

 The service incorporates Yahoo! oneSearch – a mobile search that optimises results for the mobile environment.

Get Yahoo Go

Check Your Phone Is Compatible with Yahoo Go

Posted in Consumer Content, Mobile Services, Yahoo | No Comments »