GigaOM » 3G Wireless Broadband

When it comes to 3G, Sweden’s got itself covered.

Om Malik — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 14:47:17 +0000

The land of Ericsson, Volvo and Kurt Wallander has a new feather in its cap — it is now the country where 99.6 percent of the country’s population has access to 3G wireless broadband coverage, according to a report by the Swedish Post & Telecom Agency (PTS.) Sweden, like many of its Scandinavian peers, was quite aggressive in embracing 3G wireless technologies and rolling out 3G networks (The ITU has a nice overview study of the state of 3G in Sweden.)

Sweden is now on its way to deploying 4G wireless broadband (LTE) in the 800 MHz band and the telecom operators are being aggressive (at the behest of the regulator) about the roll out of these new technologies, the report said.Sweden isn’t just crazy for wireless, it also wants to get 90 percent of its households and business owners 100 Mbps or higher speeds via their fixed line connections by 2020.

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Twitter, Facebook & The Coming Global 3G Boom

Om Malik — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 07:59:10 +0000

In less than 48 hours, Verizon Wireless, one of world’s largest carriers will turn on its next generation network powered by the Long Term Evolution (LTE) set of technologies. And as we enter a bold new wireless era of superfast wireless broadband, it is important to take stock of the third generation (3G) wireless technologies.

At present only 14 percent of world’s total mobile subscribers are using 3G wireless technologies. With majority of growth expected from young telecom markets such as China, India, and Brazil, the world needs to brace for mobile tsunami. Cheap smartphones with web browsers and 3G data would bring attention to apps and web-based services such as Facebook and Twitter.

How Big is Planet 3G?

According to Telegeography, a telecom research firm, there were about 694 million 3G subscribers at the end of third quarter of 2010, 14 percent of the total 5.12 billion mobile subscribers.

New research from TeleGeography shows that of the wireless total 48.6% of subscribers were located in the Asia-Pacific region, with Latin America accounting for the next largest share, at 10.7%, and Western Europe at 10.1%. The Middle East is the smallest in terms of subscribers, accounting for 279 million subscribers at the end of the third quarter, equivalent to 5.4% of the total.

At the end of second quarter of 2010, there were 4.43 billion total mobile subscribers of which a total of 535 million, or 12 percent of the total, were using 3G technologies, according to data collected by Informa Telecoms & Global Mobile Suppliers Association.

Nearly 160 million new 3G subscribers signed up during July, August and September 2010 — a shade over 50 million a month, a pretty impressive number. Much of the recent 3G growth is coming from places like China. According to GSMA, there are about 136 networks committed to using HSPA+ technologies and 81 HSPA+ networks have been launched.

Who Needs LTE, When We Got HSPA+

LTE is the next step up from HSPA+ although many carriers argue that HSPA+ in many cases will be as fast, if not faster than LTE networks, especially those are constrained by spectrum. In an interview, T-Mobile USA CTO Neville Ray gave me his reasons as to why LTE will have a slow start:

“Our competitors are launching LTE in fairly limited bandwidths of spectrum,” he pointed out. “So, 10 to 20 megahertz of LTE spectrum doesn’t give you a significant benefit in any manner, or form, from a performance perspective over and above HSPA+.” In comparison, European carriers are being more generous with the spectrum devoted to LTE.

Another big challenge, he said, is that there will be a lack of early LTE devices, and most of them are going to be either data sticks or embedded modules in tablets and portable computers. “You’re not going to see much from an LTE perspective in smart phones,” he said.

“That’s in direct contrast to what we seen from HSPA+, where we’re working off of a more mature and developed device ecosystem in HSPA,” Ray said. “It’s going to take some time before LTE will offer anything approaching the device choice that’s available in HSPA+.” That is one of the main reasons why T-Mobile USA is backing HSPA+ as its next generation wireless broadband technology.

“Subscriptions to third generation networks increased by over 40 percent in the twelve months ended 30 September 2010,” Tig Harvey, Research Director at TeleGeography, noted in a press statement. With India and rest of the emerging telecom markets looking to switch on their 3G networks in 2011, one should expect to see a big jump in the number of 3G subscribers in 2011.

Smartphones+3G+Apps=Mobile Nirvana

The 3G availability and the sales of smartphones are closely tied together. As more folks have access to low-cost smartphones, such as those powered by Google’s Android OS that are likely to come to the market in 2011. Cheaper smartphones, means many more millions will now be able to access web through their mobiles and start using services that they were unable to because of lack of personal computers. Facebook, Google and Twitter are three likely beneficiaries, at the very least. In a report, research firm, comScore wrote:

An analysis of Twitter usage via mobile for the six mobile markets currently reported by comScore (U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Spain and Italy) revealed that Twitter is gaining adoption among smartphone users. In the U.S., 8.3 percent of smartphone users (4.2 million people) accessed Twitter.com in a month via the browser on their mobile devices, outpacing each of the European markets. In Europe, 2.8 percent of smartphone users overall accessed Twitter.com (1.7 million users), with the U.K. experiencing the strongest penetration in the region at 5.8 percent, followed by Germany with 3.1 percent and France with 2.1 percent.

Facebook, too has seen the number of mobile users explode to over 200 million, thanks in part to availability of faster wireless broadband. But beyond these two web majors, one should expect a sharp increase in demand for mobile apps — an opportunity in itself for folks like Google who want to push mobile advertising. So, it might seem cool for us to get excited about LTE, one can’t forget the long term impact of 3G technologies is yet to be felt.
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As Data Overtakes Voice, Mobile Costs Rise

Kevin C. Tofel — Fri, 14 May 2010 16:30:24 +0000

Chances are you’re using your cellphone more for data purposes than voice calls these days. That’s a shift we’ve covered here before, and one that New York Times reiterates by noting that last year, the amount of data in the form of texts, email, video and web surfing surpassed the total amount used for basic voice communication for the first time ever. And the rise of social networking means this trend will only pick up steam as time goes on. But while unlimited voice plans are readily available, the bandwidth required is enormous compared to that needed for voice, which means carriers with a relatively fixed network infrastructure can’t offer truly unlimited data.

Using Rysavy Research’s “Mobile Broadband Usage Constraints” report, I chose a few basic activities to represent common consumer usage. The assumption used in the report is that a consumer would be doing each activity for 60 consecutive minutes — not necessarily a real-world scenario, but a baseline used to illustrate a glaring point in the final column: the bandwidth required for data activities as compared to a voice call.

**Bandwidth use of voice and data activitie**s
Activity	Bandwidth	Throughput/hour	MB/hour	Voice multiple
Voice	9 kbps	31.64 Mbps	3.96	1
Medium-quality music stream	128 kbps	450 Mbps	56.25	14
Browsing	1024 kbps	3600 Mbps	450	114
Streaming video	2048 kbps	7200 Mbps	900	228

Again, there’s some assumptions built in here, but for illustrative purposes, it’s easy to see why carriers with a relatively fixed network infrastructure can’t offer truly unlimited data.

For starters, there’s only so much wireless bandwidth to go around and when consumers are partaking in activities that use 228 times more of that bandwidth than a voice call, limited carrier infrastructure simply can’t handle the overall demand. Secondly, the pricing model isn’t equipped for truly unlimited use. Using a relatively standard $60 mobile broadband plan that includes 5 GB of data throughput a month, the cost per hour of activity rises dramatically. These plans equate to customers paying for 1.2 cents per megabyte of usage, so that hour of video streaming costs $10.55 an hour — 5.68 hours of video playback would eat through the 5GB purchase and leave no bandwidth for any other connected activities.

I’m a consumer and one that wants unlimited 3G access more than almost anything. But I also see the other side of the coin — can carriers provide an all-you-can-eat broadband buffet table at a price that’s affordable to us?

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People Want Mobile Broadband, But Not Personal Hotspots

Kevin C. Tofel — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 21:09:16 +0000

Global sales of mobile broadband devices rose 55 percent in 2009 over the previous year, according to a recent Infonetics Research report, even despite the effects of the economic downturn. Even more surprising, however, was that sales of personal hotspots such as Novatel’s MiFi fell 28 percent.

As 3G technologies transition to faster speeds and fourth-generation wireless networks are launched, it makes sense that overall sales of mobile broadband devices would — but convenient personal hotspot sales should be on the rise, too. In fact I would have expected them to have been increasing at a faster rate than other 3G solutions like embedded modules inside laptops or USB dongles. These pocket-sized personal hotspots connect to the web just like their USB counterparts, but easily share that pipe with several other devices over a Wi-Fi connection — usually for the same monthly fee. With the ubiquity of Wi-Fi radios in computers, phones and even consumer electronics (think handheld games and digital cameras), a personal hotspot makes far more financial sense. And that shared connection adds value to existing devices that can leverage it.

User confusion about personal hotspots may be one reason for decreasing sales. Whenever I take the MiFi out at coffee shops or around other people, I’m invariably asked what it is and what it does. Although these small routers debuted just prior to the January 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, people simply don’t know about them – a point driven home by Novatel in an earnings call.

Is this lack of knowledge encouraged by carriers? With the same monthly fee as a single-use 3G solution, I have to wonder how actively carriers promoting the MiFi devices. Why sell one mobile broadband enabler that shares the connection when you can sell multiple solutions and multiply revenues?

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Image courtesy of Novatel Wireless

Leading iPhone eBook Reader Stanza Acquired by Amazon

Darrell Etherington — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:48:18 +0000

People who like to read books on their iPhones (including myself) will be pleased to hear that Amazon has grown tired of playing catch-up with Stanza on the platform and instead bought out the much smaller company behind the app, Lexcycle. The Stanza makers are reportedly “very excited” by the development, which is understandable considering the gobs of cash Amazon no doubt threw their way. I’d be jazzed, too.

While it looks like the Stanza devs will continue to work on the app under the Amazon banner, and they claim that no major changes to the app will result from the purchase, Amazon no doubt has big plans for the platform, which it will likely integrate with its existing iPhone app for Kindle titles. Hopefully they don’t just shut it down in favor of their own app, or rebrand it, because I think the Stanza name at this point has become a force to be reckoned with in the world of iPhone apps.

This is definitely a smart play for Amazon, no matter what route they choose to take. They’ve seen how successful the iPhone has been as an eBook reader, and they, like us, have no doubt seen the growing rumors that point towards a larger, tablet-type device coming out of Cupertino in the near future. Even though it’s unlikely that such a device will be marketed primarily as an eBook reader, if it runs iPhone OS and therefore supports app store programs, users will want to use it as one, regardless of whether or not it has e-ink capabilities. In other words, they’ve seen the writing on the wall, and they’ve obviously decided that if you can’t beat ‘em, it’s best to acquire a company already in that space and join ‘em. Good choice, Amazon.

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Viacom to Lay Off 850

Chris Albrecht — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:28:26 +0000

In an effort to cut costs, Viacom announced today that it will be restructuring its organization, resulting in layoffs of 850, or 7 percent of its staff, that will be implemented across all divisions of the company, as well as suspending pay increases for senior management in 2009.

In a release, Viacom said that the changes would result in a pre-tax charge of $400 million to $450 million in the fourth quarter of 2008, and it expected to yield a pre-tax savings of $200 million to $250 million in 2009.

The list of companies experiencing layoffs since September is too lengthy to list here, but in just the past month, Akamai, Qik, Strands, TiVo, Current and BitTorrent have let people go.

UPDATE: When it rains, it pours. AT&T said it is laying off 4 percent, or 12,000 jobs, through the end of 2009. Though, as The Wall Street Journal reports, the telco said it will be adding positions to its video, wireless and broadband divisions to keep up with demand.

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Is T-Mobile Spinning on Google Phone Bandwidth Caps?

Om Malik — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 03:51:27 +0000

There are many problems with T-Mobile USA’s 3G plans, as we outlined yesterday. None compare to the seemingly foolish 1 GB bandwidth cap on “unlimited” data plans they are hawking along with the Google Phone. Today, in response to a New York Times query, they seemed to have backed away from the cap.

We removed the 1GB soft limit from our policy statement, and we are confident that T-Mobile G1 customers will enjoy the high speed of data access over our 3G network. The specific terms for our new data plans are still being reviewed and once they are final we will be certain to share this broadly with current customers and potential new customers.

The Times might be satisfied by the explanation, but like some others, I am not buying this story just yet. When T-Mobile says they are still figuring out specific terms for new data plans, it smacks of double speak. Does the company really mean to say that they are going to be imposing a bandwidth cap, though it would be north of 1 GB? If not, they could simply would have said: no caps whatsoever.

By the way, Verizon Wireless, the master of double speak, imposed a 5GB bandwidth cap on its “unlimited” data plans. As an aside, I think it’s time folks stop issuing misleading advertising by saying “unlimited” data for X-amount of dollars.

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Will the Google Phone Give T-Mobile USA a Boost?

Om Malik — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:30:17 +0000

With its voice-related revenues and new subscriber additions slowing, and data revenues that lag those of its rivals, the U.S. arm of German phone giant T-Mobile needs a fast-acting picker-upper. Its answer may lie with the Google phone.

At a special event in New York on Tuesday, T-Mobile USA will become the first carrier to show off a Google Phone — a device that is made by HTC and uses Google’s Android operating system. The much-awaited phone has the potential to give T-Mobile the same turbo boost the iPhone gave to AT&T.

Allow me to explain how T-Mobile has made clear it thinks the Google phone can be its iPhone. To begin with, T-Mobile senior managers were the first to publicly hail the Google phone and their belief in the new business model that could result.

…that it is not an easy game to penetrate the wireless market without the help of the operators, which has led to collaborative relationships…The biggest challenge is to adapt our market perspective and business model to one based on partnerships, content and applications. Historically, wireless carriers had a relatively simple business model — end-to-end voice service — with correspondingly simple billing. That is no longer the case.

Secondly, The Wall Street Journal reported back in June that the first working model of the Google phone wouldn’t hit the market till November 2008. In its report, the WSJ indicated that T-Mobile was taking up too much of Google’s resources, leading to some grousing by other partners. Then came the surprise announcement that the device would be launched tomorrow. Taken together, it’s reasonable to assume that T-Mobile fast-tracked the device.

Now to why T-Mobile needs the lift at all. First, the number of subscribers it’s adding is slowing down. In the second quarter of 2008, the U.S. arm of T-Mobile added 525,000 new subscribers vs. 875,000 additions in the second quarter of 2007. That’s the lowest level of adds since 2006 for T-Mobile USA, which currently has about 31.5 million subscribers.

And when it comes to the more lucrative data revenues, T-Mobile USA has lagged its bigger rivals. The company has been especially hampered by its lack of a 3G network, which has forced it to make do with a blend of EDGE and Wi-Fi networks. According to Chetan Sharma Consulting, 3G subs have more than $23 in data ARPU. In the second quarter of 2008, the firm estimates that, on average:

Verizon lead in data ARPU with $12.58 (or 24.41% of the revenues) closely followed by Sprint at $12 (or 21.4354%), AT&T at $11.59 (or 22.91%) and T-Mobile at $8.60 (or 17%).

T-Mobile can quickly change all that with the Google Phone, which like the iPhone is very data-centric and utilizes the web. (Read about the keynote Google’s Rich Miner gave at Mobilize.)

The carrier has been rolling out its 3G network just ahead of the Android launch. And T-Mobile USA has to be hoping that the new phone, which will be launched tomorrow but won’t go on sale at retail outlets for a few weeks, will make people pause before reaching for the hot-selling iPhone from AT&T.

T-Mobile USA started rolling out its 3G network in New York City in May, saying the service would be available in 13 markets. Last week they said they’ll offer 3G in an additional 21 markets to coincide with the launch of the Android phone. (I am told San Francisco will see the launch of T-Mobile USA 3G before the end of this month.)

T-Mobile’s 3G network works on different frequencies than AT&T’s, which means there are only a handful of devices that can really use this AWS-based network. In order for people to start using it, T-Mobile needs a device that can do for it what the iPhone has done for AT&T — something like the Google phone.

What do you guys think?

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Finally, T-Mobile Launches a U.S. 3G Network

Om Malik — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:00:18 +0000

T-Mobile USA, the company known for its ultra-affordable voice plans, is launching its 3G Network in New York City, ushering in what we hope will be competition in the market leading to the lowering of 3G data costs for mobile phone users.

For now, the new UMTS/HSDPA network is available only in New York, but there are plans to roll out the network in other cities later this year. The company is being vague about in which cities it will launch the network. There are four handsets that can be used with this network: Nokia 3555, Nokia 6263, Samsung t819 and Samsung t639.

T-Mobile claims that AWS spectrum effectively doubles their spectrum and makes it easy for them to manage future growth. The network operates over 1.7 and 2.1 GHz bands. T-Mobile had spent a total of $4.2 billion in the AWS spectrum, and there are rumors that the company might look at buying even more AWS spectrum from Nextwave. We had reported earlier that Ericsson and Nokia were equipment suppliers for the network that was originally supposed to launch in 2007.

T-Mobile isn’t the first company to launch a network based on AWS. That honor goes to Stelera Wireless, an Oklahoma City-based rural broadband service provider that launched a much faster network in two Texas cities.

What this news means?

Over the long term, this is a great development because it gives us another 3G option. The current players: AT&T, Verizon and Sprint have not gotten into price competition because the demand for mobile broadband has been strong. T-Mobile, being the late-comer is going to have to offer much cheaper packages in order to steal market share away from the big three. I think that would force the other three to respond. The same dynamics had played out in the voice market as well, so lets hope for an encore. Of course, all this is predicated on T-Mobile’s ability to roll out a nationwide network.
In the short term, the paucity of handset choices and limited network availability mean that it will be a while before people are going to seriously consider T-Mobile 3G as an option.

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