Ford is working on a technology that enables cars to talk to each other, and could help cars avoid crashes and reduce fuel consumption. The technology won’t be available at least for another 5 years or so and is based on WiFi and GPS. Read more »
The world the added 196 million mobile subscribers during the fourth quarter of last year, a record amount. The growth is positive for operators, but they are already looking ahead to ensure that when everyone has a cell phone their sales keep trending up. Read more »
Connected devices were the top source of revenue growth for mobile operators last year, but without new pricing plans, that growth could stall, according to data released today by Chetan Sharma. And so far AT&T is on a tear when it comes to M2M growth. Read more »
Connected tablets will certainly show off the capabilities of the 4G deployed by operators, but the big profits will come from elsewhere. For example? Your medicine cabinet, where a new bill bottle cap sends 20 kilobytes of data per day while costing $15 per month. Read more »
Sprint is adding another M2M, or machine to machine, device on its 3G network: the BodyMedia armband will capture workout data and shoot it to the cloud. This new “Internet of Things” approach for devices is expected to generate nearly 300 million data subscriptions by 2015. Read more »
The always-unpredictable mobile space enters 2011 at a particularly dynamic time. Carriers are now bringing 4G networks online, even as their definitions of “4G” vary. Meanwhile, mobile data consumption is exploding and the FCC trying to settle on policies both to regulate the industry and to ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The GSMA, the organization representing most of the world’s mobile operators, today changed its rules to allow for a programmable SIM card much like we described Apple building with Gemalto a few weeks back. It’s expected devices with remote-activated SIMs to be available by 2012. Read more »
Major carriers must overcome the ceiling under which they now find themselves and the growth of their businesses. Solutions lie not in voice-centric mobile devices, but with new non-phone, data-consuming devices like tablets, e-readers and machine-to-machine technology like digital picture frames, personal navigation devices and more. Read more »
Line losses are now the single greatest threat to the mobile sector’s growth, and major carriers must overcome the ceiling under which they now find themselves and the growth of their business. The solution lies not in voice-centric mobile devices but with new non-phone data-consuming devices like tablets, e-readers and machine-to-machine technology like digital picture frames, personal navigation devices and more. Tier 1 carriers — Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile — face a number of challenges, including a lack of control over distribution, disruptions to traditional pricing models and the unique nature of M2M deployments. For them, success will rely on experimenting with business models and the ability to quickly adjust data plans to drive profitability and growth. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The underpinnings are already being laid for an Internet of things that will bring connectivity to everything from consumer electronics to pets. But a wide variety of challenges from privacy to platforms, must be met as we move toward an always-on, always-connected society. Read more »
The “Internet of Things” (IoT) will likely be one of the most important technological advances of this century. The emergence of Cloud computing, meanwhile, has created the application and device management backbone needed to scale to and support billions of connected objects. Consumer, governmental and business trends are also pushing us toward the IoT. And despite inhibitors to growth, such as privacy issues and creating sustainable business models, we will see increasing benefits in our personal and community lives as the IoT takes hold. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Mobile penetration in the U.S. is nearing 100 percent, leading some to wonder whether we’re near a saturation point. But as connectivity expands to a wide range of devices that aren’t phones, “handset penetration” won’t really matter anyway. Read more »
Machine-to-machine services are a promising opportunity for carriers. The segment promises to boost revenues with minimal network taxation by delivering lightweight data transmissions to everything from e-readers like the Kindle to railroad cars and home appliances. For software developers and hardware manufacturers, then, the question is ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Operators are increasingly looking to machine-to-machine services to help offset a saturated handset market and data congestion on their networks. But the new world of M2M will require the emergence of new partnerships and business models. Read more »
Carriers’ data revenue hit $12.5 billion in the first quarter of 2010. However, they face two challenges: a saturated market and users who are boosting their consumption of data faster than carriers are boosting their data revenue. The Internet of things will help. Read more »
