What can we expect for the fast-moving telecommunications market this year?
There are many predictions. I started looking for information from Twelve 2012 Predictions For The Telecom Industry and Top 12 Hot Design Technologies for 2012 articles. Then I did some more research on what is happening on the field and decided to make my own list of what is expected this year. You can go to the original information sources by clicking the links to see where all this information comes from.
The global telecommunications services market will grow at a 4% rate in 2012 (was 7% in 2011).
Mobile growth does not stop. The number of global mobile subscriptions will pass the 6 billion mark in February. India will pass China to become the world’s largest mobile market in terms of subscriptions.
The mobile handset market will surpass the $200 billion mark. Smartphones are most heavily used by people under 45, and that age group increasingly sees the smartphone or tablet as a portal to Facebook and Twitter, among other social networks. The demand for the chips that generate and process that data in smartphones is increasing (sales of smartphone applications processors surged to $2.2 billion in the third quarter of 2011). Six Companies Want Supremacy On The Smartphones Chip Market! Qualcomm Look Out!
There is lots of competition on mobile OS marker, but I expect that thing continue pretty much as 2011 ended: Android continues to boom, RIM and Microsoft decline. Symbian’s future is uncertain although Symbian started and finished 2011 as the undisputed king of mobile OSs (33.59%). Windows Phone will try to get to market and Leaked Windows Phone Roadmap gives us a peek into the future. Java Micro Edition making a comeback according to the NetApplications report because large number of low-cost feature phones. The real mobile application battle lines of 2012 will be drawn across the landscape of HTML5.Tizen open source project tries to push to mobile Linux market (first version Q1 2012) with ideas from Meego, LiMo and WebOS. Cars and smartphones start to communicate using MirrorLink technology to allow new features.
Mobile campaigns to be hot in 2012 presidential race article tells that though mobile advertising not seen much on the campaign trail, mobile strategy is expected to be important for attracting younger voters. Social networks played an important role in the last U.S. presidential election, but the explosive growth in smartphone usage and the introduction of tablets could make or break the candidates for president in 2012. Expect to see specialized apps to help campaign groupies follow the candidates.
Text messaging has been very profitable business for mobile phone operators and making them lots of money. Text Messaging Is in Decline in Some Countries tell that all signs point to text messaging’s continuing its decline. There has been already decline in Finland, Hong Kong and Australia. The number of text messages sent by cellphone customers in USA is still growing, but that growth is gradually slowing, “SMS erosion” is expected to hit AT&T and Verizon in this year or next years. The fading allure of text messaging is most likely tied to the rise of alternative services, which allow customers to send messages free using a cellphone’s Internet connection.
EU politicians want to ban roaming charges according to Computer Sweden magazine article. If the proposal becomes law in the EU, it takes away slippery roaming charges for mobile data (could happen earliest at summer 2012, but I expect that it will take much more time). Roaming robbery to end – 2015 article tells that the goal is that the mobile roaming fees should be completely abolished the 2015th.
Near Field Communication (NFC) is becoming available in many mobile phones and new flexibility via organic materials can help in implementing NFC. NFC-enabled SIM cards are expected to become a worldwide standard. Electronic wallet in smartphones probably takes a step forward with this. Google, opened the game with Google Wallet service. According to research firm ABI Research estimates that in 2012 NFC phones is growing 24 million to 80 million units. There is still years to wait until mass market on NFC wallets starts. ABI Research estimates that there is 552 million NFC enabled devices at year 2016.
The 4G technology WiMax will see the beginning of its end in Asia. Like operators in other regions, Asian operators will opt for the rival 4G technology LTE instead.
The number of active (installed) PCs worldwide will pass the 2 billion mark. Broadband penetration continues to increase. Broadband penetration of the world’s population will pass the 10% mark globally. IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) penetration of the world’s population will pass the 1% mark. Broadband technologies are fundamentally transforming the way we live. UN wants two-thirds of the world online by 2015.
Today’s Cable Guy, Upgraded and Better-Dressed article tells that the cable guy is becoming sleeker and more sophisticated, just like the televisions and computers he installs. The nearly saturated marketplace means growth for cable companies must come from all the extras like high-speed Internet service, home security, digital recording devices and other high-tech upgrades.
Ethernet displaces proprietary field buses. As Ethernet displaces proprietary field buses to facilitate the operation of the digital factory. Ethernet switches are the ubiquitous building block of any intelligent network. Ethernet has also become the de facto networking technology in industrial automation even in mission-critical local networks. Modern Ethernet switches have added significant new functionality to Ethernet while decreasing port prices. Ethernet for Vehicles also becomes reality largely to serve the expected boom of camera-based applications in cars.
Operators’ growth will increasingly depend on their having a cloud computing strategy, an approach for the high-growth IT service market and a clear value proposition for the enterprise market. Data center technologies will be hot topic. 10GBase-T Technology will become technically and economically feasible interface option on data center servers. 10GBase-T Technology allows you to use RJ45 connectors and unshielded twisted pair cabling to provide 10Mbps, 100Mbps, 1Gbps, and 10Gbps data transmission, while being backward-compatible with prior generations.
40/100 Gbit/s Ethernet will be a hot topic. Carriers and datacenters have been clamoring for the technology to expand their core backbone networks. 2012–A Return to Normalcy and Pragmatic, Power Conscious 100G article mentions that in 2010 and 2011, the industry saw the first real roll-outs of 100G transport solutions based on Coherent Detection and FPGA-based Framers. In 2012 we’ll start to see 100G taking a bigger place in the build out of new and existing networks around the world. The initial deployments of 100G are clearly too costly and too power hungry to be widely deployed as the primary transport technology, so optical transport marketplace will move to much lower power and lower cost Direct Detection optical transport solutions. The average WDM link for 10G is dissipating about 3.5W per optical module, the average WDM link per 100G is dissipating about about 100W.
5 Major Changes Facing the Internet in 2012 article tells that 2012 is poised to go down in Internet history as one of the most significant 12-month periods from both a technical and policy perspective since the late 1990s. This year the Internet will face or can face several milestones: root servers may have a new operator, new company could operate the .com registry, up to 1000 new top-level domains will start being introduced, additional 10,000 Web sites will support IPv6 and Europe will run out of IPv4 addresses.
No IPv6 Doomsday In 2012. Yes, IPv4 addresses are running out, but a Y2K-style disaster/frenzy won’t be coming in 2012. Of course there’s a chance that panic will ensue when Europe’s RIPE hands out its last IPv4 addresses this summer, but ‘most understand that they can live without having to make any major investments immediately. Despite running out of IPv4 addresses we will be able to continue to use IPv4 techniques (Asia depleted all of its IPv4 address space already April 2011). ISP’s and hosting companies will not run out of IPs. This only means that the price per IP will start to slowly grow. Forward thinking enterprises can spend the year preparing for the new IPv6 protocol (USA is expected run out of addresses next year). Comcast has said it will offer production-quality IPv6 services across its nationwide network in 2012.
Operators start to pay more attention to the business opportunity of “M2M” (machine-to-machine connections). Investment and innovation in M2M (think smart energy meters and fleet trackers for logistics) will follow.
Smart Grid technologies include smart power management and architecture system components are already hot. Smart meter deployment on the rise globally. The global power utilities are the next mega-market moving from analog, standalone systems to digital networked technology. The opportunities are huge in everything from wireless components in smart meters to giant power electronics. First cut of some very basic framework standards have been drafted and lots of works needs to be done (ensure safety!). Forward-looking utilities and such vendors have now put business units and plans in place. IPv6 is seen as a needed technology in implementing Smart Grid communications. IPV6 has become a buzz word for smart grid firms.
You Will See A Ton Of Hype Around “The Internet Of Things” article tells that “The Internet Of Things” is a catchy term revolving around the idea that most everyday objects around us will be equipped with internet-collected electronics, and this will open up new applications. You Will See A Ton Of Hype Around “The Internet Of Things”, and it is hard to say if The Internet Of Things will be a huge business or a passing fad. NXP Semiconductor’s vision of Internet of Things starts with lightbulbs. Wireless sensor networks will get attention. EE Times article Top ten Embedded Internet articles for 2011 gives you links to articles that help you to catch on those topics.
Security issues were talked about lot on 2011 and I expect the discussion will continue actively during year 2012. There are still many existing security issues to fix and new issues will come up all the time.
802 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Defense Department pushes spectrum sharing as solution to wireless crunch
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57529959-94/defense-department-pushes-spectrum-sharing-as-solution-to-wireless-crunch
The Defense Department and wireless industry agree freeing up government owned spectrum is a good idea, but they disagree how about how to do it.
At the CTIA’s Mobilecon tradeshow here Wednesday, Major General Robert Wheeler, a deputy CIO for the Department of Defense, gave a keynote speech in which he outlined how the government agency plans to free up additional spectrum that will help the country reach President Obama’s goal of releasing 500 MHz of additional wireless spectrum to the market.
While he promised that the Defense Department, which is the largest license holder of government owned spectrum, would clear or move off some spectrum to make room for commercial use, he also emphasized the prospect of sharing spectrum with commercial providers.
In a report issued earlier this year, NTIA said it could cost $18 billion to completely clear the 1755MHz to 1855MHz spectrum band, which is the sliver of spectrum that is most attractive to commercial wireless broadband providers.
“There isn’t one solution to clearing this spectrum,” he said. “There will be some vacating, but that can be expensive.
“It’s difficult if you have a satellite that’s been up for 10 or 15 years,” he said. “You can’t change the transmit and receivers in space. So unless you want to pay to change out the equipment on the satellite you need to come up with something different.”
There are three main types of sharing his agency is proposing. There’s geographic sharing in which the Defense Department would continue to use its applications in certain locations in a discrete area and would allow commercial providers to use the spectrum in areas where it is not using the spectrum. There’s also time-shifted sharing, which will allow commercial providers to use spectrum during certain periods of time when the government is not using a particular sliver of spectrum.
And the final type of sharing is what he called “true sharing” or cognitive sharing. In this scenario, special technology is used to sniff the airwaves to ensure that applications designed to use the same frequencies of spectrum are not using them at the same time and intefereing with each other.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Is mobile broadband a luxury or human right?
http://money.cnn.com/2012/10/09/technology/mobile/broadband-human-right/index.html
Moderating a discussion on the future of broadband, Mashable editor-in-chief Lance Ulanoff tossed a provocative question to the audience: “By quick show of hands, how many out there think that broadband is a luxury?”
Next question: “How many out there think it is a human right?” That option easily carried the audience vote.
Ulanoff’s fellow panelists at the United Nations’ recent “Social Good Summit” took a similar view. Held annually to coincide with the UN’s General Assembly, the gathering brings together business executives, activists, academics and entrepreneurs to explore how technology can help “make the world a better place.”
Broadband access is too important to society to be relegated to a small, privileged portion of the world population, Hans Vestberg, president and CEO of Ericsson
“We need to make sure all the world’s inhabitants are connected to the goodies of the online world, which means better health care, better education, more sustainable economic and social development,” Touré said.
The so-called “digital gap” is shrinking. In 2002, an estimated 8% of world’s population was online, but by 2012 that number had risen past 33%. Most of the growth is happening in the developing world.
Those trends have profound global implications.
For example: The number of Internet users accessing the Internet in Chinese will outnumber English language users by 2015, experts predict. The total number of smartphones in the world is expected to top 3 billion by 2017, and by 2020, connected devices may outnumber connected people by a ratio of 6:1.
Those without connections will be cut off from one of the planet’s fastest growing “economies.” The size of the Internet economy in the G20 countries reached $2.3 trillion in 2010 — equivalent to around 4.1% of their GDP — and could double by 2016, according to estimates from the Boston Consulting Group.
“It’s no longer a luxury,” Touré said. “We see this is a fundamental tool that is expected by everyone.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finnish company enthuses: our insulation in the house does not block mobile signal
The media has been the subject of lively debate within the new housing causing problems to mobile phone operation inside houses. The reason for this is indicated, in particular heat shields, but has not been to identify the products which are the cause.
Tampere University of Technology study, (TTY – Radio Signal Attenuation in modern residential houses) showed that the main cause of the problems is the coverage of polyurethane thermal insulation materials that have aluminum films on surface.
Finnfoam does not impair the thermal insulation in a mobile phone or wireless coverage. This has been tested in practice and found Finnfoam insulated passive and zero-energy houses, says Finnfoam Oy.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/suomalaisyritys+hehkuttaa+meidan+eristeella+talossa+kuuluu+kannykka/a846678?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-12102012&
Tomi Engdahl says:
New Video Breaks Down How An Apple Patent Stomps All Over The 1st Amendment
A patent granted to Apple in late-August allows governments to disable iPhones and other smartphones, targeting specific apps even, when they enter what is deemed a “sensitive” area.
U.S. Patent No. 8,254,902, titled “Apparatus and methods for enforcement of policies upon a wireless device,” enables phone policies to be set to change “one or more functional or operational aspects of a wireless device … upon the occurrence of a certain event.”
Camera? Off. Voice recorder? Off. No calls out, no calls in. Total blackout; or, for an event like a concert, the organizers could target specifically just recording functions of a user’s phone.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-patent-government-control-phones-2012-10#ixzz299YrMkvZ
Tomi Engdahl says:
As mobile rises, desktop search declines for the first time
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57530726-93/as-mobile-rises-desktop-search-declines-for-the-first-time/
Analysts at the Macquarie Group say mobile devices could account for a third of all search traffic by year’s end.
In a sign of the mobile-centric times, desktop Web search declined in September for the first time since Macquarie Group began tracking it in 2006.
ComScore data for September showed that searches declined 4 percent year over year, according to a note Macquarie sent to clients. Growth rates in search have been slowing since February, when searches were up 14 percent. The increasing number of mobile searches appears to be the biggest reason for the decline, Macquarie analysts said in their report.
The decline in desktop search makes intuitive sense. These days, we’re less likely to search for a destination on a map site before leaving the house; that’s what turn-by-turn directions are for. We might not even search for a restaurant to eat at until we’re out the door; a number of apps can give us recommendations on the go. And nontraditional search engines are on the rise: we might search for clothes on Fab.com instead of Google, or airfares on Hipmunk, or a friend’s e-mail address on Facebook.
Collectively, all those trends point to a long, slow decline for traditional desktop search. And it’s a reason why companies like Google and Microsoft are investing heavily in mobile search applications.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Windows 8 packaging and pricing revealed: standard OEM $99, Pro Pack $139, pre-order from today
http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/12/windows-8-packaging-and-pricing-revealed/
We’re almost there. Just a few more days until the big reveal. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t still a few final Windows 8 secrets to be disclosed.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Whoops! BlackBerry rep shows off secret phone
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57531297-94/whoops-blackberry-rep-shows-off-secret-phone/
Mexican site Hola Telcel posts a video with a BlackBerry rep demoing the company’s L-Series phone — a device that is supposed to be a secret.
Someone forgot to tell a BlackBerry rep in Mexico that the company’s newest L-Series phone is supposed to be a secret.
The company hasn’t provided many specifics about the device thus far, but the L-Series is expected to hit stores early next year.
The video isn’t the first leak about the device, with photos and video showing up last month.
Tomi says:
AT&T Starts Six-Strikes Anti-Piracy Plan Next Month, Will Block Websites
http://torrentfreak.com/att-starts-six-strikes-anti-piracy-plan-next-month-will-block-websites-121012/
A set of leaked internal AT&T training documents obtained by TorrentFreak reveal that the Internet provider will start sending out anti-piracy warning notices to its subscribers on November 28. Customers whose accounts are repeatedly flagged for alleged copyright infringements will have their access to frequently visited websites blocked, until they complete an online copyright course. It’s expected that most other participating ISPs will start their versions of the anti-piracy plan on the same date.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Exclusive: Cisco cuts ties to China’s ZTE after Iran probe
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/08/us-cisco-zte-iran-idUSBRE89709N20121008
(Reuters) – Cisco Systems Inc. has ended a longstanding sales partnership with ZTE Corp after an internal investigation into allegations that the Chinese telecommunications equipment maker sold Cisco networking gear to Iran.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Softbank to Buy 70 Percent Stake in Sprint: Sources
http://www.cnbc.com/id/49408877
Softbank and Sprint have reached a deal under which Softbank will pay $20 billion for a 70 percent stake in the wireless telecom operator, according to people close to the situation.
Japan-listed shares of Softbank slid 6.3 percent on Monday and were the most heavily traded share by turnover on the main board. The deal is expected to be announced at 0800 GMT Monday, Reuters reported.
While a Sprint purchase of Clearwire will not be announced tomorrow, sources familiar with the situation tell me Sprint is working on that deal and needs to insure the governance for Clearwire is in its control prior to closing the Softbank transaction.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The realities of spectrum—Challenges, regulation, T&M and exploratory band searching
http://www.eetimes.com/design/communications-design/4398396/The-realities-of-spectrum-Challenges–regulation–T-M-and-exploratory-band-searching
Consumer demand for faster-performing advanced services is driving a war in not only between the broadcast and broadband industries, but also between commercial providers and government users for space on the nation’s airwaves.
The roll out of 4G LTE services is adding fuel to the fire, creating a nearly insatiable desire for scarcer spectrum. In response to these challenges, providers are looking for options such as moving to new bands, which is opening up a whole new can of worms.
Once spectrum was assigned, wireless equipment manufacturers invested billions of dollars in building their systems to work in the bands allocated to these specific uses. Simply evicting the squatters to move legacy users who may not really need all the spectrum they have to different parts of the spectrum (known as spectrum relocation) can require a very real, very large financial outlay—it is usually not just a matter of turning a knob to tune to a different frequency.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cable Operators Can Fight Theft by Encrypting Signals, FCC Rules
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-12/cable-operators-can-fight-theft-by-encrypting-signals-fcc-rules.html
Cable companies led by Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) won U.S. permission to encrypt their basic service to fight theft and reduce service calls.
The Federal Communications Commission voted 5-0 to allow encryption, the agency said in an order released yesterday. Cable companies already encrypt offerings on more expensive channel packages that feature more programming.
The FCC had prohibited encryption on basic service so customers wouldn’t need to rent a set-top box to view local stations.
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association in 2004 estimated that about 5 percent of homes near cable lines accessed service without paying, resulting in almost $5 billion in lost revenue. That was more than 8 percent of industry revenues that year, according to a filing at the FCC by the Washington-based trade group.
Encrypting basic service would let Comcast start and stop service remotely, which customers prefer to scheduling an appointment with a technician, Philadelphia-based Comcast said in a filing at the FCC.
Tomi Engdahl says:
SoftBank confirms $20.1 billion Sprint acquisition, deal expected to close in mid-2013
http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/15/3505180/softbank-sprint-acquisition-confirmed-announcement
Sprint is being acquired by Japanese carrier SoftBank in a deal worth $20.1 billion, the company announced here at a press event in Tokyo. As previously reported, SoftBank will purchase $8 billion in newly-issued shares from Sprint along with $12.1 billion in existing shares, giving the company a 70 percent stake overall.
The transaction is expected to close in mid-2013, subject to a meeting of Sprint shareholders, and the usual FCC and antitrust approval, as well as SoftBank’s ability to secure financing.
The two companies’ combined subscriber base will be one of the largest in the world, and will have the third highest mobile service revenue of any company worldwide.
Hesse will become the CEO of New Sprint, which between outstanding public shares and the 70 percent stake owned by SoftBank, will control 100 percent of the existing Sprint.
“This deal gives Sprint a better position to participate in the consolidation at some point in the future, but I wouldn’t want to speculate,”
Tomi says:
Femto fail: Vodafone’s Sure Signal gets a bit shaky again
Requires occasional square-wave in power supply, says Voda
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/15/sure_signal/
Vodafone’s femtocell offering, Sure Signal, is up the spout again. The UK’s third largest operator said it was investigating and has recommended that disconnected punters try power-cycling the kit.
Vodafone is the only UK operator to publicly deploy femtocells – tiny base stations which backhaul over the customer’s broadband connection. Three and O2 also have femto’ offerings, but only for profitable customers who threaten to leave or beg hard enough, so not of the scale of Sure Signal.
Femtocells are incredibly intelligent, able to sense the macro network and select a suitable frequency on which to operate, and that intelligence is spreading into bigger cells simplifying installations even if femtos themselves haven’t taken off. The radio side works very well, but opening the network infrastructure (and the billing systems) to connections coming over the public internet is scary stuff, so it’s no surprise that operators are treading slowly.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Consumers Aggressively Migrate Data to Cloud Storage in First Half of 2012
http://www.isuppli.com/Mobile-and-Wireless-Communications/News/Pages/Consumers-Aggressively-Migrate-Data-to-Cloud-Storage-in-First-Half-of-2012.aspx
The consumer cloud performed strongly in the first half of 2012, with the number of personal subscriptions to online storage services at the end of June already at 75 percent of the market’s projected sum for the year, according to insights from the IHS iSuppli Mobile & Wireless Communications Service from information and analytics provider IHS
The number of global consumers using cloud services after the first six months hit more than 375 million, or about three-quarters of the estimated total of 500 million by year-end.
“The cloud is a game changer in an age of near-ubiquitous mobile broadband, offering benefits to consumers and cloud service providers alike,” said Jagdish Rebello, Ph.D., director for consumer and communications at IHS. For consumers, cloud services are intended to manage and store user-generated data or purchased content, such as music, ebooks, pictures or videos. The content can then be seamlessly accessed and synced across devices like smartphones, media tablets and PCs. Meanwhile, technology companies are looking at the cloud as a way to generate revenue.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Industry view: Testing VoLTE devices
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/other/4398468/-Industry-view–Testing-VoLTE-devices?cid=EDNToday
As mobile networking shifts toward a data-centric usage model, the standards have adjusted to suit with the emerging long-term evolution (LTE) standard defining a packet-based data network. Instead of supporting data on a voice network, service providers will now be delivering voice over a packet-based network in a service dubbed voice over LTE (VoLTE).
Deployment of 4G networks is still limited, which means that in many cases LTE voice calls are being carried by the 3G network, particularly when a user accessing data receives an LTE call. The process of shifting LTE calls and data access on to the 3G network is known as circuit-switched fallback (CSFB), and can compromise the quality of service experienced by the user.
Currently, the industry is hard at work refining VoLTE technology throughout the food chain, from the chip through network. The development process makes testing capabilities more important than ever.
Tomi Engdahl says:
SMARTPHONE USERS SHOULD BE AWARE OF MALWARE TARGETING MOBILE DEVICES AND SAFETY MEASURES TO HELP AVOID COMPROMISE
http://www.ic3.gov/media/2012/121012.aspx
Tomi Engdahl says:
Just under half of US wireless services now owned by foreign multinationals
http://betanews.com/2012/10/15/just-under-half-of-us-wireless-services-now-owned-by-foreign-multinationals/
With Softbank’s majority stake acquisition of Sprint Nextel Corporation, the amount of foreign interest in the United States wireless market is greatly expanded. On the other side of the coin, wholly-American owned wireless companies are beginning to look like an endangered species.
The two largest US carriers, Verizon Wireless and AT&T are mostly owned by American companies, but based upon first quarter 2012 market share figures and corporate ownership percentages, we estimate 45.3 percent of the United States’ wireless market is controlled by foreign multinational companies.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Reportedly, India is home to 5.3% of the world’s internet users, making it the third most connected country, after China and the US.
At the same time, only 10.2% of the country’s population uses the internet, which equates to a dearth of security measures to protect the region’s computers.
Source: http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/10/16/india-spews-more-spam-than-ever-before-report-finds/
Tomi says:
According to Research firm Strategy Analytics there was ore than one billion smartphones in use in the world in the July-September period. This means that today, about one in every seven people is a smartphone.
Growth has been rapid, as at the same time a year ago, there were 708 million.
Strategy Analytics analyst Neil Mawstonin expects that growth will continue to be strong, particularly in China, India and Africa.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/hs+maailmassa+nyt+miljardi+alypuhelinta/a848051?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-17102012&
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nobody “Goes Online” Anymore
http://allthingsd.com/20121017/nobody-goes-online-anymore/
A large survey of Internet users found that they say they spend fewer hours per week online than they did a year ago.
Wait, really?
Well, it’s a matter of perception. This was a Forrester survey, and people were asked how much time they spend using the Internet. On average, they said 19.6 hours per week, versus 21.9 hours per week when asked the same question in 2011.
But Forrester thinks that the drop is more about perception than reality, because many people are virtually always online these days.
“Despite the fact that they always have connected devices and are always online, they don’t really realize they’re online,” said Forrester analyst Gina Sverdlov. “They’re using Google Maps or checking in on Facebook, but that’s not considered online because it has become such a part of everyday life.”
It makes sense. Why talk or think about “going online” when you’re already there?
Sverdlov said she sees this difference between how people talk about the Internet and what they actually do in other areas, too.
“We’re seeing somewhat of a cannibalization of other Internet activities because it’s possible to do all that on social networking sites,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Internet providers set to crack down on illegal file-sharing
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/262315-internet-providers-set-to-crack-down-on-illegal-file-sharing
AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and other major Internet service providers are set to implement a copyright alert system aimed at cutting down on illegal peer-to-peer file sharing of copyrighted material “over the next several weeks,” according to the head of the organization overseeing the new anti-piracy program.
Under the new copyright alert system, Internet service providers (ISPs) will send a series of alerts to subscribers whose accounts may have been used to illegally distribute music, movies or other entertainment content via file-sharing. If the subscriber does not respond to the first set of alerts, which will include educational material on protecting copyrights and the consequences of illegal file-sharing, the Internet service provider may temporarily slow down their Internet speeds, direct them to an online tutorial when they try to access popular websites or implement other penalties–called “mitigation measures.”
Internet service providers are preparing to implement their alert systems in November, according to someone familiar with CCI’s thinking, and they will vary slightly from company to company. It was expected to rollout earlier this year but Lesser said it’s taken some additional time for Internet providers to fit the alert systems within their infrastructure.
Critics of the effort have previously raised concern about Internet providers terminating people’s Internet connection or access to certain websites if they don’t respond to the alerts.
Under the alert system, copyright owners like a record label or film company will flag an Internet provider if they believe an IP address is illegally pirating their content on a peer-to-peer file-sharing network. The ISP will then determine which subscriber account matches up with the IP address, or the set of numbers used to identify a device, and send an alert to the subscriber notifying them that their Internet account may have be used for illegal file-sharing.
“The hope is the causal user and the user that doesn’t realize the implications of what they’re doing will respond to the system, and we’ll see a decrease in the use of peer-to-peer networks for copyright infringement and we’ll see an increase in legal services,” Lesser said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finland is seeking the auctioning of 800 MHz frequency spectrum licenses for wireless broadband of at least 100 million Euros.
Previously, the Ministry shared radio frequencies practically almost for free on beauty contest basis.
Now the situation seems to have changed. The state sells 800 MHz frequencies for the area, which in theory is able to use the six operators.
The starting price is so high, however, that the smallest fall outside the automatic trading. Also the requirement for the rapid over 90 percent of the population coverage means that in practice only the frequencies of the three main compete operator. The new foreign operator involvement is very unlikely. The government plans to auction to collect at least 100 million in revenue.
The new 800 MHz radio frequency, the benefits are greatest in rural areas. The operator’s strategy depends on whether it is worth it to invest.
One bidder could get the band up to three pairs of 2×15 MHz. Thus, one operator would not be able to grab all the frequencies.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/valtio+tavoittelee+taajuushuutokaupasta+vahintaan+100+miljoonaa+euroa/a848124?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-18102012&
Tomi Engdahl says:
Majority of humans still don’t have a mobile
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/19/gsma_world_mobile_connections_india_china/
The world still has some way to go before it is fully mobile, with global subscriber penetration standing at just 45 per cent despite the huge strides made in countries such as China and India, according to a new report from industry body The GSMA.
Global penetration based on total connections will exceed 100 per cent by next year, however, the report pointed to a disparity between the number of mobile connections and individual mobile subscribers, thanks to inactive SIMs and multiple SIM ownership. The average Joe apparently uses 1.85 SIM cards.
The total number of mobile subscribers worldwide will be 3.2 billion by Q4 2012, rising to 4 billion in the next five years, with around a third of the planet’s seven billion-strong population currently unconnected, GSMA said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
There Are 250,000 Active Patents That Impact Smartphones
http://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20121017/10480520734/there-are-250000-active-patents-that-impact-smartphones-representing-one-six-active-patents-today.shtml
A new analysis shows just how insane the patent thicket is today.
Tomi says:
According to Gartner, all of the business, which in some way balanced brokering ties in cloud services, it is one of the industry’s fastest growing areas. The broker market value of a global research firm, predicts $ 100 billion or more than five per cent of the world’s entire IT cake in 2014.
Broker’s business means that there is a broker layer between the end customer and the cloud service provider. This intermediate layer combines cloud services, and in this way generate new services.
“Gartner’s growth forecast is specific to this intermediary layer”,
Cloud services provider gets new sales channels.
The end customer gets convenience and comfort.
“It is a new way of thinking about IT services”
Current market situation is interesting because the traditional IT integrators operating in the intermediary market such as the market for traditional applications.
Many traditional IT integrators also aims to act as a mediator of cloud services, but the problem is the business model: cloud service brokering often cannibalized their existing business.
Telecom operators DNA and Elisa work in Finland as broker for cloud services. Operators are in relationship with customers, and they act as a reliable contact point for customers. Operators offer a new sales channel and the ability to get down to customers to big players like Microsoft and Google.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/cio/pilvipalvelut+saavat+broukkereita/a840563?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-20102012&
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smartphone Mugging More Popular Than Ever
http://it.slashdot.org/story/12/10/21/0016231/smartphone-mugging-more-popular-than-ever
“The Associated Press reports that smartphone robberies now account for nearly half of all robberies in San Francisco, as well as an impressive 40 percent here in New York City. And the numbers aren’t just high, they’re getting higher fast.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
New app from Finland takes crime fighting to phone screen
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/18/us-app-police-idUSBRE89H01J20121018
Noisy neighbors and parking violators: beware. A new smartphone app being used in Finland allows reporting of nuisance crimes with a few clicks, and its developer has started to pitch its service to police services around Europe.
The company, Grafetee, on Thursday globally launched its free location-based tagging application for Apple and Google Android devices. The app allows users to bookmark locations and link data from services like Foursquare, Yelp, Flickr and Instagram to the sites.
So far, the police reports feature is available only in Finland where local police now monitor reports from the app.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Basic phones are Nokia’s strategy is to bring the next billion internet connections.
Toikkanen believes that currently the world’s two billion without a mobile phone of the people opt for the Nokia device “in many cases”.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/kaleva+nokia+aikoo+tuoda+miljardi+ihmista+netin+pariin/a849191?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-22102012&
Tomi Engdahl says:
FCC Homeland Security bureau seeks improved indoor location accuracy for wireless 911 calls
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2012/10/fcc-homeland-security-e911.html
The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau has released its agenda for an upcoming test bed workshop to improve indoor location accuracy for wireless 911 calls.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Two new mobile phone companies have been started in Finland.
Behind both of them there are people that have previously worked for Nokia:
Jolla is developing Meego based smarphones. Jolla has big plans in China. The company aims to build the third smartphone ecosystem in China around Nokia’s rejected MeeGo operating system. In the new version will be called Sailfish. Finnish mobile phone company Jolla is going to present its new smartphone operating system “Sailfish” in Helsinki next month at Slush event in 21 to 22. November. The ex-Nokians are almost ready to reveal their MeeGo-based smartphone.
Finnish Jolla Mobile wants to develop a better smartphone, which is now a lot of applications. The company’s secret weapon is that it can also run Android applications under Meego with ACL technology. Phone will also support HTML5 and Qt-based applications. “Our user interface is more modern than the Android and iPhone. They have remained static time point for five years, but can do better”
Adaia particularly focuses on sustainable development and the smartphone market introduction. Adaian phone is aimed at outdoor enthusiasts. The company slogan boasts “the world’s coldest smartphones.”
On its website Adaian story told to have originated from the disenchantment with traditional phones for carrying in a plastic bag or protective shells always outdoors and their failure in spite of the protection. Adaian of their development work resulting from the phone should last for shock, dust and water up to 10 meters depth, and meets MIL-STD 810G standard requirements.
Adaian phones should be using Android operating system. Adaia so far have not revealed the release phones for sale or supply schedule.
Sources:
http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/jolla+kertoo+talouselamassa+meista+tulee+miljardiluokan+yhtio/a848836?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-19102012&
http://mobiili.fi/2012/10/22/suomalainen-adaia-tahtaa-kestavien-puhelinten-markkinoille-mukana-myos-satelliittiyhteys/
http://yle.fi/uutiset/jolla_esittelee_uuden_kayttojarjestelmansa_marraskuussa/6322332
http://www.epanorama.net/blog/2010/02/15/meego-linux/#comments
http://www.3t.fi/artikkeli/uutiset/teknologia/tassa_on_jollan_salainen_ase
Tomi Engdahl says:
Phone call translator app to be offered by NTT Docomo
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20004210
An app offering real-time translations is to allow people in Japan to speak to foreigners over the phone with both parties using their native tongue.
NTT Docomo – the country’s biggest mobile network – will initially convert Japanese to English, Mandarin and Korean, with other languages to follow.
It is the latest in a series of telephone conversation translators to launch in recent months.
Lexifone and Vocre have developed other products.
Alcatel-Lucent and Microsoft are among those working on other solutions.
The products have the potential to let companies avoid having to use specially trained multilingual staff, helping them cut costs. They could also aid tourism.
However, the software involved cannot offer perfect translations, limiting its use in some situations.
Cloud technology
NTT Docomo unveiled its Hanashite Hon’yaku app for Android devices at the Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies (Ceatec) show in Japan earlier this month, and plans to launch it on 1 November.
It provides users with voice translations of the other speaker’s conversation after a slight pause, as well as providing a text readout.
NTT Docomo will soon face competition from France’s Alcatel-Lucent which is developing a rival product, WeTalk. It can handle Japanese and about a dozen other languages including English, French and Arabic.
The service is designed to work over any landline telephone
Microsoft’s Research Labs has also been working on a technology it calls the Translating Telephone. The firm has acknowledged that one of the biggest problems was making the software adapt itself to cope with different ways people pronounce words.
Google already has a Translate app that can translate 17 spoken languages, allowing face-to-face conversations with a foreigner, but it is not yet designed to work with telephone calls.
Lost in translation
Despite the ambitions of those involved in the nascent sector, one analyst questioned their chances of success
“These kind of real-time technologies have been ‘two to three years away’ for the past decade,” said Benedict Evans, technology expert at Enders Analysis.
“Both speech recognition and machine translation are sort of there if you’re not too fussy.
“But they are generally not as good as speaking the language itself, and my suspicion is that they would not reliable enough to use them for business purposes when you need to be really sure about what the other person said.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
At the turn of the millennium, foreign journalists were marveling at North, mobile people, who does not speak, but to send text messages. Today, text messaging is old-fashioned.
SMS final descent has begun because of smart phones. With smart phones people can send messages cheaper with instant messaging services such as mobile Skype, WhatsApp and iMessenger.
Among Finnish iPhone users text messaging is dropped in October 2011 and August 2012, as many as 13 per cent.
The drop is huge, especially when you use data services at the same time increased by 68 per cent.
“It is quite possible that the iPhone’s easy and fun to iMessage-system is rapidly changing the way consumers use a mobile phone”
Individual SMS messages grew within Finnish company mobile connection up 20% in the spring of 2011. “The next fall, the volume began to shrink – and it was already pretty sharp decline in early 2012.”
The new world is enough challenge for the operators. And change not only Finnish. Research firm Ovum estimates that smartphone users are turning to text messages over a data link used for instant messaging services and this will will cause operators to pay a turnover lost globally in more than 40 billion euros by 2016.
Source: http://m.tietoviikko.fi/Uutiset/Tekstiviestien+alam%C3%A4ki+alkoi
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cisco: Cloud Services network traffic increases six-fold by 2016
According to Cisco,year 2014 is a turning point for cloud services: more than 50 percent of the IT work load is in cloud.
Global Cloud Index (2011-2016):
Traditional network traffic produced by data centers and cloud will quadruple by 2016, and is then equal to 6.6 zettabytes per year.
This corresponds to the fact that every human being in the world were watching 2.5 hours of HD video on the internet every day.
The growth of cloud services will have sixfold increase in traffic to 4.3 zettabytes.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/cisco+pilvipalveluiden+verkkoliikenne+kuusinkertaistuu+vuoteen+2016+mennessa/a850541?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-25102012&
Tomi Engdahl says:
When it comes to adopting Cat 6A U.S. lags Europe by wide margin
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/print/volume-20/issue-10/features/when-it-comes-to-adopting-cat-6a-us-lags-europe-by-wide-margin.html
LAN and data center cabling market analysis by BSRIA also showed that 7-percent worldwide growth last year pushed the global market back to its previous high achieved in 2008.
A study of the global market for structured cabling in 2011, conducted by the U.K.-based Building Services Research and Information Association (BSRIA; http://www.bsria.co.uk) showed that
United States’ adoption rate of Category 6A systems-at 5 percent
Europe’s 29-percent adoption rate
The Asia-Pacific region adopted Cat 6A at a 4-percent clip in 2011 and South Africa at 3 percent.
The total worldwide adoption rate for the year was 12 percent.
“The penetration of Cat 6A systems is driven by Europe and the ‘shielded’ countries in particular,”
“The countries covered in BSRIA’s research increased by almost 7 percent to $5.7 billion in 2011, from $5.3 billion in 2010,” the organization said. “The market value is now at the same level as 2008.” BSRIA also points out that with the countries not included in the researching making up 5 to 10 percent of the global market, the worldwide number is $6 billion for 2011.
The U.S. accounted for 35 percent of that market, followed by China with 11 percent and Germany with 9 percent.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Two new mobile phone companies from Finland
http://www.epanorama.net/blog/2012/10/26/two-new-mobile-phone-companies-from-finland/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Find a way to stop robocalls to grab this $50k prize
http://hackaday.com/2012/10/26/find-a-way-to-stop-robocalls-to-grab-this-50k-prize/
You know those delightful unsolicited prerecorded calls you get from time to time? They might be political, but they also come from companies trying to sell you vinyl siding, or promising improvements in your business. Well they’re against the law in many cases, and complaints to the Federal Trade Commission have been piling up. So now the FTC is offering a $50,000 bounty to anyone who can find a way to block the calls.
It’s called the Robocall Challenge and you’ve got until January 17th, 2013 to get your entry submitted. The great thing is, this doesn’t need to be a fully working solution.
For more details take a look at http://robocall.challenge.gov/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smartphones Drive Third Quarter Growth in the Worldwide Mobile Phone Market, According to IDC
http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS23753512
FRAMINGHAM, Mass. October 25, 2012 – The worldwide mobile phone market grew 2.4% year over year in the third quarter of 2012 (3Q12), driven by heavyweights Samsung and Apple as Nokia dropped off the Top 5 list of smartphone vendors. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors shipped a total of 444.5 million mobile phones in 3Q12 compared to 434.1 million units in the third quarter of 2011.
Equally noteworthy was the decline of Nokia, which was replaced by Research In Motion as a Top 5 smartphone player. Nokia’s exit from the Top 5, where it had resided since the inception of IDC’s Mobile Phone Tracker in 2004, was precipitated by the rise of Samsung and Apple globally and high-growth vendors like Huawei in China, where Nokia was the dominant player as recently as the third quarter of 2011.
Tomi Engdahl says:
FOA counterfeit cabling lecture targets flammability
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2012/10/foa-counterfeit-cabling-lecture.html
A new video lecture from the Fiber Optic Association (FOA) recounts how counterfeit “Category” cabling has been sold in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world, and what serious problems have occured from the use of these bogus premises cables; in particular, regarding electrical performance and safety issues associated with flammability of cheap plastic insulation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Potential liabilities of copper-clad aluminum cable manufacture, installation
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2012/10/copper-clad-aluminum-liability.html
A new white paper authored by the law firm Crowell and Moring LLP and published by the Communications Cable and Connectivity Association (CCCA) lays out the potential legal liabilities that cable manufacturers and/or installers may face if they bring to market copper-clad aluminum cable that is sold under the premise that it is a Category-rated communications cable. “The white paper is intended to educate and answer questions about the legal risks assumed by installers of communications cables that are specifically not allowed by the National Electrical Code,” the CCCA said when announcing the paper’s availability.
“In addition to being prohibited by the National Electrical Code, communications cables made with copper-clad aluminum conductors are also in direct violation of industry standards that specify requirements for Category cables, and are in violation of the UL 444 standard for multi-conductor communications cables,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
10 tricks, treats and frights for the cabling industry in 2012
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2012/10/cabling-2012-halloween-report.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia Siemens fires 57.6 Tbps over multimode fiber
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2012/10/nokia-siemens-terabit-multimode.html
As reported by Cablinginstall.com’s sister site, Lightwave, Nokia Siemens Networks announced last week that it had joined with several R&D partners in the MODE-GAP consortium to successfully transmit 57.6 Tbps through commercially deployed multimode fiber.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ARPANET establishes 1st computer-to-computer link, October 29, 1969
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/edn-moments/4399541/ARPANET-establishes-1st-computer-to-computer-link–October-29–1969?cid=EDNToday
The first-ever computer-to-computer link was established on ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), the precursor to the Internet, on October 29, 1969.
The first message on the ARPANET was sent by UCLA student programmer Charles S Kline at 10:30 pm on October 29, from the campus’ Boelter Hall to the Stanford Research Institute’s SDS 940 host computer.
The message text was meant to be the word “login,” but only the L and O were transmitted before the system crashed.
By December 5, 1969, the entire four-node network was established.
By 1975, ARPANET was declared “operational” and the Defense Communications Agency took control of it.
ARPANET was formally decommissioned on February 28, 1990. Well-known computer scientist and a “father of the Internet” Vinton Cerf wrote “Requiem of the ARPANET” in honor of the system.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung solar-powered school shines in rural South Africa
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57542623-1/samsung-solar-powered-school-shines-in-rural-south-africa/
Samsung turns a shipping container into a portable wired classroom to bridge the divide between rural and urban South African schools.
The Solar Powered Internet School — a product of Samsung’s corporate-social responsibility initiative — has solar panels on the roof that can generate nine hours of electricity a day. That power’s needed to juice the electronics inside — a 50-inch electronic board, Samsung Internet-enabled solar-powered notebooks, Samsung Galaxy tablets, and Wi-Fi cameras.
Though Samsung installed the school last year, the company only recently shared extensive details of it on its official global blog. Earlier this year, the school was named African Solar Project of the Year by the Africa Energy Awards, which celebrate the growth and success of energy projects in Africa.
Solar Powered Internet School Brightens South Africa
http://global.samsungtomorrow.com/?p=19812
Tomi Engdahl says:
Big cell towers now outnumbered by briefcase-sized mini stations
Complain loudly enough, you might get a free one at home
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/01/small_cells/
There are now more small cells than bigger ‘macro’ base stations, with the vast majority located in users’ homes but an increasing number rented out to network operators wanting coverage.
Globally there are a shade under six million cellular base stations as we’d recognise them, according to Informa Telecoms and Media, but they are now outnumbered by small cells – short-range, low power, intelligent, base stations which bear more resemblance to a cereal packet than a traditional base station.
Most of the small cells currently deployed are providing coverage to one house, plugged into a domestic broadband connection, but some are being stuck into coverage blackspots by third parties who intend to rent them out to network operators.
But for the moment it is in-home femtocells which are driving up the numbers, with operators around the world extending coverage that way and all the UK operators now offering some sort of in-home network expansion. Vodafone is the most obvious, as it sells the Sure Signal box, but all the others are now offering femtocells as a freebie to profitable customers who complain loudly enough.
Small cells, including femtocells, are self-configuring, so instead of sending out a skilled team to map the radio environment, align antennas and select suitable frequencies, the small cell is fitted by anyone who can plug in some power and an Ethernet cable (with PoE even the power isn’t required). The hardware monitors the radio environment, detects the macro network and finds itself a suitable radio frequency.
The backhaul is handled over an IP network, generally over a best-effort-IP infrastructure, but QoS can be supported if the operator has control over the Ethernet network (as Telefonica did for its deployments in the London Olympic park).
Some small cells can also report their GPS location back – thus enabling the network operator to compile and maintain coverage maps and ensure the device isn’t using radio frequencies it doesn’t own (an issue in countries with non-national licences, such as the USA).
Tomi Engdahl says:
WiMAX Forum runs up white flag, concedes 4G battle to LTE
‘What, were those guys still around?’ asks world
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/01/wimax_forum/
The WiMAX forum, on the losing side in the race to 4G, has given up on WiMAX 2.0 and is instead promoting integration with LTE – or “the competition” as it used to be known.
WiMAX had a first-mover advantage on LTE. Recognised early by the ITU as a “4G” standard, it was being deployed and used well before the LTE specification was written, but mainly in immobile form as back-up connectivity to companies around New York and elsewhere.
The mobile version was heavily backed by the South Korean government, and in the US Clearwire saw a marketing advantage in being the only 4G player in town and invested heavily in WiMAX infrastructure: infrastructure it’s now migrating away from as fast as it can flick the switches.
But the network operators never liked WiMAX.
Intel backed it heavily, promising to make the technology part of Centrino branding and embed it in laptops, but Qualcomm was more interested in (and owned more IP in) LTE, and had the ear of the mobile operators.
WiMAX doesn’t require the paired spectrum that phone networks use, so was more flexible than existing technologies. 2G, 3G and LTE all use separate frequencies for sending and receiving, which is expensive both in kit and spectrum, but that’s how the telecom engineers like things – one “wire” for each direction. In these days of asynchronous communications that makes no sense at all, as the upward band is empty most of the time, so WiMAX seemed a better technology.
But LTE has been extended to offer the same thing, with TD-LTE which (like WiMAX) switches between sending and receiving in the same band
With TD-LTE growing in popularity, and able to slip into single bands, the only advantage WiMAX had left is gone and the only option for the Forum was to embrace the competition or disappear entirely.
The idea is to provide dual-function base stations, which can do both WiMAX and TD-LTE at the same time
From here that looks like a migration strategy at best,
Tomi Engdahl says:
TIA working on Category 8 standard
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2012/10/tia-category-8-standard.html?cmpid=EnlConnectNovember12012
While no “definites” could be stated, Vanderlaan did say that the alien-crosstalk performance values being discussed suggest that Category 8 will be a shielded system. He also added that the anticipated connector interface will be the RJ-45, but the prospect of backward-compatibility of Cat 8 to previous-generation Category RJ-45 interfaces is not guaranteed.
Tomi Engdahl says:
F.C.C. Details Storm-Related Cellphone Problems
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/technology/fcc-details-cellphone-problems.html?_r=0
For all of the modern communications that keep people connected, cellphones rely on an age-old technology that has repeatedly demonstrated its own instability during emergencies — electricity.
Power systems failures throughout the Northeast have been the main culprits in the shutdown of more than 20 percent of the cell tower sites in 10 states, causing millions of lost calls on Wednesday, government and industry officials said.
Wired broadband and cable television systems remained out of service for “well under 20 percent” of homes in hurricane-affected areas, the F.C.C. said, down from 25 percent on Tuesday.
“Over all, the condition of our communications networks is improving, but serious outages remain, particularly in New York, New Jersey, and other hard-hit areas.”
To help maintain service AT&T and T-Mobile said on Wednesday that in the affected areas of New York and New Jersey, their customers would be able to use the networks of both companies, decreasing the likelihood of failed calls.
Customers of wireless phone companies have come to expect service to either be unavailable or jammed during emergencies, a situation that has repeated itself since the 9/11 terrorist attacks and through numerous natural disasters.
But industry officials say that while mobile phone networks are designed to handle very high call volumes, no system can handle infinite traffic, just as freeways are jammed at rush hour.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How the internet economy works: Guns, butter and bandwidth
By Stacey Higginbotham
http://gigaom.com/2012/11/01/how-the-internet-economy-works-guns-butter-and-bandwidth/
The internet is made of thousands of networks, and a complex web of economic considerations has developed to support the free flow of information. How bandwidth is “manufactured” and then allocated is far more complex than how a packet gets from here to there.
Internet Exchange Points (aka IXPs) are the manufacturing floor of the Internet — that is where bandwidth is created and deployed. And bandwidth is just like water and oil and other economic goods: If your country has a lot of it, prices fall; if it doesn’t have a surplus, prices go up. And that has a big impact on the web companies that buy bandwidth.
A report I covered earlier from the OECD lays out in awesomely clear detail why Internet exchange points are so essential for every geography that values the Internet. They not only facilitate the creation of bandwidth, they lower the cost of transit/bandwidth for businesses and consumers and help create redundant networks and limit or diminish the power of monopoly telecommunications providers.
From the report:
Internet exchange points (IXPs) are the source of nearly all Internet bandwidth. A country that lacks IXPs must import Internet bandwidth from other countries that do possess them. Like factories and farms, they are a primary means of producing a commodity that‘s potentially quite expensive to import.
As a general rule, the cost of telecommunication services is the product of the speed of the service multiplied by the distance covered (i.e. speed x distance = cost).
This formula of cost as a matter of speed and distance is important to understand why peering relationships are so important.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cisco CEO: ‘Government regulation of IT will not achieve intended objectives’
http://www.cablinginstall.com/blogs/2012/10/cisco-ceo-government-regulation-of-it-will-not-achieve-intended-objectives.html?cmpid=EnlCIMNovember52012
Mincing no words, Chambers said that “over the next 5 years the fabric of IT will be deeply embedded with every business process (3).”
“Of the top 6 IT vendors, only three or four will be in top six 5 years from now,” he added (4). “Any of the top 6 vendors who think they will be in top 6 in next 5 years are probably wrong,” the Cisco CEO reportedly said (5) — owing to the “magnitude of the changes” that stand before the telecom and datacom industries in the coming years.
To that end, at the talk, Chambers’ main contention (6) was that “the Internet of Everything will be the platform of the future” — to which he added provocatively (7) that “government regulation of IT will not achieve [its] intended objectives.”