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  • Berg Insight: 894 Million Mobile Banking Users by 2015

    According to a new research report by Berg Insight, the worldwide number of users of mobile banking and related services is forecasted to grow from 55 million users in 2009 (at a CAGR of 59.2 percent) to reach 894 million users in 2015.

    Th research group notes that over the past year many of the leading players in both the telecom industry and the financial sector have intensified their efforts to bring financial services to the world’s unbanked population. According to the report, Asia-Pacific is expected to become the most important regional market, accounting for more than half of the total user base.

    Mobile banking is also anticipated to play a key role in bringing financial services to people in the Middle East and Africa. In Europe and North America, the technology will mainly serve as an extension of existing online banks as mobile handsets become more widely used for internet access. By 2015, Berg Insight forecasts that mobile banking will attract 115 million users in Europe and 86 million users in North America.

    “Mobile handsets are in an excellent position to become the primary digital channel for providers of banking and related financial services on emerging markets,” said Marcus Persson, Telecom Analyst at Berg Insight.

    “People who sign up for their first mobile subscription today will likely open their first bank account in the coming years and thus join the modern financial system. Mobile operators can play a vital role in this development and will have the opportunity to take an active part in the creation of some of tomorrow’s most important financial institutions based in Asia and Africa,” he added.

    In addition to traditional retail banking, the report also identifies international money transfer as an important revenue source for mobile industry players. Analysts forecast that 3–15 percent of the international money transfers currently handled by various formal or informal agent networks will be carried out using a mobile handset by 2015, generating US$ 1.2–6.2 billion in service revenues.

  • AT&T Reports Strong First-Quarter Earnings

    A day after Apple announced its record march quarter revenue, AT&T reported strong first-quarter earnings results highlighted by rapid growth in mobile broadband, further expansion of AT&T U-verse services and solid gains in IP-based and business services.

    For the Q1 2010, AT&T’s consolidated revenues totaled $30.6 billion, up $78 million, or 0.3 percent, versus the year-earlier quarter.

    Operating expenses were $24.6 billion versus $24.8 billion; operating income was $6.0 billion, up from $5.7 billion in the first quarter of 2009.

    The company’s operating income margin was 19.6 percent, up from 18.8 percent in the year-earlier quarter.

    First-quarter 2010 net income attributable to AT&T totaled $2.5 billion ($0.42 per diluted share), reflecting a previously disclosed noncash charge of $995 million, related to recently enacted changes in the tax treatment for the Medicare Part D subsidy. Excluding this charge, first-quarter earnings would have been $3.5 billion ($0.59 per diluted share). These results compare with net income of $3.1 billion, or $0.53 per diluted share, in the year-earlier first quarter.

    Record First-Quarter Subscriber Gain
    AT&T posted a net gain in total wireless subscribers of 1.9 million, the highest first-quarter total in the company’s history, to reach 87.0 million in service. According to the company, first-quarter net add growth reflects continued rapid adoption of smartphones and a host of connected devices such as eReaders, global positioning systems and alarm monitoring systems.

    Connected devices in service increased by 1.1 million in the quarter to reach 5.8 million, and retail postpaid net adds totaled 512,000 to reach 65.1 million.

    14.9 Percent Growth in Strategic Business Services Revenues
    Revenues from new-generation capabilities that lead AT&T’s most advanced business solutions — including Ethernet, VPNs, hosting, IP conferencing and application services — grew 14.9 percent versus the year-earlier quarter, continuing AT&T’s strong trends in this category.

    "We’re off to a great start to the year, and our fundamental outlook for the business continues to be quite positive,” said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and chief executive officer.

    Related articles
    Apple Announces Record March Quarter Revenue

  • Bluetooth 4.0 Ready to Roll

    The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) unveiled more information about its forthcoming Bluetooth Core Specification Version 4.0, with the hallmark feature of low energy technology. Bluetooth v4.0 is expected to be brought to market by the end of Q2.

    According to SIG, Bluetooth v4.0 is like three specifications in one – Classic Bluetooth technology, Bluetooth low energy technology, and Bluetooth high speed technology– all which can be combined or used separately in different devices according to their functionality.

    For example, sensors like those in pedometers and glucose monitors will run only low energy technology, thus saving power, cost and space within the device. Watches will take advantage of both low energy technology while collecting data from fitness sensors on the body as well as Classic Bluetooth technology when sending that information to a PC, or separately displaying caller ID information when wirelessly connected to a mobile phone.

    Mobile phones and PCs, which support the widest range of uses, will utilize the full package with Classic, low energy and high speed technology running side by side.

    As with previous versions of the specification, the range of the Bluetooth v4.0 radio may be optimized according to application. The majority of Bluetooth devices on the market today include the basic 30 foot, or 10 meter, range of the Classic Bluetooth radio, but there is no limit imposed by the Specification.

    SIG says that with Bluetooth v4.0, manufacturers may choose to optimize range to 200 feet and beyond, particularly for in-home sensor applications where longer range is a necessity.

    “Bluetooth v4.0 throws open the doors to a host of new markets for Bluetooth manufacturers and products such as watches, remote controls, and a variety of medical and in-home sensors. Many of these products run on button-cell batteries that must last for years versus hours and will also benefit from the longer range enabled by this new version of the Bluetooth specification,“ said Michael Foley, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG.

    Bluetooth v4.0 was recently named one of the “10 Mobile Technologies to Watch in 2010 and 2011” by Gartner, Inc. Technologies chosen for the list were selected on their potential to evolve and impact short-term mobile strategies and policies.

    Specifically, Bluetooth v4.0 is cited to have significant impact on the fitness, healthcare and environmental control industries.

  • Symbio: Providing Software Services Globally

    Symbio designs and develops feature-rich products for companies. We met Konsta Hansoon at the Mobile World Congress and he told us about the company and their future plans.

    They are currently present in Asia, Europe and North America.

  • Motion Portrait: Converting Photos Into 3D Animated Models

    Casually at the Avenue of the Mobile World Congress we met Daichi from Motion Portrait. They are a Japanese company that has created a most fun application, you can take the photo of any person and animate the image, have it talk and even dress it up with the simple touch of your finger.

    Watch our video interview with them to see a demo of this fun app.

  • ooVoo: Taking Video Chatting Further

    ooVoo is a video communication service focused on delivering first class video communications through the internet, delivered anywhere and at anytime with up to 6 people simultaneously.

    In 2010 they will release call on mobile phones.

    We met with Marty Walker who told us about the company and how their system works.


  • InternetQ: Mobile Marketing Solutions

    InternetQ specializes on mega mobile promotions; they are a one-stop-shop for socializing, e-shopping, gaming on web and mobile. By 2012 they will be present in 20 countries.

    We met George Kontos at the Mobile World Congress who told us about the company and its future plans.

  • CounterPath Releases Network-Based Mobile Mashup Application

    CounterPath announced the launch of NomadicPBX, claimed to be the world’s first turnkey platform for enabling converged mobile and broadband SIP voice, messaging and presence services.

    The application is a presence-based, fixed and mobile voice, and instant messaging/short message service (IM/SMS) technology mashup with a select set of enterprise-ready features.

    According to the company, NomadicPBX gives wireless carriers and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) a cost-effective way to launch enterprise fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) services.

    It enables wireless operators and other service providers to extend their feature sets into small and medium enterprises, which currently account for one-third of all hosted VoIP deployments, according to a recent Infonetics Research survey.

    “The NomadicPBX’s network-based features let operators push deeper into the business market, creating new revenue streams and differentiating themselves based on innovative services rather than price alone,” says the company.

    Carrier customers that currently deploy CounterPath’s NCG platform and Bria client can use the NomadicPBX configuration to create services relevant to other market segments, too.

    The application uses presence for status updates and real-time management of call and message delivery across a wide variety of endpoint types, from PCs to feature phones to smartphones, all from any vendor. This flexibility means enterprises can integrate standard mobile network services into their enterprise communications architecture by leveraging their existing devices.

    Donovan Jones, President and CEO of CounterPath, said, “NomadicPBX is a game-changer that enables wireless carriers, MVNOs and other service providers to escape voice commoditization by offering a wide range of market-differentiating services that are an ideal fit for today’s increasingly mobile workforces.”

  • Apple Announces Record March Quarter Revenue

    Apple reported financial results for its fiscal 2010 second quarter – its best non-holiday quarter ever. The company posted revenue of $13.50 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.07 billion ($3.33 per diluted share).

    The revenues were up 49 percent and profits were up 90 percent.

    Apple sold 2.94 million Macs during the quarter (33 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter), 8.75 million iPhones (131 percent growth) and 10.89 million iPods (one percent decline).

    Gross margin was 41.7 percent, up from 39.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 58 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

    Steve Jobs said he was “thrilled” to report Apple’s best non-holiday quarter ever. He added that the company have several more “extraordinary products” in the pipeline for this year.

    Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO, said that looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter of 2010, they expect revenue in the range of about $13.0 billion to $13.4 billion.

  • IPTV Set-Top Boxes to Gain Increasing Foothold

    Set-Top Boxes sold into the up-and-coming Internet Protocol TV segment will ramp up in terms of shipments and revenue in the years to come, offering increasing competition to legacy products in the STB market, according to iSuppli.

    In the recent report iSuppli says STB equipment sold into the IPTV market is projected to grow to 58 million units in 2014, up from 19.4 million in 2009. Revenue will rise to $6.2 billion, up from $2.9 billion in 2009.

    For these IPTV STBs, which allow the delivery of television services over a high-speed digital network and provide guaranteed quality of service, the numbers translate into a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 25 percent for unit shipments and 16 percent for revenue.

    All told, IPTV STBs accounted for 14.7 percent of total set-top box unit shipments in 2009, and are expected to make up 29.1 percent of shipments in 2014.

    In order to fulfill the promise of exciting interactive applications held forth initially by the IPTV industry, iSuppli believes further innovation is needed to differentiate IPTV services from those offered by the cable and satellite providers.

    In comparison, the legacy STB market consisting of the cable, satellite and terrestrial segments will end 2009 with unit shipments of 132 million. Unit shipments for this market are projected to reach 199 million in 2014, rising at a CAGR of 8.6 percent for the forecast period.

    IPTV Players and their Crowded Playground
    According to iSuppli, the principal difference between legacy STBs and their IPTV counterparts lies in the way the boxes receive information: IP STB equipment receives video content over a broadband pipe via Internet Protocol data packets, while legacy boxes receive an RF-modulated signal. Furthermore, IP boxes do not require a tuner and demodulator, which are requirements for legacy boxes.

    With more than 60 vendors claiming to have an IPTV STB product, the IPTV equipment market remains highly fragmented. However, just 15 vendors supplied 92 percent of the market in 2009. Motorola Inc. was No. 1 with 32 percent market share, followed by Cisco Systems Inc. with a 14 percent share.

    Among companies involved in supplying the platform software for IPTV boxes, Microsoft Corp. held sway with its Mediaroom middleware, accounting for 25 percent of the market with 4.8 million STBs in 2009. Microsoft had three times the share of its closest rival—French-based Thomson SA with its SmartVision software.

    As in the PC industry, Microsoft is driving the technical requirements that will shape product offerings from silicon vendors and makers of STBs alike, iSuppli believes.

    Next-generation media processors will also ramp up in 2010. Newcomer Broadcom Corp. is expected to lay siege to Sigma Designs with its BCM7405 processor—recently certified for Mediaroom deployments—ending the advantageous position of Sigma Designs as sole provider of Mediaroom-certified processors.

    Nonetheless, Sigma Designs is expected to fire back, and its next-generation SMP8650 family of processors will benefit from the company’s incumbent position in many existing IP STB sockets.