Business News Holding

Tag: broadband

  • VOIP Driving Service Revenue Increases


    VOIP is a major contributor to rising broadband value added services, which generated USD $25.7 billion worldwide in 2007.

    According to the latest data from Point Topic this represented an increase of 62 per cent on 2006 and the expectation is that growth will continue to be robust.

    Of the service revenues generated worldwide, 56 per cent come from the combination of Voice over IP (VOIP) and security.

    They are followed, in order of global revenue generated by online gaming, home networks, music downloads and video over broadband.

    John Bosnell, senior analyst at Point Topic, said the success story of 2007 was VOIP. “Overall revenue has very nearly doubled, average revenue per user (ARPU) is up and take-up in major markets, particularly North America and Western Europe is growing quickly,” he said.

    Bosnell said value added services were growing strongly and were increasingly significant in overall revenue terms.

    “We estimate that value added services were 10 per cent of total broadband revenues, which includes subscriptions, in 2003, but by the end of 2007 that has increased to over 30 per cent,” he said.

    “As it gets harder to make a profit in the hyper competitive line rental market the operators and suppliers have to look to add value, and revenue, with their service offerings.”

    Point Topic splits VOIP into two segments, IP Telephony which means VOIP provided by ISPs and Internet Telephony, which includes services like Skype which route through the user’s PC.

    Bosnell said it was difficult to measure active users of the Skype and its cousins, like the applications embedded in the popular instant messaging services, but Point Topic estimates put the worldwide number of active users at around 20 million.

    Whilst the ARPU is relatively low on these services, IP Telephony on the other hand produces around 10 times as much revenue per user.

    VOIP is not a bottomless well.

    At the end of 2007 VOIP accounted for 27 per cent of fixed lines in France, many served via bundled deals. Market saturation is still some way off but not out of sight.

    “We expect VOIP to continue to grow strongly in the next few years and in combination with other value adds, particularly IPTV, global revenues should continue to grow,” concludes Bosnell.

  • Boost for mobile broadband as T-Mobile UK improves photo and video upload speeds


    Mobile operator T-Mobile UK has deployed HSUPA technology on a nationwide basis to improve upload speeds for users.
    The operator has promised the change will result in an improvement of to fivefold in the time it takes to upload photos and videos to web sites at speeds of up to 1.4Mbps.
    T-Mobile claims it is the first UK carrier to have committed to the data access protocol.
    The company said it is also upgrading the download capability of its HSDPA 3G network to 7.2Mbps, initially within the M25 zone encircling London but rolling out to other major cities during the second half of the year.
    T-Mobile is also trying to drive data usage, by cutting data roaming charges 80 per cent, to £1.50 per MB while travelling in EU member countries.
    Customers signing up for Mobile Broadband before October will also receive a £5 discount, knocking the price down to £10 per month.
    An online ‘postcode checker’ also allows potential customers to gauge the coverage and strength of 3G signal at their home.
    Jim Hyde, T-Mobile UK’s chief executive, said: “Mobile Broadband has come of age.
    “Today, 25 per cent of new contract customers are signing up and we expect to quadruple our user base in 2008.”

  • Survey shows viewers shifting towards web but preference is still for television screen


    Over a third of all US broadband users have watched at least one TV show on the Internet, according to a study conducted on behalf of the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM).
    But the research found that while broadband users are increasingly turning to the web for their video content fix, 94 per cent still prefer to do their viewing on a television screen.
    For cable and satellite networks concerned about the growing threat of online TV shows and movies, the survey provided some comfort.
    Of those who watched online shows, 82 per cent did so because they had missed a specific programme on TV.
    Based on this, the report points out the “critical importance of strong marketing for the initial TV showing”.
    That said, technical limitations that make viewing web video onto TV difficult are not likely to remain so for long.
    The research comes as ByD:sign announce they are launching the first LCD HDTV with DivX Certification for the Japan market. (See Separate article hdtv.biz-news.com/news/2008/06/30/0017)
    With guaranteed DivX video playback, users will be able watch content from the PC on the television while maintaining superior video quality.
    Video On Demand also continues to have a growing presence, with availability in approximately 28 million US homes and over half (54%) of these households ordering On Demand movies or programs.

  • Surging demand for mobile connectivity and services such as HD streaming IPTV poses dilemma for broadband network operators in Europe


    The number of notebook PCs with HSPA/LTE mobile broadband connectivity in Europe will grow from 8.4 million in 2007 to 49 million in 2013, according to researchers.
    A study by analyst firm Berg Insight says the development will be driven by consumer demand for ubiquitous internet access.
    It forecasts that rather than replacing fixed networks for internet access, mobile broadband will be a complementary access technology to the connection available at home.
    But Tobias Ryberg, a senior analyst at Berg Insight, said the explosion in network utilisation – which equates to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 34.1 – will present the mobile network infrastructure with a “formidable challenge”.
    As embedded HSPA/LTE chipsets gradually become a standard feature in notebook PCs designed for the European market over the coming three to five years, end-users will simply need to insert a SIM-card into their computer to get online at virtually any location.
    “Every mobile broadband service provider has a dilemma,” he said. “On the one hand they have a highly attractive proposition – a novel mobile service with high ARPU.
    “On the other hand, the very popularity of the service stretches the mobile network infrastructure to its utmost limit – threatening to degrade the level of service for all subscribers.”
    Mobile data traffic, primarily generated by USB-sticks and PC-cards, already exceeds mobile voice traffic in terms of volumes on advanced markets.
    In Sweden for example, some half a million mobile broadband terminals are estimated to have generated twice as much network load as all 10 million handsets in the country combined.
    Consumers already account for 80 per cent of the data volume in spite of only making up roughly 40 per cent of the mobile broadband subscriber base.
    The report says the main response by operators has been to impose some restrictions on data traffic.
    It adds that the actual data speed is normally much lower than advertised due to lack of network capacity.
    Ryberg concludes that significant network investments are urgently needed if operators want to keep up with demand.
    “In a few years, internet users will expect to be able to view full-HD streaming IPTV via their Internet connection,” he said.
    “Then it will not do to offer 14.4 Mbps which is actually 1 Mbps or unlimited data traffic which is in reality limited to a few gigabyte per month.”