SINGAPORE: North Asia is light years ahead of the other Asian sub-regions in terms of mobile service innovation and revenues, thanks to countries like Japan, which is expected to launch LTE in 2010 -- likely to be the first in the world -- and along with South Korea, are two nations with the highest ARPU levels in Asia-Pacific (Japan at $53.20 per month in 2008 and South Korea at $38.04).
Despite such heavyweights and market saturation in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea, juggernaut China ensures that mobile subscriber growth will most certainly continue.
The North Asian region is expected to be home to just over one billion mobile users by the end of 2009, representing a year-on-year subscriber growth of 15.3 percent; China alone will house 80 percent of that billion.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, 2009 North Asia Wireless Outlook, finds that the mobile subscriber base in the region -- covering five North Asian nations including Japan -- grew 10.1 percent year-on-year to reach 878.1 million users in 2008, accounting for nearly half of the total mobile subscribers in Asia-Pacific (18 countries) last year.
Forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 7.7 percent (2008-2014), North Asia's mobile subscribers are expected to surpass 1.37 billion users by end-2014.
Mobile services in North Asia are expected to gross an estimated $183 billion in revenues this year, and are forecasted to reach billings of $229.8 billion by end-2014, at a CAGR of 5.2 percent (2008-2014).
"The bulk of this growth, both in terms of subscribers and revenues, will naturally be driven by China," says Frost & Sullivan senior industry analyst Jeff Teh. "With a mobile penetration rate of just 51.6 percent in 2008, China remains the largest and one of the fastest-growing mobile services market in the world."
Hong Kong's mobile penetration rate stood at 133.2 percent in 2008, Japan at 86.5 percent, South Korea at 94 percent, and Taiwan at 110.9 percent.
In Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, Teh believes that growth, however marginal, will be driven less by subscriber addition and more by data usage prompted mainly by mobile broadband and 3G service uptake.
Even so, just barely, "We expect intense price competition in these markets with the vast majority of mobile data subscribers using flat-rate plans," he explains. "The primary challenge for operators here would be to differentiate their services to maintain average subscriber revenue and manage churn," Teh adds.
Given the high degree of competition, Teh expects operator revenues in these markets (ex-China) to grow at a low CAGR of under one percent from now till 2014.
Mobile operators in China however are expected to bill close to $85.7 billion by the end of 2009, and close the year 2014 at revenues of $132.6 billion -- for a CAGR of 13 percent (2008-2014) -- and 1.15 billion subscribers.
In 2008, China had 687.2 million subscribers, accounting for 78.2 percent of North Asia's mobile users; Japan -- 110.4 million (12.6 percent); South Korea -- 45.6 million (5.2 percent); Taiwan -- 25.6 million (2.9 percent); and Hong Kong -- 9.3 million (1.1 percent).
Showing posts with label Frost and Sullivan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frost and Sullivan. Show all posts
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Apac broadband subscribers to hit 182 million this year
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Asia-Pacific’s fixed broadband subscribers are likely to grow 17.3 percent to reach 182 million users by the end of 2009, clocking estimated billings of $44.9 billion, a rise of 13.3 percent over 2008.
Even as mobile broadband grows in tandem, Frost & Sullivan industry analyst Adeel Najam expects fixed broadband uptake to continue. He attributes this to the various government initiatives in rolling-out their national broadband ambitions such as Malaysia’s high-speed broadband (HSBB) project, Australia’s national broadband network (NBN) and Singapore’s iN2015 masterplan. He also expects telcos in developing markets to continue deploying basic xDSL (digital subscriber line) infrastructure.
By next year when most of the government-initiated projects are earmarked for full-scale roll-out, broadband users in Asia-Pac are expected to breach the 200-million-mark closing the year 2010 at 212.6 million.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Asia-Pacific Fixed Broadband Market, finds that the broadband subscriber base in the region -- covering 14 Asia-Pac countries including Japan -- will grow at a CAGR of 14.1 percent annually (2009-2014) to reach 342.9 million subscribers by end-2014.
The same year, the region’s household broadband penetration would have risen to 37.2 percent, from only about 18 percent last year, with revenues estimated at close to $69 billion.
“The bulk of bandwidth growth and network roll-outs in the next few years will be driven by fibre-to-the-node deployments aided mainly by government spending on national high-speed broadband projects,” Najam says, adding that xDSL will however remain the dominant platform in developing markets.
According to Najam, “Consumer appetite for broadband will be spurred by the demand for high throughput value-added services such as IPTV and video-on-demand.”
He adds that services such as Web 2.0, social networking, file-sharing, online gaming, as well as falling PC prices and availability of low-cost netbooks have also added impetus towards broadband consumption.
In 2008, the top six Asia-Pac countries with the highest household broadband penetration rates were South Korea -- said to be one of the highest in the world -- at 92.8 percent, Hong Kong -- 85 percent, Singapore -- 78.5 percent, Taiwan -- 66 percent, Australia -- 63.7 percent, and Japan -- 62.7 percent.
The remaining eight markets have household broadband penetration rates of less than 60 percent.
By number of subscribers, in 2008 China had the most fixed broadband users with 83.4 million (53.8 percent of the region’s total subscriber base), followed by Japan with 30 million and South Korea with 15.5 million.
Looking forward, Najam dispels the threat of mobile broadband to fixed broadband services. He believes that both these access services need to co-exist, “In the age of convergence and multi-play services, both wireless and wireline broadband should be viewed as complementing technology to offer subscribers with blended services.
“While mobile broadband has significantly lower throughput than fixed access, it provides residential users with the convenience of ‘on-the-go’connectivity,” he adds.
Even as mobile broadband grows in tandem, Frost & Sullivan industry analyst Adeel Najam expects fixed broadband uptake to continue. He attributes this to the various government initiatives in rolling-out their national broadband ambitions such as Malaysia’s high-speed broadband (HSBB) project, Australia’s national broadband network (NBN) and Singapore’s iN2015 masterplan. He also expects telcos in developing markets to continue deploying basic xDSL (digital subscriber line) infrastructure.
By next year when most of the government-initiated projects are earmarked for full-scale roll-out, broadband users in Asia-Pac are expected to breach the 200-million-mark closing the year 2010 at 212.6 million.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Asia-Pacific Fixed Broadband Market, finds that the broadband subscriber base in the region -- covering 14 Asia-Pac countries including Japan -- will grow at a CAGR of 14.1 percent annually (2009-2014) to reach 342.9 million subscribers by end-2014.
The same year, the region’s household broadband penetration would have risen to 37.2 percent, from only about 18 percent last year, with revenues estimated at close to $69 billion.
“The bulk of bandwidth growth and network roll-outs in the next few years will be driven by fibre-to-the-node deployments aided mainly by government spending on national high-speed broadband projects,” Najam says, adding that xDSL will however remain the dominant platform in developing markets.
According to Najam, “Consumer appetite for broadband will be spurred by the demand for high throughput value-added services such as IPTV and video-on-demand.”
He adds that services such as Web 2.0, social networking, file-sharing, online gaming, as well as falling PC prices and availability of low-cost netbooks have also added impetus towards broadband consumption.
In 2008, the top six Asia-Pac countries with the highest household broadband penetration rates were South Korea -- said to be one of the highest in the world -- at 92.8 percent, Hong Kong -- 85 percent, Singapore -- 78.5 percent, Taiwan -- 66 percent, Australia -- 63.7 percent, and Japan -- 62.7 percent.
The remaining eight markets have household broadband penetration rates of less than 60 percent.
By number of subscribers, in 2008 China had the most fixed broadband users with 83.4 million (53.8 percent of the region’s total subscriber base), followed by Japan with 30 million and South Korea with 15.5 million.
Looking forward, Najam dispels the threat of mobile broadband to fixed broadband services. He believes that both these access services need to co-exist, “In the age of convergence and multi-play services, both wireless and wireline broadband should be viewed as complementing technology to offer subscribers with blended services.
“While mobile broadband has significantly lower throughput than fixed access, it provides residential users with the convenience of ‘on-the-go’connectivity,” he adds.
Friday, July 31, 2009
ZTE holds 25pc global CDMA network market share: Frost
NEW DELHI, INDIA: ZTE Corp. announced that it has been ranked as the second largest global CDMA network supplier with 25 percent market share by Frost & Sullivan.
In its recently published research report entitled “Global CDMA Network Market and Provider Competition Analysis”, Frost & Sullivan also anticipates that ZTE will become the number one provider in the worldwide CDMA network market by obtaining 29.3 percent global market share by 2010.
According to the report, which tracked up to 2Q09, Alcatel-Lucent and ZTE were the top two vendors leading the world’s CDMA network market with 30.1 percent and 25 percent accumulated market share by capacity, respectively. The two companies are considered top tier suppliers. Tier 2 and 3 CDMA vendors worldwide include those with less than 20 percent percent market share.
In the recent years, CDMA market has been growing fast in Asia and China’s CDMA equipment vendors are performing outstandingly in the industry. ZTE has demonstrated strong performance throughout the Asia Pacific region, especially in China and India where it has realized exceptional CDMA market share and is shaking up the leadership of the traditional CDMA equipment manufacturers.
China and India’s CDMA subscribers account for more than 30 percent of the world’s total CDMA user population. ZTE’s CDMA market share in India and China is 35 percent and 41.5 percent, respectively as of 1Q09.
For its excellent achievement in the CDMA market, ZTE’s next stage target is to realize market breakthrough in the US and other large-scale, high-end CDMA markets.
The Frost & Sullivan’s analyst cites ZTE’s technology advantage in EV-DO Rev.B as an opportunity to further expand CDMA and LTE dual-mode network construction opportunities, and to strengthen its supply of CDMA terminal equipment to the worldwide market.
ZTE has constructed a number of CDMA networks in the US market. In 2008, ZTE supported Aircell on an industry-first in-flight mobile broadband system to provide fast and accessible Air-To-Ground (ATG) Internet services to Aircell’s customers through its EV-DO Rev. A base stations stationed across the US.
To date, ZTE has been providing this high-speed in-flight mobile broadband access services to over 400 flights. This has helped ZTE earn the Annual Industry Innovation Achievement Award organized by the CDMA Development Group (CDG).
ZTE was ranked as the top 1 CDMA vendor for three consecutive years from 2006 to 2008 for its CDMA base stations global shipment volume. In 1H09, ZTE’s CDMA base station achieved a record high shipment volume of 75,000 and realized an accumulated global shipment of 200,000 CDMA base stations.
In its recently published research report entitled “Global CDMA Network Market and Provider Competition Analysis”, Frost & Sullivan also anticipates that ZTE will become the number one provider in the worldwide CDMA network market by obtaining 29.3 percent global market share by 2010.
According to the report, which tracked up to 2Q09, Alcatel-Lucent and ZTE were the top two vendors leading the world’s CDMA network market with 30.1 percent and 25 percent accumulated market share by capacity, respectively. The two companies are considered top tier suppliers. Tier 2 and 3 CDMA vendors worldwide include those with less than 20 percent percent market share.
In the recent years, CDMA market has been growing fast in Asia and China’s CDMA equipment vendors are performing outstandingly in the industry. ZTE has demonstrated strong performance throughout the Asia Pacific region, especially in China and India where it has realized exceptional CDMA market share and is shaking up the leadership of the traditional CDMA equipment manufacturers.
China and India’s CDMA subscribers account for more than 30 percent of the world’s total CDMA user population. ZTE’s CDMA market share in India and China is 35 percent and 41.5 percent, respectively as of 1Q09.
For its excellent achievement in the CDMA market, ZTE’s next stage target is to realize market breakthrough in the US and other large-scale, high-end CDMA markets.
The Frost & Sullivan’s analyst cites ZTE’s technology advantage in EV-DO Rev.B as an opportunity to further expand CDMA and LTE dual-mode network construction opportunities, and to strengthen its supply of CDMA terminal equipment to the worldwide market.
ZTE has constructed a number of CDMA networks in the US market. In 2008, ZTE supported Aircell on an industry-first in-flight mobile broadband system to provide fast and accessible Air-To-Ground (ATG) Internet services to Aircell’s customers through its EV-DO Rev. A base stations stationed across the US.
To date, ZTE has been providing this high-speed in-flight mobile broadband access services to over 400 flights. This has helped ZTE earn the Annual Industry Innovation Achievement Award organized by the CDMA Development Group (CDG).
ZTE was ranked as the top 1 CDMA vendor for three consecutive years from 2006 to 2008 for its CDMA base stations global shipment volume. In 1H09, ZTE’s CDMA base station achieved a record high shipment volume of 75,000 and realized an accumulated global shipment of 200,000 CDMA base stations.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Mobile markets in Eastern Europe register strong growth
LONDON, ENGLAND: The mobile communications markets in Eastern Europe are growing strongly from usage and revenues points of view. Defining these markets as emerging may no longer be accurate as they are demonstrating high growth and looking for new opportunities.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Mobile Communications in Eastern Europe: A View on Key Markets, assesses the market situation in Eastern Europe through the analysis of six key markets: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia and Turkey.
“Eastern European markets are fully penetrated and are rapidly adopting mobile broadband solutions,” notes Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Saverio Romeo. “The mobile phone is becoming critical for fast connectivity and innovative services, effectively substituting the lack of fixed infrastructures.”
The main challenge to the industry currently comes from the economic recession. The lack of credit for investments and the decrease in consumption will slow down the growth experienced by Eastern European countries. Moreover, regulatory limitations can hamper future developments.
The mobile industry’s response to this scenario consists of two main actions.
“Services and processes’ optimisation, in order to efficiently use existing resources and reduce the need for capital investments is critical,” advises Romeo. “Equally important is pursuing technological and strategic innovation through synergic cooperation between participants with different know-how with the aim to offer disruptive solutions to consumers at reasonable prices.”
Co-operation between regulatory authorities and the industry to overcome the challenges of the market will be vital. Cooperation between public sector and the industry for high-intensive investments, mainly infrastructures, will enable sustained market expansion.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Mobile Communications in Eastern Europe: A View on Key Markets, assesses the market situation in Eastern Europe through the analysis of six key markets: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia and Turkey.
“Eastern European markets are fully penetrated and are rapidly adopting mobile broadband solutions,” notes Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Saverio Romeo. “The mobile phone is becoming critical for fast connectivity and innovative services, effectively substituting the lack of fixed infrastructures.”
The main challenge to the industry currently comes from the economic recession. The lack of credit for investments and the decrease in consumption will slow down the growth experienced by Eastern European countries. Moreover, regulatory limitations can hamper future developments.
The mobile industry’s response to this scenario consists of two main actions.
“Services and processes’ optimisation, in order to efficiently use existing resources and reduce the need for capital investments is critical,” advises Romeo. “Equally important is pursuing technological and strategic innovation through synergic cooperation between participants with different know-how with the aim to offer disruptive solutions to consumers at reasonable prices.”
Co-operation between regulatory authorities and the industry to overcome the challenges of the market will be vital. Cooperation between public sector and the industry for high-intensive investments, mainly infrastructures, will enable sustained market expansion.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Converged services a natural play for telcos
SINGAPORE: Converged services have become one of the marketing strategies employed by service providers today to grow revenues and subscriber base, and reduce customer churn.
"Bundling two or more services such as fixed voice, broadband, mobile and pay TV into attractive price plans has proven to result in less customer churn than single-service offerings," says Frost & Sullivan senior industry analyst Kamlesh Kalwar. He cites Hong Kong's PCCW which has managed to keep churn rate below one percent since introducing its converged services.
Kalwar further reckons that single-service telco offerings may soon be a thing of the past as tomorrow's consumers are likely to demand fully converged services from a single provider as a result of changing lifestyles and technology convergence.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Asia-Pacific Converged Services Market Potential, reveals that approximately 20.8 percent of households across 14 Asia-Pacific countries subscribed to dual-, triple- and quadruple-play (quad-play) services in 2008 for total bundled billings of $58.7 billion. By 2014, residential bundled-service revenues are expected to hit $88.3 billion.
Dual-play services, typically fixed-line and broadband, are the most commonly contracted bundles at present, with 10.8 percent of residential users.
Triple-play services (fixed-line, broadband and TV) however are likely to see greater adoption in the longer term to account for 11.4 percent of residential subscribers in 2014; while dual-play subscriptions drop to 10.2 percent household penetration and quad-play (fixed-line, TV, broadband and wireless) expected to grow nearly two-fold to 4.9 percent.
Kalwar argues that three forms of convergence are driving the delivery of bundled or multiple services to a single user - convergence of networks, content and devices.
Network convergence: Thanks to IP (Internet protocol), existing networks are capable of delivering a multitude of services -- such as a broadband network enabling applications like Internet, TV and VoIP -- with just an incremental upgrade to the core network. Operators are banking on this opportunity to up-sell their services and increase average revenue per user (ARPU) and customer stickiness.
Content and device convergence: The increased mobility of present-day consumers dictates the need for multiple access points to the same content. Similarly, the sophistication of devices available today supports consumers' expectations for ubiquitous access to such content.
Given this, Kalwar believes that converged services present obvious benefits to both service providers and users, "Converged services is expected to be a critical strategy for communication service providers in the mid- to long-term.
"Apart from meeting customers' demands with attractive price points while maintaining ARPU and retaining customers, telcos are also able to roll-out loyalty programs to reward subscribers and offer one-stop customer service centres and consolidated monthly billings for users," he adds.
Kalwar cautions however that pricing alone is just part of the battle. "Quality of service, timeliness of market entry and [type of] content will also make or break an operator's converged offerings. StarHub, for example, has virtually cornered the pay TV market in Singapore with its exclusive content rights and early introduction of services," he says, adding however that content and broadcast regulations vary country to country, of course.
"Bundling two or more services such as fixed voice, broadband, mobile and pay TV into attractive price plans has proven to result in less customer churn than single-service offerings," says Frost & Sullivan senior industry analyst Kamlesh Kalwar. He cites Hong Kong's PCCW which has managed to keep churn rate below one percent since introducing its converged services.
Kalwar further reckons that single-service telco offerings may soon be a thing of the past as tomorrow's consumers are likely to demand fully converged services from a single provider as a result of changing lifestyles and technology convergence.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Asia-Pacific Converged Services Market Potential, reveals that approximately 20.8 percent of households across 14 Asia-Pacific countries subscribed to dual-, triple- and quadruple-play (quad-play) services in 2008 for total bundled billings of $58.7 billion. By 2014, residential bundled-service revenues are expected to hit $88.3 billion.
Dual-play services, typically fixed-line and broadband, are the most commonly contracted bundles at present, with 10.8 percent of residential users.
Triple-play services (fixed-line, broadband and TV) however are likely to see greater adoption in the longer term to account for 11.4 percent of residential subscribers in 2014; while dual-play subscriptions drop to 10.2 percent household penetration and quad-play (fixed-line, TV, broadband and wireless) expected to grow nearly two-fold to 4.9 percent.
Kalwar argues that three forms of convergence are driving the delivery of bundled or multiple services to a single user - convergence of networks, content and devices.
Network convergence: Thanks to IP (Internet protocol), existing networks are capable of delivering a multitude of services -- such as a broadband network enabling applications like Internet, TV and VoIP -- with just an incremental upgrade to the core network. Operators are banking on this opportunity to up-sell their services and increase average revenue per user (ARPU) and customer stickiness.
Content and device convergence: The increased mobility of present-day consumers dictates the need for multiple access points to the same content. Similarly, the sophistication of devices available today supports consumers' expectations for ubiquitous access to such content.
Given this, Kalwar believes that converged services present obvious benefits to both service providers and users, "Converged services is expected to be a critical strategy for communication service providers in the mid- to long-term.
"Apart from meeting customers' demands with attractive price points while maintaining ARPU and retaining customers, telcos are also able to roll-out loyalty programs to reward subscribers and offer one-stop customer service centres and consolidated monthly billings for users," he adds.
Kalwar cautions however that pricing alone is just part of the battle. "Quality of service, timeliness of market entry and [type of] content will also make or break an operator's converged offerings. StarHub, for example, has virtually cornered the pay TV market in Singapore with its exclusive content rights and early introduction of services," he says, adding however that content and broadcast regulations vary country to country, of course.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Cellular extends boundaries of E-healthcare
LONDON, UK: Wireless technologies has been of immense value to medical practitioners, enabling them to increase productivity and improve the availability of quality healthcare globally.
However, while mobile technology undoubtedly adds value to healthcare, the question is whether advances in technology pose a security threat, as information transmitted across a network should be accessible only to authorized users worldwide.
Healthcare systems today rely on various applications that improve patient recovery and render clinical services more effective. The main applications in this category include Electronic Health Records (EHR), Computerised Physician Order Entry (CPOE), Decision Support System (DSS) and picture archiving and communication systems (PACS).
"All these four applications have allowed the healthcare system to effectively adapt to the requirements of a volatile healthcare environment," note Frost & Sullivan (http://www.wireless.frost.com) Research Analysts Jayashree Rajagopal and Luke Thomas in new analysis titled 'Is E-healthcare Secure in the Hands of Cellular Technology?' "However, their success depends on the network through which information is transmitted."
The various technologies used for the transmission of information in healthcare include the Public Switched Telephony Network (PSTN), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), cellular, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) and Bluetooth. Most organisations choose technologies for different applications based on throughput, quality, cost and security.
Among these, security is perceived and understood to be a major concern for all stakeholders involved in the healthcare sector. With the evolution of GSM to 3G, various security features have been enhanced and implemented to protect the integrity of the user.
"Such security features will enable cellular technology to gain a competitive advantage over various wireless alternatives as cellular technologies operate in the licensed band providing guaranteed quality of service," remarks Thomas. "This is not the case with unlicensed technologies such as WiFi, Bluetooth, Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) and RFID."
Currently, Wi-Fi is one of the most widely deployed wireless technologies in hospitals. However, this technology has several challenges with regard to range, security and quality of service (QoS) which can be effectively addressed by next generation cellular technologies such as HSPA and 3G LTE.
Applications such as EHR, CPOE, DSS and PACS utilise sensitive and personal information. Hence, the transfer of such information requires a highly robust, secure and reliable environment to be maintained not only within a country but world-wide as well.
"With the convergence of IT and cellular, high throughput and low bandwidth cryptographic algorithms need to be developed to exchange information across various devices, applications and networks," explains Rajagopal. "In order to tap this opportunistic market, the cellular ecosystem would need to implement an efficient network protocol that will ensure the security of applications used and information transmitted within the healthcare sector."
In the current economic climate, hospitals strive to reduce their operating expenditure (OPEX) and consider various wireless alternatives that can accommodate all of their applications and services across various networks.
"Hence, if mobile operators succeed in addressing OPEX savings with cellular technologies (currently embedded in several client devices of different form factors), that alone could entice hospitals to conduct effective trials with operators," concludes Thomas. "However, to be successful, not only do mobile operators need to demonstrate the value-added benefits of enhanced security and QoS over traditional WiFi networks but also create new business models to demonstrate ROI," adds Rajagopal.
However, while mobile technology undoubtedly adds value to healthcare, the question is whether advances in technology pose a security threat, as information transmitted across a network should be accessible only to authorized users worldwide.
Healthcare systems today rely on various applications that improve patient recovery and render clinical services more effective. The main applications in this category include Electronic Health Records (EHR), Computerised Physician Order Entry (CPOE), Decision Support System (DSS) and picture archiving and communication systems (PACS).
"All these four applications have allowed the healthcare system to effectively adapt to the requirements of a volatile healthcare environment," note Frost & Sullivan (http://www.wireless.frost.com) Research Analysts Jayashree Rajagopal and Luke Thomas in new analysis titled 'Is E-healthcare Secure in the Hands of Cellular Technology?' "However, their success depends on the network through which information is transmitted."
The various technologies used for the transmission of information in healthcare include the Public Switched Telephony Network (PSTN), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), cellular, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) and Bluetooth. Most organisations choose technologies for different applications based on throughput, quality, cost and security.
Among these, security is perceived and understood to be a major concern for all stakeholders involved in the healthcare sector. With the evolution of GSM to 3G, various security features have been enhanced and implemented to protect the integrity of the user.
"Such security features will enable cellular technology to gain a competitive advantage over various wireless alternatives as cellular technologies operate in the licensed band providing guaranteed quality of service," remarks Thomas. "This is not the case with unlicensed technologies such as WiFi, Bluetooth, Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) and RFID."
Currently, Wi-Fi is one of the most widely deployed wireless technologies in hospitals. However, this technology has several challenges with regard to range, security and quality of service (QoS) which can be effectively addressed by next generation cellular technologies such as HSPA and 3G LTE.
Applications such as EHR, CPOE, DSS and PACS utilise sensitive and personal information. Hence, the transfer of such information requires a highly robust, secure and reliable environment to be maintained not only within a country but world-wide as well.
"With the convergence of IT and cellular, high throughput and low bandwidth cryptographic algorithms need to be developed to exchange information across various devices, applications and networks," explains Rajagopal. "In order to tap this opportunistic market, the cellular ecosystem would need to implement an efficient network protocol that will ensure the security of applications used and information transmitted within the healthcare sector."
In the current economic climate, hospitals strive to reduce their operating expenditure (OPEX) and consider various wireless alternatives that can accommodate all of their applications and services across various networks.
"Hence, if mobile operators succeed in addressing OPEX savings with cellular technologies (currently embedded in several client devices of different form factors), that alone could entice hospitals to conduct effective trials with operators," concludes Thomas. "However, to be successful, not only do mobile operators need to demonstrate the value-added benefits of enhanced security and QoS over traditional WiFi networks but also create new business models to demonstrate ROI," adds Rajagopal.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Ringback tones, music top mobile content consumption
MALAYSIA: The past year has seen a steady rise in the consumption of [mobile] premium content on social networks and communities, as well as other new applications such as location-based services and mobile advertising.
Ringback tones and mobile music, however, still remain the top revenue earners, accounting for about 21.4 percent ($6.2 billion) of the region’s mobile content revenues in 2008, and are expected to continue to top mobile operators’ and content providers’ billings in the next five to six years.
“The demand for such mobile entertainment content is driven by the increasing mobile lifestyles of consumers and the desire to personalise,” says Frost & Sullivan senior industry analyst Jeff Teh. “It has become fairly important for subscribers to accessorise and personalise their mobile devices to differentiate themselves from their peers.”
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan Asia-Pacific Premium Content Market, finds that paid mobile content services across 13 Asia-Pacific countries grossed an estimated $29.1 billion in 2008. Growing at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 23.6 percent (2008-2013), revenues are expected to breach $75.6 billion by end-2013, driven largely by consumer demand for mobile entertainment applications such as music and video.
Mobile entertainment applications, which include ringtones, music, videos, mobile games, wallpapers, graphics, icons and betting, dominated premium content consumption accounting for 44.4 percent ($12.9 billion) of the revenues last year. This is expected to grow at a CAGR of 23.3 percent (2008-2013) to be valued at $34.3 billion by end-2013.
Mobile information services, including news, search engines, location-based navigation, thesaurus and such, raked-in revenues of $5.2 billion (17.9 percent of total premium content market) in 2008. While other premium content services such as mobile commerce, mobile banking, mobile e-mail, mobile advertising et al. accounted for 37.7 percent ($10.9 billion) of revenues last year. Mobile information and other premium services are forecasted to grow at CAGRs of 25.8 and 23 percent from 2008 to 2013, respectively.
Apart from a tech-savvy and mobile-lifestyle generation, Teh attributes this growth to mobile social networks which are fuelling mobile usage and opening-up mobile commerce opportunities, enabling users to send virtual or tangible items to each other. This is further driven by greater use of mobile Internet, the maturity of mobile networks and flat-rate data plans, prompting consumption of premium content.
Premium content accounted for 44.7 percent of mobile operators’ total data revenues in 2008. The remaining 55.3 percent, not surprisingly, accrued from basic messaging (SMS - short message service).
According to Teh: “Inexpensive, simple and ubiquitous messaging will continue to be the primary contributor to mobile data revenues, at least for the next two to three years. Premium content however, especially mobile entertainment applications, are becoming hugely popular. By 2012, content revenues could well outstrip messaging revenues -- if the main challenges of often unclear [content] purchase and pricing mechanisms, as well as non-transparent mobile data charges can be overcome.”
Ringback tones and mobile music, however, still remain the top revenue earners, accounting for about 21.4 percent ($6.2 billion) of the region’s mobile content revenues in 2008, and are expected to continue to top mobile operators’ and content providers’ billings in the next five to six years.
“The demand for such mobile entertainment content is driven by the increasing mobile lifestyles of consumers and the desire to personalise,” says Frost & Sullivan senior industry analyst Jeff Teh. “It has become fairly important for subscribers to accessorise and personalise their mobile devices to differentiate themselves from their peers.”
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan Asia-Pacific Premium Content Market, finds that paid mobile content services across 13 Asia-Pacific countries grossed an estimated $29.1 billion in 2008. Growing at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 23.6 percent (2008-2013), revenues are expected to breach $75.6 billion by end-2013, driven largely by consumer demand for mobile entertainment applications such as music and video.
Mobile entertainment applications, which include ringtones, music, videos, mobile games, wallpapers, graphics, icons and betting, dominated premium content consumption accounting for 44.4 percent ($12.9 billion) of the revenues last year. This is expected to grow at a CAGR of 23.3 percent (2008-2013) to be valued at $34.3 billion by end-2013.
Mobile information services, including news, search engines, location-based navigation, thesaurus and such, raked-in revenues of $5.2 billion (17.9 percent of total premium content market) in 2008. While other premium content services such as mobile commerce, mobile banking, mobile e-mail, mobile advertising et al. accounted for 37.7 percent ($10.9 billion) of revenues last year. Mobile information and other premium services are forecasted to grow at CAGRs of 25.8 and 23 percent from 2008 to 2013, respectively.
Apart from a tech-savvy and mobile-lifestyle generation, Teh attributes this growth to mobile social networks which are fuelling mobile usage and opening-up mobile commerce opportunities, enabling users to send virtual or tangible items to each other. This is further driven by greater use of mobile Internet, the maturity of mobile networks and flat-rate data plans, prompting consumption of premium content.
Premium content accounted for 44.7 percent of mobile operators’ total data revenues in 2008. The remaining 55.3 percent, not surprisingly, accrued from basic messaging (SMS - short message service).
According to Teh: “Inexpensive, simple and ubiquitous messaging will continue to be the primary contributor to mobile data revenues, at least for the next two to three years. Premium content however, especially mobile entertainment applications, are becoming hugely popular. By 2012, content revenues could well outstrip messaging revenues -- if the main challenges of often unclear [content] purchase and pricing mechanisms, as well as non-transparent mobile data charges can be overcome.”
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Frost on MTN and Bharti Airtel Round 2
SOUTH AFRICA: MTN announced that it is exploring a potential transaction with Indian telecommunications giant Bharti Airtel. The proposed deal would see MTN acquiring 25 percent of Bharti, and Bharti acquiring effectively 49 percent of MTN’s share capital.
This is the second time that MTN and Bharti have entered into discussions. There were attempts to come to some sort of agreement last year, but the proposed transaction fell through, apparently due to disagreements about what each partner wanted to achieve.
“I think the important thing is that this time there is a clear definition of what MTN and Bharti are looking for,” says Frost & Sullivan senior ICT industry analyst Lindsey McDonald. “Last time, Bharti wanted to buy MTN, then MTN turned around and wanted to buy Bharti. What eventually led to the breakdown was that the management of MTN didn’t want to give up their ability to steer the company in the direction they think best.”
The transaction proposed today however seems to offer clearer benefits to both participants.
“It’s a partnership,” McDonald explains. “Basically what will happen is that both companies will get exposure to new revenues from areas they are not already in, without having to go there and establish new operations themselves.”
She says that, given the current economic climate, it would be difficult for MTN to launch its own operations in an entirely new market.
“MTN is trying to increase its exposure to new revenue streams without taking the risk of having to start operations in a new market,” she says. “It’s always difficult to go into a new country, install new infrastructure and come to grips with a new group of customers and a new culture. But the economic conditions are such that going into a new market now would be even more risky.”
MTN has already given a hint of its new approach this year through its partnership with Neotel.
“The company has made it clear that it is looking to ensure it maintains margins by taking an approach to the market that is more cautious than the MTN we might have known a few years ago,” McDonald says.
She believes that the two operators need to concentrate on what they have in common. Bharti is the market leader in India and MTN is a market leader in Africa.
“The good thing about this is that this partnership would see the two companies cooperating with each other,” she adds. “As there is no overlap in footprint, their operations would be complimentary.”
This is the second time that MTN and Bharti have entered into discussions. There were attempts to come to some sort of agreement last year, but the proposed transaction fell through, apparently due to disagreements about what each partner wanted to achieve.
“I think the important thing is that this time there is a clear definition of what MTN and Bharti are looking for,” says Frost & Sullivan senior ICT industry analyst Lindsey McDonald. “Last time, Bharti wanted to buy MTN, then MTN turned around and wanted to buy Bharti. What eventually led to the breakdown was that the management of MTN didn’t want to give up their ability to steer the company in the direction they think best.”
The transaction proposed today however seems to offer clearer benefits to both participants.
“It’s a partnership,” McDonald explains. “Basically what will happen is that both companies will get exposure to new revenues from areas they are not already in, without having to go there and establish new operations themselves.”
She says that, given the current economic climate, it would be difficult for MTN to launch its own operations in an entirely new market.
“MTN is trying to increase its exposure to new revenue streams without taking the risk of having to start operations in a new market,” she says. “It’s always difficult to go into a new country, install new infrastructure and come to grips with a new group of customers and a new culture. But the economic conditions are such that going into a new market now would be even more risky.”
MTN has already given a hint of its new approach this year through its partnership with Neotel.
“The company has made it clear that it is looking to ensure it maintains margins by taking an approach to the market that is more cautious than the MTN we might have known a few years ago,” McDonald says.
She believes that the two operators need to concentrate on what they have in common. Bharti is the market leader in India and MTN is a market leader in Africa.
“The good thing about this is that this partnership would see the two companies cooperating with each other,” she adds. “As there is no overlap in footprint, their operations would be complimentary.”
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