LOS ANGELES, USA: NantWorks LLC announced a partnership with Vodafone Group, established through Vodafone’s new “Vodafone Xone” Silicon Valley-based R&D center, to explore the development of advanced and innovative global mobile data services.
Newly formed Los Angeles company NantWorks LLC and Vodafone have signed a memorandum of understanding to work together on mobile health services over advanced wireless networks to deliver patient care remotely, as well as explore expansion into other areas.
NantWorks is the inaugural partner signed through the new Vodafone Xone, which aims to identify and qualify innovative technologies from startups, R&D labs, universities and venture capital portfolios.
NantWorks chairman and CEO, Patrick Soon-Shiong, who has developed and sold two multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical companies and is now focused on communications network technologies for the benefit of science and education as well as healthcare said:
“We are delighted to be working with Vodafone. With Vodafone’s global mobile network, and its partner Verizon Wireless here in the United States, Vodafone is truly a global mobile powerhouse. It is the ideal partner for NantWorks to work with as we develop the technologies that will bring the digital revolution to more aspects of people’s lives, including healthcare and education. I welcome the opening of Vodafone xone here in California and I look forward to a great partnership between NantWorks in Silicon Beach and Vodafone Xone in Silicon Valley.”
Vodafone Group chief executive, Vittorio Colao, said, “NantWorks is an exciting and visionary company – exactly the kind of partner that we have come to Silicon Valley to work with.”
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Meralco selects Tejas Networks for network backbone
BANGALORE, INDIA: Meralco, the Philippines’ premier electric services distributor has chosen Tejas Networks' high end optical transport (MSPP) solution to run their network backbone across Manila, to provide telecom services. All of the Meralco’s traffic – data and voice, will run on Tejas MSPP equipment. Meralco provides electrification services to a quarter of the Philippine population of 94 million.
“We are delighted with the opportunity to partner with Meralco, one of the Top Filipino companies. Over the last decade, we have made significant contributions to the telecom revolution in India and over 50 countries around the world. We are among the Top-10 global players in the optical MSPP market.
“Our expertise, honed in India, is extremely relevant to telecom markets around the world, particularly, the South East Asian telecom market. We have provided solutions to over 30 customers across the region and have offices in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. We look forward to providing scalable and future ready solutions to Meralco in the Philippines,” said Sanjay Nayak, CEO & MD, Tejas Networks.
Meralco Telecommunications Head Antolin Habana said: “For over a hundred years, Meralco has powered the growth of the Philippines and its people. As one of the best known companies in the country and a premier electric services distributor, we serve an area that is home to over 25 million people. We looked for a company that had expertise in providing telecom solutions and has technology that can help us scale up our offerings by helping us save on capex and opex. Tejas Networks’ impressive MSPP portfolio and their expertise in engaging with customers is a strategic fit to Meralco’s expansion plans. We look forward to working with them.”
“We are delighted with the opportunity to partner with Meralco, one of the Top Filipino companies. Over the last decade, we have made significant contributions to the telecom revolution in India and over 50 countries around the world. We are among the Top-10 global players in the optical MSPP market.
“Our expertise, honed in India, is extremely relevant to telecom markets around the world, particularly, the South East Asian telecom market. We have provided solutions to over 30 customers across the region and have offices in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. We look forward to providing scalable and future ready solutions to Meralco in the Philippines,” said Sanjay Nayak, CEO & MD, Tejas Networks.
Meralco Telecommunications Head Antolin Habana said: “For over a hundred years, Meralco has powered the growth of the Philippines and its people. As one of the best known companies in the country and a premier electric services distributor, we serve an area that is home to over 25 million people. We looked for a company that had expertise in providing telecom solutions and has technology that can help us scale up our offerings by helping us save on capex and opex. Tejas Networks’ impressive MSPP portfolio and their expertise in engaging with customers is a strategic fit to Meralco’s expansion plans. We look forward to working with them.”
Google Wallet is here!
Eden Zoller, Ovum Principal Analyst
AUSTRALIA: The move into mobile payments is significant for Google as it presents an opportunity to drive new revenues besides advertising, the long-standing bedrock of Google’s business. Google has several related services alongside the new Google Wallet offering that if pulled together effectively could make for a compelling commerce framework with increased revenue potential.
Google is the master of search, provides popular location services, is building up a social media play in the shape of Google +, has a Groupon type proposition via Google Offers and is carving out a strong position in the mobile device value chain. If Google is smart then Google Wallet could be about a lot more than just mobile payments and incorporate loyalty schemes, check-ins, and advertising, among other things.
The challenge for Google is how quickly it can build up a compelling commerce operation of this kind in face of very competent rivals that are aiming to do exactly the same. The line-up here up includes Amazon, Facebook, Paypal, telecom operators like Orange France and social commerce providers such as Groupon and Living Social. Google will also need to be very mindful of privacy issues.
A payments service like Google Wallet linked to location presents a gold mine of customer and transaction data that Google will inevitably want to exploit. But it must only do so in a way that respects privacy and guarantees security. If it fails to do this it will lose consumer trust and credibility among commerce partners, and without this its commerce ambitions will come to nothing.
AUSTRALIA: The move into mobile payments is significant for Google as it presents an opportunity to drive new revenues besides advertising, the long-standing bedrock of Google’s business. Google has several related services alongside the new Google Wallet offering that if pulled together effectively could make for a compelling commerce framework with increased revenue potential.
Google is the master of search, provides popular location services, is building up a social media play in the shape of Google +, has a Groupon type proposition via Google Offers and is carving out a strong position in the mobile device value chain. If Google is smart then Google Wallet could be about a lot more than just mobile payments and incorporate loyalty schemes, check-ins, and advertising, among other things.
The challenge for Google is how quickly it can build up a compelling commerce operation of this kind in face of very competent rivals that are aiming to do exactly the same. The line-up here up includes Amazon, Facebook, Paypal, telecom operators like Orange France and social commerce providers such as Groupon and Living Social. Google will also need to be very mindful of privacy issues.
A payments service like Google Wallet linked to location presents a gold mine of customer and transaction data that Google will inevitably want to exploit. But it must only do so in a way that respects privacy and guarantees security. If it fails to do this it will lose consumer trust and credibility among commerce partners, and without this its commerce ambitions will come to nothing.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Smartphones and tablets to drive MEMS sensor and audio devices market to more than $1.5 billion by 2016
LONDON, UK:MEMS vendors range from large multi-national and multi-product suppliers such as STMicroelectronics, Bosch, Texas Instruments, and Freescale Semiconductors, down to suppliers focused on the MEMS market with relatively small product portfolios such as VTI, InvenSense, and Memstech. Each vendor is vying for a slice of a market that will be worth more than $1.5 billion in 2016 for MEMS sensor and audio devices in smartphones and tablets alone.
Certain segments of the market have emerged with continued strong growth potential, including MEMS inertial sensors and microphones. The smartphone and media tablet markets are the driving forces behind this growth. “The MEMS market is going through a transition period, as many other semiconductor market segments have when approaching maturity,” says Peter Cooney, practice director, semiconductors. “Leading vendors understand that to be successful in consumer electronics markets, you have to have economies of scale and be able to supply a broad range of solutions.”
As markets mature, component integration is the key to success, reducing BOM cost and board space while offering customers ease of design and reduced time to market. To this end, vendors are racing to diversify and increase product portfolios. This is driving M&A activity in the MEMS market. Over the next few years, the number of vendors addressing high volume MEMS markets will shrink as larger suppliers acquire companies to increase product offerings and use their expanding portfolios to further integrate and achieve market dominance.
Certain segments of the market have emerged with continued strong growth potential, including MEMS inertial sensors and microphones. The smartphone and media tablet markets are the driving forces behind this growth. “The MEMS market is going through a transition period, as many other semiconductor market segments have when approaching maturity,” says Peter Cooney, practice director, semiconductors. “Leading vendors understand that to be successful in consumer electronics markets, you have to have economies of scale and be able to supply a broad range of solutions.”
As markets mature, component integration is the key to success, reducing BOM cost and board space while offering customers ease of design and reduced time to market. To this end, vendors are racing to diversify and increase product portfolios. This is driving M&A activity in the MEMS market. Over the next few years, the number of vendors addressing high volume MEMS markets will shrink as larger suppliers acquire companies to increase product offerings and use their expanding portfolios to further integrate and achieve market dominance.
NICE to acquire Fizzback
BANGALORE, INDIA: NICE Systems Ltd has reached an agreement to acquireFizzback, introducing the most complete Customer Experience Management CEM) with the integration of revolutionary, real-time Voice of the Customer (VoC) solution.
The Fizzback SaaS offering is a real-time operational VoC solution. It sends consumers requests for feedback relating to a specific interaction or transaction via mobile, web or social media. The consumer is engaged at the point of experience, for example in the contact center, branch, point of sale (POS), mobile application, or web.The feedback is analyzed by the system to determine a relevant response, and automatically conduct a dialog with the consumer in natural language rather than in survey format.
Fizzback’s unique approachgenerates game-changing response rates of up to 50 percent, significantly higher than industry norms at under 10%, as it motivates consumers to provide relevant feedback, at the moment of interaction. Additionally, consumers provide feedback about their experience rather than only about what was asked in a survey.With more than 150 million feedbacks collected annually, Fizzback enables organizations to better understand their customers’ perceptions, and be agileacross the organization, while improving customer experience at the various enterprise touch points.
The combination of Fizzback and NICE will both improve CEM as well as operationalize VoC both for the contact center and across the enterprise. Correlating customer feedback to specific interactions or transactionshelps improve performance enterprise-wide with statistically validated responses, as well as enhance quality managementand processes. Key efficiency metrics that can be significantly improved include First Contact Resolution (FCR) and Average Handle Time (AHT) in the contact centerand employee performance in direct customer facing roles.
The Fizzback SaaS offering is a real-time operational VoC solution. It sends consumers requests for feedback relating to a specific interaction or transaction via mobile, web or social media. The consumer is engaged at the point of experience, for example in the contact center, branch, point of sale (POS), mobile application, or web.The feedback is analyzed by the system to determine a relevant response, and automatically conduct a dialog with the consumer in natural language rather than in survey format.
Fizzback’s unique approachgenerates game-changing response rates of up to 50 percent, significantly higher than industry norms at under 10%, as it motivates consumers to provide relevant feedback, at the moment of interaction. Additionally, consumers provide feedback about their experience rather than only about what was asked in a survey.With more than 150 million feedbacks collected annually, Fizzback enables organizations to better understand their customers’ perceptions, and be agileacross the organization, while improving customer experience at the various enterprise touch points.
The combination of Fizzback and NICE will both improve CEM as well as operationalize VoC both for the contact center and across the enterprise. Correlating customer feedback to specific interactions or transactionshelps improve performance enterprise-wide with statistically validated responses, as well as enhance quality managementand processes. Key efficiency metrics that can be significantly improved include First Contact Resolution (FCR) and Average Handle Time (AHT) in the contact centerand employee performance in direct customer facing roles.
Broad support for Oct. 10 Wireless Hall of Fame event
AUSTIN, USA: Executives from across the wireless industry have signed up for the 2011 Wireless Hall of Fame celebration, scheduled for the US Grant Hotel in San Diego on Oct. 10. The reception and dinner event has received strong sponsorship support from leading industry companies.
Dr. Irwin Jacobs, founder of Qualcomm and a Wireless Hall of Fame member, is serving as event chairman. Corporate sponsors include:
* Bandwidth level — AT&T, Eagle River Holdings, Qualcomm, and Verizon Communications.
* Spectrum level — Ericsson, Personal Communications Devices, Sprint, Syniverse Technologies, T-Mobile, and Trilogy Partnership.
* Frequencies level — Aloha Partners, BilltoMobile, Cenoplex, Cox Communications, Dyna LLC, Gemalto, Interop Technologies, Leap Wireless, Mobilitie, and Sybase 365
CTIA, CommNexus, Coracle Group, and the Telecom Council of Silicon Valley also have provided communications support and assistance.
“Wireless continues to be a game changer in the world economy and events, and we’re pleased that in addition to support from companies that have been part of this industry from its beginning, we are also engaging new and emerging companies in the story of wireless,” said Liz Maxfield, executive director of the Wireless History Foundation.
Four individuals will be inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame for their contributions to the industry in the following categories: Nick Kauser, Technology; Robert Marino, Industry Associate; Clayton Niles, Pioneer; and Arnold Pohs (posthumously), Service Provider. The event provides a forum for the recognition of industry leaders and an opportunity to celebrate the rich history of wireless.
Dr. Irwin Jacobs, founder of Qualcomm and a Wireless Hall of Fame member, is serving as event chairman. Corporate sponsors include:
* Bandwidth level — AT&T, Eagle River Holdings, Qualcomm, and Verizon Communications.
* Spectrum level — Ericsson, Personal Communications Devices, Sprint, Syniverse Technologies, T-Mobile, and Trilogy Partnership.
* Frequencies level — Aloha Partners, BilltoMobile, Cenoplex, Cox Communications, Dyna LLC, Gemalto, Interop Technologies, Leap Wireless, Mobilitie, and Sybase 365
CTIA, CommNexus, Coracle Group, and the Telecom Council of Silicon Valley also have provided communications support and assistance.
“Wireless continues to be a game changer in the world economy and events, and we’re pleased that in addition to support from companies that have been part of this industry from its beginning, we are also engaging new and emerging companies in the story of wireless,” said Liz Maxfield, executive director of the Wireless History Foundation.
Four individuals will be inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame for their contributions to the industry in the following categories: Nick Kauser, Technology; Robert Marino, Industry Associate; Clayton Niles, Pioneer; and Arnold Pohs (posthumously), Service Provider. The event provides a forum for the recognition of industry leaders and an opportunity to celebrate the rich history of wireless.
Asia-Pacific mobile connections to hit 4.2 billion in 2016
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA: Asia-Pacific (AP) mobile connections will reach 4.2 billion in 2016 a CAGR of 6.4 per cent over the next five years, according to Ovum.
In a new report, the independent telecoms analyst states that mobile connection growth will largely be driven by the “mega emerging markets” of China, India and Indonesia due to their market size and relatively low mobile penetration levels. In fact these three markets will have 3 billion connections between them in 2016, accounting for 72 per cent of connections in AP and 38 per cent of the global total.
However, mobile revenue growth in AP will reach a CAGR of just 2.4 per cent between 2011 and 2016. This is despite the rise of mobile data revenues for telecoms operators, which Ovum expects to reach US$145 billion in 2016 due to the sheer volume of connections and the presence of a number of developed data markets.
Emeka Obiodu, Ovum senior analyst and author of the report, commented: “The global mobile market will experience sustained growth in connections across all regions, but Asia, Africa and the US will be the main drivers and between them will add billions of connections by 2016.
“However, the significant growth in subscribers and the market’s insatiable demand for data services will not be enough to reverse the trend of overall slowing revenue growth in the market as the downward spiral in voice revenues continues to take its toll.”
According to Obiodu, the developed markets of Asia-Pacific have similar connection growth rates to Western Europe. With the exception of Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong, all of the developed markets in AP have a lower connection CAGRs than their emerging market counterparts.
Obiodu commented: “This is unsurprising as these markets are made up of countries that have a non-existent prepaid market (South Korea and Japan) or that will have a penetration rate of over 130% in 2016. In addition, all of these markets have low population growth rates. In these markets, some of the main drivers of connection growth (pent-up demand, population growth, and multiple SIM ownership) are absent, while connection growth is stifled by market maturity.”
Although voice will continue to play the major role in service revenues, accounting for 60 per cent of total mobile revenues in 2016, Ovum predicts that voice revenues will begin to decline in 2014 and will fall from $195.2 billion in 2011 to $193.7 billion in 2016 in AP.
“From 2014, voice revenues in AP will begin to decline as operators struggle to derive new revenues from customers and the significance of the market’s shift towards data becomes even more apparent. In 2016, non-voice revenues will no longer be a supplement to voice revenues. Instead, they will begin to replace them,” concluded Obiodu.
In a new report, the independent telecoms analyst states that mobile connection growth will largely be driven by the “mega emerging markets” of China, India and Indonesia due to their market size and relatively low mobile penetration levels. In fact these three markets will have 3 billion connections between them in 2016, accounting for 72 per cent of connections in AP and 38 per cent of the global total.
However, mobile revenue growth in AP will reach a CAGR of just 2.4 per cent between 2011 and 2016. This is despite the rise of mobile data revenues for telecoms operators, which Ovum expects to reach US$145 billion in 2016 due to the sheer volume of connections and the presence of a number of developed data markets.
Emeka Obiodu, Ovum senior analyst and author of the report, commented: “The global mobile market will experience sustained growth in connections across all regions, but Asia, Africa and the US will be the main drivers and between them will add billions of connections by 2016.
“However, the significant growth in subscribers and the market’s insatiable demand for data services will not be enough to reverse the trend of overall slowing revenue growth in the market as the downward spiral in voice revenues continues to take its toll.”
According to Obiodu, the developed markets of Asia-Pacific have similar connection growth rates to Western Europe. With the exception of Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong, all of the developed markets in AP have a lower connection CAGRs than their emerging market counterparts.
Obiodu commented: “This is unsurprising as these markets are made up of countries that have a non-existent prepaid market (South Korea and Japan) or that will have a penetration rate of over 130% in 2016. In addition, all of these markets have low population growth rates. In these markets, some of the main drivers of connection growth (pent-up demand, population growth, and multiple SIM ownership) are absent, while connection growth is stifled by market maturity.”
Although voice will continue to play the major role in service revenues, accounting for 60 per cent of total mobile revenues in 2016, Ovum predicts that voice revenues will begin to decline in 2014 and will fall from $195.2 billion in 2011 to $193.7 billion in 2016 in AP.
“From 2014, voice revenues in AP will begin to decline as operators struggle to derive new revenues from customers and the significance of the market’s shift towards data becomes even more apparent. In 2016, non-voice revenues will no longer be a supplement to voice revenues. Instead, they will begin to replace them,” concluded Obiodu.
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