Infonetics Research conducted another survey recently, and released the subsequent results in a study titled “LTE Deployment Strategies: Global Service Provider Survey.” In the survey, Infonetics interviewed 19 mobile operators about their LTE network buildout plans, deployment migration scenarios, challenges, and commercial drivers. Among the survey’s highlights: 

• 11% of respondents are deploying LTE as a greenfield network, suggesting that they are using it for purposes other than true mobile broadband upgrades.
• 47% of respondents say they do not plan to offer voice services in the next three years after launching.
• Half of the survey respondents believe it is very important to start construction of their LTE network with macrocells first, followed by a mix of small cells.

As Infonetics notes, the firm anticipated back in 2008 that HSPA+ would be the default bridge to LTE, and they forecast that LTE will perform the same function for the transition to 4G (LTE-Adavanced).

For additional coverage, see http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2011/LTE-Deployment-Strategies-Service-Provider-Survey-Highlights.asp

In-Stat has released its latest study, “The Reality and Ramifications of Tablets.” In it, the firm forecasts significant tablet growth opportunities as a result of recent price cuts, as well as new companies entering the market, such as Samsung, Motorola, BlackBerry, LG, and HTC. By 2017, In-Stat sees the tablet market shipping nearly 250 million units. Among the study’s other interesting findings:

• In the consumer segment, tablets are competing against all computing devices, not just PCs
• The 9- to 11-inch form factor is shaking out to be the most dominant tablet form
• The iOS and Android operating systems will hold a 90% market share, with Windows languishing in third
• Wireless operator business models may hold the key to future tablet demand

In the end, In-Stat sees the tablet market as a continually evolving, still nascent segment, with continued differentiation and wider market targeting among the strategies employed by tablet manufacturers.

For more information on this study, go to http://www.instat.com/press.asp?ID=3240&sku=IN1105088ID

As home technology advances, digital service providers (DSP) need to assume an expanded role. In this new white paper from Parks Associates, “Services Providers and the Connected Home,” the analysis firm assesses the challenges facing digital service providers and offers advice on how they can remain successful in the future. Parks notes that DSPs are facing competitive threats from rivals offering comparable technologies, as well as alternatives in the form of voice, video, and data services. In such a challenging environment, Parks feels that DSPs must work harder and smarter. They must unify their products and services, automate their processes, and manage their solutions in a more proactive and granular manner than they ever have before.

The connected devices revolution is coming. New research from iSuppli suggests that shipments of Internet-connected devices will overtake shipments of traditional Internet devices by 2013. If this occurs, consumers will more likely access the Web through a device like a connected TV rather than through a computer. iSuppli predicts that shipments of connected devices, such as Internet televisions, video game consoles, and Blu-ray players will triple by 2013 (503 million). This amount is forecast to be more than twice the number of PC shipments during the same time period. And by 2015, the gap will be even wider, suggesting a future where connecting to the Internet, viewing online content, placing video calls, and who knows what else, will be done through a wide variety of connected devices.

For more, see http://www.fierceonlinevideo.com/story/research-connected-tv-will-be-consumers-portal-web-2015/2011-08-10

The August 2011 edition of CrossTalk is right here, right now, containing plenty of news, free market research, for pay market research, and a listing of upcoming events. Stay up to date with all things telco and broadband by getting your August 2011 CrossTalk today.

 For more, see http://www.actiontec.com/newsletter/august11/

The audience for online video continues to expand dramatically. According to eMarketer, more than 158 million people will view online video this year. Most of these users will use computers to view online video, although mobile phones, Internet TVs, and wireless tablets are rising in popularity. Another category gaining favor among video viewers are Internet-enabled devices connected to the TV, which include products like AppleTV and Web-ready Blu-ray players. However, the most popular devices connected to the TV are gaming consoles. And with these devices capable of streaming services like Netflix, they can be leveraged for media consumption purposes. While it remains to be seen whether gaming consoles can gain broad acceptance as online video viewers, their established presence in the home marks this segment as one to watch.

 For additional information, go to http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008530

ICSA Labs, an independent division of Verizon, has bestowed its first Managed Broadband Home Router Certification on Actiontec Electronics’ family of MI424WR wireless home routers. The program evaluates a router’s effectiveness in identifying safe versus harmful data, then denying access to the harmful stuff. Actiontec’s wireless home routers, a type of broadband home router used to connect computers on a home network to the Internet, feature many options to combat against hackers gaining access to home networks and stealing personal data. The certification program was developed under ICSA Labs’ ISO 9001/IEC 17025 accredited framework, which verifies the organization’s quality-management systems and technical competence.

In Pew Research’s latest survey/study, “Americans and Their Cell Phones,” the company seeks to uncover how cell phones, which are used by more than 80% of American adults, impact their owners’ lives. Based on a wide-ranging national telephone survey, Pew found that:

• users have come to depend on their cell phones for quick information retrieval, as more than half have used their cell phones to get information immediately, while more than a quarter claim to have experienced at least one situation in the past month where not having their cell phone handy caused hardship;
• cell phones are vitally important in emergency situations–40% of owners have used their phones during such times;
• frustration with cell phones is also common: slow downloads, small screens, and difficulties with entering text were among the most common complaints.

Meanwhile, more than a third of adult Americans own a smartphone, and the vast majority take advantage these devices’ expanded capabilities, such as accessing social networking sites, sending photos and videos to friends and relatives, and text messaging.

For more information, see http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Cell-Phones.aspx?src=prc-headline

 Opinion Research, in a survey conducted for Cisco’s home networking business unit, found that American families are using their wireless home networks more than ever. The survey revealed that most families use multiple devices (smartphones, computers, etc.) simultaneously when connecting to their network. The majority of home wireless network use continued to be reserved for checking e-mail and web surfing. However, downloading videos and music is becoming more popular, as is connecting game consoles and wireless printers to the network. Additionally, a large percentage of both parents and children use their home wireless network every day, and with emerging technologies such as Internet-connected TVs and tablets becoming more and more prevalent, the use of wireless home networks can only grow. Finally, speed and ease of use were found to be families’ top purchase considerations when shopping for home network wireless solutions.

 For additional coverage, see http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/new-consumer-survey-finds-families-are-connecting-more-devices-increasingly-accessing-nasdaq-csco-1551414.htm

Consumer Reports recently revealed their July 2011 index of consumer sentiment and, to no one’s surprise, it wasn’t exactly rainbows and unicorns. The drop in the index’s month-to-month readings was the worst in nearly two years and dropped it to its lowest level since December 2009, fueled mainly by the federal government’s shenanigans regarding the debt ceiling. Also contributing to consumers’ negative outlook was the continuing weak job market, a key indicator of the health of the overall economy. The CR index, which is composed of five parts (Sentiment, Trouble Tracker, Stress, Retail, and Employment) fell more than 5 points in July, to 43.4.

To see more, go to http://consumerist.com/2011/08/consumer-sentiment-hits-20-month-low.html

Do you have a 4G smartphone? Do you even know what 4G means? According to a recent Nielsen survey, while 83% of respondents were aware of the term “4G,” nearly half have no idea what it stands for. Even among those consumers who understand what 4G is, a significant number believe the performance gains of 4G aren’t worth the cost. In another survey, this one by Retrovo, a third of iPhone 4 owners believe that their devices are 4G, simply because of the name. All of this leaves marketers with a lot of work to do in educating the populace about exactly what 4G is and how powerful the technology can be. Of course, having a new generation network technology that promises a huge increase in speed might be an exercise in futility when faced with operators such as AT&T and Verizon, who are eliminating unlimited bandwidth access and imposing up to $10 a gigabyte overage fees. Owning a Ferarri is much less fun when all the roads have 30 mph speed limits.

For additional coverage, see http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/Shock-Consumers-Incredibly-Confused-By-4G-Term-115537

With tablets a hot commodity in the consumer electronics space, iSuppli projects a nearly 58% increase in the shipments of mobile broadband devices that feature high-speed wireless connectivity in 2011. The mobile broadband device category also includes notebook and netbook computers, as well as e-book readers such as the Kindle. This boost is mainly due to the runaway success of Apple’s iPad, which leads the tablet segment by a huge margin and continues to spur innovation not only in the wireless sector, but other industries as well, particularly suppliers, device manufacturers, third-party application providers, and service suppliers.

 To see more, go to http://www.isuppli.com/Mobile-and-Wireless-Communications/News/Pages/Tablets-to-Power-Growth-of-Mobile-Broadband-Market-in-2011.aspx

According to AP, the number of customers canceling cable or satellite TV subscriptions is reaching record levels. After a small loss last year, the floodgates opened up, caused mainly by the poor performance of the economy (with many people losing their homes or living with parents). But a secondary cause could be the rise of Internet video, even as the content industry tries to rein in widespread access in order to fully monetize their product. The total subscriber loss for eight of the nine largest subscription-TV providers in the April-June ’11 quarter was 195,700, or 0.2 percent of their 83.2 million video subscribers. The only possible silver lining is that this particular quarter is traditionally the worst for cable and satellite companies, and a bounce back usually occurs by fourth quarter. However, year-over-year data shows a loss, which is the first time that has happened.

 For more information, see http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TEC_CUTTING_CABLE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Infonetics Research’s newest survey uncovers the adjustments IPTV services are undergoing in the pay-TV market. Moving beyond basic video delivery and the simple matching of competitors’ services, IPTV operators are now trying to differentiate themselves by offering customers personalized, integrated, and portable on-demand viewing options. These options include multi-screen viewing, interactive apps, and access to social networks. Among the highlights of the survey:

• Half of the surveyed IP television operators plan to distribute interactive advertising by 2012
• The most widely-deployed applications currently are weather and traffic widgets, and on-screen television caller ID
• Almost 2/3 of operators plan to offer multi-screen viewing across tablets, smartphones, computers, and televisions by next year

For additional info, see http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2011/Carrier-IPTV-Deployment-Strategies-Survey-Highlights.asp

In-Stat published a couple of new pieces of research recently. The first, titled “Wi-Fi Consumer Electronics: Wi-Fi Continues Its Push Into the Digital Home,” forecasts continuing explosive growth in the network-enabled consumer electronics (CE) space, rising from 53 million units sold in 2010 to nearly 300 million by 2015. Powered by everything from Internet-capable digital cameras (for instantly uploading pictures to the Web) to connected TVs to gaming consoles, Wi-Fi attach rates will skyrocket due to rapidly increasing network speeds (82.11ac is expected to run at 1Gbps) and the inherent benefits of wireless stationary devices.

The other study, “Q2’11 US Digital Entertainment Database,” covers the habits of consumers who access digital content via connected devices such as tablets, smartphones, connected TVs, and other content delivery devices. It finds that users are rapidly adopting online television applications integrated in connected TVs, with over 60% surveyed saying they access a TV app at least once a week. Most of these TV app use cases revolve around Netflix and YouTube today, but In-Stat foresees a future in which a crowded field of competitors vie for customers who consider TV apps part of their mainstream television viewing experience.

For more, go to http://www.instat.com/press.asp?ID=3210&sku=IN1105086WS

Also, see http://www.instat.com/press.asp?ID=3214&sku=IN1104891CM

That is exactly what ABI Research is forecasting in its new study, “4G Wholesale Market.” By 4G wholesale subscribers, ABI means subscribers who are managed through a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that buys access from a mobile operator. Today, there are 3.8 million such subscribers. What will drive such impressive growth over the next four years? ABI believes that the market will make it simpler for MVNOs to offer different, more flexible subscription plans, while the high performance of 4G with respect to speed and latency will make it an easy sell to consumers. Also contributing is the willingness by partners in the space to share the admittedly high costs of building out the 4G network, as well the eventual shift from WiMAX to LTE.

 For more information, see http://www.abiresearch.com/press/3736-4G+Wholesale+Subscribers+to+Break+100+Million+by+2016%2C+Says+ABI+Research

The end of the decade is not that far off, less than 8 1/2 years. In that short time period, Parks Associates, in their new report, “IP-based Home Monitoring: Security,” gazes into their crystal ball and foresees that the percentage of U.S. households with professionally monitored services will explode to 30%, driven primarily by remote monitoring served by broadband service providers. Other findings by Parks: one-third of broadband American households, when asked, responded that they found remote control of lights, appliances, and thermostats using Web-based devices “very appealing,” while nearly half would be happy with email/text notifications of smoke, fire, water, or gas leaks.

 To learn more, go to http://www.parksassociates.com/blog/article/parks-pr2011-ipsecurity

How big are connected TVs (televisions with built-in Internet connectivity) going to be? Huge, it seems, and they are already having an impact on the pay TV world. Sales of such models are on the rise, and as innovations like the development of graphical user interfaces similar to those of smartphones and tablets (that will, in turn, host applications and the like), purchases by consumers will only accelerate. This makes it crucial that IPTV and other pay TV providers continue to innovate, creating hybrid services and learning from the mistakes of others. Heavy Reading Insider has released a paid report on this segment, “Connected TVs Will Help Drive Big Changes in Video Services,” that takes a look at the potential impact of connected TVs from the perspective of IPTV suppliers.

For more, go to http://www.heavyreading.com/insider/