Sprint’s sales record broken by HTC EVO 4G (USA)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Sprint’s sales records has been broken by sales of the HTC EVO 4G on June 4 which marked the largest quantity of a single phone sold in one day for the telco.
Samsung Instinct and Palm Pre devices sales over their first three days on the market combined have been superseded three times by the sales of HTC EVO 4G devices sold on launch day.
Some of the features of the handset are- 4.3-inch screen, an 8 megapixel video camera capable of capturing HD quality, front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera, and an HDMI output jack along with a 1GHz processor, simultaneous voice and data capability in 4G or Wi-Fi coverage areas, and built-in mobile hotspot for up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices.
According to the mobile operator, the record pace of HTC EVO 4G sales led to temporary shortages of the device at some of the 22,000 sales locations across the US, including Sprint retail stores, national retail partners including RadioShack, Best Buy and Walmart, and indirect dealers
Strong subscriber growth but flat revenues for telcos in Q1
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Out of the 175 million new subscribers or revenue sources added during the three months ended March 31, 2010, some 70% came from the Asia/Pacific region. India and China remained the dominant players in the telecom sector in terms of wireless subscriber numbers and accounting for 54% of all net new subscribers in the quarter, thus becoming the sole drivers of regional growth.
Both Indonesia and Vietnam joined India and China in the first quarter in the top six groups of wireless growth markets. Brazil and the USA were the only non-Asian countries in the half dozen. 112 million mobile subscribers were added by the six countries together during the three-month period. However, the scene was not very rosy for Western Europe as for the first time it saw a decline in its wireless subscriber base, albeit by a small amount.
With just 41% of quarterly additions by Asia/pacific region, broadband subscriber growth was distributed more evenly across the regions. Western Europe and North America are adding substantial numbers of subscribers each quarter with each region contributing 16% of the quarterly additions. China, the United States, Russia, India and the Philippines were the top five growth countries with France, Brazil and Germany all close behind.
A decline of 2.1% revenue over the previous quarter is also significant as there has been some seasonal storm in the market and a drop in Q1 is not unusual, but this drop is substantially bigger than that seen twelve months ago. India has seen an amazing 50% growth in wireless subscribers over the last twelve months and now has almost 600 million subscribers but still there is not a single Indian operator in the list of top 30 service providers by revenue.
The reason is that the big subscriber growth numbers are coming from countries where ARPUs are low and intense competition is pushing them even lower. Meanwhile, brutal price competition has had a sharply negative impact on Indian service providers’ revenue growth.
Bell Aliant to expand FTTH network to Nova Scotia (Canada)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The FibreOP’ fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network will be expanded by Canadian telco Bell Aliant. The network is currently operational in New Brunswick and will be taken to Nova Scotia by the autumn, helped by a contribution of CAD2 million (USD1.9 million) from the provincial government.
CAD15 million will be initially invested by the telco in the Sydney, Nova Scotia area to bring FibreOP services to more than 30,000 homes and businesses there. The operators expect that 140,000 homes and businesses will have direct fibre by the end of the year as an attempt to fight off cable-based competition in its Atlantic Canada markets, especially from EastLink and Rogers Communications.
Additional CAD350 million investments to be made in 2011 and 2012 has also been announced by the company in May bringing the total investment in FTTH to almost CAD500 million and expanding FibreOP services to more than 600,000 homes and businesses.
4G technology- a step ahead of 3G
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: After the launch of 3G in almost every corner of the world, the mobile companies, subscribers and analysts have started talking about the generation ahead- 4G. The companies are promising faster speeds and the ecstasy of being the first one to use a new ellipsis. Sprint Nextel Corp. is the first carrier to release its first 4G phone, the EVO, this week. 25 to 30 cities will receive Sprint’s 4G service. MetroPCS Communications Inc. is also scheduled to introduce its first 4G phone around the same time.
For consumers, 4G means, in the ideal case, faster access to data but broadly speaking; it’s a new way to use the airwaves, designed from the start for the transmission of data rather than phone calls. Other than that, it’s difficult to point to things 4G can do that 3G phones can’t. According to Matt Carter, president of Sprint’s 4G divisions, the upgrade to 4G is more likely to enhance the things one can already do with 3G and one should view it as the difference between watching regular TV and high-definition TV.
Another aspect to the point is that the introduction of 3G started in earnest about five years ago, but it isn’t complete and the improvement from 3G to 4G is not as dramatic as the step from 2G to 3G, which for the first time made real Web browsing, video and music downloads practical on phones.
AT&T and T-Mobile are using different 3G technology and so they can upgrade their 3G networks. Verizon and Sprint have maxed out their 3G speeds so taking the step to 4G is natural for them, especially when they have new chunks of the radio spectrum that they want to take advantage of.
There are certain advantages of 4G which take the 3G technology a step ahead. 4G is faster for quick back-and-forth communications something which is not noticed when surfing the Web or doing e-mail. 4G will work better for multiplayer gaming, where split-second timing is important and even phone calls could benefit from shorter audio delays.
Microsoft superseded by Apple in market capitalization
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Microsoft Corp. has been superseded by Apple Inc to become the most valuable technology company on optimism the company will keep adding customers for its iPhone, Macintosh computer and iPad. Microsoft’s $219.2 billion has been surpassed by Apple’s market value that reached $222.1 billion.
The rise has made the computer maker turned mobile gadgeteer, the most valuable technology firm in the world. It is also the second-largest U.S. stock by market value, behind oil company Exxon Mobil Corp., valued at $278.6 billion on the New York Stock Exchange. The company’s profit almost doubled and sales soared 49 percent on demand for the iPhone and iPad too, contributed to the profit, which went on sale after the close of the quarter for the Cupertino, California-based company.
Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs after resuming leadership in 1997 took the company out of bankruptcy and since then, he has transformed it from the maker of Macintosh personal computers into a consumer electronics modernizer with the release of the iPod music player in 2001, the iPhone in 2007 and 2010 release of the iPad tablet.
The new financial readings mark a shift in the changing fortunes of two technology industry leaders. The world’s largest software maker, Microsoft received mixed success expanding beyond its stronghold Windows operating system business into new markets, including mobile phones, Web search and gaming apps. However, Microsoft has been extremely weak over the last month, underperforming other technology stocks and that’s really what’s analysts feel has moved Apple into the leading position in terms of market cap.
The third-quarter sales of Microsoft rose 6.3 percent to $14.5 billion and both profit and sales exceeded the average estimate of analysts. Meanwhile, analyst’s prediction of quick growth for Microsoft might take some because of unearned revenue and a measure of multiyear contracts.
Sprint’s better health good for the USA telecom sector: Verizon CEO
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Sprint Nextel recovery and stabilization has been hailed as a positive sign for the telecom industry by rival Verizon Wireless Chief Executive Lowell McAdam. Sprint came out to be the most aggressive of all the national operators in cutting the price of its service plans, on both the postpaid and prepaid ends.
But now the scene seems to have taken a positive turn with the telco reaching a state of stability suggesting that there will be fewer cuts down the line. Even though the Sprint had become very competitive, the overall porting ratios of the Verizon Wireless or the amount of customers coming versus leaving with their cellphone numbers have remained positive.
Verizon Wireless has expanded its presence in the area through reseller agreements despite having a limited direct position in prepaid. It has been revealed by the company that the margins for resellers are as good, if not better, than its traditional postpaid business and McAdam also added that he was not every captivated with the idea of bringing its brand down to the prepaid level. Concern has been raised by the CEO over unlimited data plans going away while addressing the growing demand for data services.
He opined that the introduction of fourth-generation, or 4G could change the price of the data plans and noted that consumer could have multiple products connected to the cellular network. He also expressed his disappointment in the Federal Communications Commission report that omitted the conclusion that the industry was effectively competitive. According to him, the FCC’s proposal to more heavily regulate the Internet industry could be dangerous to the overall health of the industry and the plans won’t curb its investment in 4G.
Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC together own Verizon Wireless in the USA.
10.7m iPhone devices in April on AdMob network in the USA
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: In April, the USA had 10.7 million iPhone devices as compared to 8.7 million Android devices. Unique devices that requested at least one ad from the AdMob network in April are represented by these numbers.
IPhone, iPad and iPod Touch shipments have been 18.3 million during the same period. The gap between platforms increases to two to one in the US with the inclusion of the iPod touch. The iPhone platform has considerably more exclusive devices than Android in the AdMob network at an international level.
There were 27.4 million iPhone devices compared to 11.6 million Android devices globally and the ratio between iPhone OS devices and Android devices was 3.5 to 1. In North America, there are around 75 percent of Android devices as compared to 49 percent of iPhone OS devices.
Public Mobile launches service in Toronto
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Public Mobile, a Canadian cellular newcomer switched on commercial services over its network in Toronto. Low-income users, including first-time handset buyers, as well as new immigrants are on the target list of the company.
According to company’s CEO, Alek Krstajic, the firm will consolidate the low end of the market and its stripped-down offers includes CAD24 (USD22.30) per-month unlimited local talk-only plan.
2G CDMA-based network using low-cost 1900MHz frequencies has been rolled out by Public Mobile unlike most rival start-ups in the country who purchased paired 1700MHz/2100MHz spectrum in 2008′s Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) concession auction.
T-Mobile USA CEO to leave by May 2011
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Deutsche Telekom (DT) has been informed by the president and CEO of T-Mobile USA, Robert Dotson regarding his transition to new opportunities in 2011 after 15 years of service with T-Mobile USA. He has also committed to stay actively engaged in the business until May 2011.
Philipp Humm, an experienced Deutsche Telekom executive and former CEO of T-Mobile Deutschland has been hailed as his designated successor. As chief regional officer (CRO) Europe, Humm is currently responsible for sales and service in the continent.
Humm will take over as CEO of T-Mobile USA in February 2011 after a period of transition with Dotson, while Dotson will remain on as a non-executive board member until May 2011.
