US researcher In-Stat says that US businesses will spend close to $27 billion on wireless data in 2010. US operators will in turn spend $1.4 billion on subsidizing smartphones for US businesses in 2010. Overall, US operators will spend close to $1.7 billion on handset subsidies for US businesses. It reckons that small businesses (5’99 employees) will spend 28% less on smartphones over the next 5 years and overall wireless handset spending by US businesses will decline from $4.5 to $3.2 billion from 2010 to 2014, with the largest decline coming in the utility and manufacturing vertical segments in the 10,000+ size of business
Heavy Reading says that close to 25 million digital cable set-tops now offer interactive features using the enhanced binary interchange format and this means US cable operators will get more aggressive with rollouts of interactive advertising services in 2011. Its report is entitled ‘Cable’s ITV Ad Platforms Open for Business,’ and profiles leading suppliers.
Telegent says that its TLG1123 fourth generation analog Mobile TV receiver, announced in September this year is now sampling. This is the 65nm mobile TV receiver which is hoped to cut down on the battery usage for watching analog TV on a phone. The chip comes in a 6×6 mm package and has reduced the design footprint by 35% and also eliminates the need for an external crystal, further reducing system cost.
Tele2 in Sweden has sold off its Lithuanian C-gates cableco to local operator Vdnet for around $5.85 million. Tele2 is trying to spend more money on cellular and less on fixed line networks it said. The company only had 33,000 TV customers and 10,700 with broadband.
Netflix has cut a content deal with Disney’s ABC national broadcast TV network in the US to show Disney TV series including, Lost, Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters, plus favorites from the Disney Channel. The Netflix showing will be at least 15 days after the broadcast showing.
Iliad’s Free IPTV and Broadband network in France has launched a new set-top box called Freebox Revolution which has a 250 GB hard drive, a stronger WiFi signal, and bundles in free and paid video games. It has a built-in CD and Blu-ray player and offers free calls to mobiles. Rivals have all launched bundles with a paid mobile calling service, and so Free appears to be subsidizing mobiles calls until it can build its own mobile network in 2012. The Revolution uses an Intel CE 4100 chip and costs €300 to make the company said.
Sigma Designs says that its SMP8652 SoC media processor has been chosen by Verismo’s Broadband TV set top box. Verismo is a US start up that offers an internet TV platform and has just raised $17 million of VC funding last month. The system will offer the integration of linear channels, over the top (OTT) Internet video, VoD, plus live channels from around the world, along with the ability to play back personal media and also provide social networking functionality with sites like Facebook and Twitter, and photo viewing from popular Internet sites like Picasa, on your TV.
Sweden’s largest cable TV operator Com Hem, has been put up for sale by the Private Equity groups the Carlyle Group and Providence Equity Partners according to reports in the Dagens Industri, a local financial newspaper. Com Hem has 610,000 cable TV subscribers, plus internet and voice customers. The price tag is another cable company valued at anything up to €2.0 billion, and is part of the exodus out of cable we have witnessed in recent weeks by Private Equity groups across Europe, who have decided to cash in on the current valuations for Cable. Telenor is a likely bidder which has a slowly shrinking Swedish DTH business and a slowly growing cable business in Sweden. We don’t give much credibility to the private equity owned TDC in Denmark making a bid for it. Tele 2 only has mobile assets in Sweden, but pay TV elsewhere, so it also may make a sensible buyer.