Searching Weekly Analysis
Searching Weekly Analysis
Replication can be a form of flattery and it is certainly uncanny how similar predictions of both OTT revenue and subscription growth in Asia Pacific made by Digital Research in its latest report are to numbers we published over a month ago in our forecast, The rise in SVoD viewing to swamp traditional TV by 2023. We hope this makes them more likely to be right, rather as a weather forecast is said to be most reliable when all the major global forecasting models are aligned. But it could also reflect the strength of our arguments underlying the numbers, which have been widely reported in the five weeks since that report was published. The reports had different scope, with ours…
In true Apple style, controversy has surrounded the company in the week approaching its star-studded event on Monday where the curtains are expected to be drawn on its $1 billion+ video streaming service. Not only have a number of content firms reportedly been complaining about the pushy manner in which Apple is handling programming negotiations, but even Netflix CEO Reed Hastings rubbed salt in the wounds by stamping out rumors regarding any sort of Netflix-Apple video integration deal. Clearly showing its complete lack of experience as a TV wheeler dealer (although you’d have thought it would have hired people with negotiating skills by now), , Apple has reportedly peeved a number of prominent studios by being too picky about product…
Orange has become one of Europe’s most promising champions of the smart home, with innovations ranging from its AI assistant Djingo (designed in partnership with Deutsche Telekom) to interactive mirrors, right down to the nittier and grittier world of sensors and networks. The French incumbent recently made a move in the latter field, rolling in Californian vendor DSP Group to enable future smart home applications via the ultra-low energy (ULE) protocol. Orange plans to roll out products and services based on DSP’s ULE chips this spring, including a motion sensor, smart plug, smart light bulb and door/window-opening sensor. The initial wave will reach some 3m homes installed with the latest Livebox router, allowing customers to enable the new services free…
With WiFi taking an increasingly strategic role for many telcos and cablecos, the value of enhanced security for these connections is going up, especially since GDPR laws have put privacy on everyone’s agenda. That is why Amazon has been playing up the security qualities of Eero, the WiFi mesh router firm it acquired recently. And by the same token, Turkey’s AirTies, which has carved out a strong position as a WiFi mesh specialist, last month announced a partnership with Cujo, a US start-up peddling AI-driven security monitoring. Cujo started out in 2015 building what looked like a basic firewall with integrated antivirus and anti-malware protection, aiming to guard against the usual combination of phishing and scamming attacks. Its selling point…
Most operators are still struggling with the business model for edge computing, but with characteristic forward thinking, SK Telecom has already unveiled an open edge system which is designed to support a range of commercial services, including a business-to-business platform for enterprises. SK Telecom says its particular implementation of a mobile edge computing architecture can reduce latency by 60% in 5G applications that require rapid response times, such as robotics control. It calls its platform MEC but it does not fully align with the ETSI MEC (Multi-access Edge Computing) architecture. Although the 5G air interface will reduce latency between cell sites and devices from around 25 milliseconds in LTE to 8ms, that does not address the delay as the signal…
Only a few years ago, open source activity in telecoms networks was associated firmly with software. The idea of open source hardware, let alone chips, for equipment as specialized and demanding as a mobile RAN or core, seemed unrealistic for mass market commercial adoption. There was ‘open’ of course – a common design, like ARM’s or MIPS’ processor cores, which could be licensed by anyone, by contrast with Intel’s rarely-shared x86. But now, emerging network hardware platforms, including white boxes, lend themselves to an extension of that openness, reaching even into full open source communities. Mike Dolan, VP of strategic programs at the Linux Foundation, commented on the change in a recent interview, saying: “The same collaboration model applies to…
In our special Mobile World Congress edition of Wireless Watch, we identified changes in the mobile network semiconductor landscape as one of the key trends of 2019. The opportunity for chipmakers is the gradual shift from vendor-specific developments to merchant chips, as suppliers seek the economies of the open market. But there are two challenges – ensuring that the commoditization of network hardware, driven by virtualization, does not mean a devaluing of the underlying silicon; and the growing need, for larger chip providers at least, to deliver an end-to-end platform rather than stay in one or two comfort zones. To add a further dose of uncertainty to the market this year, there may be further consolidation – following a major…
A small UK public company RedT Energy, which has its own Vanadian Flow grid-scale battery design, is reaching out to the public markets to balance its finances after making another significant loss. RedT seems to have plenty of orders in its pipeline, citing a weighted pipeline worth £145 million, with £32 million all ready to go to development, but it is on the verge of running out of money, and has now planned a further placement and a rights issue. In the second half of last year RedT lost £5.8 million and as a result has laid off 23% of its staff and its shares remain in freefall, falling as low as £1.35, from a £10.60 high. The company began…
Orange has evolved from telco giant to one of Europe’s most promising champions of the burgeoning smart home scene, with innovations ranging from its AI assistant Djingo in partnership with Deutsche Telekom, to interactive mirrors (which were mysteriously absent at this year’s MWC), right down to the nittier and grittier world of sensors and networks. The French colossus recently made a move in the latter field which many may have missed – rolling in Californian vendor DSP Group to enable future smart home applications via the DECT (cordless phones) ultra-low energy (ULE) protocol. Orange plans to roll out products and services based on DSP’s ULE chips this coming spring, including a motion sensor, smart plug, smart light bulb and door/window-opening…
The next release of 5G standards, 3GPP Release 16, will help to deliver the platform’s key promise – to enable a wide range of enterprise and IoT services, expanding the cellular model well beyond voice and mobile broadband for the first time. ETSI, too, is broadening the remit of its standards work to look beyond operators, to other sectors which can leverage 5G to change their business. However, the potential of 5G to help industrial organizations to transform their processes and services will be limited if everything is left to the MNOs. Most operators acknowledge that they are finding it hard to firm up a business case for many IoT and enterprise use cases. Those which are pushing further into…
The US Government seems to have suddenly decided to take note of the dangers of the IoT – a new bipartisan Cybersecurity grouping wants to place new minimum security requirements on any government IoT contracts – while at the same time a Senate hearing has beaten up a number of private operations for letting hackers steal their data – in particular Equifax. The new bill was introduced by Senators Warner, Cory Gardner, Maggie Hassan and Steve Daines with Republican Robin Kelly and Will Hurd introducing it to the House. Like many bills of this type, once US government contracts rely on a particular approach to IoT security, it would be all too easy for US enterprises to adopt this as…
Orange has evolved from telco giant to one of Europe’s most promising champions of the burgeoning smart home scene, with innovations ranging from its AI assistant Djingo in partnership with Deutsche Telekom, to interactive mirrors (which was mysteriously absent at this year’s MWC), right down to the nittier and grittier world of sensors and networks. The French colossus recently made a move in the latter field which many may have missed – rolling in Californian vendor DSP Group to enable future smart home applications via the ultra-low energy (ULE) protocol. DSP Group makes a somewhat refreshing change from Faultline Online Reporter’s usual Orange smart home coverage, where we usually focus on the frustration about the ongoing delays regarding the full…
More countries, including Germany, are backing away from imposing outright bans on Huawei and ZTE in 5G, or other national infrastructure contracts. Despite pressure from the US, many governments are also feeling the pressure from their own operators, which are furious at the prospect of being denied access to the Chinese companies’ innovations and price competitiveness. Huawei spent much of the run-up to Mobile World Congress, and the show itself, on a charm offensive, to persuade governments they were not risking their security by supporting the company. However, now it has gone on the offensive too, launching legal actions in North America. In the US, Huawei has filed suit in Texas (the site of its US headquarters) to challenge a…
Evidence of MediaKind reenergizing a longstanding Mediaroom customer other than Deutsche Telekom has finally come to light – as the new face of Ericsson Media Solutions announced a project involving the integration of Netflix into Telefónica’s Vivo Fibra service in Brazil. In recent years it has looked like Telefónica regretted the scale of its commitment to Mediaroom, given Microsoft’s exit just a year later, and since then the platform has gradually been waning as the telco migrates to new hybrid or OTT platforms. This has opened the door for Wyplay’s Frog middleware to stake a claim at Telefónica, while other open technology platforms like Android TV and Comcast’s RDK have found favor elsewhere as the preferred middleware platforms for pay…
US smart TV maker Vizio initially appeared to secure a noteworthy leg up on rival manufacturers by signing up a series of major broadcasters to jointly develop a new addressable advertising standard for the connected TV space. It is the latest attempt by the digital TV ecosystem to replicate the advanced targeted advertising capabilities of the internet era – but how open will the newly formed Open Addressable Ready (OAR) consortium really be? Networks from Disney, CBS, Turner, NBC and Discovery have all signed on the dotted line, alongside major ad technology units like Comcast’s Freewheel, AT&T’s Xandr and more. The group is pledging to build a technical platform for ad inventory holders, distributors or programmers to enable improved monetization…
Amid the 5G hysteria in the aftermath of MWC 2019, WiFi is still a much greater concern for most operators, even those such as Liberty Global that claim to be adopting mobile-first strategies. Or perhaps especially for them. Over the last year, some operators have been talking up the value of secure WiFi, which is perhaps inevitable after GDPR which has forced privacy into the agenda and made perception of being a leader there a competitive advantage. That is why Amazon has been playing up the security aspect of Eero, the WiFi mesh router firm it has just acquired. By the same token, Turkey’s AirTies, which has carved out a strong position as a WiFi mesh specialist, last month announced…
Canal+ isn’t messing about when it comes to restoring its public image after 2019 got off to an embarrassing start, with the French pay TV operator launching a series-only OTT video service costing a reasonable €6.99 a month. Just three weeks ago, we reported on the rumors of Canal+ making a surprise acquisition of Qatari broadcaster beIN Sports as a way of shaking off the humiliation of Netflix blasting past it, with local reports at the time stating preliminary discussions were underway. Suffice it to say, these rumors have since fizzled out, opening the floor for Canal+ Series to slide in as the latest business proposition to put pay TV losses behind it. But first of all, nothing in the…
When Comcast divulged its vision to take Sky’s Now TV streaming service global by 2020, it was clear the X1 technology would soon be coming to Europe, likely in convergence with Sky Q. Still, the announcement from the world’s largest cable TV company that X1 could be making the switch from exclusive premium product to readily available offering came as an unexpected move. Remember the X1 was one of the first US hybrid set tops able to accept QAM-delivered TV as well as DOCSIS-delivered IP video, and merge them into a single UI – so the burning question then is one of whether Comcast plans to massively increase the scale of its X1 licensing business on a pay TV basis,…