Category: Growth

Analysts dubbed dual-mode cellular/Wi-Fi handsets as the "breakout market segment" in 2007. The devices are seen to grab 20 percent of the total chipset market in two years. Wi-Fi for voice, according to In-Stat analyst Gemma Tedesco, is also gaining momentum this year as a result of T-Mobile's deployment of fixed-mobile convergence in the U.S....

EarthLink's latest move is sending minor shockwaves through the Wi-Fi community. The company has decided to turn its attention away from municipalities and focus on existing deals and big cities. The company cites its first quarter earnings, or losses rather, as the reason for its shift in focus. With a loss of $30 million the...

Wi-Fi has become a staple technology in Australia. Sean Casey, business development manager of Intel Customer Solutions Group, considers the country a mature market, considering the uptake of the technology among consumers and businesses. Casey said the integration of a functional standard into handheld devices and laptops is driving the popularity of Wi-Fi. Part of...

This week, carriers and equipment vendors are converging in Orlando, Florida for the CTIA Wireless 2007 trade show. Mohammad Shakouri, vice president of marketing for the Wimax Forum, expects WiMax to be the main topic of talks, similar to what happened in the 3 GSM World Congress in Barcelona last month. Some vendors plan to...

China has replaced the U.S. as the top market for Skype. The VoIP provider ascribed the current expansion of its market in Asia -- home to 30 percent of its 171 million global subscribers -- to the growing popularity of the service in China. For its China operations, Skype partnered with Tom Online Inc., which...

Tesco has begun offering VoIP service, allowing subscribers to call each other for free. Calls, however, to U.K. landlines and select international destinations entail a fee of as little as 2p per minute while those to U.K. mobile numbers require payment of 10p per minute except for Hutchison 3G, which is costlier by 15p. Costs...

A new study shows that users of residential VoIP service will reach 267 million by 2012. ABI Research principal broadband analyst Michael Arden said major regions will see differing trends in this area. Competition between cable operators and telcos, according to Arden, will spur the growth in the U.S., while European carriers are expected to...

Research firm Wireless Intelligence predicted that cellular connections will grow to 3 billion by the end of 2007, up by half a billion from September 2006. Asia-Pacific would account for most of the increase, with India, Pakistan and Bangladesh seeing the fastest growth rate. About 75 percent of Western Europe, according to the firm, will...

Cingular Wireless reported that its profits trebled in the fourth quarter of 2006. Profits for the said period amounted to $782 million or $578 million more than the previous year. Revenues also went up by 10 percent, from $8.85 billion to $9.76 billion. The company, the largest wireless carrier in the U.S., said its subscribers...

Juniper Research expects wireless telemetry (or AMR - Automated Meter Reading) to become the leading sector in the M2M markets in three years. It said that revenues would go from $11.6 billion in 2006 to $25.3 billion by 2009 as companies would realize the operational benefits and efficiency savings from real-time data monitoring. The figure...

BT boasted that sign-ups for its Broadband Talk and Softphone Voice-over-IP (VoIP) services have reached one million. The figure includes subscribers to the Broadband Talk service and those who have secured a dedicated VoIP number. The company also said many of its 500,000 Business Broadband customers are also VoIP users though it declined to say...

Vodacom is buying a 26 percent stake in G-Mobile Holdings, a company that owns WiFi and broadband provider WirelessG. In a statement, the leading cellphone operator in South Africa said it considers "WiFi as an ideal complement to its 3G HSDPA mobile broadband services as it provides an alternative means of connectivity." It did not...

A new study by WiFi Alliance indicates that 89 percent of 549 WiFi users in the U.S. would rather give up Starbucks than lose their wireless connection. Some 92 percent of those aged between 18 and 29 are adamant about keeping their WiFi access. According to Wi-Fi Alliance managing director Frank Hanzlik, young people have...

A new survey by WiFi Alliance shows that WiFi is becoming more popular, with nearly 9 out of 10 respondents choosing their wireless connection over a year's worth of Starbucks. Moreover, 80 percent of those surveyed would not mind seeing their home team lose if they can keep their WiFi connection. This increasing popularity, however,...

Foster City in California is offering free wireless Internet connection to its 29,000 residents. The scheme, which the city began implementing in early October, aims to lower costs and improve public services. MetroFi built the network and signed a service level agreement that would allow anyone owning a WiFi-enabled device to use the service. Foster...