How soon till mobile TV really gets going?
By Saad Fazil, DigitalBeat.
Mobile TV has analysts excited. ABI Research estimates that mobile TV will have 43 million subscribers by 2013, and research firm TeleAnalytics estimates 50 million mobile TV users in North America by the same year. But so far mobile TV has not nearly lived up to the hype. Qualcomm’s FLO TV, the technology used behind the current market leaders — AT&T’s Mobile TV and Verizon’s V Cast — still isn’t making money. For this holiday season, Qualcomm launched a new product, FLO TV Personal television, to turn the situation around. Could this be a new beginning for mobile TV?
Read the full article at http://digital.venturebeat.com
Live programming more desirable than on-demand.
Via eMarketer.
Nearly one-half of US mobile users are interested in watching live digital television on a mobile device, according to an Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC) survey conducted by Frank N. Magid Associates. Interest was highest, unsurprisingly, among millennials and early technology adopters.
When asked the narrower question of how likely they were to actually watch mobile TV, more than one-third said they probably would.
Programming with a strong local element, such as emergency reports of school closings or severe weather, weather forecasts, and local or regional news, saw especially high interest from overall respondents as well as younger adults ages 18 to 29.
News and weather content was overall the most appealing live mobile programming, with almost nine in 10 respondents interested in watching. Entertainment and sports ranked lower among adults of all ages.
Notably, young adults’ interest in local news programming on mobile was very strong compared with on conventional television. The report suggests mobile is a better fit for the times and places younger users want this content.
The study also found that one-half mobile users say they will “watch (not just tolerate) advertisements” in exchange for free live mobile programming. Young adults (61%) and early tech adopters (71%) expressed the most willingness to see ads in exchange for content. More than one-third of respondents also said they would pay for premium content.
View the full article at eMarketer
Sky’s Tim Hussain on mobile advertising
Tim Hussain, head of mobile advertising at Sky, talks to “Meet the Boss TV” about the health and promise of the mobile advertising industry.
2009 Telecommunication Trend Report
Power is shifting, as social media and mobile communication merge.
Web 2.0 and its impact on telecommunication was the most discussed topic at this years Berlin Telco Summit. Social media has become a massive movement and is fundamentally changing the way people communicate with one another. This development, naturally, has an impact on the telecommunication industry. Understanding Web 2.0 and learning how to connect with people in meaningful ways will be the major challenge for telecommunication companies for years to come.
The Berlin Telco Summit is an initiative of the Berlin-based brand consultancy Musiol Munzinger Sasserath in cooperation with Republic, a Milan-based advertising agency, which is part of the Publicis Network. It took place for the third time on the 16th and 17th of July 2009. It drew together 19 communication and brand strategist representing 21 markets such as Italy, Spain, UK, France, Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands as well as the U.S., Mexico, India, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan etc.. The idea of the summit is to connect and exchange the knowledge of experts within agencies of the Publicis Network, as well as independent consultancies, who have substantial experience in the telecommunications industry.
A Real Tsunami Warning
With ATT’s Ralph de la Vega making the stunning announcement last week that 3% of its smart phone users accounted for 40% of its network capacity while pointing a finger at video makes a very compelling story for video optimization. The iPhone has enabled and enamored so many users to access video that adoption will only grow and grow. His announcement is equivalent to a seismograph shaking its little needle off the paper.
The long awaited video tsunami is pulling the water away from the beach now. And it’s all going to come crashing back. De la Vega hinted of usage-based charging or ‘other’ incentives to motivate users to throttle back. There will be a backlash on ATT. Subscribers will get sensitive about dropped calls, QoS, and monitor their bills closely. This will lead to a rash of customer service calls for credits, justifications, explanations. Many will jump ship to Verizon. Handset makers and content providers are going to complain that uptake is slowed, etc. (That’s another story all together regarding ‘over-the-top’ plays).
But the savvy operator will take note and gird up for this onslaught before it reaches them. As iPhone and Android devices take off worldwide, the operators that remember their Boy Scout motto, ‘Be Prepared’, are going to protect themselves with bandwidth optimization facilities such as Dilithium’s DVO. DVO provides the operator the ability to control, throttle, and reduce the impact that video puts on the network. This is just the beginning.
Read More Here:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/12/09/technology/AP-US-TEC-ATT-Data-Usage.html?_r=1&hpw
Kenya welcomes first solar-charged mobile phone
Kenya is home to at least 17 million mobile-phone customers, but only one million have regular access to electricity, making it difficult to recharge a mobile phone.
But the first solar-powered handset could change Kenya’s telecommunication industry.
Mobile Video Usage in Italy to Rise to 5.1M in 2015
By Ionut Arghire – Mobile Editor – Softpedia.
The number of mobile-phone users in Italy that access video content through their handsets is expected to rise up to 5.1 million by 2015, at least this is what a recently published report from technology and media specialist Coda Research Consultancy shows. Moreover, the firm also forecasts that the revenues in the segment are set for growth, reaching US$685 million by that time.
The report from Coda, focused on the Italian TV market, also unveils the fact that the number of mobile-phone users that will be accessing TV content from their devices is to double by 2015, when DVB-H alone is taken into consideration. Currently, there are around 1.2 million users in the country that enjoy this option, yet the number should reach 2.5 million in six years.
Read the full article at http://news.softpedia.com/news/Mobile-Video-Usage-in-Italy-to-Rise-to-5-1M-in-2015-128258.shtml
World Economic Forum Selects Dilithium for Technology Pioneer Award
Company recognized for developing and applying highly transformational and innovative technologies that bring video to any 2.5G/3G mobile phone, PCs and set top boxes.
Petaluma, CA. – December 3, 2009 – Dilithium, the leading global provider of mobile video infrastructure solutions, today received the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2010 Technology Pioneer Award. The company was recognized for its Dilithium Content Adapter (DCA), which brings video to any 2.5G/3G mobile phone (including iPhone, Blackberry and Android devices), PCs and set top boxes. Dilithium joins an elite group of visionary companies chosen by an independent panel of 58 global technology experts for their accomplishments as innovators and developers of technologies that have a deep impact on business and society. Dilithium’s CEO, Paul Zuber, will join global leaders at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2010 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland on January 27 – 31, 2010 and receive the Technology Pioneer Award on behalf of Dilithium.
Dilithium’s founders pioneered mobile video, working with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to develop the global standard for 3G video telephony. Its mobile video infrastructure solutions allow providers to deliver high quality, affordable mobile video content, enabling a new era of interactive video communications. Dilithium’s mobile video solutions are deployed on six continents in networks reaching 1.5 billion subscribers, and are offered by Tier-1 service providers including China Mobile, China Unicom, BSNL, Singtel, Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, Etisalat, Zain, MTN, and Yahoo!.
WEF’s Technology Pioneers are companies that have been identified as developing and applying highly transformational and innovative technologies in the areas of energy, biotechnology and health, and information technology. To be selected as a Technology Pioneer, a company must be involved in the development of life-changing technology innovation and have the potential for long-term impact on business and society. In addition, it must demonstrate visionary leadership, and its technology must be proven.
“Our content adaptation solutions open up a new world of video content and delivery services that are being rapidly adopted by consumers around the globe,” said Paul Zuber, CEO of Dilithium. “To be recognized by such a prestigious organization is a great honor for Dilithium. The World Economic Forum chooses companies it deems long-standing market leaders, and we are pleased to join the ranks of past award winners including Google, Paypal, Red Hat, and Sandisk.”
About Dilithium
Dilithium Networks is the leading global provider of mobile video infrastructure solutions enabling multimedia services from any network to any device. Dilithium’s extensive customer base spans 120 service providers and operators in more than 60 countries, comprising more than 1.5 billion subscribers. Dilithium’s hardware, software, and service solutions are used by many of the world’s largest service providers and content companies to create and distribute multimedia solutions that are changing the way people communicate. From our founding, our mission has been to enable Communications for a borderless world.
About the World Economic ForumThe World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. (www.weforum.org)
Give me Advertainment!
Given that my previous blog was about Video Director/Producer having such a rosy future due to online video demand, I started thinking and watching. My light’s just gone on that there’s a whole new-to-me-at-least genre combining advertisement and entertainment. Sort of like, if you enjoy your work then it isn’t really work, right? If you liked the video is it really advertising or advertainment?
Ok, service providers, give me a ‘Cool Advert’ channel and give me ‘Video Push’ so I can share the joy with my friends. Operators and VAS players should have no problem finding good, professionally produced content to drive this channel at dirt cheap cost. And, while at it, make that multiple channels focused on gender, hobbies or what have you.
Here’s my fav of the week. Thank you Harley-Davidson for combining noise, action, photography and the beauty (Marisa Miller) on the beast (HD’s V-Rod Muscle) Enjoy.
Streaming Video Mobilizes
Sam Churchill on DailyWireless.org.
AdMob, which is being acquired by Google, announced the launch of its new Interactive Video Ad Unit for the iPhone. This ad unit is the first to bring true interactivity to mobile video advertising with in-player actions that enable consumers to browse Web sites, view additional videos, and more while the video is playing.
The first ads will start running in select applications across AdMob’s iPhone ad network that reached more than 20 million unique iPhones and iPod touch devices worldwide in 2009.
AdMob for iPhone Advertising Actions: Highlights
Read the full article at the dailywireless.org