BROWSING: Opinion

Reader Forum: Better passwords, better security

To many users, password policies are as daunting and ridiculous as the tax code. Nobody enjoys having to remember or type complex and difficult passwords day after day. Even worse is having to change those passwords month-after-month for no reason.

Worst of the Week: Mirror, mirror

Not sure how much everyone is following the ongoing court battle between Samsung and Apple over who stole who’s designs, but it’s pretty funny.

Analyst Angle: Choosing the right backhaul for small cells

There is a near universal consensus among mobile operators that small cells are the way of the future – the only solution that will enable them to provide the capacity they need to meet the expectations for the fast growing numbers of smartphone users.

Reality Check: Let’s hear it for voice

The disruption that the advent of Skype caused to telecoms operators was initially viewed as a challenge to the fixed line market – to international calls from landlines.

Reality Check: An enterprising proposal – targeting business clients to bolster revenues

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile industry to give their insights into the marketplace. As mobile data and voice traffic soars, Brazilian service providers are understandably focused on growing their consumer base. But they...

Reality Check: Cloud is not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile industry to give their insights into the marketplace. Much is made of cloud computing today, but I'm not sure if the market is really aware of the correct...

Reader Forum: How to turn customer service into a win-win

With smartphones and other connected devices powering so much of our daily activity, it becomes a big headache when something isn’t working right. A broken link in the productivity chain

Worst of the Week: Apple’s redemption

Last week, I used this soapbox to go into some detail regarding Apple’s current “issues” in regards to the iPhone and how it’s positioned in the market and comparing its current 4S model to a non-too-handsome product of the U.S. automotive industry.

Analyst Angle: Research In Motion – Will going with QNX prove better than Android?

For a while there (before the introduction of the iPhone), it seemed Research In Motion just about had it all. BlackBerry sales were growing worldwide and the devices were so addictive that the public called it “CrackBerry.”

Analyst Angle: Service provider Wi-Fi trends are looking up

Service providers have dramatically increased their investment in Wi-Fi, a trend we expect will continue for years to come. Dell’Oro Group predicts that by 2016, over nine million service provider Wi-Fi access points will be in operation,

Reality Check: What’s behind last week’s strong earnings reports?

Many telecommunication providers reported earnings last week, and their stocks largely flowed with good news. AT&T started the parade, with Sprint Nextel and MetroPCS following.

Reality Check: Comparing wireless sensor networks – wired vs. wireless

Many building owners today are dealing with higher utility bills, old equipment systems and disparate controls that have been pieced together. One solution is the use of wireless networks to cost-effectively upgrade and replace antiquated controls.

Reader Forum: Mobile OS vendors continue to invest in mobile payments

In the last several weeks, two leading mobile operating system vendors moved into the mobile payments space. Apple announced its new mobile wallet Passbook that will debut with iOS 6 this fall.

Worst of the Week: Apple’s Aztek

While I have given up trying to explain Sprint Nextel, it appears that maybe, just maybe, people are getting wise to Apple’s gambit of rolling out improved devices every 12 months or so.

Reality Check: Short-term services driving long-term changes to OSS/BSS integration

Historically, the primary focus for business support systems platforms has been the commercial side of delivering services, whereas the focus for operations support systems platforms has been on the technical control of services.

Worst of the Week: Byte me!

This week, AT&T Mobility joined fellow wireless behemoth Verizon Wireless in announcing plans to offer customers the “choice” to pool data resources into one plan that is shared across multiple devices.

Reality Check: How did Verizon do it?

On Thursday, Verizon Communications kicks off the telecommunications earnings season with their release expected before Wall Street opens (Google, another closely followed company, announces after the bell).

Reality Check: Multi-device support – How to manage the complexities

One of the great promises of mobile technology is the consumers’ ability to connect to the Internet or mobile Web via any number of different types of mobile devices (e.g., feature phones, smartphones, tablets,

Reality Check: Life on the ‘high C’s’ – Competitive differentiators for mobile operators

Today’s mobile network operators inhabit a similar atmosphere, faced with daily competition and a scramble to succeed. Theirs is a world of mobile networks, devices and services all evolving at an extremely

Worst of the Week: A simple evolution

I will admit that I get little charge from mobile devices. At this point in the evolutionary timeline of devices targeting the wireless communication space, it seems that I am stuck in the time of Cro-Magnon Phone.

Analyst Angle: Central, Eastern European markets in structural impasse

We recently attended Capacity CEE 2012 in Prague, where regional wholesalers and their retail customers shared their perspectives on the market. There was, of course, a lot of fighting talk

Reality Check: How can AT&T best satisfy its shareholders?

Second quarter earnings announcements are just around the corner, and having a closer look at Verizon, AT&T, Comcast and Time Warner Cable should help cement our theses for the telecommunications sector.

Reality Check: Operators vs. OTT

We never thought we’d see a parallel between wireless operators and team sports, but today that parallel seems highly appropriate.

Reader Forum: How AT&T, Verizon and Vodafone can recoup billions spent on carrier clouds

Look around. Cloud services are hot and everyone is trying their best to cash in. According to Informa, in 2011, 127 telecoms operators spent $13.5 billion in capital investments on carrier cloud infrastructure,