Defining unlimited; and T-Mobile US in the driver's seat
Last week, the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to fine AT&T Mobility $100 million for allegedly misleading customers about unlimited data plans. Despite many news outlets calling this the first of many “net neutrality fines,” the...
When entering a new place – restaurant, gym, home or other location – it’s just a matter of time before someone asks for the Wi-Fi password.
It’s becoming commonplace for public facilities to offer free Wi-Fi to their customers, allowing them to browse online free...
To solve the problem of poor indoor coverage, service providers and enterprise IT managers are increasingly relying on denser nodes of faster wireless technologies, leveraging the latest developments in small cells and next-generation Wi-Fi. However, the wired portion of these networks face bottlenecks as...
Who would have dreamt that within two years the demand from communication service providers for digital capabilities would rank alongside those of IT, research and development and innovation in one of Gartner’s surveys – Increasing Investment Areas, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Rankings: A Shift...
Hello! And welcome to our Friday column, Worst of the Week. There’s a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCRWireless.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way....
Small cells in transition to opex-based operations
As more people use their mobile devices in the workplace, there is an opportunity for the mobile operators to offer cloud and mobile managed services to enterprise IT to ease the management of corporate and mobile solutions as...
Today’s customer-experience landscape is fiercely competitive and quite complex, requiring businesses to address the challenges by investing in a digital-experience strategy. Providing a positive digital experience requires a visually pleasing interface, driving engagement and cohesion across all channels. The explosion of smartphones, tablets, connected...
Deciphering the top trends of any quarter is difficult, and the second quarter of 2015 is no exception. There’s a lot of “reading between the lines” to figure out what’s really going to move the needle. This week’s trends are based on several conversations...
An infographic published by Dynatrace reveals just how pervasive mobile usage has become. For instance, mobile app downloads are expected to rise to 200 billion by 2017 – a 185% jump from 2013. A statistic of particular interest for merchants is that mobile users...
A shortage of wireless spectrum is a real and growing problem the industry faces. If the crisis is not averted, it has the very real potential to interfere with the way we use smartphones on wireless networks. If we don’t solve the problem, we...
In a distributed antenna system deployment, about half of the cost of installation – trade labor rather than material, labor and electronics – lies in the head-end, where the DAS host unit connects to mobile operator base stations. It pays to optimize the head-end...
This year has been predicted to be the year of the small cell, which should come as no surprise – there have been similar predictions for several years.
There are, however, indications that 2015 will be different and the prediction may be accurate. The end of 2014 saw...
One of the biggest challenges facing communications service providers today is how to best monetize mobile data and avoid data becoming a commodity. To do so effectively, CSPs need to look at the value that data enables and not just think of pricing based...
Greetings from Chicago, Philadelphia (pictured – Bill Gravette from StepOne outside of Pat’s Steaks), New York City, St. Louis, Louisville and Dallas. Many thanks for everyone’s comments on last week’s Android World column. In keeping with the theme – we moved exclusively to an Equipment Installment...
I have never seen a situation quite like it in my 22 years in the high-tech industry. I am referring to the sudden and more intense focus by executives on data security, digital trust and intrusion protection.
During my meetings with clients in the past...
Today’s vehicles are viewed by many as the next frontier for mobile devices and Internet connectivity. In fact, we already see automakers adding Wi-Fi hot spots and LTE capabilities to new vehicles. Industry forecasts from ABI Research estimate there will be 210 million connected...
If you knew the real journey a mobile application makes from where you are standing to the application server, you would find it hard to believe that the entire mobile system actually works. If you realized how much of a mobile application's quality depended...
Intelligent buildings are a unique segment in the “Internet of Things,” an industry that has several different types of use cases for connected technology. For example, energy management and how demand response work in a building. Security is another area, such as video surveillance...
There has been no shortage of news affecting the telecom and wireless industries. First, as many expected, a three-way merger among Charter, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks was announced last Tuesday. Many, if not most, of you are versed on the details of...
More than 75% of all mobile phones used in the United States are smartphones, according to ComScore’s most recent MobiLens report. That’s 184 million Americans using Web-connected devices every day. A major component of smartphone use is the reliance on over-the-top services offering users...
Can PayPal compete against Apple, Google, Android and other mobile commerce platforms?
The online and wireless payment space is growing, changing and maturing and that is threatening existing leaders like PayPal. How will new competition from entrants like Apple Pay, Google Wallet, Android Pay, Google...
For enterprises in all industries, reliable wireless local area network connectivity is table stakes. It’s the backbone that delivers true mobility and, ultimately, worker productivity. But does your WLAN really drive productivity? That’s the million-dollar question. Initial WLAN investments were designed to accommodate growing mobility...
The role of mobile phones today has evolved beyond a general-purpose communications tool to become an extension of a user’s persona and everyday routine. New revenue opportunities for mobile operators will only increase as customers want and expect more services from their phones –...
Our world is exploding with new connected devices designed to simplify and improve modern living – connected cars, smart homes, wearables and even objects like toothbrushes and umbrellas. The rise of the “Internet of Things” – smart objects and machines connected and controlled via...
