FierceWireless

Analyzing the world's 11 biggest handset makers in Q1 2012

Fri, 25 May 2012 14:54:08 -0400

The numbers are in, and it's time to make sense of the data. ABI Research's Michael Morgan checks out the world's 11 largest branded cell phone makers in the first quarter of 2012, providing sales data as well as insight into their strategy and competitive position in the market.

Though most research firms only list the market's top five handset makers, ABI lists a full top 11 (and the firm is providing shipment numbers for all of the vendors listed).

A few notes: ABI's numbers represent "sell in," or phone shipments into the retail channel, rather than "sell out," or sales to consumers. Further, ABI's ranking only counts phones that carry the manufacturer's brand. Therefore, phones that bandy a carrier's logo without a hint of which company actually built the device are not counted.

And see ABI's first quarter 2009 rankings, second quarter 2009 rankings , third quarter 2009 rankings, fourth quarter 2009 rankings, second quarter 2010 rankings, third quarter 2010 rankings, fourth quarter 2010 rankings, first quarter 2011 rankings, second quarter 2011 rankings and fourth quarter 2011 rankings.

(And click here for a look at the first quarter earnings season, and here for a list of the top U.S. wireless carriers in the first quarter.)

First quarter 2012 market share by OEM

OEM shipments from first quarter 2010 to the first quarter 2012

Overall smartphone shipments vs. non smartphones

Analysis from ABI's Michael Morgan

Samsung	In Q1 Samsung took the handset shipment crown from Nokia which had held the No. 1 spot for over a decade. Additionally Samsung widened its lead in smartphone shipments over Apple with 42 million units shipped. With pre-orders of the Galaxy S3 already in the millions and the continued success of the Galaxy S2 and the 5” Galaxy Note ‘Phablet,' it appears that Samsung will only widen its lead over competitors in 2012.
Nokia	The No. 2 position is new territory for Nokia, as its handset shipments dropped 24% YoY and 27% sequentially. Nokia is not just losing share to competitors in the smartphone space where its shipments declined to 11.9 million from 19.6 in Q4 2011; Nokia’s portfolio low end of devices also saw shipments decrease by 23 million from the previous quarter. The problem is not just a regional collapse as every region except North America saw a precipitous drop in shipments. To put it in perspective, Nokia’s single quarter shipment decline is equal to ZTE and LG combined shipments this quarter. Two more quarters of this and Nokia will have to struggle to remain in the top ten. ABI Research believes it is time to put Nokia on death watch.
Apple	Apple’s shipment decline of 5% can be attributed to seasonality and the regularly expected drop in shipments from a post launch quarter. Although ABI Research estimates shipments will decline again in Q2, this should not be viewed as a decrease in demand for iPhones, but a buildup in demand for the next iPhone expected to be released in Q3. If Apple can maintain its current rate of growth with its upcoming iPhone, ABI Research believes Apple could become the No. 2 handset OEM by 2013.
ZTE	ZTE remains a bit of a dark horse in the global handset race, as it continues to show annual shipment growth and plans to double is smartphone shipments in 2012. ZTE continues to focus on becoming a globally recognized consumer brand and believes the U.S. will be its largest market by 2015. ZTE’s low cost handsets are ideal for the growing interest in prepaid smartphones, but ABI Research believes that by 2015, China will be ZTE’s (and others) best bet for smartphone sales.
LG	LG Shipments declined 44% YoY and the company continues to lose market share in the collapsing feature phone market. Despite LG’s continued decline in shipments, the company did something highly remarkable in the handset industry: after 7 quarters in the red, LG is back in the black! ABI Research notes that historically when a handset company with declining sales slips into the red, over 90% of the time, the company never recovers and is either acquired or goes out of business. It has been LG’s slowly improving performance in the smartphone segment that has taken the handset division off of life support, but ABI Research still believes this patient will require careful monitoring before a clean bill of health can be given.
Blackberry (RIM)	RIM has faced numerous challenges over the past year which has led to sweeping changes in its top management. RIM’s shipments continue to decline as its portfolio of devices continue to look somewhat archaic against its competitors in developed markets. While RIMs handsets continue to have a luke warm reception outside of North America, ABI Research believes that it was RIM’s loss at home that sparked its general global decline. Furthermore in Q1, RIM was not profitable, which when combined with declining shipments is the telltale sign of impending doom for a handset company. Despite all signs pointing to serious trouble, it should be noted that RIM does have enough cash to keep running for another year and that RIM will release new BB10 smartphones before time runs out. If RIM can deliver the type of smartphones that will win back North American consumers, RIM could be one of the lucky few to come back from the red. Considering early demonstrations of the BB10 devices, ABI Research is not fully convinced that RIM is down for the count.
Huawei	Historically considered a low cost Chinese handset OEM ,Huawei shares the international stage with ZTE and TCL/Alcatel, as a rising star from China. Huawei has leveraged its prolific set of carrier infrastructure relationships to deploy its low-cost handsets in nearly every region. Huawei continues to grow from low-cost handsets to low-cost Android smartphones and like its Chinese brethren is one of the few OEM's that can deliver a sub-$150 smartphone today. With China's appetite for Apple's smartphones increasing every day, Huawei is seeking to move up the value stream with its smartphones and hopefully get a peice of Apple's pie.
Motorola	As Google gains approval from China for its acquisition of Motorola, overall handset shipments continued to decline 2% YoY while smartphone shipments were up 20%. Despite the improved smartphone to feature phone ratio, Motorola failed to be profitable for the fifth consecutive quarter. With Samsung and Apple pushing other OEMs out of Motorola's primary U.S. market it will be increasingly important for Motorola to find greater success overseas. Motorola will need to depend on more than the U.S. market if it does not want to be a weight on Google's profits and OEM relationships.
TCL (Alcatel)	TCL is a well-known electronics brand in China that had formed a joint venture with Alcatel of France to leverage new markets and carrier relationships. For TCL this means strong growth of sales of entry- to mid-level devices in EMEA and LATAM. The Alcatel / TCL device portfolio is a mix of low- end candy bar devices and colorful clamshell devices with basic media capabilities. Most TCL handsets are designed to meet the universal needs of all regions served by Alcatel and TCL, allowing for greater production volume per device model. TCL's effecient prodcution has allowed it to offer low-cost 3G handsets that are sought after by consumers moving from 2G. TCL is continuing to leverage its low-cost production capabilities to offer sub-$150 Android smartphones, and remains one of the few OEMs that can do that today.
Sony Mobile	Sony Mobile Communications (formerly Sony Ericsson) will become the first handset OEM to fully complete a transition from feature phones to smartphones. While some issues are to be expected when simultaneously shifting product strategies and ownership, Sony has continued to grow its smartphone shipments but not its profits. ABI Research believes that with a 100% (currently at 90%) smartphone portfolio, Sony will have to begin finding its way to profitability in the very near future or its apperance in the top 10 list will be short lived.
HTC	While technically not in the top ten this quarter, HTC’s historic performance has earned itself a mention on this list regardless. HTC shipments experienced its second sequential 30% decline in a row. North America used to account for 50% of HTC shipments (currently 25%), but HTC’s rush to produce LTE smartphones for the U.S. has been halted by terrible battery life, mediocre performance and the iPhone 4S. HTC has all but conceded the North American market to Samsung and Apple and will refocus on developing its presence in China and its new One series devices that ABI Research believes are the most technologically sophisticated devices HTC has ever accomplished.

The raw data

2012 Q1 Handset Shipment Market Share by OEM
Samsung	25.8%
Nokia	22.8%
Apple	9.7%
ZTE	5.2%
LG	3.8%
Blackberry (RIM)	3.1%
Huawei	2.9%
Motorola	2.4%
TCL (Alcatel)	2.1%
Sony Mobile	2.0%
HTC	1.9%
Other	18.3%

Handset Shipments by Vendor World Market: 1Q-2010 to 1Q-2012 (millions)
	1Q 2010	2Q 2010	3Q 2010	4Q 2010	2010 (full year)	1Q 2011	2Q 2011	3Q 2011	4Q 2011	2011 (full year)	1Q 2012
Nokia	107.8	111.1	110.4	123.7	453.0	108.5	88.5	106.5	113.5	417.0	82.7
Samsung	64.3	63.8	71.4	80.7	280.2	70.0	74.0	85.0	93.5	322.5	93.8
LG	27.1	30.6	28.4	30.6	116.7	24.5	24.8	21.1	20.0	90.4	13.7
SonyEricsson	10.5	11.0	10.4	11.2	43.1	8.1	7.6	9.5	9.0	34.2	7.3
Motorola	8.5	8.3	9.1	11.3	37.2	9.0	10.6	12.9	10.3	42.8	8.8
Blackberry	10.5	11.2	12.1	14.2	48.0	14.9	13.2	11.8	14.1	54.0	11.1
Apple	8.8	8.4	14.1	16.2	47.5	18.7	20.3	17.1	37.0	93.1	35.1
HTC	3.3	5.4	6.8	9.1	24.6	9.7	12.1	13.2	10.1	45.1	6.7
Huawei**	6.1	6.7	6.9	7.7	27.4	9.1	11.9	14.2	16.3	51.6	10.5
ZTE**	8.0	9.9	8.6	9.6	36.1	15.2	19.6	18.9	20.0	73.6	18.9
TCL (Alcatel Mobile Phones)**	2.9	7.6	9.0	12.5	32.0	7.7	8.9	9.4	8.1	34.0	7.8
Others	45.3	47.2	59.0	63.1	214.6	72.5	88.8	75.2	71.4	307.9	66.6
Total	303.0	321.2	346.2	390.0	1360.4	367.8	380.4	394.7	423.3	1566.2	363.0

Deutsche Telekom quashes sell-off speculation, slams regulators

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:20:03 -0400

Deutsche Telekom has no plans to sell subsidiaries or shareholdings in other companies, according to Deutsche Telekom CFO Timotheus Höttges

Höttges

Speaking at the company's annual general meeting, the CFO pointedly denied any discussions that would see Deutsche Telekom (DT) exit its profitable Everything Everywhere UK joint venture with France Telecom. "We don't have a list of units we want to sell," Höttges said.

"We want to be there when demand for mobile data increases," he said, according to Reuters. "We want to participate in upgrading the network [to LTE]."

However, DT's CEO Rene Obermann left the door ajar with regard to T-Mobile USA. "We do not exclude any option for the T-Mobile unit in the U.S., also not a merger," Obermann told shareholders in Germany, according to Bloomberg. "A complete sale is unlikely. You understand that I can't say more in public on T- Mobile USA."

However, this attracted comment from Alexandre Iatrides, an analyst at Oddo & Cie in Paris. "We don't see any value creation by T-Mobile USA if it stays as a stand-alone company," he told Bloomberg. "The alternatives would be a merger or some kind of network-sharing agreement with MetroPCS or Sprint Nextel."

In an attempt to move attention away from possible disposals, Obermann outlined DT's four-point strategy: to become the leading telco in Germany, focus on integrated networks for the gigabit society, innovation through collaboration, secure cloud solutions and on keeping customers delighted.

DT said in a statement issued at the meeting that the company still needed to compensate for the decline in revenue from traditional telephony, which is caused by regulatory interventions and tough competition, by increasing revenue in other fields. According to Obermann, regulation is costing the company "vast amounts of revenue."

"Everyone is calling for high-speed networks in the furthest-flung corners of the country - ideally fibre-optic networks ... At the same time, however, politicians at the European level and the national regulatory authorities are taking away the incentives for investment," Obermann said.

The DT chief added that the United States and Japan already offer widespread LTE services which remain rare in Europe, noting that the UK has yet to even conduct its LTE spectrum auction, and French operators will only begin offering LTE in some cities next year.

Obermann indicated there was a clear link between the lack of European LTE and heavy regulation, and urged Brussels to reduce regulatory intervention. "If not, there will be no new stimuli for broadband rollout adding that regulators were giving cable network operators preferential treatment," he said.

For more:
- see this Reuters article
- see this Bloomberg article
- see this separate Reuters article
- see this DT statement

Report: Vodafone's M2M connections grew 47% in Q1

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:17:19 -0400

Subscriber numbers disclosed by major global operators indicate that the machine-to-machine sector has sustained strong momentum into the early months of this year, according to a new report from research firm Berg Insight. The firm claims that the high installation rate of new M2M subscribers will see year-on-year growth rates stabilising at around 15-30 percent. Vodafone leads all European operators in terms of the total number of M2M connections, according to Berg.

On a quarterly basis--of the operators that officially report M2M numbers--Berg Insight says that AT&T had the highest number of M2M connections in the world with 13.3 million for the first quarter of 2012, up 25 per cent year-on-year.

Next was Vodafone with 7.8 million subscribers at the end of the financial year ending March 2012, up 47 per cent compared to the number of M2M connections it had in the year-ago period. However, Berg noted that Vodafone's actual M2M subscriber base was higher as the declared figure excluded some devices in Vodafone's regional subsidiaries that are not connected to the group's centralised M2M platform.

Japanese operators NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and Softbank recorded year-on-year growth rates in the range 20-35 per cent and recorded between 1.9 million and 2.4 million M2M subscribers each.

But, for those operators that do not disclose M2M details, China Mobile is thought to have the largest installed base at around 15 million, followed by Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and Telefónica at around 7-9 million

According to Berg, shipments of cellular M2M devices increased 35.3 percent in 2011 to a record level of 50.8 million units. Adjusted for churn, the research firm said this resulted in net additions of 29.3 million M2M connections in 2011, taking the worldwide number of cellular M2M subscribers to an estimated 108.0 million. The global machine-to-machine market is just getting going, and will soar to 359.3 million total M2M cellular connections in 2016, according to Berg.

Interestingly, the report found that due to the wide adoption of M2M across many vertical industries, a large portion of M2M device shipments is now due to replacement sales. As a result, Berg believes that the net increase of M2M subscribers will be substantially lower than M2M device shipments.

For more:
- see this release
- see this report (PDF)

LTE doesn't disrupt TV broadcasts, according to Swedish regulator

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:15:48 -0400

Only 33 Swedish residents have complained that their TV reception is suffering from interference caused by LTE operating in the same 800MHz band, and the Swedish telecoms regulator, Post & Telestyrelsen (PTS), has found no evidence that KTE transmissions will cause interference with TV broadcasts.

PTS issued LTE licences in the 800 MHz band in March 2011 to Hi3G, Telia, Telenor and Tele2 to expand coverage, according to Telegeography. The avoidance of causing disruption to TV channels operating in the same spectrum was one of the conditions of the licences.

However, the PTS has received 33 complaints from TV watchers, triggering the government body to conduct around 10 field measurement tests. PTS was unable to establish that the interference, under the definition set out in the LTE licence conditions, was caused by 800 MHz transmissions.

Separately, LTE interference is being taken more seriously in the UK with plans revealed by UK FreeTV that over 100 Freeview digital TV relay transmitters have been added to the 33 main transmitters already catalogued for retuning. The work to retune these transmitters will take place next year with the actual timing being dependent on when UK operators switch on their LTE services.

A budget of £180 million has been set aside by the operators to help digital TV viewers with the costs to retune their set-top boxes or move to FreeSat reception.

For more:
- see this Telegeography article
- see this UK FreeTV article

Orange UK unveils mobile ticketing trial, eyes nationwide service

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:13:45 -0400

Orange UK has partnered with rail and bus operator Stagecoach to trial a mobile ticketing service. If successful, the Cambridgeshire-based trial could lead to a nationwide rollout across select bus and rail services in 2013.

Orange UK partnered with Stagecoach.

Those involved with the trial can receive, store and validate tickets using handsets provided by Orange that run its NFC service Quick Tap.

Everything Everywhere CMO Gerry McQuade said in a statement: "We've already started a new movement in the way we make payments and receive retail rewards on the high street, so this really is the next step--providing customers with additional simplicity and convenience to help improve their public transport experience."

Results of the trial will be monitored by the UK Department for Transport and will involve measuring the level of customer convenience and technological effectiveness. The trial complies with the government's aim of enabling most journeys by public transport to use smart ticketing by the end of 2014.

Stagecoach group finance director Martin Griffiths said: "Once this trial is complete, we will carry out a review of the findings and assess the potential to expand the scheme further for our passengers."

A recent study from Informa Telecoms and Media forecast that sales of NFC-enabled devices are expected to accelerate from 2013 onwards. Total NFC handset shipments are expected to grow from almost 44 million in 2011 to over 630 million in 2015, representing 40 per cent of all new handsets, up from 3.5 per cent right now.

For more:
- see this release
- see this Mobile Today article
- see this Telecoms.com article

Huawei hopes to rescue operators OTT service threats

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:11:26 -0400

Mobile operators are coming under increasing threat due to over-the-top (OTT) players, according to the president of Huawei's carrier software and core network business unit, Deng Biao.

Deng maintains that OTT companies are now capturing a growing proportion of revenues that previously went to mobile operators. The Huawei executive stated that a few years ago text messages and ring-back tones were the most important services for China Mobile, but now "evenue is declining," as a result of competition from OTT services, Deng told Total Telecom at the TM Forum Management World in Dublin.

"Operators are not willing to be the dumb pipe;" they want a bigger share of the revenues, but OTT players are too strong, Deng said. Noting that voice revenues are continuing to decline, he warned ″many operators will go bankrupt″ if things do not change.

To combat the problem, Huawei believes its new value-growth solution (VGS) could help operators by optimising and monetising mobile broadband, helping operators to deliver greater bandwidth and better QoS for high-value end-users.

Deng pointed to VGS being deployed with reference customer MegaFon, as well as a number of others, and "many top operators are considering bringing our VGS solution into their network," he added.

For more:
- see this Total Telecom article

Social gambling via mobile devices will push market to $100B by 2017

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:09:53 -0400

A surge in social gambling activity, along with the introduction of intrastate casino and lottery services in the U.S., will help global annual wager via mobile handsets and tablets grow from under $20 billion (€16 billion) last year to $100 billion €80 billion by 2017. However, this new Juniper Research forecast notes that while sports betting currently accounted for the largest share of mobile gambling, it would be overtaken by casino gaming within five years. Dr Windsor Holden from Juniper, said: "Social gaming companies such as Zynga are seeking to move from play-for-fun casino games into real money gambling, while pureplay mobile casinos including Probability have begun to integrate with the Facebook mobile platform. In this way, consumers will be able to use their social networks to register for casino games, substantially increasing both the reach and engagement of such services." Release

Rounding up Fierce's wireless features this week

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:17:13 -0400

FierceWireless and the other Fierce publications give you the latest news every day to kee you up to date. But we also do a whole lot more than that and this week was especially busy in terms of features. In case you missed them, here's a quick recap of some of our biggest features from the week:

The first-quarter earnings season is over and it's time to make sense of U.S. subscriber numbers and metrics. It's increasingly looking like traditional metrics of ARPU and subscriber growth are becoming outdated. Of course, that future isn't quite here yet--which is why FierceWireless is still providing this list of the top U.S. wireless carriers, thanks to figures provided by Strategy Analytics.
The head of Zynga's mobile business is Senior Vice President Travis Boatman, who joined the company last year shortly before Zynga's IPO. Boatman talked with FierceMobileContent Associate Editor Sandhya Raman about Zynga's growing mobile presence, the company's recent acquisitions, and how the purchase of OMGPOP will impact the company. Hot Seat
As part of T-Mobile's plan to rejuvenate itself following the failed $39 billion acquisition by AT&T (NYSE:T), the company said it will grow its market share in the business-to-business space. That strategy includes hiring 1,000 more business sales representatives, increasing the company's distribution channels and beefing up its marketing and advertising. At the recent CTIA Wireless 2012 conference in New Orleans, FierceWireless Editor in Chief Sue Marek sat down with Marc Rohleder, T-Mobile's director of business sales engineering, to talk about the company's B2B strategy. Hot Seat
With a million mobile apps on the market, developers need to be aggressive when it comes to building consumer awareness for their products. Marketing is a challenge for many developers, who are usually not trained in this discipline and may not have marketing budgets. What are the top 5 marketing tips budget-conscious developers need to know? Find out in this FierceDeveloper special report.
Venture capital is back; 2011 was a banner year for venture capital investments in wireless. After the recession of the past few years, venture capitalists came out in force during 2011 to invest a total of $6.3 billion in mobile-focused companies, according to Rutberg & Co. Which VC firms made the most investments? Find out in our special report.

FCC approves use of LTE in 800 MHz band, opening door for Sprint

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:06:00 -0400

The FCC voted to remove technical restrictions on the 800 MHz band, allowing the deployment of 3G and LTE service on the spectrum, which should clear the way for Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) to eventually deploy LTE in the airwaves.

The FCC voted 5-0 Thursday on a report and order that allows the deployment of advanced services by 800 MHz Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) licensees. The action alters the FCC's rules to allow geographically-based SMR licensees to operate across contiguous channels without a rigid channel spacing requirement or bandwidth limitation. The restrictions had kept operations on 800 MHz spectrum limited to 2G services, and the technical limitations dated from an older FCC order before Sprint merged with Nextel in 2005. The FCC also took steps to continue to mitigate against interference with public-safety operations in the 800 MHz band.

Sprint intends to deploy LTE services on its 800 MHz spectrum sometime by 2014; the 800 MHz spectrum is where its iDEN network currently resides. Steve Elfman, president of network operations at Sprint, said in April that the company has already received 3GPP certification for Band Class 26 to use its 800 MHz spectrum for LTE.

"Today's unanimous vote by the FCC paves the way for Sprint and other 800 MHz licensees to deploy advanced 3G and 4G technologies in the band," said Vonya McCann, senior vice president of government affairs at Sprint.

At the FCC's open meeting, which was the first with newly confirmed commissioners Ajit Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel, the agency also approved rules to allow medical body-area networks (MBANs) to operate on 2360-2400 MHz spectrum. MBANs can transmit information from, and between, mobile medical devices and body-monitoring sensors both in the hospital and at home. The commissioners also voted to look into whether communications can be restored after natural disasters or emergencies by using specially equipped drones or other aircraft.

For more:
- see this FCC report and order (PDF)
- see this release (PDF)
- see this Broadcasting & Cable article
- see this Urgent Communications article
- see this Politico article

Related Articles:
Sprint to deploy LTE in iDEN spectrum in 2014
Sprint to keep smartphone data unlimited on LTE, for the same price as 3G
Sprint continues 800 MHz rebanding work
FCC approves new wireless medical device channel

Senators duel over concerns on Verizon's cable deals

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:44:14 -0400

A pair of high-ranking senators expressed sharply contrasting views on Verizon Wireless' (NYSE:VZ) pending $3.9 billion purchase of AWS spectrum and commercial deals with cable companies, with Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) delivering a strong statement of skepticism about the deals and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) expressing his support for them.

Kohl, left, and Lee.

Kohl, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on antitrust, said in a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and Attorney General Eric Holder that he thinks the deals raise "serious competition concerns" and that they should receive close examination. The subcommittee held a hearing on the deal March 21.

In December, Verizon agreed to pay $3.6 billion for the nationwide AWS spectrum licenses held by SpectrumCo, a joint venture of cable companies Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. Separately, Verizon said it will buy Cox Communication's 20 MHz of AWS spectrum covering 28 million POPs for $315 million. All of the deals include the option of Verizon reselling cable services and cable companies reselling Verizon service. The cable companies can also become MVNOs of Verizon. A decision on the deals is expected in late July or early August.

Kohl's letter, which drew praise from a variety of public interest groups opposed to the deal, said that the spectrum purchases might be used as a strategic tool by Verizon to "entrench its market position" and "suppress competition." He also wrote that if the cable companies become MVNOs of Verizon it would be "plainly a shadow" of more direct competition.

In contrast, Lee, the subcommittee's ranking member, said in his own letter to Genachowski and Holder that the spectrum purchases and commercial agreements will not lead to less competition. "'[T]he evidence suggests that these agreements are primarily pro-competitive and will benefit consumers by putting previously fallow spectrum to efficient use, expanding consumer choice ... and spurring innovation," he wrote.

Regardless, most independent analysts think that Verizon will have to divest some spectrum to obtain regulatory approval. "If you read the tea leaves, they [the FCC] will approve the deal," Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett told CNET. "And they'll use the conditions as leverage points."

Verizon already owns around 20 MHz of AWS spectrum around the country, including in top markets where SpectrumCo owns AWS spectrum. By combining the two sets of AWS spectrum, Verizon would be able to devote around 40 MHz of prime AWS spectrum to its LTE network for extra capacity. Verizon, which operates LTE now on its 700 MHz Upper C Block spectrum, has agreed to sell its 700 MHz Lower A and B Block spectrum if the deals go through. Verizon has conceded that the AWS spectrum is more valuable to it than its Lower 700 MHz holdings.

For more:
- see this Kohl letter (PDF)
- see this Lee letter (PDF)
- see this Broadcasting & Cable article
- see this separate Broadcasting & Cable article
- see this CNET article

Report: M2M connections to soar to 359M in 2016

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:19:35 -0400

The global machine-to-machine market is just getting going, and will soar to 359.3 million total M2M cellular connections in 2016, according to a new report form Berg Insight.

Click here (PDF) for details from Berg's forecast.

The research firm also noted that despite a consolidation among Western M2M vendors--which include the likes of Sierra Wireless and Gemalto--average selling prices for wireless modules have continued to decline, cutting into industry revenues. "Well executed transformational strategies will be the key to success for wireless module vendors in the years to come," the firm said. "Extended value propositions, product innovation and more mergers and acquisitions are some of the things to expect."

Carriers have obviously been keen to take advantage of the market, even if they often have been unable to agree on common M2M standards and metrics for subscribers and usage. According to Berg, the world's ten largest operators by revenues had 68.2 million M2M subscribers at the end of 2011, an increase of around 38 percent year-over-year.

At the end of the first quarter, AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) had the largest number of M2M connections, with 13.3 million, up 25 percent year-over-year. Vodafone counted 7.8 million, up 47 percent from the year-ago period, Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) counted 3 million, up 15 percent and T-Mobile USA counted 2.7 million, up 29 percent.

Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) indicated during its first-quarter earnings conference call that it would no longer disclose total network connections, explaining that M2M is more complicated in terms of how plans and device connections are formulated.

For more:
- see this release
- see this report (PDF)

Related Articles:
Verizon CTO: Industry needs standard M2M platform
Touring AT&T's 'Digital Life' automated home
AT&T to offer home automation services in U.S. via 'Digital Life' launch
Is M2M the money-making opportunity everyone envisioned?
Paolini: Will carriers miss the boat on M2M in the consumer market?

Sprint discontinues Nexus S 4G; Apple's Cook gives up $75M

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:05:22 -0400

Quick news from around the Web.

@FierceWireless: RT@Gartenberg: So #Google gets #Palm for around zero billion. Article #wellplayed | Follow@FierceWireless

> Sprint Nextel stopped selling the Nexus S 4G. Article

> Apple CEO Tim Cook gave up $75 million in dividend income. Article

> Nokia said it added live traffic advice and geocoding to Microsoft's Bing. Post

> Nvidia said 30 phones are in development with its Tegra 3 processor. Article

> Lenders are pessimistic over LightSquared's chances for the future. Article

> According to new research, Samsung's Galaxy S III performs more quickly than HTC's new One X phone. Article

> U.S. regulators plan to fine Ericsson $1.75 million for violating U.S. export restrictions to Cuba. Article

> Research In Motion's former sales chief was reportedly hired by Sonos. Article

> SimpleAir said Apple licensed the company's technology. Article

Mobile Content News

> Google is adding in-app subscription support to its Google Play multimedia storefront, giving Android developers a new channel to monetize their applications, games and multimedia content. Article

> Facebook unveiled Camera, a new photo-sharing and effects app for Apple's iOS. Article

And finally... According to a new poll, cell phone users prefer President Obama while wireline phone users like Mitt Romney. Article

Memorial Day holiday

Fri, 25 May 2012 08:13:11 -0400

Due to the Memorial Day holiday, FierceWireless will not publish Monday, May 28. We will be back in your inbox on Tuesday, May 29. Enjoy the long weekend! --Phil

Verizon's Shammo: LTE enables new kinds of data plans

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:31:25 -0400

Verizon Wireless' (NYSE:VZ) LTE network gives it the ability to create new and differentiated kinds of data plans, including ones where content providers could pay Verizon to take their content out of a customer's data allotment, a senior Verizon executive said.

Speaking at the Barclays Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference, Verizon Communications CFO Fran Shammo said that LTE gives carriers the ability "to price data many, many different ways." He was asked specifically about charging more or less for data depending upon the time of day or network utilization, and while Shammo did not address those two scenarios directly or say how Verizon might charge differently for data, he did mention the possibility of "toll free" data plans. Such plans, like toll free numbers, pass the cost of the connection from the user to a service provider.

"There's a lot of innovation that LTE brings to give us the ability to price data very differently," Shammo said.

Shammo also addressed his comments from last week about the carrier's forthcoming family data plans, or data share plans, which Verizon will launch this summer. Shammo said he misspoke slightly, noting that customers will have the choice to upgrade to such plans. However, he reiterated his point from last week that if customers on unlimited data plans move to data share plans, they will lose their unlimited pricing.

"If you go to data share, you can't intuitively have an unlimited plan if you want to go to data share," he said, noting that the company's market research has shown that customers want such plans. He did not provide details on Verizon's planned family data plans, but said, "I think it's going to be different and innovative for the industry."

The Verizon CFO also talked about the carrier's pending purchase of $3.9 billion worth of AWS spectrum from a group of cable companies, as well as the company's proposed sale of 700 MHz Lower A and B Block spectrum. Verizon has said the sale of its 700 MHz spectrum is contingent on getting federal approval for the AWS purchases. Verizon noted in a recent FCC filing that it has attracted 36 possible bidders for the 700 MHz licenses.

"At the end of the day, this is not a fire sale," Shammo said of the 700 MHz spectrum. "This is a fair market value sale. It will be our discretion, if we don't believe we're getting the value then we won't go ahead with the sale."

According to Credit Suisse, Verizon will auction 24 12 MHz A Block licenses covering 152 million POPs and 54 12 MHz B Block licenses covering 48 million POPs. Verizon spent a total of $9.36 billion on its 700 MHz spectrum during the FCC's 2008 auction, with around $4.4 billion of that going to A and B Block licenses.

Shammo said that the AWS spectrum Verizon wants to buy fits better with its existing spectrum holdings and will serve as a capacity overlay to augment its 700 MHz Upper C Block spectrum, which Verizon is currently using for its LTE network. He said there are other companies that could make better use of Verizon's A and B Block spectrum.

For more:
- see this webcast

Related Articles:
Verizon: 36 buyers interested in our 700 MHz spectrum
Is Verizon's Viewdini a hint of what's to come?
Verizon will kill 'grandfathered' unlimited data plans, push users to data share
Verizon to launch family data plan by mid-year
Verizon revives double LTE smartphone data promotion
Verizon LTE subscribers climb to 8M in Q1, iPhone activations decline to 3.2M

The 10 top VC firms in the wireless industry in 2011

Thu, 24 May 2012 11:27:24 -0400

Venture capital is back; 2011 was a banner year for venture capital investments in wireless. After the recession of the past few years, venture capitalists came out in force during 2011 to invest a total of $6.3 billion in mobile-focused companies, according to Rutberg & Co. That's just slightly less than the high of $6.4 billion that VC firms delivered to mobile in 2006, the biggest year of VC investments in mobile in the past decade. According to Rutberg, mobile applications comprised $1.8 billion of the $6.3 billion total in 2011, with infrastructure contributing $2.6 billion, devices scooping up $1 billion, carriers netting $500 million and semiconductors nabbing $400 million. Which VC firms made the most investments? Find out in our special report.

ABI: 'Phablets' like Samsung Galaxy Note to hit 208M units in 2015

Thu, 24 May 2012 11:22:38 -0400

The emerging device category of "phablets," or devices that are larger in size than smartphones but smaller than tablets (generally with a 5-inch screen), will hit its stride over the next few years, reaching 208 million units in 2015, according to a forecast from ABI Research.

Samsung Galaxy Note

Currently, the most high-profile phablet is Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Note, which sports a 5-3-inch screen. Samsung, which markets the device as having the best features of both a smartphone and a tablet, said in late March it had sold 5 million units of the device. The Galaxy Note went on sale last fall and is currently available in the United States via AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T), which sells the LTE-capable device for $250 with a two-year contract.

Likely because of Samsung's success, other handset makers appear poised to jump into the phablet market later this year, including HTC, Huawei and LG Electronics. ABI defines phablets as devices with a touchscreen size between 4.6 and 5.5 inches. The research firm predicts that global shipments of phablets will increase by a factor of 10 in 2012 from 2011.

"One of the chief drivers for phablets is the amount of time people use their smartphones for web browsing, reading articles and newspapers on the go, or simply navigating their journeys," ABI analyst Joshua Flood said in a statement. "The larger screen sizes make a significant difference to the user's experience when compared to conventional-sized touchscreens between 3.5 to 4 inches." Additionally, new phablet-styled devices provide an attractive two-in-one device proposition and are beginning to see the competition between these larger smartphone form factors and smaller media tablets (less than 7 inches)."

As LTE networks proliferate, phablets are also likely to find favor with consumers who may want to view HD and other multimedia content on large screens but who might balk at buying a more expensive tablet. The chief drawback to phablets at this point is that they are somewhat ungainly to hold because of their in-between size.

For more:
- see this release

Related Articles:
Samsung soars to record Q1 on the back of smartphone sales
AT&T upgrading 11 devices to Android Ice Cream Sandwich
LG targets sales of 80M handsets, 35M smartphones for 2012
LG unwraps quad-core Optimus 4X HD smartphone before MWC

RIM loses global sales chief in latest exec departure

Thu, 24 May 2012 11:01:22 -0400

Even as it works toward releasing its BlackBerry 10 platform, Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) keeps losing top executives. The latest to depart is Patrick Spence, who resigned as RIM's head of global sales.

"Patrick will be taking on a leadership position in a different industry," RIM said in a statement sent to media outlets. "The sales function will report directly into Kristian Tear, our newly appointed COO when he starts this summer. In the interim, the sales function will report to [CEO] Thorsten Heins." Spence's resignation will take effect June 15.

Spence, 37, had worked at RIM for 14 years, and had taken on a much more high profile role over the past few months promoting BlackBerry around the world. Spence was promoted to the global sales role in July 2011 after serving as managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Spence's departure is the latest in a string of executive shakeups at RIM, which is treading water as it works on BlackBerry 10, the platform the company is betting its future on. Former co-CEO Jim Balsillie, former COO Jim Rowan, former CTO David Yach and former VPs Alan Brenner and Alistair Mitchell have all left the company recently.

RIM has made a few high-profile hires recently. The company named Tear, a former executive vice president at Sony Mobile Communications, as its COO earlier this month. RIM also named Frank Boulben as its CMO. Boulben was an executive vice president at LightSquared and who had a career with European carriers.

RIM's share of the U.S. smartphone market slumped to 12 percent in the first quarter, according to comScore. RIM's BlackBerry 10 platform, introduced earlier this month, was well received by analysts and the tech press, but will not make its way onto commercial devices until later this year.

For more:
- see this Wall Street Journal article (sub. req.)
- see this Bloomberg article
- see this Reuters article
- see this AllThingsD article

Related Articles:
RIM CEO promises LTE PlayBook, dishes on licensing BlackBerry 10
RIM's BlackBerry 10 impresses, but analysts say more is needed
RIM unveils Blackberry 10, Heins promises 'laser' focus on execution
RIM's HSPA+ and LTE PlayBook tablets could be headed to U.S. market
Report: RIM's Balsillie pitched cheap, global data service for Android, iPhone
RIM launches BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, adding iOS, Android security support

DT's Obermann: Another sale of T-Mobile USA not in the cards

Thu, 24 May 2012 10:41:39 -0400

Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann said it's unlikely DT will try to sell T-Mobile USA again after AT&T's (NYSE:T) $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile fell apart. However, he left open the possibility of other kinds of partnerships to grow DT's U.S. business.

Obermann

"We continue to look for a long-term solution to improve earnings in our U.S. business," Obermann told shareholders at Deutsche Telekom's annual general meeting. "However, a complete sale like the one to AT&T is considered unlikely."

Interestingly, the DT chief also said the company is not excluding "any option for the T-Mobile unit in the U.S., also not a merger." Obermann said the company is exploring ways to increase its return on capital or reduce its capital investment in the market, and is looking at other partnerships and other unnamed "non-organic steps."

The comments fit with those from other high-ranking DT and T-Mobile USA executives from recent weeks. DT CFO Timotheus Höttges said last week that there was "no need for us to enter into any kind of deal at this point in time" between T-Mobile and another company. T-Mobile CEO Philipp Humm said in a more recent interview with the Seattle Times that the focus for the business is to grow organically, though Humm also left the door open to "opportunities to gain additional scale or additional spectrum or strengthen capital structure in the U.S. market."

Höttges said last week that the $1.4 billion DT will spend this year and next year to upgrade T-Mobile's network--and the $4 billion in investments over time--will be all "self-funding" and will come from cash T-Mobile generates in the United States. He said at the end of the network upgrade, T-Mobile will have 2X10 MHz channels for LTE in almost all of its markets, which he said will give the company a strong spectrum position through 2017 or 2018. T-Mobile plans to deploy LTE next year using AWS spectrum and will start refarming its 2G 1900 MHz PCS spectrum for HSPA+ services.

For more:
- see this Bloomberg article
- see this MarketWatch article
- see this Reuters article

Related Articles:
T-Mobile's Humm: We don't need to make a deal with another carrier
T-Mobile clarifies restructuring plans, will cut only 350 jobs
DT CFO: T-Mobile USA can stand alone
T-Mobile to axe 1,900 jobs, close seven call centers
Report: Deutsche Telekom may try to merge T-Mobile with MetroPCS
T-Mobile picks Ericsson, NSN as its LTE vendors

Nvidia gets Icera onto AT&T's LTE; Yahoo intros new mobile browser

Thu, 24 May 2012 10:25:32 -0400

Quick news from around the Web.

@FierceWireless: @Wired asks if Dennis Woodside could be Google's bid to dominate mobile ads. Article Could be a long-term plan. Thoughts? --PG | Follow@FierceWireless

> Alcatel-Lucent CEO Ben Verwaayen said Silicon Valley is the place to be. Article

> Nvidia said its Icera modem has been certified for AT&T Mobility's LTE network. Release

> AT&T detailed the next phase of its "Rethink Possible" ad campaign. Post

> Bharti Airtel will acquire an interest in Qualcomm Asia Pacific's Indian BWA entities. Release

Mobile Content News

> Yahoo introduced a new mobile browser. Article

> Google and Oracle's drawn out battle over alleged patent infringement finally reached a jury decision: the jury found that Google did not infringe on Oracle's patents with its Android operating system. Article

> Android and iOS made up more than 80 percent of the global smartphone market in the first quarter of 2012, according to research firm IDC. Release

> Google introduced a redesigned search app for the iPhone. Article

> Huawei has asked European Union officials to intervene in its patent dispute with InterDigital. Article

> The NFL turned to mobile to revolutionize the stadium experience. Editor's Corner

Broadband Wireless News

> The Cloud is adding pub chain company Greene King to its list of partners, which will enlarge The Cloud's Wi-Fi network with 2,400 more venues. Article

> Movik unveiled its intelligent radio access network architecture as well as what it is calling a 3G/4G/LTE real-time correlation solution for RAN traffic management. Article

> Voice over LTE is keeping providers of IP Multimedia Systems very busy, according to separate reports from research firms Infonetics and Exact Ventures. Article

European Wireless News

> Mobile commerce uptake in the UK has quadrupled in the last two years. Article

> Operators in southern Europe will be unable to afford the huge investment costs associated with LTE unless the current network business model is fundamentally changed, according to an Orange executive. Article

> Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao used the reporting of the operator's full-year results to quietly outline the company's direction for the next three years. Article

And finally... Nokia Siemens Networks pointed out the similarities between one of its brochures and one of Huawei's brochures. Post

Verizon: 36 buyers interested in our 700 MHz spectrum

Thu, 24 May 2012 10:21:34 -0400

Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) has so far attracted interest from 36 potential buyers for its 700 MHz Lower A and B Block spectrum, according to the carrier.

Verizon made the disclosure in a letter dated May 22 it sent to the FCC. The carrier said 36 entities have signed non-disclosure agreements over the proposed sale. The disclosure was part of a larger accounting of the planned sale Verizon gave to the FCC following the commission's request for more information.

Importantly, Verizon has said the sale of its Lower A and B Block spectrum is contingent on the carrier getting regulatory approval to buy more attractive nationwide AWS spectrum from cable companies. The FCC had asked Verizon to explain what steps it has taken to build out the 700 MHz spectrum, what difficulties exist in deploying that spectrum, why the 700 MHz sale is relevant to a review of the AWS spectrum purchases and what Verizon would do if the entirety of the AWS purchases were not approved.

In its response, Verizon said that it has taken a number of steps to prepare to use its Lower And B Block spectrum, "including RF system design, site construction planning, and discussions with vendors. In all markets covered by these licenses, three phases of the initial RF system design have been completed: identifying cell sites for development, selecting configurations of antennas, and determining center height requirements for the antennas." Verizon said it has also "communicated with equipment vendors about procuring both devices and network equipment that will operate on" the spectrum.

The nation's largest carrier also matter-of-factly stated what has been a general consensus among analysts since the proposed 700 MHz sale was announced: that AWS spectrum is better spectrum and is more complementary to Verizon's existing spectrum holdings. Verizon noted the technical challenges associated with making its devices work for both the Lower 700 MHz spectrum and the Upper C Block, which it is currently using to deploy LTE to around two-thirds of the U.S. population. Verizon also noted the interference concerns between the A Block and Channel 51 broadcast spectrum.

Verizon also took aim at its critics, including T-Mobile USA and the Rural Cellular Association, which have accused it of hoarding spectrum. "The sale of the Lower 700 MHz licenses also further undercuts the meritless 'warehousing' claims by several of our competitors," Verizon said. "In response to the license assignment applications in this proceeding, these parties argue that Verizon Wireless should not be allowed to acquire AWS spectrum because it is 'warehousing' what they describe as beachfront Lower 700 MHz spectrum in order to keep other wireless providers from using it. The fact that Verizon Wireless has announced a public sale process for the Lower 700 MHz spectrum if the AWS transactions are approved conclusively refutes those claims."

The filing contains numerous portions that have been redacted for public viewing, including sections detailing the efforts Verizon has undertaken since 2009 to sell its Lower A and B Block spectrum. Verizon indicated that after discussions it held in February and March with unnamed parties it determined that there was enough interest in the spectrum to warrant a sale. The company said that if the FCC does not approve its AWS purchases, Verizon "would have re-assess all available options to meet its customers' needs."

In response, the Alliance for Broadband Competition, a group backed by T-Mobile and the RCA and supported by Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S), said that Verizon's "math simply doesn't add up."

"In the letter, Verizon fails to mention that the spectrum licenses it seeks to purchase from the cable companies cover the entire nation, while the lower MHz holdings provide only incomplete coverage," the group said. "The spectrum Verizon is so willing to offload requires costly upgrades by 2013. The spectrum from the cable companies does not. The FCC must consider these transactions accordingly, which is to comprehensively assess their impact on the entire mobile industry, and not simply facilitate horse trading between the Twin Bells."

U.S. Cellular has indicated in a regulatory filing that it is interested in buying Verizon's 700 MHz spectrum (it already owns some A Block spectrum), but has said the sale did not override the need for the FCC to issue interoperability requirements for the Lower 700 MHz band. Such a mandate would require carriers to sell phones that support multiple 700 MHz bands, not just the bands they own licenses in.

For more:
- see this FCC filing (PDF)

The 10 top VC firms in the wireless industry in 2011

Thu, 24 May 2012 06:31:38 -0400

2011 was a banner year for venture capital investments in wireless. After the recession of the past few years, venture capitalists came out in force during 2011 to invest a total of $6.3 billion in mobile-focused companies, according to Rutberg & Co. That's just slightly less than the high of $6.4 billion that VC firms delivered to mobile in 2006, the biggest year of VC investments in mobile in the past decade.

VC investments in mobile, global figures, 2001-2011. Source: Rutberg.

Unlike in 2006 though, when roughly 35 percent of venture capitalists' money went to the "wireless carrier" segment, in 2011 almost all VC money went to "technology" companies. This is a reflection of the growth of mobile applications, third-party services and over-the-top offerings. The Rutberg data also shows that mobile has made up a growing percentage of all VC money, spiking to 42.4 percent in 2011, up from 30.4 percent in 2010 and 17.1 percent in 2009.

According to Rutberg, mobile applications comprised $1.8 billion of the $6.3 billion total in 2011, with infrastructure contributing $2.6 billion, devices scooping up $1 billion, carriers netting $500 million and semiconductors nabbing $400 million.

Of course, this is not the only way to slice and dice the mobile VC landscape. Data provided to FierceWireless by the National Venture Capital Association looked solely at VC contributions to wireless communications services, which exclude mobile apps (those fall under different categories monitored by the NVCA). By this much narrower measure, VC firms contributed $263 million in equity in 2011. According to the NVCA, the top 10 VC firms in 2011 for wireless communications services were: Andreessen Horowitz, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Kleiner Perkins, Oak Investment Partners, Sequoia Capital, Spark Capital, Duff Ackerman & Goodrich, North Bridge Venture Partners, Highland Capital Partners and Norwest Venture Partners. While there is some overlap with the Rutberg data, the two firms are measuring very different things.

It's no real surprise that venture capitalists are interested in the mobile sector. After all, VC payouts can in some cases be huge. For example, Zynga acquired social and mobile gaming company OMGPOP for a reported $180 million, with an additional $30 million in employee-retention payments. And Facebook dropped a whopping $1 billion to buy photo-sharing service Instagram.

With this in mind, here's a look at the top 10 VC firms in mobile in 2011. This list is based on figures provided by Rutberg and is ranked on the number of investments each firm made last year. (There are two entries for No. 9 since both invested in the same number of companies.)

Sequoia Capital
About: Founded in 1972. Headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif. Within the mobile sector, the firm invests in advertising, applications, devices and enabling technology companies.
Number of mobile investments in 2011: 24
Specific investments: Bubble Motion, Bump, Clickatell, Color, Cotendo, DailyBooth, Evernote, Flite, Inkling, Just Dial, MeLLmo, Meraki, MobileIron, MoboTap, Onavo, Quantenna, Sencha, Sourcebits, Square, Stoke, Synapsense, Trippy, Unity

Intel Capital
About: Founded in 1991. Headquartered in Mountain View, Calif. Since 1991, Intel Capital has invested more than $10 billion in over 1,100 companies in 51 countries. In that period, 189 portfolio companies have gone public and 258 were acquired or participated in a merger.
Number of mobile investments in 2011: 23
Specific investments: 4tiitoo, AltoBridge, Animoca, Arcsoft, Borqs, CloudMade, Digital Chocolate, GainSpan, InVisage, ip.access, July, Kno, mFoundry, Mocana, NeuString, SecureKey, SkyCross, skyrockit, Sotera, Swrve, TOA, Total Immersion, Urban Airship

SV Angel
About: Headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif. Founded by angel investor Ron Conway, SV Angel is now playing with around $40 million.
Number of mobile investments in 2011: 21
Specific investments: AppRedeem, BankSimple, Bump, Drchrono, EggCartel, Everyme, Game Closure, Hyperink, just.me, Kno, Mindless, Dribble, Onswipe, Orchestra, Parse, Poshmark, ShowMe, Sincerely, SnapGuide, Swrve, Tagstand, Trippy

Google Ventures
About: Founded in 2009. Headquartered in Mountain View, Calif. The firm, started with a $100 million commitment, has made investments in a variety of fields ranging from Internet, software, and hardware to clean-tech, biotech and healthcare.
Number of mobile investments in 2011: 19
Specific investments: Airy Labs, Astrid, Crittercism, Echoecho, Enterproid, just.me, Milk, Miso, Nettle, Ordr.in, Parse, Pocket Change, Read It Later, Rumble, Scvngr, Stickery, Subtext, ThinkNear, TweetNGo

Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers
About: Founded in 1972. Headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif. Since its foundation, Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers has invested in more than 500 ventures including AOL, Amazon.com, Citrix, Compaq, Electronic Arts, Genentech, Genomic Health, Google, Intuit, Juniper Networks, Netscape, Sun, Symantec, Verisign, WebMD and Zynga.
Number of mobile investments in 2011: 19
Specific investments: Aerohive, Apperian, Awarepoint, Cooliris, Crittercism, Fixmo, Flipboard, GOGII, iControl, INRIX, Jawbone, Kovio, Path, Session M, Shazam, Square, Stoke, Waze, WorkSmart

Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ)
About: Founded in 1985. Headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif. The firm, which has more than $7 billion in capital commitments, has invested in a variety of tech firms, including Baidu, Hotmail, Overture, Skype and Glam Media.
Number of mobile investments in 2011: 18
Specific investments: 4INFO, Cloudbot, do@, GameSalad, JiWire, Medialets, MomentFeed, Neul, Opinionaided, Qosmos, Siklu, Synapsense, Tango, Taptu, TOA, ViVOTech, Z2Live

Accel Partners
About: Founded in 1983. Headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif. The firm manages $8.8 billion in capital commitments and has invested in a variety of companies related to mobile, including Facebook, Groupon, GetJar, AdMob, Spotify, Dropbox, Rovio, Lookout and MetroPCS.
Number of mobile investments in 2011: 17
Specific investments: Animoca, Azumio, BlueSprig, Breezy, CellScope, Dropcam, GetJar, Hotel Tonight, Lookout, MoPub, Pipette, Qriously, Qwilt, Rovio, Shopmium, Skimble, SoundTracking

New Enterprise Associates (NEA)
About: Founded in 1978. Headquartered in Chevy Chase, Md., and Menlo Park, Calif. The firm has more than $11 billion in capital committed and the firm's most notable investments include 3com, Juniper Networks, Macromedia, Salesforce.com, TiVo, Vonage and WebMD.
Number of mobile investments in 2011: 16
Specific investments: Aerohive, CellScope, Euclid Elements, Leyden Energy, Millennial Media, Pipette, Pulse, SiliconBlue, Skimble, Stitcher, Subtext, TabbedOut, Tabula, Umami, ValueFirst Messaging, Vuclip

500 Startups
About: Founded in 2010. Headquartered in Mountain View, Calif. The firm was started by angel investor and former PayPal marketing chief Dave McClure.
Number of mobile investments in 2011: 13
Specific investments: Apsalar, AwayFind, Drchrono, FastCustomer, Khush, Life360, MindSnacks, Nettle, Punchd, Stickery, TaskRabbit, Twilio

Andreessen Horowitz
About: Founded in 2009. Headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif. The firm, which is the brainchild of investors Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, has a distinguished pedigree since Andreessen and Horowitz were strong angel investors in the likes of Facebook, Groupon, Skype Twitter and Zynga.
Number of investments in 2011: 13
Specific investments: BlueStacks, Bump, Capriza, Everyme, Foursquare, Hyperink, Jawbone, Kno, Lookout, Massive Health, TinyCo, Wikets

Vodafone CEO details 'Supermobile' strategy to mimic Amazon

Wed, 23 May 2012 13:19:54 -0400

Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao used the reporting of the operator's full-year results to quietly outline the company's direction for the next three years.

Colao said its plan, dubbed "Vodafone 2015: Supermobile strategy," includes replicating the success of online retail giant Amazon in terms of customer service. "Vodafone wants to be the Amazon of telcos," not in terms of selling but rather top-class customer service, Colao told reporters at a briefing, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In line with that Vodafone will be refurbishing 75 per cent of its 2,200 retail outlets across the globe by 2015 to give them an "experience-led store design." Colao said that the aim is to turn the stores towards being more like service centres, offering "fantastic service," as against simply a room full of cell phones stuck to shop walls. He added that customers should be able to purchase products online, and have the option to collect them in store.

Colao also said that as part of the strategy Vodafone will look to bolster its network capabilities and launch "healthy data pricing models" to ensure it differentiates itself from rivals. Other aspects of the 3-year plan include boosting customer loyalty and sustaining ARPUs, while at the same time improving average margin per user.

This mention of average margin per user (AMPU) would, according to Colao, becoming an increasingly important metric at a time when handset subsidies are putting operators' earnings under pressure. "We're moving to pull back on [acquisition and retention] costs," Colao told Total Telecom. "At the end of the day it is the margin that matters," he added.

This is not the first time Vodafone has touted "Supermobile" as a strategy. In fact, Colao expounded at length on the strategy in November 2010. "This is the whole set of things, and this is going to be a strong strategy based on covering technology, covering pricing, covering all the customer experiences and all the touch points that a customer will touch and, of course, covering all leading devices," he said at the time. "Our objective here is clearly to deliver data earlier and more profitably than what we thought under the old strategy."

Separately, Vodafone's 11 per cent drop in full-year profit due to higher taxes and weaker operations in Europe, left analysts largely unconcerned.

Will Draper from Espirito Santo told City AM that the outlook was slightly disappointing. However, in a sector context, the fact that Vodafone has reiterated a growing dividend should provide reassurance.

Jonathan Jackson of Killick & Co added that Vodafone's results were encouraging. "Although the reduced guidance on revenue for next full year is a little disappointing, we are comforted by the expectation for stability in free cash flow, given that is the driver of the 7 per cent dividend growth target."

For more:
- see this release
- see this Wall Street Journal article (sub. req.)
- see this Total Telecom article
- see this City AM article

Everything Everywhere slams rivals for not helping build LTE ecosystem

Wed, 23 May 2012 13:17:53 -0400

Everything Everywhere (EE) said it is ready to launch LTE this year but is being hampered by Vodafone and O2 not working to build the necessary ecosystem.

The operator, which has been lobbying the UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, to allow to allow it to refarm is 1800 MHz spectrum for LTE use, said it's made the necessary investment to gain a head-start on it UK rivals, while they have instead focused on improving their 3G networks.

If Vodafone and O2 were to start deploying LTE now, they could do it in nine to 12 months, Tom Bennett, director of network services and device development at EE, told ComputerWorld UK. He said the operators need to work on creating the proper LTE "ecosystem," including device manufacturers, to support LTE.

"Compared to 3G [where the UK was ahead of the rest of the world], we are easily two years behind [with LTE]," said Bennett.

Adding to the criticism, David Salem, head of network strategy and architecture at EE, said: "Vodafone and O2 have had their opportunity to do the same [roll out LTE] and they have chosen not to champion LTE at this stage," he told CNET UK. "It's a choice."

"The 900MHz they have [they could have used for LTE]," Salem sadded. "They have chosen to reuse that spectrum for 3G [instead]. It is part of an efficiency drive." Salam maintains that EE is not looking at low cost strategies, but is intent on moving forward with LTE, and gaining an early lead in the UK, according to Computer World.

However, O2 has responded by claiming that the ecosystem EE was referring to didn't exist, and was unlikely to develop.

"There is so little 900MHz spectrum in Europe that it doesn't make commercial sense for the manufacturers to build the handsets to support it. And that is not going to change," O2 spokesperson told CNET.

Unwilling to accept this viewpoint, EE's Bennett told CNET: "The chipsets have supported 900MHz for a good year. As an operator you have a relationship with a vendor--you go to Samsung or HTC and you say, 'Are you going to assemble devices? I'll make it worth your while.' You create the market."

For more:
- see this Computer World article
- see this CNET article

Orange exec: Network sharing only option for LTE operators

Wed, 23 May 2012 13:16:12 -0400

Operators in southern Europe will be unable to afford the huge investment costs associated with LTE unless the current network business model is fundamentally changed, according to an Orange executive.

Duato

This stark message from Eduardo Duato, CTO of Orange Spain, prefaced a call for operators to move ahead rapidly and share active RAN and backhaul networks. The Orange executive said that using this approach on a 50-50 basis could see each operator saving 25 per cent of the total cost of ownership (TCO) of the LTE network, according to Mobile Europe.

While LTE is 100 per cent more spectrally efficient, and 30 per cent cheaper in TCO than 3G, Duato said that costs remain too high given the huge LTE deployments being called for.

Duato said that to monetise LTE services, operators will be required to make significant investments. "We keep doing calculations on how to monetise this service," he told delegates at the LTE World Summit, according to Mobile Europe. "Mobile broadband revenues are falling faster than costs, there is continuous margin reduction, signalling traffic is a fixed fee. We need co-operative architectures to reduce the impact."

Commenting on the comparison with other regions that are deploying LTE, Duato said that network sharing is the only way forward for the more than 100 operators in Europe compared to the handful in the United States. "It doesn't make sense to have this many networks [in Europe]" he said, according to Telecoms.com. "We have to move to LTE network sharing."

Duato called on national and European regulators to do everything possible to support operators intent on building pan-regional shared networks, as well as the vendor community. He also indicated that Orange could be willing to free up spectrum to enable this strategy, given the right circumstances. While he stressed that Orange has little to spare in urban areas, he said "we don't need all the spectrum we have in rural areas." Duato added that if operators were allowed to pool frequencies, then negotiations would be made easier.

For more:
- see this Mobile Europe article
- see this Telecoms.com article

Analyst: UK m-commerce usage rockets 4X in just two years

Wed, 23 May 2012 13:12:24 -0400

Mobile commerce uptake in the UK has quadrupled in the last two years, with 64 per cent of smartphone owners now using their mobile devices to shop online, according to a new study released by market research firm eDigitalResearch.

UK m-commerce adoption is taking off, according to eDigitalResearch.

Commenting on the results, Derek Eccleston, head of research at eDigitalResearch, said the data confirms that m-commerce has revolutionised the way in which we shop and browse. "The growth of mobile is completely unprecedented and the rate of change that we've tracked over the past two years is alarming."

Two years ago the market research firm forecast that smartphones were likely to play an increasingly significant part in consumer's busy lifestyles. While 2011 saw great strides being made towards this, "these latest set of results demonstrate that this trend is now irreversible," said Eccleston. "It is therefore essential that all retailers and brands make their mobile channels as accessible as possible to maximise the potential that m-commerce has to offer".

Of note, eDigitalResearch said the results indicated that the growth of mobile shopping shows no signs of slowing down. Almost half (44 per cent) of the 1,000 smartphone owners surveyed said they would use their devices to browse more often in the coming months, with one third (31 per cent) claiming that they would then go on to make a purchase.

The study also found that security, clear navigational links and quick browsing remained key features for mobile shoppers, who also rated functionality and usability higher than branding and design.

For more:
- see this eDigitalResearch release

Report: 70% of operators think LTE deployments make business sense

Wed, 23 May 2012 13:10:20 -0400

Momentum behind LTE is set to accelerate worldwide with the majority of operators planning to launch services this year or next, according to a recent survey by Informa Telecoms & Media. The study, a survey of operators conducted in May with 528 respondents found that almost 60 per cent of operators confirmed they would launch LTE services this year (33.7 per cent) or next (24.9 per cent), while over 70 per cent claiming there is a viable business case to launch LTE today. However, Paul Lambert, a senior analyst at Informa, warned: "Because LTE technology, at the moment at least, is an extension of the mobile broadband experience, initial evidence suggests that mobile users aren't prepared to pay a significant premium for LTE access." Release

Is Verizon's Viewdini a hint of what's to come?

Wed, 23 May 2012 13:02:47 -0400

I think it's very interesting that Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) decided to make what it called one of its most important announcements of the year--the debut of the new aggregated video portal called Viewdini--at the Cable Show in Boston this week and not at the CTIA Wireless 2012 show held just a few weeks ago in New Orleans.

Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead told the audience at the Cable Show that the company held the announcement for this week because it was such a big development for the company. In case you missed it, Verizon announced that it will soon introduce its Viewdini service, an Android powered app that lets customers with LTE-enabled smartphones and tablets access video content from Comcast, Hulu, Netflix and mSpot.

Mead didn't talk about how much the service will cost, nor did he provide details on how the company will manage the enormous amount of bandwidth that Verizon subscribers might consume by watching video from Viewdini over the carrier's wireless network.

We do know that Verizon has room on its LTE network (at least for the time being) to handle video content. At the end of the first quarter, Verizon reported that just 9 percent of its customer base was using its LTE network. But Verizon's LTE subscribers are growing at a steady pace and I'm sure that if this new Viewdini service is a hit, it will prompt Verizon subscribers to upgrade to LTE even more quickly.

Verizon also indicated just last week that it plans to unveil a new shared-data pricing plan in July. Concurrent with that move, Verizon said that its legacy unlimited data plans will not be available to those customers who migrate to its shared data plans and who buy a new device at a subsidized price. So that means that few of these LTE subscribers who decide to use the Viewdini app will do so with unlimited data--and therefore they will have to closely monitor their video usage or they will face huge overage charges.

I don't think the timing of the release of this Viewdini app just a month or so before the planned debut of Verizon's new shared-data plans is a coincidence. Verizon is clearly rethinking its pricing strategies and wants to encourage more people to use data.

I hope that the company also is thinking about ways to encourage people to consume content without being fearful of racking up overage charges. Perhaps when Viewdini debuts we will also see some content-specific pricing in which the price of the content (in this case a video) is bundled with network usage for a flat fee. I'm not the only one making this connection. GigaOm editor Kevin Fitchard thinks there's also a likihood that Verizon is considering this model as he outlines here.

At the CTIA Wireless show earlier this month, Verizon Communications CTO Tony Melone said his company was thinking about toll free data plans, where content providers would pay carriers for the data access charges users would generate in accessing their content. He acknowledged that there may be some net neutrality issues to consider but maintained that the model was something being weighed by executives.

This toll-free data model is similar to the Amazon Kindle model--Amazon pays AT&T (NYSE:T) for the traffic generated by a customer who downloads a book over AT&T's network. Of course, downloading a book is a lot less network intensive (and less pricey) than a video, but the model works well.

Getting over-the-top players such as Netflix, Hulu, mSpot and others to agree to a toll-free pricing model might not be an easy proposition. However, at the CTIA Wireless show earlier this month I did hear a lot of vendors talking about the need for OTT players to work with operators if they want to ensure a better experience for their customers. Perhaps that's why Verizon was at the Cable Show touting Viewdini--it wanted to showcase a service where OTT players could work with the wireless operator to create a better experience for the user. --Sue

Top 5 marketing tips for budget-conscious developers

Wed, 23 May 2012 11:47:10 -0400

With a million mobile apps on the market, developers need to be aggressive when it comes to building consumer awareness for their products. Marketing is a challenge for many developers, who are usually not trained in this discipline and may not have marketing budgets. Further, marketing activities must reflect consumer trends and the highly personalized nature of mobile communications. What are the top 5 marketing tips budget-conscious developers need to know? Special report

AT&T starts refarming 2G spectrum in New York City

Wed, 23 May 2012 11:41:21 -0400

AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) said it has started refarming is 2G 1900 MHz PCS spectrum for more advanced wireless services in the New York City area.

The announcement comes a little more than two months after the carrier began notifying customers with 2G-only phones that the changes were coming. AT&T said the refarming will lead to an improvement in customers' overall experience as they upgrade to AT&T's HSPA+ and LTE networks.

"By re-allocating network resources from our 2G network to support our newer, advanced networks, we're moving capacity to support the voice and mobile Internet services our customers want," Tom DeVito, AT&T's vice president and general manager in New York and New Jersey, said in a statement.

AT&T said it has reached out to 2G-only customers to "provide them with more details and a variety of options for upgrading their devices, including discounts on new ones while keeping their mobile numbers. AT&T is encouraging customers to make the move to a better overall experience."

Refarming spectrum is nothing new, but AT&T may be refarming its PCS spectrum in lieu of getting new spectrum from a competitor or through auctions. After regulators blocked AT&T's proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA, AT&T said it would have to look to more creative ways to expand its spectrum capacity--and refarming appears to be one of them. AT&T would have acquired massive reserves of AWS spectrum if the T-Mobile deal had gone through, but actually wound up divesting AWS spectrum to T-Mobile as part of a breakup fee when the deal fell apart.

T-Mobile plans to use AT&T's AWS spectrum to aid its deployment of LTE. T-Mobile's intends to deploy HSPA+ in its 1900 MHz spectrum, which it is currently using for 2G GSM services (the carrier's HSPA+ network currently runs on T-Mobile's 1700 MHz AWS spectrum). T-Mobile has said it will continue to support 2G customers as it refarms the spectrum and has no plans to decommission its 2G network.

For more:
- see this release

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T-Mobile picks Ericsson, NSN as its LTE vendors
AT&T looks to refarm 2G spectrum, urges customers to upgrade
AT&T revises throttling policy after user uproar
T-Mobile's Ray: We will be first carrier to deploy integrated radios in N. America
T-Mobile to launch LTE in 2013 in AWS spectrum divested from AT&T

Rumor Mill: Apple-Samsung meeting produces no patent truce

Wed, 23 May 2012 11:28:30 -0400

A hotly anticipated series of meetings Monday and Tuesday between Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook and Samsung Electronics CEO Choi Gee-sung to try and resolve a long-simmering patent dispute between the smartphone giants did not produce any agreement, according to a Korea Times report.

The report, citing an unnamed Samsung official, said that the two sides, which brought along their general counsels, could find no agreement. An Apple representative in South Korea declined to comment, according to the report.

In April, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh directed the companies to a San Francisco-based magistrate judge, Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero, who led the talks at an undisclosed San Francisco court house.

The two companies, the world's two largest smartphone makers in the first quarter, have been locked in a worldwide patent battle since last year. Apple first sued Samsung in April 2011, claiming that Samsung "slavishly" copied its iPhone design. Samsung countersued and since then the patent battle between the companies has spread to multiple continents, generating dozens of cases in 10 countries.

"There is still a big gap in the patent war with Apple but we still have several negotiation options including cross-licensing," J.K. Shin, the head of Samsung's mobile division, told reporters in South Korea shortly before his departure for the United States, according to Reuters.

For more:
- see this Korea Times article
- see this The Verge article

Related Articles:
Apple's Cook, Samsung's Choi to meet on patent dispute
Apple, Samsung may be headed toward patent settlement
Analyst: Nokia, IBM, Microsoft and Samsung dominate mobile patents
Motorola wanted Apple to license all its patents, according to EU
Report: Apple offers to settle patent fights with Motorola, Samsung--for a price

Samsung sees record Galaxy S III pre-orders; AT&T launches Galaxy Appeal for prepaid

Wed, 23 May 2012 11:18:39 -0400

Quick news from around the Web.

@FierceWireless: 5 Lingering Questions About Shared Data Plans. Article (via @OneJaredNewman) | Follow@FierceWireless

> A number of executives are leaving Motorola Mobility following Google's acquisition of the company. Article

> Samsung said it enjoyed a record number of Galaxy S III pre-orders in the United Kingdom. Article

> Nokia said its annual Nokia World conference will no longer be a single, large-scale event. Post

> T-Mobile USA said it opened its 1,000th premium retailer store. Release

> Nokia reportedly could withdraw support for Skype on its Lumia 610. Article

> Dell'Oro Group said wireless packet core market revenues grew 9 percent over the last year during the first quarter of 2012. Release

> AT&T Mobility added the Samsung Galaxy Appeal to its prepaid lineup. Article

> Verizon Wireless is driving Vodafone's profit. Article

> Apple's Jonathan Ive promised that the company is working on its best product yet. Article

Mobile Content News

> HTC said it will upgrade more than a dozen Android devices to run Google's Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, with the process slated to wrap up in August 2012. Article

> Target announced a mobile rewards program with Shopkick. Article

> Appcelerator is upgrading its Titanium 2.0 application development platform to incorporate Geoloqi's real-time location services API and toolkit. Article

And finally... Sprint Nextel's Assurance Wireless prepaid brand announced $5 cell phone plans. Release

Report: 60% of carriers worldwide to deploy LTE by end of 2013

Wed, 23 May 2012 11:15:19 -0400

The momentum behind LTE adoption may be slow among consumers globally, but operators are clearly on the bandwagon, according to a new report form Informa Telecoms & Media. The report, a survey of operators conducted in May with 528 respondents, found that 58.9 percent of operators plan to launch LTE services this year (33.7 percent) or next year (24.9 percent). Further, the survey found that 70.5 percent of carriers think that LTE represents a viable business case today.

According to the Informa survey, the main reasons carriers are launching LTE is to create new revenue streams (34.7 percent); to build brand value through technology leadership (31.3 percent); and to increase capacity to offer mobile broadband services (23.3 percent).

Data from Signals and Systems Telecom found there were 6.4 million global LTE subscriptions at the end of the fourth quarter of 2011. The firm said the United States and Japan accounted for 72 percent and 23 percent of the total subscriptions, respectively. According to Informa's own data, the rollout of LTE is being slowed by the relatively dearth of LTE devices.

Interestingly, Informa's survey also found that most carriers are not yet charging a premium for LTE access. "Because LTE technology, at the moment at least, is an extension of the mobile broadband experience, initial evidence suggests that mobile users aren't prepared to pay a significant premium for LTE access," said Informa analyst Paul Lambert.

In the United States, Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) and AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) do not charge extra for LTE data access compared to what they charge on their 3G networks. However, this may change when they move to shared family data plans. Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) has said it will maintain unlimited smartphone data when it launches commercial LTE service by mid-year.

For more:
- see this release

Related Articles:
It's rough going for C Spire, Leap, U.S. Cellular and other small carriers moving to LTE
Global LTE: Verizon dominates today, but which operators will lead in 2016?
AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile all claim to offer nation's 'largest 4G network'
T-Mobile to launch LTE in 2013 in AWS spectrum divested from AT&T