1.The smartphone becomes a search phone
While debates and headlines about smartphones in 2010 are likely to concentrate on supremacy among devices, manufacturers, and operating platforms1, the most important battle may fall outside of the radar screens of both analysts and the press—leadership in mobile search.
2.Mobile voice becomes a social network
The adoption rates of mobile VoIP in 2010 may be boosted by access to a broader range of IP-based features, with tens of millions of callers likely to start using IP-based voice services from their mobile phone.
3. Widening the bottleneck. Telecom technology helps decongest the mobile network
With approximately 600 million mobile broadband connections, 2010 is seeing the wireless equivalent of a traffic jam1. The good news is that there are technologies that can improve the performance of existing wireless networks—and the telecommunication companies should experience strong growth.
4.Paying for what we eat. Carriers change data pricing and make regulators happy
In 2010, North American network operators will likely move away from “all you can eat” data pricing plans. Instead, some customers will almost certainly be billed for the how much, what, and when of the data they use.
5.Nixing the nines: reliability redefined and reassessed
Enterprises in the coming year may be increasingly pragmatic about quality levels in the telecommunications services they acquire. The losses in quality and reliability could be more than made up in savings.
6. Contract 2.0: long-term solutions shorten and multiply
The uncertain economic outlook and a general lessening of loyalty to technology platforms and providers are likely to keep contract lengths short in the coming years. In a few cases, supplier and customer may even revert to pay-per-use.
7.The line goes leaner. And greener
In 2010, the global telecommunications sector is likely to focus heavily on reducing CO2 emissions. On a per-line basis, emissions could fall by an average 10% —but against a background of increasing numbers of lines.
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