Local TV Stations Failing to Maximize Fully on Their Allotted Spectrum

From The Online Reporter   

- Mobile TV in a Few Markets in Q4 but Where Are the Devices? 

- Little Compelling Content on Multicasts

- No Electronic Program Guide

- Hiding Their OTA Light under a Basket 

Widespread cord cutting, or not ever connecting it to begin with for the young, is based on two premises. The local TV stations will supply the major networks with their still-popular TV shows, news and major sports plus perhaps some additional targeted TV and mobile TV. The OTT services will supply more movies and recorded TV shows than the average consumer can watch.

The local stations are falling down on their end of the unwritten bargain. 

Anytime the topic of cutting the cord in the States comes up, it’s necessary to report that local TV stations are each broadcasting two to four channels for free to TV sets with over-the-air antennas (OTA). That means consumers can get all the major networks — NBC, Fox, CBS, ABC and CW — for free. The majors don’t dominate TV viewing like they used to, but offer most major sporting events and good but limited news reporting, both national and local. 

A consumer with an OTA antenna and a Blu-ray player or smart TV that gets Netflix and other online video services would find that he can get more than he can watch. It might not be everything he wants when he wants it but it would absorb all his available viewing hours.

Many local stations are reluctant to trumpet their over-the-air channels because they are now collecting cash from the pay-TV companies for transmitting their channel. 

This week we reported that Channel Master is offering a DVR for OTA antennas and it does not require a monthly subscription fee. It has all the DVR functions that might be expected. Perhaps local TV stations should buy a few thousand Channel Master DVRs and OTA antennas and give them away as part of an OTT promotion. Now that might open a few eyeballs. 

 

The FCC wants to take back some of the spectrum that local TV stations have the rights to and auction it off for mobile broadband. If that happens, the local TV stations could lose some of their local channels and, perhaps more importantly, the ability to offer mobile TV. It’s a project they’ve been working on for several years and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) says its time is drawing near. It expects that mobile TVs from the likes of Samsung and LG will be in stores by year-end. The mobile TV service, which uses mobile DTV technology, is already available in a number of cities but only on prototype receivers. 

Local TV Stations Challenges

The advent of OTT services like Netflix has made it possible for many consumers to cut the cord and still have more to watch than they can consume. But the local stations have to do their part, and so far they have not.

 

To show they’re serious about using the spectrum they’ve been allotted, local stations have to:

 1. Develop and deploy a full-function electronic program guide in each market by working with TV set makers. Rovi could do it for them. The guide has to show what’s on and what will be on for at least the next seven days if not two weeks. It should provide a brief description and list of characters. What is shown now varies from station to station and in many cases is non-existent. It’s horribly inadequate and, as the cablecos learned by losing subscribers to the satcos, consumers today expect a full-function program guide. Most consumers no longer get TV Guide. 

 2. Develop and offer "must-see" programming on their other channels. If the stations are only going to offer the feeds from the big networks and repeats of weather and news, they are not needed. The pay-TV services could get the feeds directly from the networks and offer their own local news and weather. The NAB suggested developing a network geared toward an African-American audience. That’s good but how about one for Asians and Hispanics? A comedy channel? Children? Religious? Sports? Sci-fi? Divvy up the assignments so each station gets some juicy channels. And, we only need one repeat of the weather and news in each market, not one per station. 

 3. Promote their offerings aggressively. Try giving away OTA antennas and OTA DVRs. Subsidize them by buying thousands of them and offering them at bargain prices to get the process started and make the public aware of OTA. 

 4. Get the mobile-TV venture finished and launched including some nifty mobile-TV sets at low, introductory prices. 

If what they’re showing now is the best they can do, then the FCC should take back some or even all of their spectrum and auction it off for mobile broadband for which there is lots of existing demand.

Would you switch from pay TV to OTA that doesn’t have an electronic program guide and a DVR?

Mobile TV Update

The local stations’ free mobile TV will start appearing in the fourth quarter of 2011 in selected cities, according to the Mobile500 Alliance, which is backed by broadcasters owning over 420 stations. Initially it will include 15 to 20 channels. The Alliance said they will be a mix of local and national offerings plus free and pay services. 

It said over 70 stations are already broadcasting mobile DTV signals. 

 

To be successful, mobile TV needs some attractively priced mobile TVs, perhaps launched at bargain prices. They must realize they are competing for consumer time against texting, browsing and portable media devices that are playing consumers’ favorite music and videos. Launching mobile TV successfully won’t be, as they say, a slam dunk. It’s going to take "must have" devices and "must see" shows. The Alliance hopes that CE makers will start building mobile TV antennas into their devices. It would be attractive to consumers to watch live TV for free on their iPad and iPhone, and not have to carry around two devices, wouldn’t it? 

Colleen Brown, president and CEO of Fisher Communications and president of the board of the Mobile500 said, "We think the more mobile content is out there, the more driven the consumer will be to make sure there is a mobile DTV antenna in ... whatever device they’re purchasing." 

The Alliance has called for the creation of a new company called the National Mobile System (NMS) that would base the service on an open-standard-based architecture. It expects it will "provide service to a variety of distribution and content partners who will market service to customers either as a standalone service or in conjunction with broader services and data services they are already offering." 

Members will be asked to either contribute spectrum or create channels for the national services in exchange for equity in NMS. 

 

It also wants to do a deal with a cellco, which would help launch the service, provide subscriber management and provide a cellular service for interactive features. It said such a deal would help the telcos because the one-too-many broadcasts of mobile TV would reduce the heavy demands that video content is placing on cellular networks. 

The Mobile500 said it’s also talking to private equity groups and other strategic partners to provide investments, technology or content. 

The research firm SNL Kagan said mobile TV "opens up a wealth of opportunities for TV broadcasters to expand their programming options into multiple secondary channels that can be received in the home, in the car and on the move — cell phones, laptops, tablets and more." 

Using Their Spectrum

SNL Kagan has come to the local TV stations’ defense of the use of their spectrum with a report that shows their progress with digital TV broadcasts and multicasting.

It said that at the end of 2010, the number of live digital channels for the 1,196 full-power commercial TV stations covered in its report was 2,518, slightly more than two channels per station. 

The majority of a stations 6 MHz or 19.39 Mbps of digital wireless spectrum is used to produce one 1080i or 720p format HD feed of its primary network during prime time. The additional bandwidth can be used for one or two additional 480i format digital secondary channels at about 3 Mbps per channel and up to four mobile video channels using 1 Mbps to 2 Mbps per channel. 

As of the end of 2010, the number of for-profit stations that were multicasting was 71%, or 849 of the 1,196 that Kagan covered, doubling the channel options for viewers with 1,240 additional digital channels, of which 142 are Spanish-language network affiliates and the others being local sports, weather and 24-hour news. 

Its research also covered 349 noncommercial TV stations, of which 83% are multicast and 66% are broadcast HD programming. Of those total digital noncommercial stations covered, 262 are PBS-affiliate stations. 

ION Media Networks leads the Kagan list with 58 full-power DTV stations, 55 HD stations and 126 digital multicast channels, including Qubo children’s programming, ION Life and Worship.net.

ION chairman, president and CEO R. Brandon Burgess is the president of the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC) and part of the Mobile Content Venture (MCV) that includes NBC Universal and FOX Television.

Pure-play TV station groups Sinclair Broadcast Group and Gray Television ranked second and third, with both groups broadcasting in HD and multicasting on the majority of their stations. Sinclair also has plans to launch mobile DTV channels on nine of its stations and Gray TV is broadcasting mobile video on two Nebraska stations.

Sinclair offers a 24-hour country music network airing music videos and "The Cool TV" music network with live local shows. In Vegas it broadcasts the Spanish language Liberman Broadcasting’s Estrella TV on a secondary channel. 

Another content source that is being offered by some stations is "This TV" network, a joint venture of MGM and Weigel Broadcasting that shows older films and TV shows. 

 

The only Big Four broadcast network to rank in the top 10 was number 7 Comcast/NBC Universal’s Telemundo, which multicasts local weather and news programming and Universal Sports. NBC’s Telemundo O&O stations have also begun broadcasting a political news and commentary Spanish-language network "Inmigrante TV" in some markets. 

Kagan said the Consumer Electronics Association estimated that 31 million HDTV sets were shipped in the States in 2010. Kagan estimates that at the end of 2010 the number of homes with HDTVs was 86.9 million, 75% of total US TV households. It estimated that 51% of pay-TV subscribers received HD signals from their pay-TV service at the end of 2010. That figure does not count OTA users. It estimated that 10% to 12% of households solely receive OTA TV and said the number could increase because of the popularity of OTT services like Netflix. 

It expects average HDTV set prices to fall to the $500-to-$600 range during the next five years and bring mass adoption, with more than 80% to 90% HD penetration of the 117 million to 120 million US TV households. 

Kagan said local programming is a station’s differentiator from pay-TV. It said increased revenue "will come only from leveraging all its channels in HD programming, digital multicasting, Internet streaming and emerging mobile DTV channels." 

 

They also need an electronic program guide, a viable mobile TV service, compelling content for the multicast and mobile channels and a lot of publicity for OTA or they will become just another of the 300 or more channels on pay TV. 

The list of actual and potential means nothing, of course, without readily available and attractively priced devices for viewing and a lot of must see content, not just endless news and weather repeats.

Mobile TV Markets:  Live and Upcoming
Asheville, North Carolina	Mobile, Alabama
Atlanta, Georgia	Montgomery, Alabama
Austin, Minnesota	Nassau, Bahamas
Austin, Texas	New Bedford, Massachusetts
Baltimore, Maryland	New York, New York
Birmingham, Alabama	Newport News, Virginia
Boston, Massachusetts	Norfolk, Virginia
Charlotte, North Carolina	Oakfield, California
Chicago, Illinois	Omaha, Nebraska
Cincinnati, Ohio	Orlando, Florida
Colorado Springs, Colorado	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Columbus, Ohio	Phoenix, Arizona
Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas	Portland, Oregon
Daytona Beach, Florida	Portsmouth, Virginia
Denver, Colorado	Providence, Rhode Island
Detroit, Michigan	Pueblo, Colorado
Durham, North Carolina	Raleigh, North Carolina
El Paso, Texas	Roanoke, West Virginia
Fort Pierce, Florida	Rochester, Minnesota
Fresno, California	San Antonio, Texas
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida	San Francisco, California
Greenville, South Carolina	San Jose, California
Hastings, Nebraska	Sarasota, Florida
Houston, Texas	Seattle, Washington
Jacksonville, Florida	Spartanburg, South Carolina
Kearney, Nebraska	St. Petersburg, Florida
Knoxville, Tennessee	St.Paul, Minnesota
Las Vegas, Nevada	Tacoma, Washington
Lincoln, Nebraska	Tampa, Florida
Los Angeles, California	Toledo, Michigan
Lynchburg, West Virginia	Topeka, Kansas
Mason City, Iowa	Visalia, California
Melbourne, Florida	Washington D.C
Miami, Florida	West Palm Beach, Florida
Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Wichita, Kansas
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Sources:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/469098-Mobile500_Eyes_Fall_Launch_for_National_Mobile_DTV_Service.php
http://www.openmobilevideo.com/_assets/images/OMVC-Coverage-Map.jpg

 
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Spotify Storms US Shores

From The Online Reporter   
 

- Digital Press Explodes With Joy 

It seemed like nothing could push the Google+ exclusive club out of the press’ inner circles on news Web sites, LinkedIn and Twitter, but as soon as Spotify confirmed it would launch this Thursday morning in the US, there was a massive explosion of thoughts, opinions, reviews and anticipation. 

Spotify launched in the US with a fervor they couldn’t have paid for if they tried, so perhaps the endless months of rumored launches paid off in the end. 

Spotify has hit the US after working its way through Europe and becoming the second largest source of digital music revenues for labels in Europe, according to the company. Spotify has more than 10 million registered users in Europe and around 1.6 million of them pay for the service. During 2010 Spotify paid more than €45 million ($63.9 million) to their licensors. 

 

Spotify has allegedly said it believes it can bring in 50 million US customers during its first year of operations.

 

Spotify’s big features breakdown like this:

 - The Tunes. Users get on-demand access to songs and can create playlists from a library of 15 million tracks. Tracks can also be uploaded from a PC, which Spotify does automatically when it’s opened, and makes the experience like a one-stop music player. 

 - Sharing Everything. Users have created and shared more than 250 million playlists from the service across social sites and a wide variety of third-party sites that aggregate the most popular playlists. The biggies are http://www.sharemyplaylists.com, http://www.bbcify.com and playlist creators like http://www.spotiseek.com. It also has built in sharing with Facebook, Twitter, email and SMS. 

 

 - On the Go. Paying users can install Spotify on iOS, Android and other mobile devices. Mobile apps allow users to sync their playlists and songs from the desktop app and can use an offline mode that gives them access to certain playlists even when 3G and Wi-Fi networks aren’t available. 

 

For its US launch, Spotify is requiring users to either wait for an invite or pay for one of the subscription services, despite all of its US social sharing options which say "no invitation is needed!"

 

The three tiers of the service offered in the US break down like this: 

Spotify Tiers in the US
	Premium	Unlimited	Open
Price (per month)	$9.99	$4.99	Free
15 million tracks	Yes	Yes	Yes
Play and organise your own MP3s	Yes	Yes	Yes
Spotify social	Yes	Yes	Yes
Take your music abroad	Yes	Yes	14 days
Spotify radio mode	Yes	Yes	No
No advertising	Yes	Yes	No
Play local files on your mobile	Yes	No	No
Play music from Spotify on your mobile	Yes	No	No
Offline mode on your desktop	Yes	No	No
Offline mode on your mobile	Yes	No	No
Enhanced sound quality	Yes	No	No
Exclusive content	Yes	No	No
Play Spotify through music systems	Yes	No	No

 

One quick note about the service is that the radio modes don’t seem to have appeared on the US services yet, even for premium users. 

Spotify’s US launch was ripe with partners, including Coca-Cola, Sprite, Chevrolet, Motorola, Reebok, Sonos and The Daily. The companies all launched campaigns to promote their brands and the new service, mostly by giving out codes and invites for the launch.

Ken Parks, chief content officer and managing director of Spotify North America, said: "Spotify was founded as a better, simpler alternative to piracy. So making sure that the people who create the music prosper is hugely important to us. We have full catalogues from all the major labels and a raft of independent labels including those represented by Merlin, which means all of their artists are being fairly compensated for their creativity every time people enjoy music through Spotify." 

US Competition

In the US, Spotify will face some stiff competition, largely from Pandora which just completed an IPO, hit 100 million users, redesigned its site and announced that it reaches 35% of all smartphone users in the US.

As of April, Pandora controlled more than 50% of the market for Internet radio listening. Other big players in the market include Rhapsody, Grooveshark and Last.fm.

Spotify’s big chance in the market may come from its plans to integrate into Facebook and gain a solid userbase within its initial week.

 

One area Spotify will have to make inroads on is the smart devices. Pandora has become a default in the smart TV, STB and Blu-ray platforms. Spotify will need to find a way to link its service to these devices as they become more and more popular, though it may take the approach it did for these in Europe and get involved with pay-TV companies to land on their STBs. 

For now, Spotify has launched and is slowly rolling out to new users as invitations make the rounds. There is a lot of buzz but since invitations appear to be very limited right now, it could face a hurdle of getting and keeping new users simply because of a wait time.

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P1905 Venture to Help Sales of MoCA, HomePlug Devices

From The Online Reporter   

In-Stat said research shows that the P1905 effort to “unify” HomePlug, MoCA, Wi-Fi and Ethernet will help the sales growth of HomePlug and MoCA devices. 

Vahid Dejwakh, In-Stat analyst, expects that HomePlug will come embedded in CE devices in North America and Europe around late 2013, which will certainly increase HomePlug’s installed base very quickly. That’s especially true in Europe where the telcos rather than the cablecos appear to be the dominant pay-TV company. 

A spokesman for a HomeGrid (G.hn) member has said he too expects to have HomeGrid embedded in CE devices. 

MoCA owns the US pay-TV market with the exception of AT&T and a number of smaller telcos. Verizon was the first major MoCA user. 

Dejwakh said, “We expect the European region to remain the main target market for HomePlug products, though Asia Pacific will see the highest growth rate over the next five years.” The Chinese market for home networking is only now emerging. China has very little coax and could become an interesting battleground for HomePlug and HomeGrid players. 

Three things are not yet known that will influence the fight between HomeGrid and the MoCA/HomePlug alliance:

 - HomeGrid is not yet in field trials that we know of and its claimed superiority over HomePlug is not yet field proven. 

 - Adding Wi-Fi to HomePlug and MoCA with the P1905 effort could provide them with a wireless advantage — an all-in-one chipset. 

 - The super Wi-Fi chips that Quantenna and Broadcom are producing may negate much of the wireline sales pitch, although it’s too early to see whether the studios and networks will trust wireless to carry their water. Motorola is going to use Quantenna chips in an STB that’s to be available this fall and STB maker Airties is using similar Wi-Fi chips that Broadcom makes.

In-Stat says HomePlug will have shipped 30 million devices by 2014. Worldwide, it said, over 40 million wired home networking nodes shipped in 2010 and Home-Plug node shipments make up 50% of all nodes shipped. The main providers will be Atheros, Entropic, Sigma Designs and Broadcom, it said. 

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Broadband Tries Running on TV White Space

From The Online Reporter   

A new trial has launched that will assess whether TV white spaces can deliver cost-efficient broadband access to rural communities and even help offload wireless data congestion and demand in cities. 

The trial is being run by the Cambridge TV White Spaces Consortium and others, and will test how mobile devices can tap into the unused TV channels and spectrum. The tests come about as there is increased concern over possible 4G interference on the TV spectrum, with the main focus on LTE devices. 

The trial will take place in Cambridge, which the companies said provides a suitable environment for diversity in testing the TV white spaces network. The Cambridge TV White Spaces Consortium said the various buildings and landscapes will give it a strong test base for urban and rural areas. Microsoft also has a notable presence in Cambridge. 

Members of the consortium include the BBC, BSkyB, BT, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung, Cambridge Consultants, Neul and TTP. 

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Naps Could Double Battery Lives of Mobiles

From The Online Reporter   
 

A Duke University graduate student, Justin Manweiler, has discovered a way to effectively double the battery life in devices with Wi-Fi by using a method that doesn’t change the device’s features directly, according to Network World. 

The technique basically regulates the timing and duration of Wi-Fi radios’ sleep cycles, allowing data transferred to be scheduled more efficiently. 

The scheduling technique, dubbed SleepWell, was tested on smartphones on a 802.11n network and showed energy reductions of between 38% to 51% during a variety of activities including watching video on YouTube, listening to Pandora and Last.fm Internet radio offerings, and large data transfers. The study found that as transmissions drop in their bit rate, energy gains increased. 

“In light of these results, we believe that SleepWell may be an effective solution for the future, not only to sustain a demanding suite of [mobile] applications, but also to improve ‘immunity’ to increasingly dense Wi-Fi environments,” the researchers wrote.

The paper, “Avoiding the Rush Hours: Wi-Fi Energy Management via Traffic Isolation,” was presented at the MobiSys Conference and is authored by grad student Justin Manweiler and professor Romit Roy Choudhury. 

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Netflix, TI to Bring Full 1080p to Android Mobiles

From The Online Reporter   
 

Netflix wants to be available on every possible device — and showing streams in the best resolution. 

Texas Instruments (TI) is the first chipmaker to achieve Netflix Silicon Reference Implementation certification for the Netflix HD application on Android. Products with the chip will be able to stream full high-definition (HD) 1080p video within the strict security measures that Netflix has insisted on. It’s the first time Netflix has certified its 1080p streams with end-to-end protection on a mobile device. 

Bill Holmes, VP of business development at Netflix, said the company wanted “a semiconductor partner that could bring our service to the broader mobile environment smoothly and securely.” He said the TI chips would provide “a high-performance, low-power, secure platform that will help Netflix members instantly watch unlimited TV shows and movies on Android devices.”

The TI chips initially support only Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). Additional versions will be supported this year. 

Android devices with Netflix embedded are expected this year. 

It’s a major win for TI and spreads high-quality 1080p videos to many Android devices. 

You have to wonder how Apple will respond. 

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The LTE Tariffs & Business Models 2011-2015 report

Click here to find some extracts from “The LTE Tariffs & Business Models 2011-2015 report”, a survey about how mobile carriers plan to make money from their 4G investments.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that mobile operators will not be able to make a profit out of 4G if they stick to current business models.

Flat rate, all-you-can-eat broadband data plans overload the networks with traffic. Watching YouTube eight hours a day generates no more carrier revenue than checking email.  Handset and tablet subsidies eat into the rest of the profits that operators may still manage.

Yet, as mobile data traffic will increase at 70% a year by 2015, mobile data revenues will rise by only 17%. That's if the current charging structures are retained. This is just one of the trends explored in a new survey called “The LTE Tariffs & Business Models 2011-2015 report”.

The study, conducted by Rider Research partner, Rethink Technology Research addresses this dichotomy. It explores how creative thinking in new business models will be essential if 4G investment doesn't disappoint in the way that 3G initially did.

----------------------------------

Over 66 pages and illustrated with over 40 diagrams and charts, this in-depth survey draws from interviews with 90 operators about their plans to deploy LTE and/or HSPA+ in developed markets between now and 2015.

At the heart of the report is the identification of five broad strategies that mobile carriers believe they can use as weapons in making their data businesses profitable. The five strategies are:
1) A host of new charging structures, looking well beyond simple tiered pricing;
2) An end to device subsidies;
3) New ways of generating revenue from devices such as tablets;
4) Revised revenue streams harnessing the new networks;
5) Lower cost of data delivery through 4G.

By detailing these five strategies, readers will learn how mobile operators' 4G business models will be impacted. The focus of the survey is on developed mobile economies where mobile data usage is already rising quickly and 4G roll-outs will be made in the next few years.

The results are broken down by region and carrier profile.

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Here is just a handful of some key findings that readers of “The LTE Tariffs & Business Models 2011-2015 report” will learn:
* 28% of operators say their primary reason for investing in LTE is to reduce cost of data delivery but over half of those remain unconvinced of the positive revenue model.
*  The opportunity to introduce new approaches to data charging is seen as the most powerful competitive weapon for 4G.
*  Cellcos believe 4G will enable them to increase overall data revenue by over 40%, and to treble revenue from non-traditional sources (eg M2M).
*  The typical cellco will use 12 different data pricing instruments by 2014, compared to three now. Popular approaches will include QoS and time-of-day pricing and many carriers will experiment with consumer designed tariffs.
*  The value of a Mbyte to the carrier has fallen from $260 for SMS at the start of the 3G era, to less than one cent for mobile broadband by 2014.

 

Who should read this report?
Every business involved in the cellular industry. Everyone will need an outlook on LTE charging mechanisms. Operators need a firm grip of what's possible and a clear strategic plan. Equipment and device vendors must offer pricing and partnership based on what is possible for the operator. Software and service businesses need to help enable new pricing paradigms.

The report is therefore essential reading for device manufacturers and their designers, applications houses, content owners, wireless operators, components makers, device and content distributors and the financial and investment community.


“The LTE Tariffs & Business Models 2011-2015 report” pricing is as follows:
Single reader                Corporate Licence
US$1,995                     $3,990
GBP1,250                     GBP2,480
EUR1,375                     EUR2,750

A corporate licence which includes permission to distribute throughout the company, plus the use of graphs and data in corporate presentations and brochures, costs $3,995.

Prices are per organisation and do not include outside contractors, advertising agencies or public relations companies.

To order, please download the extracts and order form and return the attached form to simon at riderresearch dot com

We will send you a copy (as an Acrobat file) upon receipt.

If you would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact Simon Thompson
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Information Express, Rider Research's partner
PO Box 2077, Buckingham, MK18 1WQ, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1280 820560 

Rider Research (www.riderresearch.com)
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

+++ TABLE OF CONTENTS +++

Executive summary 4
Introduction: Traditional data models 9
1. Operators' mobile data challenges 11

Failure of 3G charging 14
The subsidy trap 16
The flat rate data trap 18
2. Towards a solution with 4G 21
Top level forecasts 23
3. A new approach to subsidies 26
The changing role of subsidies 26
How to lure users away from subsidies 30
4. New data charging mechanisms 33
A history of data tariffs 33
New trends in data charging 36
Tiered pricing 38
The role of DPI 41
Case study: Verizon versus Clearwire 42
Other tiered structures 45
Flexible contracts and prepaid 46
Wi-Fi and data offload 50
5. The impact of new kinds of mobile devices 53
6. Embedded wireless models and new revenue streams 57
Device MVNO 58
On-demand wholesale 59
Content revenue sharing 60
Personal routers - sign of things to come 63
The five billion devices 64
The voice issue 65
New revenue streams 66
Fixed broadband over wireless 68
Conclusions 69


DIAGRAMS & TABLES
How operators weigh the five key 4G data weapons 6
EU 3G data ARPU as projected in 2000 15
The real picture of EU 3G ARPU 15
The carriers vicious circle 16
Phone price and subsidy trends 17
Data cost outruns revenues 19
The falling value of a Mbyte 20
Key LTE investment priorities 22
The five key weapons for 4G data profits 23
Targeted improvements in cost and ARPU from new data policies 24
Rising cost of subsidies 27
Rise of unsubsidized devices to 2014 28
The mobile data charging landscape 2004 33
The mobile data charging landscape 2010 34
The mobile data charging landscape 2014 35
The example of Sprint 36
Carrier intentions to adopt new charging mechanisms 37
Uptake of various forms of tiered pricing among cellcos 40
Investment in core and DPI drives offload and QoS tiers 44
The cost of carrying mobile video 46
Growth of prepaid plans in developed economies 48
Pros and cons of femtocells 52
Device mix in 4G to 2015 53
New device types drive flexible charging 54
The fragmentation of device branding 59
Embedded wireless revenue streams 61
Differences in charging on smartphones and other devices 62
Key new revenue streams 66
ARPU projections with and without new services on LTE 69

 

About Rider Research
Rider Research (www.riderresearch.com) publishes specialist bulletins, newsletters and reports about digital content, online entertainment services and broadband networks. It follows these businesses on a weekly basis through the strategy bulletin, 'The Online Reporter'.

About Rethink Technology Research
Rethink Technology Research offers consulting, advisory services, research papers, plus two weekly research services; Wireless Watch, the WiMAX, Wi-Fi & LTE newsweekly; and Faultline, the Journal of Quadruple play Economics.

Report methodology
An in-depth survey of about 90 operators was conducted in order to research the most comprehensive study yet of what mobile operators intend to do about the 4G dilemma. They were questioned about their plans to deploy LTE and/or HSPA+ in developed markets between now and 2015.

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“The LTE Tariffs & Business Models 2011-2015 report”