The Face of Telecommunications in 2008
Posted on January 8, 2008 By: Mike, VoIP Facts: The Blog email author
Filed Under Commentary
With the transition from circuit switched technology to packet based VoIP well under way, the focus on telecommunications in 2008 turns to the wireless industry, as broader, faster pipes enable wireless broadband networks to deliver voice, multimedia, and data applications to a wider range of businesses and consumers.
First out of the gate in 2008, and a good indication of the shape of things to come, is the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas going on this week. With Verizons announcement last year embracing the open source community, the CES is already teaming with new mobile devices and applications developed to run on unlocked phones over a variety of wireless technologies. Sony introduces its PlayStation Portable with a firmware upgrade allowing gamers to talk to each other over Skype, and Motorola, among others, takes the iPhone head on with its ROKR E8 touchscreen mobile device. Samsung is also demonstrating its Mobile WiMax technology using its SPH-P900 mobile phone/wireless broadband device, and the M8100, a WiMax enabled PDA.
Coming up in late January is the FCC auction of the 700MHz spectrum. The most valuable of spectrum real estate to enter the market in a while, the 700MHz band is significant in that it is capable of penetrating far into physical structures, a plus for any phone company that can eliminate the dreaded dropped call. The bidders are in and include such heavy hitters as Google Inc., Verizon Wireless, and AT&T, as well as some regional players like Alltel Corp and the Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Cooperative. Cox and Cablevision are in representing the Cableco’s, and Microsoft co-founder Mark Allen has also thrown his hat in the ring for a piece of the pie. Noticeably absent from the bidding is Sprint Nextel, which currently owns the lions share of spectrum suitable for WiMax.
Vonage dodged the bullet late last year by settling their last lawsuit out of court with Nortel Communications. Perhaps this year they can concentrate on getting back some of the residential consumer market share. Also, look for Packet8 to continue to make gains in the SMB market with its hosted IP PBX service.
The WiMax Forum will be opening five new Mobile WiMax Certification Labs in the U.S., Taiwan, Korea and China, the first main testing lab being opened in Spain. Everything from Base Stations to Handhelds can be tested first in the 2.3GHz range, with 2.5GHz beginning shortly thereafter. The certification process is expected to take 2-3 months for a device, and it is believed that certification will lead to an expansion of WiMax services and availability. With most of the work on WiMax having been done internationally, the WiMax Forum estimates that over 300 operators in more than 65 countries have already deployed WiMax trials.
Without a doubt, 2008 is poised to bring some major changes to telecommunication as we know it and the wireless industry in particular. With the maturation of Voice over IP and WiFi, and the emerging 4G WiMax and LTE technologies, the telecommunications business model morphs into a broadband access business, offering interactive multimedia services to a data greedy populace. Driven by device manufacturers, application developers, and consumer demand, voice will share the bandwidth with email, texting, videoconferencing, GPS navigation, national security alerts, games, advertising, music, and TV, just to name a few.
As we look to the New Year, we can thank the innovators of last year: the Verizons, the Googles, the Sprints, Clearwires and Intels, the Apples, and yes, even the FCC, for the technologies looming on the horizon, and the inevitable winners and losers that are yet to be determined, but promise to make 2007 look like the calm before the storm.
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