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Tag: Wireless

  • HBO Max, HBO add 2.8 mn subs in Q2, WarnerMedia’s revenues touch $8.8 billion.

    HBO Max, HBO add 2.8 mn subs in Q2, WarnerMedia’s revenues touch $8.8 billion.

    New Delhi: Media and telecommunications giant AT&T showed continued customer growth in wireless, fiber and HBO Max in the second quarter, the company has said. In its Q2 report released on Thursday, AT&T reported consolidated revenues of $44 billion, up from $41 billion in Q2 2020.

    WarnerMedia’s total revenues climbed to $8.8 billion from 8.5 billion in Q1 indicating partial recovery from the impact of the pandemic.

    HBO Max and HBO added 2.8 million domestic subscribers. Total domestic subscribers for both topped 47 million — up 10.7 million from the past year and 67.5 million globally, up 12 million in the past year. The parent company has also raised its expectations for HBO/HBO Max growth by the end of 2021, and now expects 70 million-73 million global HBO Max/HBO subscribers by the end of year. 

    “We are pleased with our performance and our momentum is strong,” said AT&T CEO John Stankey. “For the fourth consecutive quarter, we saw good subscriber growth across wireless, fiber and HBO Max. Mobility delivered strong service revenue, EBITDA and postpaid phone growth. Our fiber business grew subscribers and penetration.”

    The company’s top executive said, HBO Max had another strong quarter and is ahead of plan to be a leading direct-to-consumer streaming platform, with both subscriber- and ad-supported choices. “As a result, we’re raising our global HBO Max year-end forecast to 70 million to 73 million subscribers. Also, we’re updating full-year guidance for consolidated revenue, wireless service revenue, adjusted EPS and free cash flow,” he said.

    Early this May, AT&T and Discovery Inc. had agreed to combine their media assets into a new public traded company. The deal is expected to be completed by mid-2022 pending regulatory approvals.  “No news is good news… We continue to move through it,” said Stankey responding to a media query on the deal.

    The merged entity to be led by current Discovery chief executive David Zaslav will bring together brands like HBO, Warner Bros., Discovery, DC Comics, CNN, Cartoon Network, HGTV, Food Network, the Turner Networks, TNT, TBS, Eurosport, Magnolia, TLC, Animal Planet, ID. The larger aim is to compete globally in the fast-growing direct-to-consumer business- bringing compelling content to DTC subscribers across its portfolio, including HBO Max and the recently launched discovery+.

  • Wireless b’band data speed ideas date extended

    NEW DELHI: With stakeholders saying that various technical and network issues are involved, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has once again extended the last date for views on ensuring transparency and customer awareness regarding data speeds under wireless broadband plans.

    Stakeholders can now give their comments by 10 August and counter-comments by 24 August 2017.

    In a Consultation Paper on ‘Data Speed under Wireless Broadband Plans’ early last month, TRAI had also suggested various tools that may be deployed for measuring data speeds.

    At the outset, it had said the National Telecom Policy of 2012 (NTP-2012) has the vision of Broadband on Demand and envisages leveraging telecom infrastructure to enable all citizens and businesses, both in rural and urban areas, to participate in the Internet and web economy thereby ensuring equitable and inclusive development across the nation. It provides the enabling framework for enhancing India’s competitiveness in all spheres of the economy.

    The questions raised in the paper, which discusses the various initiatives that have been taken by the Authority in relation to broadband speeds in India and their current status and provides a summary of the international experience on similar issues, are:

    Q1: Is the information on wireless broadband speeds currently being made available to consumers is transparent enough for making informed choices?

    Q2: If it is difficult to commit a minimum download speed, then could average speed be specified by the service providers? What should be the parameters for calculating average speed?

    Q3: What changes can be brought about to the existing framework on wireless broadband tariff plans to encourage better transparency and comparison between plans offered by different service providers?

    Q4: Is there a need to include/delete any of the QoS parameters and/or revise any of the  benchmarks currently stipulated in the Regulations?

    Q5: Should disclosure of average network performance over a period of time or at peak times including through broadband facts/labels be made mandatory?

    Q6: Should standard application/ websites be identified for mandating comparable disclosures about network speeds?

    Q7: What are the products/technologies that can be used to measure actual end-user experience on mobile broadband networks? At what level should the measurements take place (e.g., on the 26 device, network node)?

    Q8: Are there any legal, security, privacy or data sensitivity issues with collecting device level data?

    a) If so, how can these issues be addressed? b) Do these issues create a challenge for the adoption of any measurement tools?

    Q9: What measures can be taken to increase awareness among consumers about wireless broadband speeds, availability of various technological tools to monitor them and any potential concerns that may arise in the process?

    Also read:

    Wireless b’band speed: TRAI invites transparency & customer awareness ideas

  • Wireless b’band speed: TRAI invites transparency & customer awareness ideas

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India wants stakeholders to give their views on ensuring transparency and customer awareness regarding data speeds under wireless broadband plans and has suggested various tools that may be deployed for measuring data speeds

    In a Consultation Paper on ‘Data Speed under Wireless Broadband Plans’, the Authority has asked stakeholders to respond to nine questions raised by it by 20 June with counter-comments if any by 13 July.

    At the outset, it says the National Telecom Policy of 2012 (NTP-2012) has the vision of Broadband on Demand and envisages leveraging telecom infrastructure to enable all citizens and businesses, both in rural and urban areas, to participate in the Internet and web economy thereby ensuring equitable and inclusive development across the nation. It provides the enabling framework for enhancing India’s competitiveness in all spheres of the economy

    Wireless access networks are the main source of delivering broadband in the country. Global mobile subscriptions are growing around 5 percent year-on-year. According to the Ericsson’s mobility report, India grew the most in terms of net additions during the third quarter of 2016 by adding 15 million connections. These figures have increased substantially in the last few quarters. Out of the total 236.09 million broadband subscribers in the country as of 31st December 2016 approximately 92.32% – 217.95 million subscribers – are through wireless access.

    According to a GSMA report titled ‘The Mobile Economy, India 2016’, at the end of June 2016, 616 million unique users subscribed to mobile services in India, making it the second largest mobile market in the world. Almost half the country’s population now subscribes to a mobile service. The report suggests that improving affordability; falling device prices and better network coverage aided by operator investment will help deliver over 330 million new unique subscribers by 2020, taking the penetration rate to 68%. It further adds that as more users migrate to high-speed broadband, mobile data traffic is expected to grow 12-fold between 2015 and 2020, at a CAGR of 63%.

    Data usage by GSM users has already shown an unprecedented growth in the recent months from an average usage of 236MB per month in September, 2016 to 884 MB per month in December 2016.

    Along with this, the composition of revenues earned by operators is also changing. Mobile operators in India have so far reported limited revenue contribution from data services, generating 17% of service revenues at the end of 2015. This is forecast to increase to 23% by 2020.

    The Broadband Policy of 2004 defined broadband as “An ‘always-on’ data connection that is able to support interactive services including Internet access and has the capability of the minimum download speed of 256 kilo bits per second (kbps) to an individual subscriber from the Point of Presence (POP) of the service provider intending to provide broadband service where multiple such individual broadband connections are aggregated and the subscriber is able to access these interactive services including the Internet through this POP. The interactive services will exclude any services for which a separate license is specifically required, for example, real-time voice transmission, except to the extent that it is presently permitted under ISP license with Internet Telephony”.

    The questions raised in the paper, which discusses the various initiatives that have been taken by the Authority in relation to broadband speeds in India and their current status and provides a summary of the international experience on similar issues, are:

    Q1: Is the information on wireless broadband speeds currently being made available to consumers is transparent enough for making informed choices? Q2: If it is difficult to commit a minimum download speed, then could average speed be specified by the service providers? What should be the parameters for calculating average speed?

    Q3: What changes can be brought about to the existing framework on wireless broadband tariff plans to encourage better transparency and comparison between plans offered by different service providers? Q4: Is there a need to include/delete any of the QoS parameters and/or revise any of the benchmarks currently stipulated in the Regulations?

    Q5: Should disclosure of average network performance over a period of time or at peak times including through broadband facts/labels be made mandatory? Q6: Should standard application/ websites be identified for mandating comparable disclosures about network speeds?

    Q7: What are the products/technologies that can be used to measure actual end-user experience on mobile broadband networks? At what level should the measurements take place (e.g., on the 26 device, network node)? Q8: Are there any legal, security, privacy or data sensitivity issues with collecting device level data?

    a) If so, how can these issues be addressed? b) Do these issues create a challenge for the adoption of any measurement tools?

    Q9: What measures can be taken to increase awareness among consumers about wireless broadband speeds, availability of various technological tools to monitor them and any potential concerns that may arise in the process?

  • Comcast to launch wireless service using Verizon

    Comcast to launch wireless service using Verizon

    MUMBAI: Here is good news for all Comcast subscribers. The US cable giant’s chief executive Brian Roberts has announced the launch of a wireless service by mid-2017. It plans to create a service that would run on its 15 million WiFi hotspots and use Verizon’s wireless network through a deal struck in 2011. Under that deal, a consortium of cable companies led by Comcast sold nationwide spectrum licenses to Verizon for $3.6 billion and secured wireless-resale rights.

    This new business line will in-turn help the company to better retain its cable customers in the pay-TV market.

    Roberts said that they believed there would be a big payback with reduced churn, more stickiness and better satisfaction. Comcast would market the wireless service inside their footprint, to existing and potential Comcast cable customers, as opposed to nationwide. The company was interested in up-selling customers to a bigger bundle of services.

    Roberts also introduced Comcast’s newly integrated Netflix experience on its next-generation X1 set-top box and guide. It is in discussions with several other video streaming providers to integrate their services into the X1 box.

    Over the past several years, Comcast has been replacing its cable customers’ routers with new ones doubling as public Wi-Fi hotspots. It is also among the potential bidders for wireless airwaves in a current federal auction. With this move, Comcast is trying to be the first successful cable mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), a concept pioneered by Virgin Mobile UK in 1999.

  • Comcast to launch wireless service using Verizon

    Comcast to launch wireless service using Verizon

    MUMBAI: Here is good news for all Comcast subscribers. The US cable giant’s chief executive Brian Roberts has announced the launch of a wireless service by mid-2017. It plans to create a service that would run on its 15 million WiFi hotspots and use Verizon’s wireless network through a deal struck in 2011. Under that deal, a consortium of cable companies led by Comcast sold nationwide spectrum licenses to Verizon for $3.6 billion and secured wireless-resale rights.

    This new business line will in-turn help the company to better retain its cable customers in the pay-TV market.

    Roberts said that they believed there would be a big payback with reduced churn, more stickiness and better satisfaction. Comcast would market the wireless service inside their footprint, to existing and potential Comcast cable customers, as opposed to nationwide. The company was interested in up-selling customers to a bigger bundle of services.

    Roberts also introduced Comcast’s newly integrated Netflix experience on its next-generation X1 set-top box and guide. It is in discussions with several other video streaming providers to integrate their services into the X1 box.

    Over the past several years, Comcast has been replacing its cable customers’ routers with new ones doubling as public Wi-Fi hotspots. It is also among the potential bidders for wireless airwaves in a current federal auction. With this move, Comcast is trying to be the first successful cable mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), a concept pioneered by Virgin Mobile UK in 1999.

  • ADC India Communication to grow its presence in India

    ADC India Communication to grow its presence in India

    BAMGLORE:  ADC India Communication Ltd [BSE: ADCT] whichoffers the full range of KRONE products and is a leader in broadband connectivity,announced today new management appointments. The leadership changesre-enforce the company’s commitment to India and helps strengthen its position as a leading provider of next gen network infrastructuresolutions for the telecom, broadcast &entertainment and enterprise markets. Mr. S. Devarajan has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company and Mr. J. N. Mylaraiah has been appointed the Managing Director of the company.

    An Indian IT industry veteran, Mr. S.Devarajanhas over 30 years’ experience in the technology industry. He was the Managing Director at Tata Elxsi, and also the Managing Director at Cisco India. He was instrumental in building Cisco India as the globalization center east. Devarajan made the historic turnaround of Tata Elxsi to a profitable venture in the mid-1990s.He also is the formerpresident of Manufacturers Association for Information Technology (MAIT) a former member of the IT hardware task force and IT vision task force set up by the Chief Minister of Karnataka.

    Commenting on the appointment, Mr Devarajan, Chairman of the Board, ADC India Communications, said, “I am delighted to be part of this pioneering company. ADC has had a strong foothold in the broadcast & entertainment market in India and its Krone line of products has been synonymous with connectivity in the telecommunication space.We intend to grow the business by capitalizing on the strong brand name that it has in these verticals to grow our market share. ADC has a robust and technologically advanced product line in fiber and is committed to capture a significant part of that market.”

    “With this strategic move, we aim to build a robust network foundation for our clients which can seamlessly transition between legacy and future access technologies cost effectively,” said Mylaraiah, the newly appointed Managing Director of the company. He further added,“we recognize the trust that ADC Krone has built amongst its stakeholders for the past 20 years and would like to reiterate the fact that we are the only source for genuine KRONE products in the industry. Krone products will remain a strong component of our overall product portfolio along with our innovative copper, fibre, FTTX and wireless solutions.”

    The company will focus on expansion into newer territories in India as well SAARC countries: Bangladesh, Srilanka and Nepal. ADC India will also launch new products and services in the areas of DAS Passive components, FTTA, CTTA, PTTA, and standard compliant modules to cater to the growing demand for delivering, voice, data, video and wireless services.

    In December 2010, ADC Telecommunications, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADCT) was acquired by TE Connectivity (NYSE: TEL), a world leader in connectivity.. In India, ADC India Communications is a separate legal entity with its stock trading in BSE and TE Connectivity India Pvt Ltd having majority shareholding.

  • ESPN re-ups with Twitter Amplify for college football

    ESPN re-ups with Twitter Amplify for college football

    MUMBAI: Television networks and publishers are really getting on board with Twitter Amplify.

    In the second development of its kind during the last few days, ESPN will quickly deliver college football highlights from numerous games this season – which kicks off this weekend—through its Twitter handle and via the social-TV Amplify platform. ESPN will run the same highlights across its Web and mobile app properties.
    In all cases, an eight-second pre-roll ad for Verizon Wireless will appear as part of a larger “#DidYouSeeThat” campaign for the telecom that will include spots on ESPN channels during the full college season.

    It’s the second year in which ESPN and Twitter have partnered for the Amplify program. The deal is probably a thing of beauty – the ability to focus on single games via the living room flat-screen TV while getting snippets galore of other contests on your laptop, tablet or smartphone.

    Twitter Amplify head Glenn Brown said, “Programs like this are a win-win-win for everyone involved. Brands get new opportunities to reach consumers, networks can distribute their content across multiple platforms and generate new revenues, and users get amazing content from the best plays happening in college football.”

    Earlier this week, Twitter debuted a similar agreement with the United States Tennis Association for the US Open, where the tourney is relaying top video highlights via the social site.

    In that example, Heineken has bought the exclusive sponsorship for the event, which runs through 8 September.

  • Verizon looks to take convergence between TV, mobile, net to the next level

    Verizon looks to take convergence between TV, mobile, net to the next level

    MUMBAI: “We are the Broadband company.”

    That is the message that US telecom major Verizon wants to send out to consumers and the industry.

     
    At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Verizon’s new president and COO Denny Strigl said that the company is leading the way in the next revolution of television. “With the strength of our powerful wireless and fiber networks, we have transformed our business into one of the world’s greatest content-delivery systems”.

    To prove the point, Strigl, accompanied by two of Verizon’s most senior executives, introduced new products that marry the phone, the Internet and television for consumers in ways not available from any other company.

    Verizon has introduced FiOS digital media new interactive programme guide and a platform that offers the company’s base of FiOS TV customers a myriad of multimedia applications linking television, the Internet, personal computers and phones. Both will be available in the first half of the year.

    At the same time, Verizon Wireless raised the curtain on V Cast Mobile TV which is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2007.

    Strigl detailed the two-fold strategy behind these products, which crystallises the changing nature of Verizon’s consumer business. “At Verizon, we build great networks and we offer great content. We have built the nation’s most comprehensive all-digital broadband fiber network that reaches all the way into individual homes, while we offer the most reliable
    wireless voice and data network, period.”

    Verizon FiOS provides homes and businesses in 16 states in the US with up to 50 megabits of Internet speed, and FiOS TV is already available in more than 200 cities in 10 states. Verizon Wireless’ broadband network covers more than 200 million people, offering V Cast Video, V Cast Music and BroadbandAccess for high-speed laptop and PDA connectivity.

    Strigl adds, “Our parallel networks of fiber and wireless create a delivery system for the high-bandwidth content of today, and will meet consumers’ needs for years to come”.

    Verizon says that its fiber and wireless broadband networks, and their reach, quality and speeds, provide the basis for advancing existing partnerships with technology companies such as Qualcomm. In addition, relationships with leading content providers, appearing on FiOS TV, on Verizon Online and in a variety of mobile platforms to package, format and program TV content, will combine to deliver a suprior overall TV experience says the firm.

  • Wireless to fuel broadband growth in India: seminar

    Wireless to fuel broadband growth in India: seminar

    MUMBAI: Concerted efforts should be made to foster faster growth in broadband and increase telephony penetration into the rural areas, telecom experts at a seminar in Mumbai said.

    India has a very low broadband penetration and it is wireless which will fuel the growth, Essar Teleholdings president Ajay Madan said, while speaking at a two-day international communications convergence on “Connecting India – The Global Challenge.”

    “The fixed line has as low as under four per cent copper penetration and private telecom operators have not found the solution yet. Broadband through cable TV is also not much as the sector is highly unorganised. India will have to find the answer through wireless,” Madan said.

    DSL is the driver for broadband penetration except in US and Canada where cable is strong. Broadband subscriptions by DSL account for 61 per cent across the globe while cable grabs 32 per cent of the share and others make up the balance seven per cent.

    In Korea, there is a competitive ADSL provider (Hanaro) while cable and wireless providers also have a strong presence and wide coverage in the market. Korea also has wireless broadband at a low cost of $15 a month. Similarly, Japan has a high broadband penetration as the scenario is very competitive with over 50 ADSL providers.

    “In high fixed line economies, broadband will grow. Content and the services sector are also driving broadband,” said Madan.

    India needs to take several steps even as the next generation broadband with video-on-demand (VoD), interactive TV, games, remote access to work and video conference applications hogging bandwidth. “Streamlining rights-of-way clearance, reducing leased line price, and dropping artificial regulatory costs are some of the measures which have to be taken,” Madan said.

    Speaking at the plenary session on “India Empowered,” Ericsson India general manager – technical Bo Ribbing elaborated on how connectivity could benefit the common man. “The challenge is to reach out to the segments below $5 in India. But there are some positive changes which have taken place to breach this low-spending subscriber segment. The cost of terminal is coming down and is expected to further fall from $35 to $25 range by next year,” he said.

    Also speaking on the occasion was telecom analyst, strategy and policy unit, ITU, Geneva, Lara Srivastava. “The telecom industry is in a stage of transition and is moving from divergence to convergence markets. Mobile has taken over fixed lines. In 2004, mobile subscribers stood at 1.75 billion while fixed line had 1.19 billion users,” she said.

    In India, the number of new mobile subscribers each month for the period 1995-2001 went up from 0.05 to 0.1 million a month. “This has scaled up progressively and 4.5 million new subscribers were added in the month of December last year, proving that mobile teledensity is leading the way here,” Srivastava said.

    Former Tata Consultancy Services deputy chairman FC Kohli expressed two concerns – absence of a hardware computer industry and need for developing a security architecture for internet. “About 60 per cent of the e-mail is spam. Internet has no inherent security architecture. There is an opportunity for India to do research in this and develop the next generation of internet,” Kohli said.

    The seminar addressed other issues like the challenges and opportunities of increasing connectivity. Among the top speakers included SingTel India country director Arun Dagar, Asia Pacific Telecommunity executive director Amarendra Narayan and IIT professor Dr Ashok Jhunjhunwala.