CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2009

CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2009 takes place Oct. 7-9, 2009 at the San Diego Convention Center. For exhibitor profiles, email rogerf@exportaction.

$1 million from a DoD contractor

Beacon Enterprise Solutions Group has received a purchase order of approximately $1 million from a DoD contractor. The purchase order is part of the Company’s three-year exclusive supplier agreement for IT products and services with the contractor, as part of the Space and Naval Warfare (“SPAWAR”) Systems Centers program. As part of the agreement, which began in May 2009, Beacon Enterprise Solutions has been selected to supply communications infrastructure equipment to the contractor. Through SPAWAR, the government is upgrading its IT infrastructure for the nation’s defense and logistics agencies. The overall value of the contract, which was awarded to nine different contractors, is valued at up to $500 million.

VDSL2 technology across 14 states

Qwest International has plans to roll out VDSL2 technology across its networks in 14 states; doubling its connection speeds for qualifying residential and small business customers. The new service offers peak download speeds of 40Mbps and upload speeds of up to 20Mbps. Qwest intends to expand the service over the coming months to 23 markets covered by the company’s fibre-optic backbone network.

St. Louis casino to get VOIP

Beacon Enterprise Solutions Group is to provide VOIP solutions for a major new casino in St. Louis, MO. Beacon will be providing the VOIP system design and phone system installation throughout the entire facility in two stages. The new casino is located approximately ten miles south of downtown St. Louis in the community of Lemay. The $380 million multi-use complex will be modeled after the look of a Missouri riverboat town at the peak of the steamboat trade on the famed Mississippi River. The first phase of the project will include a 90,000-square-foot casino, with more than 2,000 slot machines and more than 50 table games, several restaurants, an entertainment venue and other amenities.

DHL telecommunications services

Deutsche Post DHL has announced the signing of a five-year agreement with AT&T to provide telecommunications services. The agreement is part of a worldwide Deutsche Post DHL group initiative to realize opportunities for service enhancement and cost optimization in the provision of telephony and networking services.

“The opportunities for reducing telecoms costs while improving service and network performance are significant,” said Stephen McGuckin, managing director of IT services at Deutsche Post DHL. “This initiative will help us pave the way for more cost efficiency throughout our U.S. operations and provide a next generation platform to transform and enhance our network services in the U.S. over the next five years.”

The new contract with AT&T covers Deutsche Post DHL’s Express, DHL Supply Chain, Global Forwarding, and Global Business Services divisions in the U.S. The service is expected to go live by late 2009. Through telecommunications agreements, Deutsche Post DHL is expected to save more than 170 million euros over five years.

Telecommunications and data infrastructure services

Black Box Corporation, a provider of voice communications, data infrastructure, and product solutions, has been awarded a telecommunications and data infrastructure services and technology product agreement from Premier Purchasing Partners, LP., the group purchasing unit of Premier, Inc. The agreement is available to acute care and continuum of care members of the Premier healthcare alliance. The Premier healthcare alliance is comprised of more than 2,100 U.S. hospitals and 58,000 healthcare sites working together to improve healthcare quality and affordability.

Coast Guard voice and data communications services

Level 3 Communications has been selected by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) to provide voice and data communications services. Level 3 is delivering services under the Washington Interagency Telecommunications Services 3 (WITS3) contract that negotiates telecommunications service plans and rates on behalf of all local and federal agencies operating within the National Capital Region. Under the terms of the agreement, Level 3 will provide connectivity for data transmission between 10 metropolitan sites, including USCG headquarters in Washington, D.C. and their main Telecommunications and Information Systems Command location in Alexandria, Va. In addition, Level 3 will provide voice services at each site to support day-to-day operations, including priority voice services as part of the Department of Homeland Security First Responders program.

$30,000 in one quarter through fuel savings

Wireless Matrix and PeakView Solutions, LLC have announced a successful deployment at NewWave Communications, a Multiple System Operator (MSO) serving customers across six states. Since deploying Wireless Matrix’s FleetOutlook solution parallel to PeakView Solutions’ DispatchView, as part of its Phase 2 mobile workforce management solution in mid-March, the MSO has already seen its fuel usage reduced significantly, about 4,200 gallons per month across 175 technicians. This reduction has led to an estimated cost savings of $30,000 over the first quarter of deployment. www.wirelessmatrix.com www.peakviewsolutions.com

State of Utah selects Qwest

The State of Utah (www.utah.gov) has chosen Qwest Communications International Inc. to deliver a cost-saving, converged voice and data network. With Qwest’s Ethernet solution, state and local government and businesses in Utah have access to additional bandwidth speeds to help satisfy increasing public demand for online services. Qwest began connecting 300 locations in Salt Lake City and along Utah’s Wasatch Front using Qwest’s Metro Optical Ethernet (QMOE) data networking platform. Thirty government sites have already been connected as part of the 3-year, $7.2 million agreement. (Stephen Fletcher, CIO, State of Utah.)

$4.7 billion loan and grant programme for broadband

US vice president Joe Biden has outlined a state-funded $4.7 billion loan and grant programme designed to fund the deployment of broadband infrastructure in underserved areas, the Associated Press reports. Biden launched the programme on 1 July, saying, ‘Getting broadband to every American is a priority for this administration.’ The £4.7 billion investment is part of £7.2 billion included in the federal stimulus package to improve rural internet access. The US Department of Commerce will consider applications for funding that propose to provide wired or wireless access starting at low-end DSL speeds, but will give priority to ones promising high speed access. An area qualifies as being “underserved” and therefore eligible for grants, if half or fewer of households can get wired broadband today. Companies can apply to the scheme from 14 July and the first round of funding will be awarded in September this year.

iPhone application statistics

Wizzard Media has released figures today showing an increase in iPhone App sales, podcast downloads and podcast audiences from iPhone users for the first weekend after the launch of Apple’s new iPhone 3GS. Comparing with the previous weekend, the Wizzard Media Network saw an increase in audiences using the iPhone to request podcast episodes of 29% in the U.S. and 27% worldwide. As a result, there was an increase in podcasts downloaded from the network by iPhone users of 66% in the U.S. and 50% worldwide. Revenues for Wizzard’s iPhone App sales showed an average increase of 12% worldwide for the weekend after the new iPhone launch, compared to the previous weekend. Financial analyst projections for Apple’s iPhone sales average over 20 million units for 2009 (RBC, Piper Jaffrey, Citi).

AdMob’s May 2009 Mobile Metrics Report shows in less than one year, the Apple App Store has grown to more than 50,000 applications. Highlights from the May 2009 AdMob Mobile Metrics Report: five percent of applications had more than 100,000 active users in May 2009; 14 percent of applications had between 10,000 - 100,000 active users, representing 322 applications; 54 percent of applications had less than 1,000 active users, representing 1,244 applications; the average iPhone user in AdMob’s network accessed four applications in May; five days after its launch, the iPhone 3.0 Operating System (OS) represented 44 percent of iPhone ad requests. In contrast, only 1 percent of iPod touch requests came from devices running the iPhone 3.0 OS. AdMob reached 15.1 million unique users on iPhone and iPod touch devices on 2,309 applications in its network in May, the vast majority of which were free to download.

Interactive Voice Response

The City of Philadelphia is using two customized NEC Interactive Voice Response (IVR) applications to help improve customer service and reduce call center costs. The first system was designed for the Revenue Department to help with information associated with real estate taxes for residents. The second was designed for The Board of Revision of Taxes, the agency that establishes property values which serve as the basis for real estate taxes levied by the City. Residents can access the IVR systems to check their tax balance, lien information, request receipt copies and gather information needed to complete tax appeals applications. Using the IVR system, callers can confirm their information and then begin the process for filing an appeal and addressing tax issues. Additional information such as current market value and assessed value of their homes, as well as the last recorded title date and sales price, is also available. (Pam Scott, information management analyst, City of Philadelphia.)

$1.23 million Navy contract

Alion Science and Technology has been awarded a $1.23 million Navy contract to provide Link-16 EMC radio waveform certification support to the Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) Systems Center San Diego, Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (PEO C4I). Link-16 is a Department of Defense (DoD) secure, jam-resistant, high-speed spectrum data link that allows military aircraft, ships and ground forces to exchange near real-time text, imagery data and digital voice messages.

Upcoming 3G network

Starent Networks, an S-based equipment vendor, has been contracted by triple-play cable operator Cox Communications to supply the multimedia core of its upcoming 3G network. Cox will use Starent’s Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN) and Home Agent (HA) platforms to deliver data and multimedia services. Cox plans to enter the 3G market in the second half of 2009 but already has one eye on future developments, deploying technology geared towards migration to a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. Jon Morgan, Starent senior director of product marketing claims carriers "don't need a new hardware platform to go to LTE with us. It's all software upgradeable."

$6.8 billion worth of wireless communications

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, also known simply as the Stimulus Bill) will provide funding for a massive $6.8 billion worth of wireless communications upgrades and new deployments over 2009-2010. The Act offers a significant one-off opportunity for wireless equipment vendors, an opportunity examined in a study from ABI Research.

“The ARRA represents a windfall for wireless service providers as well as for satellite service providers,” comments ABI Research vice president Stan Schatt. “It will have an enormous impact on Wi-Fi and wireless broadband vendors. It will also immediately benefit a number of specific vertical industries including healthcare, education, homeland security, the environment, and the nation’s electricity infrastructure.”

In healthcare, the scope for adding wireless to the technology mix encompasses Wi-Fi-enabled mobile devices and sensors, communications systems linking health networks, telepresence, wireless LAN equipment, and Wi-Fi-enabled video surveillance systems.

In education, already a leading adopter of Wi-Fi solutions, equipment vendors are developing templated solutions in such areas as WLANs for “learning anywhere,” voice-over-Wi-Fi, and WLAN equipment and software to track students’ progress for “No Child Left Behind” record keeping.

The Department of Homeland Security and US Customs and Border Protection are potential goldmines for wireless vendors because of the many agencies within them that will use ARRA funds for tactical communications equipment, infrastructure equipment, and security equipment. Even critical infrastructure construction projects such as bridges and tunnels often require wireless video surveillance systems.

In fact, notes Schatt, “Many of the spending opportunities lie ‘under the surface’. A civil engineering project which seems mainly about concrete and steel may actually benefit from a lot of wireless technology. And because vendors can’t apply for funds themselves, they are – and should be – doing everything in their power to help their customers do so.”

ABI Research’s “The 2009 Federal Stimulus Bill” (http://www.abiresearch.com/research/1004117) examines the ARRA funds most appropriate for wireless solutions on a federal department-by-department basis. It discusses the types of partnerships necessary to fill product gaps as well as the opportunities to take advantage of ARRA “green” funding. 

SMBs - high value customers

AMI’s segmentation of the US small and medium business (SMB) markets reveals that 30% of US firms can be classified as “high-value customers”—those with a deep reliance on IT and communications technologies and a continuous need to invest in technology to drive their growth and streamline operations. These 30% account for more than 60% of the total amount spent on IT and communications gear and services each year. For IP-based communications products and services—such as IP-PBXs and web conferencing—their share of spending is significantly higher. An analysis of the customer bases of AT&T, Verizon, cable broadband providers and other CLECs reveals that CLECs and cable providers have done a good job of attracting some of these high-value small businesses (1-99 employees), when compared to national averages. Similarly, AT&T is doing very well on those metrics in the mid-market space (100-999 employees) where cable providers are notably losing out quite significantly. ISP’s, such as AT&T, Verizon, and cable companies’ customer bases are examined from a segmentation standpoint to assess who is better positioned to sell higher margin managed IP services down the road. The report also highlights a simple process ISPs/vendors may follow to optimize/balance the composition of their customer base by applying AMI’s segmentation and predictive analytics tools. www.ami-partners.com.

AT&T plans

AT&T Mobility, the second largest mobile operator by subscribers in the US, has outlined plans to upgrade its 3G network with High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) technology by 2011. The upgrade will boost mobile data transmission speeds from the current 3Mbps to up to 7.2Mbps. Deployment of the 3.5G technology is scheduled to start later this year. AT&T’s 3G mobile broadband network is currently available in nearly 350 US major metropolitan areas, with about 20 additional locations planned for deployment in 2009. Investment for these projects is covered by the cellco’s previously announced capital spending budget for 2009 of $17 billion to $18 billion. The company has also announced plans to commence testing of Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology in 2010, with a view to rolling out the technology in 2011.

University and healthcare campus communications

The University of New Mexico (UNM) is standardizing its university and healthcare campus communications on NEC solutions to lay a foundation that will allow seamless unified communication (UC) integration among UNM campus departments. UNM will be migrating to NEC’s UNIVERGE SV8500 communications server as it moves to a complete IP-based network over the next several years. The UNM campus includes more than 46,000 students and employees, encompassing administrative and educational buildings, as well as a health sciences center and the state’s only Trauma Level-1 and teaching hospital. (Mark Reynolds, associate director of IT services communications, University of New Mexico.) www.unm.edu.

$6.3m on network integration

LGS, a subsidiary of Alcatel-Lucent, has been awarded two delivery orders, totaling $6.3 million, with the United States Department of the Army to provide network integration and professional services for communications infrastructure upgrades at U.S. Army installations. The awards are under the Infrastructure Modernization (IMOD) contract and are in support of the Installation Information Infrastructure Modernization Program (I3MP) managed by the Project Manager Network Service Center (NSC) at Fort Monmouth, N.J. PM NSC upgrades and modernizes core data backbone and telecommunications infrastructure at Army installations worldwide.

Telco round-up (May 15, 2009)

AT&T is to pay $2.35 billion in cash to buy the bulk of wireless spectrum and other assets that its US cellular rival Verizon was obliged to sell as a condition of its recent acquisition of rural mobile operator Alltel Wireless. AT&T will acquire licences, network assets and 1.5 million subscribers in 79 mainly rural service areas across 18 states. Verizon Wireless must sell spectrum covering a total of 105 markets where its services overlap with the former Alltel networks. AT&T expects to spend $400 million in 2009/10 converting Verizon’s CDMA infrastructure to GSM technology.

Cablevision Systems reported net profit of $19.98 million for the first three months of 2009, from a net loss of $28.7 million in Q1 2008. The company added 30,000 net new subscribers to its broadband services, with 2.48 million subscriptions in total. The cableco also saw revenues boosted by growth in its digital voice service, Optimum, which added 52,000 net new customers, ending the quarter with 1.93 million subscriptions. Cablevision has plans to roll out a new broadband access plan with a maximum download rate of 101Mbps across its network. The company is deploying DOCSIS 3.0 technology, which will also allow it to provide upload speeds of up to 15Mbps. The new service will cost $99.95 per month. Cablevision also announced plans to double the speed of its Wi-Fi wireless broadband service, which is free to existing fixed broadband subscribers.

Charter Communications posted revenues of $1.66 billion for the first quarter of 2009, a 6.3% increase on the same period a year earlier. Broadband revenues climbed 9.6% to $360 million, with the company ending the quarter with 2.95 million broadband customers, an increase of 71,900 in three months.

Clearwire, 51% owned by Sprint Nextel, reported a narrowing of first-quarter losses to $71.06 million. Clearwire, which has launched commercial WiMAX in Baltimore and Portland, Oregon, reported that it added 25,000 subscribers in the first quarter, bringing its total base to 500,000 (up 57,000 year-on-year). The firm expects to add 802.16e networks in Atlanta, Las Vegas, Chicago, Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, Honolulu, Philadelphia and Seattle during 2009. Clearwire has selected Cisco as its national core infrastructure provider as it expands mobile WiMAX network coverage across the US. Clearwire’s all-IP network will be upgraded and extended under the deal, whilst separately, Cisco is also planning to move into the mobile WiMAX terminal device manufacturing market this year.

EMBARQ saw net profit fall 17.9% in the first quarter of 2009, down to $174 million. EMBARQ ended the quarter with 5.55 million wireline subscribers, a decline of 144,000. The company added 40,000 net new broadband subscribers, ending the quarter with 1.45 million customers.

Leap Wireless added 492,000 customers in the first quarter of 2009, giving the cellco a total of 4.34 million subscribers at 31 March. The company saw a 25.3% year-on-year rise in revenues, up to $587 million.

Liberty Global has announced net losses of $298.7 million for the three months ending 31 March 2009. The company added over 740,000 subscribers to its global customer base in 2008, giving it a total of 16.86 million at the end of March.

Mediacom has reported a 6.1% year-on-year rise in revenues for the first quarter of 2009, up to $360 million. The cableco added 24,000 net new broadband subscribers, ending the quarter with 748,000 subscribers in total.

MetroPCS reported a 20% year-on-year growth in revenues in the first quarter 2009, up to $795 million. MetroPCS added 684,000 net new customers in the quarter, with 6.05 million subscribers at the end of March 2009. Net subscriber additions of approximately 684,000 were achieved in the first quarter of 2009.

Qwest Communications has reported a 37% year-on-year rise in net income for the first quarter of 2009, up to $206 million.

Sprint Nextel has reported a 12% year-on-year drop in operating revenues for the first three months of 2009, down to $8.21 billion. Sprint, the third largest mobile operator by subscribers in the U.S., had 49.08 million customers at the end of March 2009, a 3.67 million drop from the total of 52.7 million a year earlier. However, the company reported a rise in subscriptions to its wholesale services, up 683,000 to 9.38 million at the end of the quarter.

T-Mobile USA, the country’s fifth largest mobile operator by subscribers, has reported net profit of $322 million for the first quarter of 2009. Capital expenditure was up $435 million to $1.13 billion, as the company invested in its W-CDMA/HSDPA based network. The company added 415,000 net new customers in Q1 2009, to end the quarter on 33.17 million.

Verizon Communications has reported a 5.3% year-on-year rise in net profit for the first quarter of 2009. The acquisition of mobile operator Alltel by Verizon Wireless boosted the company’s results, with 13.2 million net additions in the first quarter as a result of the takeover. The cellco ended March 2009 with a total of 86.6 million subscribers, 84.1 million of which are retail customers, a 29% rise on the first quarter of 2008. Verizon Wireless is a joint venture between Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group; Verizon holds a 55% stake in the mobile operator. Verizon reported growth in its fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) broadband base, with 298,000 net additions in the first quarter of 2009, giving the company a total of 2.78 million FTTP subscriptions. Verizon will pay AT&T $240 million for five Centennial Communications service areas with approximately 120,000 existing subscribers. AT&T announced plans to acquire US and Puerto Rican mobile and fixed operator Centennial in November 2008. Verizon Communications has agreed to sell local wireline operations across 14 states to Frontier Communications in a deal worth $8.6 billion.

Virgin Mobile USA reported net profit of $19 million for the first quarter of 2009. The company lost 133,292 net subscribers in the three month period, reducing its total to 5.25 million.

Windstream has signed an agreement to acquire D&E Communications in a deal worth $330 million. The acquisition will add about 165,000 fixed local access lines and 44,000 high speed internet customers to Windstream's Pennsylvania subscriber base. The buyer already has around 200,000 access lines in the state, and nearly three million across the 16 states in which it operates.