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April 28, 2004
Multi-tenant buildings a boon for broadband vendors.
Businesses located in multi-tenant units (MTUs) represent a significant opportunity for broadband vendors, according to In-Stat/MDR, with worldwide MTU in-building related service revenues predicted to grow from US$365 million in 2003 to $3.7 billion in 2008. These buildings house a significant proportion of businesses worldwide, especially in high-density areas such as New York, Hong Kong and Seoul.
MTUs tend to house medium-sized to large businesses, rather than offices for small business. Typically, larger businesses are considered a big boon for broadband providers because they can't afford not to have high-speed connections for their employees, but recently smaller mom-and-pop businesses are starting to get significant attention as well. A joint offering from Linksys and Boingo allows small businesses to set up wi-fi hotspots to compete with better known rivals without the hassle of setting up the whole service themselves -- and at a relatively low cost.
Broadband needs of a mom-and-pop shop will never rival those of a 100-story skyscraper. But in a time when consumers decide which coffee shop or laundromat they'll frequent based on which offers the fastest wireless connection, broadband providers may find that big profits aren't only found downtown. In fact, they may be at the shop just around the corner.
Posted by jenguevin at 07:01 PM
April 20, 2004
Broadband access has become a mainstream market...
in the U.S. with 27 million business and residential subscribers at the end of 2003, according to InStat/MDR. Cable modem still leads DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) as the most popular broadband access technology with fixed wireless broadband as the third most popular access technology.
Posted by jenguevin at 02:28 AM
April 16, 2004
Online media faces obstacles
The online media market faces significant changes over the next few years, with media companies needing to be more open, deliver protected information through variable packaging and pricing and deliver media to consumers how, when and where they want it, according to IBM Corp.'s Business Consulting Services group.
Posted by jenguevin at 04:09 PM
April 14, 2004
Online gaming to continue strong growth
The online gaming market in Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) will continue to grow strongly as broadband penetration increases, according to IDC. Korea, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan top the region in online penetration. All these countries -- with the exception of China -- are advanced broadband markets.
The gaming industry has kicked, punched and body-slammed its way through the sagging global economy without so much as a scratch. It seems even in the toughest economic times, people want their games. They want them fast and mobile, and the industry is more than happy to indulge them.
Posted by jenguevin at 03:54 PM
April 13, 2004
Despite challenges, e-mail marketing to triple by 2008
Jupiter Research reports that spending on e-mail marketing campaigns will reach $6.1 billion by 2008, up from $2.1 billion last year. The study shows that advertisers are largely undeterred by aggressive moves by the U.S. government, ISPs and technology companies to stop spam. With such strong anti-spam sentiment, creating successful e-mail ad campaigns won't be easy.
In a recent eMarketer Inc. interview with Dan Springer, CEO of digital marketing solutions provider Responsys, Springer talks about the challenges his company -- and anyone else who wants to thrive in the online ad space -- will have to overcome to find success.
Posted by jenguevin at 01:00 AM
April 12, 2004
Telecom spending to top $99 billion this year
According to the 2004 Telecommunications Market Review and Forecast from the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), enterprise telecommunications equipment spending in the US, now at $94 billion, will grow to over $99 billion by the end of this year. The report comes as welcome news to a battered industry that has seen sluggish growth -- at best -- in the last three years.
While the TIA attributes the expected growth in spending to several factors, including an overall stronger economy and an increased interest in IP-based technology, it also predicts that increased spending by small and medium-sized businesses will be responsible for much of the industry's upturn. In-Stat/MDR says SMB's investments in telecom services and equipment will grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10% between 2004 and 2008.
Posted by jenguevin at 05:00 PM