Brazil telcos ramp up spending to $8B: Brazil-based service providers spent $8 billion during the first nine months of 2013 to conduct network expansions, increase coverage and improve service quality, according to data from the Brazilian Telecommunications Association (Telebrasil). The association said this figure is 7 percent higher than the $7.1 billion they spend in the same period a year ago. Between January and September 2013, the gross operating revenue in the sector was $71.6 billion, representing a growth rate of 5 percent compared to the same period in 2012. Article (sub req.)
Cable MSOs find gold in the business market: U.S. cable operators have found that business services can ease the ongoing pain of quarterly video losses. A new Insight Research report revealed that cable MSOs' annual business revenues will rise to $8.8 billion. Although they are relative newcomers to a sector that's been owned by traditional telcos for over 30 years, Insight says that "cable operators have demonstrated double-digit revenue growth in Business Services over the past few years, while their market share is approaching ten percent." Such a trend was evident in the third quarter earnings reports of a number of the largest cable MSOs. Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) reported that business revenues rose 26.8 percent to $2.37 billion and 20.5 percent to $594 million, respectively. Time Warner Cable also reported that wholesale revenues, particularly wireless backhaul, grew by 38.3 percent to $65 million. Release
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Cable operators' projected business service revenues. (Source: Insight Research) |
Wi-Fi takes charge of the smart thermostat sector: ZigBee may be an emerging technology in the smart thermostat market, but Wi-Fi continues to be the dominant choice among device manufacturers. According to ABI Research, shipments of Wi-Fi enabled smart thermostats are forecast to exceed 3 million units in 2018. The overall smart thermostat market itself is also poised for growth, rising from 1.3 million in 2013 to 8 million unit shipments in 2018. Likewise, smart thermostat global revenues are forecast to see fivefold growth to reach $600 million by 2018. ABI said that the largest geographic markets for smart thermostats is North America where tech-savvy consumers are "adopting smart mobile devices packed with low-cost wireless sensors, an expanding install base of buildings connected with smart meters, home automation initiatives from Telcos and Cable companies, and a slowly recovering housing market." Release