Network reliability is job one: Network reliability among data providers has improved markedly since 2009, a report from J.D. Power & Associates says. The average number of short duration outages (those that last less than five minutes) experienced by customers during the past six months decreased by more than 16 percent, to 5.9 incidents in 2010 from 7.0 in 2009. Outages longer than five minutes decreased 11 percent. Cox Communications tops the SMB segment, followed by Optimum Business and AT&T. News release.
Security rising: Security is on everyone's mind these days, and it shows. A report from Infonetics Research says that the virtual security appliance market, which includes VPNs and firewalls, SSL VPNs, intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS), and content security gateways designed for virtualized servers, grew 119 percent in the first quarter of 2010 compared to last year. Content security gateway appliances showed the strongest growth, 22 percent, in 1Q 2010. News release.
South Korea: South Korea's telecom market remains vibrant, Research and Markets reports in its Key Statistics, Telecom Market Structure & Regulatory Overview for the country. Of particular interest are developments in the broadband market including a shift away from DSL and moves toward A-LAN and FTTH services. Release.
OTT content rules: An Ernst & Young poll of chief financial officers from 75 media and entertainment companies finds that most are optimistic about revenue potential from content over the Internet and mobile devices. This is despite a 55 percent drop in the price of music and 12 percent decrease in the price of video between 2006 and 2009, and continuing predicted declines. "CFO's see growth in new distribution channels, products and services," said Howard Bass, Senior Partner at Ernst & Young. News release.
PBX slowdown: Although vendors are migrating their installed base to IP lines, the PBX market is declining and will continue to slide through 2010, a Dell'Oro Group report says. Part of this downward trend is due to troubles with the Euro--a 10 percent decline would remove $20 million in revenues for the PBX market, according to the report. Seasonal slowdowns and customer pauses ahead of new releases also account for the drop. News release.