E-mail drives online purchases: When it comes to attracting consumers to make an online purchase, the best way to their wallet is through e-mail. According to an ExactTarget study, two-thirds of Americans who use the Internet made purchases due to receiving an e-mail. That's nearly twice the percentage as those who bought something after getting marketing messages through Facebook or text messaging. One of the key findings of the study was that consumers' modes of communications with brands and friends "vary significantly." While 77 percent of consumers surveyed said they like get marketing messages via e-mail, only 45 percent prefer email to talk to friends. Only 5 percent said they want to get marketing messages via social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, while 13 percent prefer social media for personal communications. Release
Competitors shake up Brazil's telecom market: Although the Brazilian telecom market is fully open to competition, the market continues to be dominated by three main providers: Spain's Telefónica (NYSE: TEF), Mexico's América Móvil (NYSE: AMX), and Oi, controlled by Brazilian investors and Portugal Telecom. These providers are all in the state of transition. Telefonica Brasil has been in the process of restructuring its company by consolidating its wireline and wireless services under the Vivo brand name. And while Telefonica Brasil continues to see its wireline voice lines decline 6.5 and 1.9 percent respectively, competitors like Embratel and Vivendi's GVT are seeing growth, with their lines increasing by about 21 and 34 percent. Despite seeing continued erosion in local telephone service revenue, Embratel and Vivendi's GVT have been steadily increasing their local market share 19 and 6 percent respectively. Release
Utilities like satellite services: Despite the perception that satellite service is slow and latency sensitive, a joint study conducted by the VT iDirect and the Utilities Telecom Council (UTC) on the utility industry's use of satellite services revealed that 60 percent of utilities surveyed are already using some kind of satellite technology. Out of the group not using satellite services, 22 percent are planning to integrate the technology into their communications toolkit over the next two years. The Strategic Assessment of Satellite Usage in the Utility Industry study, which was sponsored by iDirect, measured perceptions and usage trends relating to satellite communications through a focus group of both a number of the industry's major telecom technologists and through a survey of UTC's utility members. To complete the study, it received 100 completed responses from top communications decision-making technologists at 71 utilities. Release