Group to Pursue Bluetooth Mesh Standard
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Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) intends to spur innovation in smart home networking with the launch of a new working group whose primary aim is to “build the architecture for standardized mesh networking capability for Bluetooth Smart technology,” Bluetooth SIG announced February 24. With more Bluetooth sensors being installed in homes, “mesh networking will become...Learn More
Mobidia: Despite High Average 4G Data Usage, Users Buying Bigger Data Plans Than Needed
LTE subscribers consume more cellular data than other wireless service carrier customers, according to new market research from Mobidia Technology and London-based market research company Ovum. Not only that, more than half of LTE subscribers buy larger data plans than they need. With global LTE subscribers now numbering some 500 million, “LTE has become one...Learn More
Windstream Targets E-Rate Funding for WiFi
The FCC recently revised the USF E-Rate program, which helps fund telecommunications services for schools, to focus more on broadband, and WiFi specifically. Windstream has taken notice and is targeting E-rate funding for WiFi, with a managed WiFi service. The new E-Rate focus makes about $1 billion available in funding for WiFi or other internal...Learn More
Gfk on Smartphone Use in Stores: Online Price Checking is Common
Growing numbers of smartphone users are turning to those devices and the World Wide Web to help them make purchase decisions while out shopping in stores, according to new market research from GfK. Using mobile phones to compare prices tied with contacting a friend or family member for advice as the top two types of...Learn More
Business IoT Connections Forecast to Quadruple by 2020
Social and political factors are coalescing with technological advances to accelerate enterprises making use of “Internet of Things” (IoT) technology. Though usage is low on an absolute basis, the declining costs of IoT components, such as sensors, connectivity and processing power, are among the key factors fueling enterprise adoption, according to Verizon’s “State of the Market:...Learn More
Some Operators Deploying NFV and VoLTE in Unison
Wireless operators are getting serious about deploying voice over LTE (VoLTE) and network function virtualization (NFV), as a couple of new announcements illustrate. Perhaps not surprisingly, VoLTE looks to be where NFV initially may take root in carrier networks. Virtualized IP network provider Interop Technologies said today that it will use Taqua’s Virtual Mobile Core...Learn More
Minnesota Gains 10-Gigabit Broadband for Schools from Telco Group
Schools throughout a large part of northwestern Minnesota will be getting 10 gigabit broadband as the result of a cooperative effort between a school district consortium and a consortium of 18 small local telecom service providers. The initiative builds on a 13-year relationship between the telco consortium, known as Northwest Minnesota Special Access (NMSA), and...Learn More
Survey Finds Strong Interest in Heart Health Technology
Nearly 100% of senior citizens (95 percent) would use high-tech devices and/or services to monitor and manage heart health if recommended by doctors, according to a survey conducted by iTOK, “a technology advisory company that helps older adults get the most from their computers and devices.” Thirty percent of seniors surveyed already use the technology....Learn More
J.D. Power: Sales Reps Add to Tablet Purchase Satisfaction
Sales reps play a key role in enhancing customer satisfaction with tablet purchases, according to J.D. Power Associates’ latest semi-annual studies of the wireless purchase experience. Satisfaction with the wireless purchase experience was higher for tablet as compared to smartphone owners. On a 1,000-point scale, satisfaction among tablet owners came in at 811 as compared...Learn More
Samsung LoopPay Purchase Seeks Leg Up in Mobile Wallet Market
Samsung yesterday afternoon said it has reached an agreement to acquire LoopPay, developer of mobile payment technology that converts existing point-of-sale (POS) terminals into contactless receivers. LoopPay’s approach to mobile payment has the potential to work with approximately 90% of existing POS terminals, the companies said. In an announcement, Samsung Global Innovation Center Executive Vice...Learn More
Connected Car Market Forecast to Reach $132 Billion by 2019
Enhanced safety and security features, along with various other technological enhancements afforded by in-vehicle Internet and LAN connectivity, is driving production and consumer uptake of connected cars. Dividing the connected-car tech market space into infotainment, telematic and navigation applications, Transparency Market Research foresees ongoing growth in connected car sales, with market analysts expecting the global...Learn More
Santa Clara Utility-Owned Distributed Antenna System Targets Wireless Carriers
As the wireless industry gets set to ratchet up the deployment of distributed antenna systems, the city of Santa Clara, California offers an interesting deployment model. Silicon Valley Power, the municipally owned utility serving Santa Clara, plans to leverage fiber it installed 15 years ago for sub-station connectivity to also support an outdoor DAS that...Learn More