What's LATE about LTE?

I spent a few days in Hong Kong last week, flirting with the might of Typhoon Megi which threatened to close down this dynamic city and the only means of escape – the airport. Hong Kong is one of those cities that is constantly changing and a place where new...

More regulators catching BS bug

BS (Bill Shock) Day has been and gone and the FCC voted unanimously to gather more information on proposed rules that would require mobile service providers to send usage alerts and related information to customers to help them avoid bill shock. Wow, that’s...

Capex up, revenues improving – what's the catch?

Everybody in the telecommunications sector gets excited at predictions of increased spending in capital expenditure (capex), all except shareholders that is. They always seem to respond negatively to any signs of increased costs, especially in the wake of lowering or...

'BS Day' in the USA

Yesterday was BS (Bill Shock) Day at the FCC in the United States. This is the day the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) plans to introduce new rules for mobile phone bills. The goal is to avoid consumer ‘bill shock’ from unexpected charges. The...

Back to the future, and monopolies!

Broadband networks, both fixed and mobile and especially the ‘national’ kind, may spell the end of the industry as we know it. I’m not trying to be sensational or a harbinger of doom but there a signs appearing that many CXOs and their boards should take notice of....

Who wants to be a….CEO?

Who, in their right mind, would want to be the CEO of a communications service provider these days? Of course, many people crave the position which they see as one of power and high remuneration, but closer inspection reveals that the person on top is the prime target...

Sacrificed spectrum has SPs singing

What happens when you hold a 3G spectrum auction that fails? No, I’m not talking about the shenanigans going on in Thailand, this is the bastion of all that is good and proper in Asia, Singapore. Failure, the word used by the local press, may also be a little strong...

'Throne Surfing' big in Oz

Australia’s obsession with mobile internet-connected ‘smartphones’ has reached new heights (or lows) depending on how you read the results of a Telstra survey. Australians have admitted to using their devices in bed, on the loo and, alarmingly, when behind the wheel....

Buyout buoys big biller

When I heard CSG Systems International, Inc. was buying interconnect and retail billing company Intec, my ancient memory cells twigged. CSG, well known as a provider of customer and billing management solutions to satellite broadcasting and cable operators in North...

'Going Dutch' has taken on new meaning

Just after publication of my prediction that war was breaking out between the major players in the NFC and mobile payments world, three mobile operators and three banks in the Netherlands announced collaboration on a unified m-payments system. The announcement came...