Point Topic’s Oliver Johnson to review broadband mapping, the challenges involved and the solutions at ITU Telecom World 2011

Broadband continues to spread throughout the world’s population, getting faster and benefitting millions, but according to leading analyst firm Point Topic this has also increased the need for accessible and transparent mapping. It is such mapping of take-up, coverage and speeds that highlights to governments and regulators the evident disparities of broadband availability and where investment funds are best spent.

The Indian telecommunications industry is one of the fastest growing in the world. The industry has witnessed consistent growth during the last year on the back of rollout of newer circles by operators, successful auction of the third-generation (3G) and broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum, network rollout in semi-rural areas, and increased focus on the value added services (VAS) market. Market entry strategy for Wireline telecommunication companies by eprobe Research Pvt Ltd explores the consequences and opportunities arising from this situation.

The CASBAA Convention 2011 has the industry covered through a compelling range of sessions featuring internationally renowned guest speakers. Themed TV365: Watch Closely!, the show will be staged in Hong Kong, October 31st - November 3rd at the Grand Hyatt.  “As a key event in the industry calendar, delegates expect the best speakers covering items relevant to their businesses,” said Simon Twiston Davies, CEO, CASBAA.

The number of homes using the internet to watch television shows and movies on the TV screen has reached more than 42 million across the US and Europe, according to the latest research from Strategy Analytics’ Connected Home Devices (CHD) service. The report, “Multiscreen Connected TV: Assessing Device Usage and Ownership,” bases its findings on a survey of 4800 respondents.

As reported in my previous column, for the satellite industry the recent IBC show in Amsterdam kicked-off with a September 8th  pre-event Summit of critical importance to the industry and to the wider satellite communications end-user community – the International Satellite Industry Forum on “Interference - The Counter Offensive”. Much has happened since this Summit, and key aspects of the RFI mitigation agenda set-out in this meeting continue to be explored, explained, and actioned around the world.

The Broadband and IPTV Growth Report presented at the Broadband World Forum in Paris, shows that broadband continued to show healthy growth in the first half of 2011. Prepared for the Broadband Forum by industry analysts Point Topic, the figures reveal the broadband subscriber total at the end of June 2011 is now standing at 557.8 million subscriber lines, up by over 29M lines since the start of this year. The second quarter outperformed the same period last year, continuing the trend of stronger growth set in the first quarter’s results announced in June.

Although the overall mood at the Satellite Business Week conference in Paris organized by Euroconsult was not as ebullient as it has been in the last couple of years it was none the less generally positive.

IDATE has just published its “World Internet Usages & Markets” report. This report provides data and forecasts on Internet services markets – usage and revenue, by country and region – and is structured around the following key services: search engines, social networking, e-commerce, video and online advertising, both fixed and mobile. It covers Europe, North America and Asia, and analyses both the major trends in each segment and the market’s key players.

This is not your  father’s IBC.  Like  most industry shows,  the IBC is evolving and it’s getting harder to distinguish traditionally broadcast-oriented shows like the IBC in Amsterdam and the NAB in Las Vegas with the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) and other shows dealing with content delivery and management. 

While many of the HDTV markets in Western Europe are relatively mature, a trio of surveys from ABI Research suggests Germany still has plenty of room for growth. Of the 1,000 German respondents, only 38% claimed to own at least one HDTV, a penetration rate significantly lower than the data collected in France and the UK. Among these consumers, Samsung captured the highest share at 27%, with Philips following at 22% of respondents.