News Analysis

Middlesex, UK, August 30, 2011--India has just crossed the 100 million mark for pay TV subscribers, representing more than 70% of TV households. According to the India Digital TV Forecasts report, there is still plenty of growth to come, with 139 million pay TV subs forecast for 2016. ARPUs will remain low in India, though pay TV revenues will reach US$8 billion in 2016, double the 2010 figure.

Dublin, Ireland, August 25, 2011--Since the past two decades, the telecom sector is the fastest growing industry in China, accounting for 750 million subscribers in 2010. The burgeoning Chinese telecom sector is poised to become one of the world's largest telecommunication markets, generating tremendous employment opportunities. The industry experienced a metamorphosis with the introduction of 3G services coupled with the rising trend of MVAS platform introduced by the players, according to a new report by Research and Markets.

Scottsdale, Ariz., August 24, 2011--Among Chinese respondents, HDTVs were the second most cited device when considering CE purchase intentions in the next six months, according to a recent trio of surveys conducted by ABI Research on the Asia Pacific consumer electronics markets. Smartphones were number one, with nearly 60% of respondents; only 43% of respondents were interested in HDTVs. Purchase intent was similar in South Korea, with smartphones and HDTVs representing the top two device categories at 47% and 22% of respondents, respectively. In India, mobile phones (29% of respondents), edged out HDTVs (27% of respondents) to take the second position behind smartphones (35% of respondents).

Dublin, Ireland, August 12, 2011--Mobile subscriber growth in the Philippines is experiencing a slowdown due to the fact that the market is approaching saturation, according to the latest Research and Markerts report entitled: "Philippines Telecommunications Report Q4 2011." This report incorporates the latest figures provided by the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), Globe Telecom and Digital Telecommunications Philippines (Digitel) into the forecast scenarios, with minor changes in mobile and ARPU expectations.

Gloucestershire, U.K., July 28, 2011 — The IABM (International Association of Broadcasting Manufacturers)  released the fourth edition of its "Broadcast and Media Technology: Global Market Valuation and Strategy to 2015" study. Based on original research commissioned from IHS Screen Digest, the study offers unique insights into the recovery and growth of the worldwide broadcast industry.

Scottsdale, Ariz., July 13, 2011--The Asia-Pacific region will lead set-top box growth for the next five years, with shipments approaching 50% of the set-top boxes sold worldwide in 2013-2015 before falling off slightly according to ABI Research. Established players delivering cable boxes to China, including Jiuzhou and Coship, stand to gain in market share as unit shipments and ASP increase in Asia. Huawei (through Huawei Devices) is also engaging service providers in the region, and ABI Research expects they will see success in this market.

by NSR

Cambridge, Mass., July 12, 2011--O3b signed a "multi-year, multi-million dollar reseller agreement" with Sky Fiber Corporation in June 2011 following on a similar announcement with Mavoni Technologies, South Africa in May 2011. Yet, beyond these two recent contracts and one additional framework agreement with Etisalat, O3b has been fairly quiet in terms of client deals since it completed its funding in November 2010. NSR’s take on this period of contracting calm is that O3b has largely depleted the early adopter market, and most of the rest of the industry is now waiting for O3b to make concrete progress in the construction and launch of its network as well as - and especially key in NSR’s view - provide detailed information on the cost and performance of its upcoming Tier 2 ground equipment.