IDC downgraded its 2015 forecast on global smartphone shipments and now expects shipments to climb 10.4 percent this year to 1.44 billion units, the research firm said in a Tuesday report. IDC previously forecast 11.3 percent growth for 2015, but now expects to see “a noticeable slowdown” in smartphone shipments “as China joins North America and Western Europe in a more mature growth pattern,” it said. “However, steadily falling average selling prices will fuel steady growth through the end of the forecast period, with global shipments reaching 1.9 billion units in 2019.” Though China “remains the focal point of the global smartphone market,” its performance hasn’t been “as positive as in previous years,” IDC said. Shipments there are projected to grow only 1.2 percent this year, compared with nearly 20 percent growth in 2014, it said. Though China will remain the world’s largest smartphone market through 2019, its share of the overall market is expected to drop to 23.1 percent in 2019 from 32.3 percent in 2014, it said.
The 700 MHz band, being cleared in the Latin America region as part of the DTV transition, is “among the most appropriate options to accelerate adoption of mobile broadband services in Latin America,” 4G Americas said Tuesday in a news release. “The 700 MHz band enables efficient coverage and fast data speeds for mobile broadband services in locations that currently have no other Internet access alternatives,” said José Otero, 4G Americas director-Latin America and the Caribbean. “These LTE mobile broadband data capabilities provide a huge opportunity for the governments in the region to boost their connectivity programs and increase the number of people that can benefit from e-learning, telemedicine or e-government initiatives.” The group cited a recent white paper on the topic, "700 MHz Spectrum Processes in Latin America."
Twitter cut off the Open State Foundation’s (OSF) access Friday to Twitter’s application programming interface (API) for its Politwoops and Diplotwoops websites, which archive diplomats’ and politicians’ deleted tweets, Open State Foundation said Sunday. Twitter suspended API access for the U.S. version of Politwoops in May (see 1506040057). Politwoops' more than 30 other versions for national and regional governments and the European Parliament continued to operate after the U.S. Politwoops website lost access to the Twitter API. OSF began operating Politwoops in 2010 in the Netherlands. Twitter’s decision to suspend the remaining sites’ access to API “followed a ‘thoughtful internal deliberation and close consideration of a number of factors’ and that it doesn’t distinguish between users,” OSF said in a blog post. “Twitter wrote: ‘Imagine how nerve-racking -- terrifying, even -- tweeting would be if it was immutable and irrevocable? No one user is more deserving of that ability than another. Indeed, deleting a tweet is an expression of the user’s voice.’” Twitter didn’t comment.
Netflix plans to partner with SoftBank for its launch into Japan Sept. 2, it said in a Monday news release. Under the agreement, SoftBank customers will be able to sign up for Netflix at SoftBank stores and at major electronics retailers, and through the SoftBank website or its call centers, and the monthly Netflix subscription fee will be added to their SoftBank bills. The mobile company also said it will begin pre-installing the Netflix app on its smartphones, starting later this fall.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative seeks comment by Oct. 28 to help prepare its annual National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, including on telecom issues, USTR said in Wednesday's Federal Register. The report spells out the “most important” foreign trade barriers affecting U.S. goods trade, foreign direct investment and intellectual property rights protections. USTR aims to use the report to dismantle those barriers in future trade negotiations, said the agency. The office said it will review trade deals on U.S. telecom products and services to see if any trade laws, policies or practices with countries with which America has trade or telecom deals deny this country's firms "mutually advantageous market opportunities for telecommunications products and services." Comment via www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR 2015-0014. USTR released the last National Trade Estimate Report in March.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency signed a one-year contract with SES for O3b Networks’ services and ground equipment for use at the National Weather Service office in Pago Pago, American Samoa, SES said in a Monday news release. It said the NOAA contract will help the agency expand its broadband connectivity outside the continental U.S. for wider dissemination of weather and data forecasting.
SoftBank made an additional investment in Sprint, buying nearly 23 million more shares for $86.9 million, giving SoftBank 79.99 percent ownership of the U.S. carrier, SoftBank said in a Thursday announcement. Last week, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said that at one point he had grown disillusioned with the U.S. market and considered selling the Japan’s company’s stake in Sprint, but had had a change of heart (see 1508040054). “It has not been a fun few months for Sprint,” said Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche in a note to investors. “Regardless of the fact if Masa wanted to sell or didn't is irrelevant at this point, in our view. Between his stock purchase yesterday (8/12), comments on the last earnings call and offering a clear incentive to his CEO to drive this stock price higher -- he (and SB) are now fully engaged it seems. It still has much wood to chop admittedly, but we believe it is taking the steps to make this turn.”
The smartphone overtook the laptop in the U.K. as the most popular device for getting Internet access, regulator Ofcom said in a report. Two-thirds of British consumers own a smartphone, using it on average for nearly two hours a day to browse the Internet, access social media and bank and shop online, it said. Ofcom found that a third of Internet users canvassed see their smartphone as the most important device for going online, compared with 30 percent who are sticking with their laptop. The rise in smartphones for Internet use “marks a clear shift” since 2014, when 22 percent turned to their phones first, and 40 percent preferred laptops, it said. “Smartphones have become the hub of our daily lives,” and are now owned by two-thirds of U.K. adults, up from 39 percent three years ago, it said. Though 90 percent of 16- to 24-year-olds own a smartphone, ownership since 2012 also has doubled to 50 percent among those ages 55-64, it said. “The surge is being driven by the increasing take-up of 4G mobile broadband, providing faster online access.”