South Korea has integrated 5G mobile data networks into its infrastructure faster than any country on earth. The country's rapid implementation of 5G makes it a case study for what the future hold for countries adopting the technology. The Wall Street Journal reports: South Korea was the world’s first country to roll out commercial 5G networks, in 2019, and currently has the highest proportion of the population using 5G—roughly 36%, compared with 21% in China and 16.5% in the U.S.—according to Omdia, a tech-market research firm. As of 2021, South Korea also ranked No. 1 in 5G download … [Read more...]
Big Data: T-Mobile Will Sell Your Data in April
After April 26, T-Mobile customers will be automatically enrolled in the company's advertising program. Drew FitzGerald reports at the WSJ: T-Mobile US Inc. TMUS +0.67% will automatically enroll its phone subscribers in an advertising program informed by their online activity, testing businesses’ appetite for information that other companies have restricted. The No. 2 U.S. carrier by subscribers said in a recent privacy-policy update that unless they opt out it will share customers’ web and mobile-app data with advertisers starting April 26. For example, the program could help advertisers … [Read more...]
Will 5G Spur a Surge in Smartphone Sales?
Asa Fitch reports in The Wall Street Journal that chip makers are expecting a surge in smartphone sales as consumers purchase 5G phones. Fitch writes: Mobile-phone chip-making giant Qualcomm Inc. QCOM 12.64% expects a surge in smartphones sales next year as consumers flock to 5G-capable devices such as Apple Inc.’s new iPhone 12 that helped lift its latest results. Qualcomm, a leading supplier of the chips powering 5G equipment, is projecting shipments of 450 million to 550 million 5G smartphones in 2021, at least double the expected total this year. Handset sales were the big driver of … [Read more...]
Qualcomm Sets the Standards in Wireless Tech
Rich Karlgaard interviews Qualcomm president, Cristiano Amon at Forbes. Here is a small part of their exchange: Rich Karlgaard: Joining me today for Talking With Tech Leaders, is Cristiano Amon, the president of Qualcomm. Now when I think of Qualcomm (QCOM), I think of it as a semiconductor company (with approx. $25 billion in sales and a $100 billion market cap). In fact, today’s guest runs the semiconductor operations for Qualcomm among his many roles. Others think of Qualcomm as a communications company, and more recently, as a 5G global leader. Cristiano, what is Qualcomm? Cristiano … [Read more...]
New 5G Technologies Demand New Ad Strategies
The advent of 5G technology, which claims to be as fast as some high speed wired internet services, has changed the way telecoms must advertise their services. Consumers haven't seen anything like it, and the telcos must prepare them for the innovation. Alexandra Bruell explains at The Wall Street Journal: One of the biggest advances in telecom technology in a decade is forcing the industry’s largest players to rethink their advertising approach. As carriers begin to roll out 5G—fifth-generation technology expected to amplify wireless speeds and power—some are focusing on emotive … [Read more...]
AT&T Prevails in Case to Acquire Time Warner
The Editorial Board of the Wall Street Journal calls AT&T's defeat of the Department of Justice over its acquisition of Time Warner a "stone cold knockout." The Justice Department sued AT&T to block its acquisition over carriage-fees, but failed miserably, with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals writing a 127-page opinion rebutting the DOJ's position. The Board writes: The three-judge appellate panel comprised of two Democratic appointees largely agreed, notwithstanding some nits with Judge Leon’s legal diction. As is its custom, the D.C. Circuit judges reviewed the trial … [Read more...]
Consumers Battle Apple’s Pricey iPhones by Keeping Phones Longer
Are you willing to spend more than $1,000 on a smartphone every two years? For more and more consumers, the answer to that question is no. Average smartphone users are holding on to their phones for longer periods of time, and Apple phone owners are waiting even longer to buy new models. Sarah Krouse reports in The Wall Street Journal: Pricier devices, fewer subsidies from carriers and the demise of the two-year cellphone contract have led consumers to wait an average of 2.83 years to upgrade their smartphones, according to data for the third quarter from HYLA Mobile Inc., a mobile-device … [Read more...]
Big Gains for Telecoms thanks to Tax Reforms
AT&T and Verizon have booked major gains thanks to the reduction in tax rates delivered by the reform bill passed last year by the Trump administration. The two giants were able to cut their deferred tax liabilities by billions of dollars, allowing AT&T to record a $19.04 billion profit in the fourth quarter, and Verizon to record a $16.8 billion gain. Drew FitzGerald reports: The corporate-tax overhaul, a long-held goal for Chief Executive Randall Stephenson, helped AT&T book a $19 billion profit in the fourth quarter, though its revenue slipped 0.4%. The wireless business … [Read more...]