Bluetooth will drive innovation and growth in IoT and mobile commerce
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) will come to the fore as a key technology driver for new mobile services and applications in 2014. In mobile commerce, Apple’s iBeacon, PayPal’s Beacon and other BLE services like them will become widespread as an ecosystem of hardware and service providers grows around the BLE technology incorporated into iOS and Android devices. BLE’s potential to deliver a more effortless and truly contactless way of paying in-store makes it a particularly compelling technology – and a potential NFC killer.
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) will come to the fore as a key technology driver for new mobile services and applications in 2014. In mobile commerce, Apple’s iBeacon, PayPal’s Beacon and other BLE services like them will become widespread as an ecosystem of hardware and service providers grows around the BLE technology incorporated into iOS and Android devices. BLE’s potential to deliver a more effortless and truly contactless way of paying in-store makes it a particularly compelling technology – and a potential NFC killer.
Bluetooth Smart combines the power efficiency of BLE with the functionality of lightweight software “profiles” which specify how sensors of a certain type should perform using BLE. There is an ever-increasing list of profiles being written to enable an ever-increasing variety of application-specific, sensor-based devices – from heart-rate monitors, to door locks, to treadmills. At the start of 2014, there were more than 160 Bluetooth Smart devices in production, divisible into more than 70 different categories of device type. This astonishing level of innovation will only increase during 2014.
New ‘connected tablet’ business models will emerge
The relatively low proportion of tablets that are connected to cellular networks is a major disappointment to the mobile industry. Despite the rapid growth in volume of shipments, only a small percentage – approximately 20% – of these devices connect to the macro cellular network. This means that a huge opportunity for access revenues is being lost. In 2014, we will finally see a number of new initiatives to sell more “cellular” tablets. These will often involve the use of MVNO-type business models. We see a new hybrid wholesale model emerging. In some cases, OEMs will purchase wholesale data and bundling the cost of access into the device. In other cases, mobile operators will create “ready to sell” white-label packages for OEMs.
The relatively low proportion of tablets that are connected to cellular networks is a major disappointment to the mobile industry. Despite the rapid growth in volume of shipments, only a small percentage – approximately 20% – of these devices connect to the macro cellular network. This means that a huge opportunity for access revenues is being lost. In 2014, we will finally see a number of new initiatives to sell more “cellular” tablets. These will often involve the use of MVNO-type business models. We see a new hybrid wholesale model emerging. In some cases, OEMs will purchase wholesale data and bundling the cost of access into the device. In other cases, mobile operators will create “ready to sell” white-label packages for OEMs.
Three’s company, four’s a crowd
A consensus is emerging in the mobile communications industry that three is the optimum number of mobile operators for any given market. A number of countries in Europe (Germany, Austria, Ireland) have already started to move towards the three-operator paradigm but in other parts of the world too (the US, Colombia), proposed and actual mergers and takeovers will result in the creation of three strong players. In 2014, national regulators will play a crucial role in determining whether to give the green light to market consolidation. Informa Telecoms & Media believes that regulators are now warming to the idea that three-operator markets – plus competition from mobile virtual network operators – provide the right balance between maximizing competition and building sustainable mobile sectors.
A consensus is emerging in the mobile communications industry that three is the optimum number of mobile operators for any given market. A number of countries in Europe (Germany, Austria, Ireland) have already started to move towards the three-operator paradigm but in other parts of the world too (the US, Colombia), proposed and actual mergers and takeovers will result in the creation of three strong players. In 2014, national regulators will play a crucial role in determining whether to give the green light to market consolidation. Informa Telecoms & Media believes that regulators are now warming to the idea that three-operator markets – plus competition from mobile virtual network operators – provide the right balance between maximizing competition and building sustainable mobile sectors.