Front LineRSS

Patents in the spotlight: The UK Treasury’s Patent Box proposals

Patent value is now more important and complex than ever

It is impossible to open the business pages without some reminder of the huge importance of patents to the telecoms industry. The government’s proposal to introduce a ten per cent rate of corporation tax for patent-related profits is designed to encourage investment in innovation in the UK, and further highlights the opportunities for those who get patent value right. This could mean that some businesses should now take a greater interest in filing patents, and others will want to review their established arrangements to make the most of the proposals.

Network Sharing: Improving the medium so the message is not lost

Without an adequate medium of delivery, there is no message

Way back in 1996, at the dawn of the digital revolution, Microsoft founder Bill Gates declared in an article that “Content is King.” Gates drew a parallel to television, saying that “The television revolution that began half a century ago spawned a number of industries, including the manufacturing of TV sets, but the long-term winners were those who used the medium to deliver information and entertainment.” This statement has proved prophetic.

4G and the race to provide superfast broadband

Superfast broadband services are no longer a rarity in the UK

According to UK regulator Ofcom, we have become a ‘smartphone nation’, ultra-connected night and day via the magic of mobile technology. But the evidence suggests that the UK is falling behind the rest of the world in providing the kind of networks needed to support the explosion in mobile device usage and data consumption.

The smartphone race: what can we learn from the PC wars?

Can businesses risk choosing one technology over another?

The richness and diversity of today’s intensely competitive mobile market has provided a level of choice like never before. With Apple, RIM, Google and Microsoft battling it out, we have seen an explosion in the development of devices and applications for consumer and enterprise use.

Accommodating growth: How operators can get ready for the LTE future

The number of SIMs in the channel will grow as LTE is adopted

Growth in the Long-term Evolution (LTE) market is accelerating. Operators are moving forward with plans and auctions taking place, helping the technology to become a global standard. As of August this year, operators had launched 24 commercial networks in 16 countries worldwide. Only one year ago, the total was three, and the number is expected to grow to 71 by the end of this year, according to the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA).

Managing, Optimizing and Monetizing Mobile Data

Vikram_Color

In the last 48 hours that I have been in Dubai with the purpose of attending the ME Telco event, I am hearing a lot, I must say overloaded on the topic “Mobile Data”. It’s Data, Data, everywhere, a hot topic globally more so in the MENA region, given the proliferation of smart devices, smart networks and a smart subscriber base that is looking for change. I hosted a closed door seminar yesterday wherein my close engagement with the Mobile Operator community has resulted in me sharing the thoughts below.

Preparing for the video over wifi revolution

Google has open sourced its WebRTC framework for real time voice and video chat

When Netflix decided to separate DVD delivery from its video streaming service, consumers rebelled. Many dropped both services and the company lost half its value on Wall Street. Trouble like this is commonplace for cable TV and satellite providers, which, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), both consistently rank low in customer satisfaction surveys.

Winds of change

Rory Sutherland, Ogilvy

Rory Sutherland, VP of advertising firm Ogilvy, champions the mobile as the most potent tool for creating behavioural change.

A mobile future

Ian Carrington, Google

To have a future strategy, means to have a mobile strategy, says Ian Carrington, mobile advertising sales director at Google.

Fortune favours the brave

Charles Dunstone

Charles Dunstone, CEO of Carphone Warehouse spoke at the Google Think Mobile event about accidental origins.