AT&T Wireless recently began 3G services in Detroit, San Fransisco, and Seattle; Dallas and San Diego are expected to begin services by year-end. The AT&T 3G service allows users to connect mobile phones, electronic notebooks, and laptop computers to the highspeed Internet - including e-mail and video image downloads. The speed of the service is 14.4 megabits per second.
Dallas was the test bed for the network. Mr. Ritch Blasi, spokesman of AT&T Wireless, said, "Dallas was our No. 1 laboratory and our current progress is several months in advance of our initial plan."
If successful in its rollout, AT&T Wireless will be one of the first companies to successfully commercialize 3G services. 3G networks failed to attract large numbers of consumers in Japan, due to high service charges and expensive hardware prices. In the United States, the terminal that enables the 3G services is priced at $299.99, while the necessary modem goes for $149.99. High-speed Internet services via mobile phone are $24.99 per month; for electronic notebooks and laptop computers, they cost $79.99 a month.
CEO Danny Briere of TeleChoice Inc, a consulting firm, points out, "By presenting services in the four cities, the company has began to lure consumers, but still there is not much indication of enormous volume".
Korea's IT corporations that have been waiting in the wings for the proper moment to enter the 3G market, will need to prepare firm bases if they are to achieve market penetration, now that AT&T Wireless has begun services.
Source: Dallas Morning News
Worldwide Cable Modem Services Market to Reach 69.4 Million Subscribers in 2008
In an ongoing quest to save time, increase productivity, and satisfy the growing demand for instant gratification, the worldwide cable modem services market is well positioned to help users meet their personal and professional online needs. According to new research from IDC, worldwide cable modem service subscriptions will climb from 32.8 million in 2003 to 69.4 million in 2008. "The push is on and operators are aggressively marketing broadband services to both residential and business customers," said Amy Harris, manager of IDC's Broadband Markets and Technologies service. "Faster speed broadband is quickly moving from luxury to necessity status, and users are steadily migrating from their dial-up connections."
Although cable modems offer a fat, free-flowing pipe to the client, it's not the only game in town. Despite the growing number of worldwide cable modem subscribers, DSL is the broadband connection of choice everywhere in the world except the U.S., where cable is king. At the end of 2003, the number of cable modem subscriptions in the U.S. was 1.5 times the number of DSL subscriptions, but DSL continues to close the gap as service providers more aggressively market, price, and promote DSL services and value-added applications to consumers and small businesses. The key to success for the cable operators is the continued bundling of video and voice services with cable modem Internet access products. For many end users, this will increase the attractiveness of cable modems.
The study-Worldwide Cable Modem Services 2004-2008 Forecast-contains an assessment of the worldwide cable modem services market, from 2003 to 2008. The forecast is segmented by major geographic region. Additionally, estimated market shares for the top U.S. cable modem multiple systems operators (MSOs) as of the first quarter of 2004 are presented. The purpose of this study is to identify and quantify the market opportunity within each major geographic region for cable broadband Internet access and to recommend strategies for MSOs to take advantage of these opportunities. This document also assesses the key drivers and inhibitors influencing the development of the market across the major geographic regions.
India PC Sales in 2004: 3.8 Million Units
India's computer market, which has seen average annual growth rates of 30 percent over the past two years, is forecast to grow by 25 percent this year. In 2003, India's computer sales increased 32.4 percent compared with the previous year, recording sales of 3.03 million units. In 2002, the market recorded sales of 2.29 million computers, a 37 percent rise over the previous year.
Given this, India's computer demand is clearly in growth mode. The main reasons are seen as computer price declines, increasing individual and corporate demand for computers, and the Indian government's e-Government policy. In particular, as computer demand in the second half of the year has shown rapid growth rates on a year-on-year basis, Indian computer sales this year are expected to reach 3.8 million units.
According to a survey by IMRB, a research institute, in 2003 Indian corporate computer demand grew 26 percent, accounting for 77 percent of the entire market, whereas general household demand has grown 60 percent and household as well as office demand has grown 71 percent. The potential increase rate for the general household market therefore appears most promising.
From the policy standpoint, the demand increase among central and state governments, under the e-Government initiative, and tax reductions, are contributing greatly to enlarging the demand base. The Indian government reduced commodity tax on desktop computer sfrom the previous 16 percent to 8 percent last January; customs duties also were lowered from 15 percent to 10 percent. These factors, in addition to the government's abolition of special additional duties of 4 percent, are contributing to computer price reductions, and are pushing demand north.
As India's computer prices declined greatly last year, entrylevel purchases have fallen to 13,000-15,000 rupees (roughly $290-$330). Notebooks and servers are less than 40,000 rupees (roughly $890) and 100,000 rupees (roughly $2,200), respectively. Fifty-three percent of PCs sold were branded, pre-assembled units. Among these, Indian brands took 21 percent of the market, while multinational brands took up 26 percent.
Increasing Internet subscribers are becoming another driver of the increasing demand for computers: In 2003, active subscribers increased 64 percent compared with the previous year, or 2.30 million persons, according a survey by MALT.
Source: The Economic Times; MALT
Outsourcing Wind Blows through European IT Market
As national governments enact e-Government plans and drive forward public institutions' service efficiency, and as European corporations strive for ever-greater competencies, a strong outsourcing wind is blowing across the continent.
IDC (International Data Corporation), a global IT market research consultancy, analyzed 100 large-scale outsourcing cases in Europe last year. On a monetary basis, the European IT outsourcing market was worth $44 billion in 2003, up 73 percent compared with 2002. The clear market leader was the U.K. where 46 of these transactions took place; the U.K. also accounted for 46 percent of total on the basis of money spent. IBM Global Service was the largest provider, winning 24 contracts worth 26 percent of the sector's value.
IDC experts' analysis was that the increase in IT outsourcing is related to public sector informatization drives, particularly e- Government projects. In 2003, public sector outsourcing accounted for 28 of the 100 largest projects, worth 44 percent of the market in monetary terms.
And the market is expected to grow further. The EU executive committee supports each national government's e-Government project via the "eEurope 25 Action Plan" - an initiative prepared in 2002 in the interests of public administration modernization.
According to Kable, a British research firm, as the EU expanded by 10 new nations recently, the scale of the public sector's IT outsourcing market is expected to expand by a further $4.5 billion. Last year, the overall IT expenditure of the European public is believed to have reached $83 billion. Korean firms need to take an active interest in this massive growth market.
Source: IDC and Gartner Group
