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Study: ATT, T-Mobile top network speed tests

18 Apr

The HSPA+ 21 network of T-Mobile USA and the LTE network of AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) were the nation’s fastest “3G” and “4G” networks, respectively, among Tier 1 U.S. carriers, according to a new study from PCWorld.

According to the report, AT&T’s LTE network provided the best downlink speeds among 4G networks, topping out at an average of 9.12 Mbps. That bested Verizon Wireless’ (NYSE:VZ) LTE network, which had average downlink speeds of 7.35 Mbps. However, Verizon’s LTE network beat AT&T’s in uplink speeds, with an average uplink speed of 5.85 Mbps compared with AT&T’s 4.91 Mbps.

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The magazine conducted tests on the networks of the four Tier 1 carriers in 13 cities: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle and Washington, D.C. The tests were conducted by Novarum, a strategic wireless consulting firm, and used smartphones suggested by the carriers.

Both Verizon and AT&T claim that their LTE networks deliver average downlink speeds of between 5-12 Mbps. Verizon’s LTE network currently covers more than 200 million POPs while AT&T’s LTE network covers around 74 million POPs. According to the PCWorld study, T-Mobile’s HSPA+ 42 network, which covers around 184 million POPs, produced average downlink speeds of 5.53 Mbps.

Sprint Nextel’s (NYSE:S) current 4G service is delivered via Clearwire’s (NASDAQ:CLWR) mobile WiMAX network, which covers 130 million POPs. Clearwire advertises the network as providing downlink speeds of 3-6 Mbps. However, PCWorld found that the WiMAX network delivered average downlink speeds of 2.81 Mbps. Sprint will deploy LTE by mid-year and has promised speeds comparable to those of Verizon and AT&T.

Among “3G” networks, T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network performed the best, with average downlink speeds of 3.84 Mbps. AT&T’s HSPA+21 network came in second, with average downlink speeds of 2.62 Mbps. Verizon came in third with average speeds of 1.05 Mbps and Sprint came in fourth, with average speeds of 0.59 Mbps.

Many factors can contribute to observed speeds in network speed tests, including the traffic on a particular cell site and whether the test is conducted indoors or outdoors.

AT&T took the publishing of the test results to crow about its LTE network and its fallback HSPA+ network. “We made a decision to roll out ongoing upgrades and invest in our mobile network, on our way to more broadly deployed 4G LTE, so our customers could enjoy fast speeds and the best possible experience,” said John Donovan, AT&T’s senior executive vice president of technology and network operations. “It’s great to see the results of our 4G network strategy in PCWorld‘s tests and in the feedback we’re getting from our customers.”

Verizon, which recently launched a “4G Throwdown” advertising campaign to highlight its LTE network speed, disputed the study’s findings. “The vast majority of highly regarded third-party studies and tests consistently place Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network and data services ahead of the pack in terms of speed, quality, and reliability,” the carrier said in a statement, according to PCWorld. Further, Verizon said concerns that its LTE customers will fall back to a slower CDMA network will soon be moot because Verizon is rapidly expanding its LTE network; the company plans to cover more than 260 million POPs with LTE by year-end.

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Wearable Computing Will Soon Intensify The Platform Wars

18 Apr

Google made quite a splash with its Project Glass video earlier this month. While Google’s vision of wearable computing still looks a bit like science fiction today, a new report by Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps argues that “in three years, wearables will matter to every product strategist” and that smart developers should start experimenting with applications for wearables on the “big five” platforms (Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook) today.

In Rotman Epps’ vision of wearable computing in the near future, one of these major platforms will have to back the concept for it to go mainstream.

Specifically, she notes that Apple, with its “polished marketing, channel, and brand,” could use its vast developer ecosystem to incubate many of these projects by giving even it’s more low-end products (like the iPod nano) support for more sensors, WiFi and Bluetooth.

Google, says Rotman Epps, could become a major player due to the open nature of its Android platform. Android, after all, is already being uses by basic wearable devices like the Sony SmartWatch and the Wimm One. She also warns, though, that Google’s “diffuse attention and lack of channel” will make it hard for the company to actually turn those ideas into products.

Microsoft, with its operating systems optimized for mobile and its Kinect sensor, as well as Amazon with its vast product catalog and Facebook with its rich social data could also play a major role in making wearable computing mainstream.

Indeed, Forrester’s analysts think wearables will follow a similar path to that of the smartphone market: In the first phase, Apple will create an early app and accessory ecosystem for wearable computing. Google’s open platform, however, will give developers more freedom and broader wearable experimentation. Microsoft, thanks to its recent shift toward open web standards, will then be able to offer something akin to an “anti-platform” platform for a future operating system for wearables that could be even more flexible than Apple’s and Google’s offerings.

In Forrester’s view, then, smart developers and product strategists should start to cultivate partnerships with apparel companies like Nike and Adidas now and those companies should also start to reach out to the developer community and the big five platforms.

 
 
 
 

2012: The year mobile advertising starts to pay off

18 Apr
By Dr. Phil Hendrix Apr. 17, 2012, 12:18pm PT 1 Comment
 
 

While it may seem that serious spending on mobile advertising is always a year away, the dollars should finally start flowing in 2012. What’s different about 2012? Well, besides the fact that the U.S. has reached the crossover point in smartphone adoption, the buzz phrase that will drive mobile ad spending is “hyperlocal mobile,” or ads targeted to individuals in specific, relatively homogeneous locations.

But it’s more than a phrase: Aiming mobile ads at individuals targeted by hyperlocal info like zip codes, neighborhoods and GPS data, on a scale that’s useful for both local merchants and national advertisers that target locally, is finally viable. Couple that with the explosion of flash sales and daily deals and the rise of local mobile ad networks and exchanges like AT&T Interactive, CityGrid, xAd and Nexage and it’s clear that we have reached the era of hyper local mobile. Which means publishers and developers can finally hit desired fill rates and eCPMs.

Virtuous spiral

The chart below describes the hyperlocal mobile ecosystem. Consumers are embracing mobile and local, while local mobile ad networks and others in the ecosystem are enabling advertisers, both local and national. Finally, as audiences and capabilities grow, advertisers are stepping in to capitalize on the opportunity. That combination of forces will drive mobile ad spending.

Source: Dr. Phil Hendrix, immr

That’s good news for publishers and mobile apps. HyLoMo implementation allows publishers to sell more mobile ads and at better rates. Marketers don’t mind, because their ads are more effective. After implementing in-app local ads, for example, Skout, a leading mobile social network for meeting new people, increased average eCPMs by 44 percent and fill rates by 37 percent, doubling ad revenue in three months. Topix, another AT&T Interactive customer, which is ranked among the top 10 online newspaper destinations by comScore, saw a 50 percent increase in eCPMs in its in-app ads.

Dealing with local advertisers

Consumers are increasingly using smartphones and mobile apps to decide what to do, where to dine, which stores to visit, and even where to meet up with friends. As a practical matter, they are more likely to consider businesses that are “nearby.” In most cases, a business’s trading area (a geographic area from which a business draws most of its customers) is described by the 80-20 rule, wherein 80 percent of business comes from the nearest 20 percent of individuals within a relatively short walking or driving distance. For mobile users especially, proximity matters.

Since smartphones are used when consumers are out making plans, deciding what to do and where to go next, individuals are more apt to notice and respond to ads from local merchants and service providers vs. national advertisers. While HyLoMo improves ad targeting for both national and local advertisers, proximity and immediacy translate into even greater advantages for local businesses.

Local businesses, of course, have limited expertise and even less experience with mobile advertising. Most need advice and assistance to devise campaigns — e.g., when and where to advertise, how to craft effective ads, etc. Recognizing this need, some local mobile ad networks employ sales consultants who work directly with local merchants and businesses, providing advice and assistance. These consultants play an important role and take much of the guesswork and effort out of the process, which is a critical requirement for small businesses. Solutions from companies such as PaperG also make the process of creating mock-ups of ads for a business much easier.

With the growing importance of local mobile ad networks, including YPSM Local Ad Network, xAd, JiWire and Verve, publishers and developers will need to evaluate and choose the partners that can best help them confirm the value, deploy solutions and integrate HyLoMo advertising into their strategies. Some of the criteria useful in evaluating and selecting local network partners are common to general mobile ad networks as well as local mobile ad networks. Common criteria include latency, ease of doing business, speed of payment and so on. For more insights on how to evaluate local mobile ad networks, as well as further case studies and forecasts, be sure to visit GigaOM Pro for our analysis in “The promise of hyperlocal: opportunities for publishers and developers” (subscription required).

Image courtesy of Flickr user liewcf

 

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