The recent media furore about the re-negotiation of the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) has become a ludicrous cacophony of misinformed debate about how the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is set to ‘take over the internet’ and start censoring public access at the WCIT-12 (World Conference on International Telecommunications).  An analysis of why the different factions are trying to wrest public opinion in their favour is not the point of this article, although it is simply naïve to think that Google et al don’t have their own underlying agendas, which are just as vested as those of Russia, China and the other purported ‘baddies’ taking part in the process. Enough has been written on both sides of the argument for an interested reader to make up their own mind about the situation.

In a May 2012 ABI Research Insight, I talked about the rapid rate of 4G LTE population coverage roll-out in Korea. LG U+ commenced 4G services in December 2010, SKT in January 2011 and Korea Telecom in November 2011. LG U+ achieved 100% pops coverage by 3Q-2012 and its competitors were not far behind.

Let's cut to the chase. Here are some selected results:

Right now, Euroland is getting bit of a bad rap for bloated debt, sluggish growth, and government financial vacillation. While the financial trials and tribulations will take a while to pass through the system, it would not be a bad thing for European governments and the European Commission to provide opportunities for wireless innovation, corporate development and entrepreneurship. The EC has had success on this front in the past. The issue of the GSM, PCS and 3G licenses were done ahead of the curve, by and large, compared to other markets around the world. Innovative companies such as Vodafone, Orange, and Nokia emerged out of these initiatives.

The havoc caused by Hurricane Sandy on the North American East Coast has brought to light a threat that has been keeping a low profile, but has immense implications for the digital environment – physical security. While intense focus has been placed on malware, botnets and exploit kits, it seems the industry has almost forgotten that none of these really matter if there is no connectivity. In the end, we are still constrained by our physical surroundings – no power, no internet.

One emerging trend in the mobile application business is the arrival of drag-and-drop app-builder platforms, which allow their users to develop apps without actually writing a single line of code. My (hopefully) adequately educated guess is that they will do for app development more or less what blogging platforms and Facebook have done for web content - in other words, drastically lower the needed human barriers to entry.

Today a big deal has been announced by three of the world’s largest processor IP companies.

As with other criminals, terrorists are taking advantage of information and communication technologies to advance their own agendas. The term cyber terrorism features increasingly in the media, despite having been the topic of debate for some time at the government and international level.