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ABI Research Blog (99)

Libelium’s Vehicle Traffic Monitoring Platform

Nov 29, 2011 12:00:00 AM / by Admin

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Libelium recently launched its vehicle traffic monitoring platform that enables system integrators to create a real-time system that monitors vehicular and pedestrian traffic in cities and buildings. This new system uses Bluetooth and ZigBee double radio features to link up vehicles and people by Bluetooth devices in a given street, footpath, or roadway. The sensor data is then transferred by a multi-hop ZigBee radio, via an internet gateway, to a server.

These types of traffic monitoring systems offer significant benefits. Reducing road congestion through real-time traffic warnings that will reduce journey times and wasteful emissions. Additionally, these systems could be introduced into other operations, such as, shopping centers, airports, and sports stadiums. The sensor data could be used to assess the suitability of emergency evacuation plans or identify "hot" pedestrian routes for marketing and advertising purposes.

Other companies, such as TraffiCast are also offering traffic monitoring systems for travel time and average road speed information via their BlueToad technology. Again, the systems use media access control (MAC) protocols to detect mobile devices in vehicles such as mobile phones, headsets, and music players via Bluetooth technologies. The sensors are able to detect devices up to 50 meters, which more than covers a six lane roadway.

Smart transportation has been a key agenda in some cities and countries for a while. In Japan, police are mandated by the government to provide traffic information and vehicle information and communication systems (VICS) have been in place since 1996. The traffic data is reported to the Japan Road Traffic Information Center (JARTIC), processed by Japan's VICS Center and broadcasted by radio beacons on expressways, infrared beacons on major city roads and highways, and FM multiplex transmitting via existing FM channels.

It is estimated the world traffic system market was worth almost $1.3 billion in 2011 and the market is projected to increase steadily over the next five years. ABI Research's latest reports on Smart Cities and Traffic Information Systems, provide addition detail.

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What Is the Price of Smart Grid Security

Nov 29, 2011 12:00:00 AM / by Admin

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Smart grid security technologies are growing. The technologies saw an estimated $590 million in spending in 2010; by 2016, that number is projected to surpass $2 billion. Smart grid security covers identity management and access controls, threat and theft defense, industrial control system security, smart grid cellular communications, security monitoring and management, physical safety and security, utility regulatory compliance, and smart grid security maintenance.

Security spending on transmission upgrades made up the largest portion of smart grid spending. It accounted for approximately 54% of the 2011 total and is predicted to remain the largest portion for the next five years. Additionally, significant security spending on substation and distribution automation is forecast over the next few years.

Out of all of the smart grid segments, electric vehicle (EV) charging stations are projected to see the highest security growth rates, increasing from $6 million in 2011 to $150 million by 2016. The issues that EV charging stations have faced, such as data protection and tampering with the charging stations, are similar to the ones faced by smart meters. The most significant areas of development in the security arena will be EV authentication of vehicles and physical security features.

The last two to three years have seen an enormous focus on smart grid security. In addition to providing security protection against physical and cyber-attacks on the smart grid, utilities are spending significant money on closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance and security software. Additionally, a number of companies have developed security platforms that can easily be integrated with current systems to enable utilities and grid operators to detect and react to incidents in real time.

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Is Trying to Find That “Killer App” Slowing NFC Enablement?

Nov 28, 2011 12:00:00 AM / by Admin

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NFC technology is gaining momentum with new NFC applications being developed and demonstrated on a regular basis. Despite successful developments, NFC enablement remains limited. MNOs find themselves uncertain on what services to offer whilst trying to find that “killer app” rather than enabling NFC to see what applications and services prove market winners.

It is no secret that NFC will be more than just a payment application and will certainly serve other markets including logical and physical access control, transport, retail and couponing to name but a few.
To date there remains some issues that need addressing before NFC applications hit the market in mass volumes and mass usage begins:
NFC handset availably remains limited, although this will change in the coming years with new handsets coming to market
MNOs still need to identify a clear revenue stream from NFC offerings (which services will generate revenues and how should MNOs charge for them)
Education is required, not only on NFC, but on contactless technology in general (how will contactless or NFC capabilities benefit a user, how the technology is used and the safety mechanisms involved to ensure identity and credential safety)
There still remains some uncertainty about the location and ownership of the secure element
Even with these on-going issues, programmers continue the development of different applications, showcasing what NFC can achieve. Of course, providing added business cases and uses is a good thing, allowing NFC to become an enabler for multiple applications creating a market where NFC could mean different things to different people. But is it possible that the increase in use cases and applications being developed adding further confusion to MNOs?
I have said before that the NFC market needs an MNO to take a chance, a leap of faith and provide enabled NFC to the masses. Even if it is offering a solution where revenues are not instantly created, say through the offering of peer to peer application. From here, natural and organic growth would prevail and that “killer app” could be discovered. After all stakeholders believe in NFC and believe it will be a successful technology, so what have they really got to lose?
Success will ultimately depend on the volume of NFC usage and consumers understanding of the technology. Confusion with users could ultimately result in limited uptake, thus slowing the market down further and let’s be honest; NFC is not a new technology and has certainly made slow progress in terms of commercial offerings. So why not get that simple tap and go experience out there in mass volume and collect feedback from the users themselves.
ABI Research does believe in NFC and ultimately its success, but the speed and popularity of adoption will greatly depend on the marketing and deployment methods undertaken by MNOs.
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iPhone 4S finally arrives in India

Nov 25, 2011 12:00:00 AM / by Admin

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​The much awaited Apple iPhone4S has finally arrived in India. Indian telecom operators Aircel and Bharti Airtel launched the iPhone 4S in India at midnight on Nov 24th 2011. Contrary to the phenomenon being observed in most of the countries, Apple is increasingly being criticized for the pricing of their iPhones in India. The retail prices at which iPhone 4S variants will be made available are substantially higher than the last generation iPhone 4. Both Aircel and Bharti Airtel have priced the 16 GB variant at INR 44,500 ($867), and the 32GB variant at INR 50,900 ($990). At its launch price of INR 44,500, the iPhone 4S (16GB) will indeed be costlier in India than any other market around the world. The maximum price differential will be around 30%, much to the disappointment of the Indian consumers.

Being a price-sensitive market, India has not been very welcoming to the iPhone unlike other markets, which is quite evident from the fact that Apple currently has less than 0.4% share of the Indian market. Moreover, competitors like Samsung, RIM and Nokia have been increasing their focus on India, so much so as to include India among the primary list of countries to launch their latest products. In terms of pricing also, they price their models at par with the rest of the world.

"India is one of the fastest-growing mobile markets in the world and for Samsung, it is among the top three mobile markets globally. We are working at further strengthening our presence here.” JS Shin, South-West Asia Head for Samsung said to “The Times of India”. Asked about Apple and its growing profile in the market, he said Samsung is not worried about the expansion by the US technology giant here. "We have a wider product portfolio here, we have a R&D center to provide localized solutions and we are manufacturing phones here. We are closer to the market."

So why possibly would Applenotwant to do this? Are they not keen on the second largest growing market in the world?

No clear answer is forthcoming from Apple. One of the key reasons could be the fact that Apple relies on in-direct sales channels for the Indian market and therefore does not have a direct say in final retail price. Other factors include taxes, import duties and exchange rate to name a few. Not to forget the carrier subsidy, a major component in bringing down handset prices.

More is needed to be done by Apple to overhaul its distribution and sales strategy for India if it ever hopes to increase its market-share in India.​

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Energy@Home Collaboration Nears Trial Phase

Nov 24, 2011 12:00:00 AM / by Admin

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​The Energy@Home project has moved one step closer to being brought to market. According toa representativeof Telecom Italia, the platform is scheduled to undergo field testing in 100 homesover the coming months. The Italiantelecoms giant is working with two appliance manufacturers, Electrolux and Indesit Company, as well as Italy’s largest power company, Enel S.p.A. to develop the residential energy management solution which is reportedly a blend of four Zigbee standards – ZigBee Home Automation, ZigBee Smart Energy, ZigBee Telecom Services and ZigBee Gateway.

The platform will provide homeowners with information on their energy consumption and consists of the following devices that together, will create an interoperable Home Area Network (HAN):

- Zigbee-enabled ADSL gateway
- Smart appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines and dryers
- Smart plugs to facilitate communications between appliances and the HAN
In addition to the aforementioned companies above, the Energy@Home consortium is backed by Freescale Semiconductor, which will integrate its MC13226 transceiver and i.MX28 application processor in the gateway as well as providing its considerable expertise in the smart grid, smart meter, appliances and networking sectors. Freescale is also a founding member of the Zigbee Alliance.

Telecom Italia briefly flirted with the home automation market back in 2009 when it partnered with BTicino to provide a solution in new houses. The agreement revealed that customers would be able to remotely control lighting, security and comfort of the home environment helping to optimize energy consumption.

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New pay TV guidelines for Singapore

Nov 24, 2011 12:00:00 AM / by Admin

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​Early this month, Media Development Authority (MDA) of Singapore has announced new guidelines for pay TV contracts. The guideline basically protects pay TV subscribers from being charged with excessive early termination fees.

The guidelines include:

1.​ Maximum length of pay TV contract is limited to two years

2. Early termination charges must be detailed on sale or renewal of a contract

According to the new guidelines, maximum pay TV subscription contract length should not exceed two years. Consumers who terminate the contract before the stipulated period should pay early termination charges based on for the remaining length of the contract.

At present, in Singapore, most of pay TV contract do not exceed 2 years. The new guideline of MDA make customers more aware of early termination charges before they get the contract. It actually allows consumers to be able to get better choice of service and switch between operators.

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Disturbing numbers on UAE's Cybercrime situation

Nov 22, 2011 12:00:00 AM / by Admin

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A recent cybercrime report published by Norton for the 2011, brings some very disturbing figures about the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to light.

  • Two UAE residents are cybercrime victims every minute
  • 76% of UAE residents are victims of cybercrime
  • UAE residents spent on average 16 days trying to resolve cybercrime attacks
  • About $611.3 million has been lost to cybercrimes, $209.7 million in actual cost, with the remainder equalling the cost of recovery over the 12 months the study was conducted.
  • 56% of the UAE's population uses mobile internet. Of that number, 20% were victims of cybercrime.
  • Mobile security threats in the UAE are reported to be growing at an alarming rate.

Adoption of the mobile internet shows no signs of slowing down, so increasing numbers of mobile users are in danger of having their systems hacked. They also face the danger of having hackers steal their personal information (user IDs and passwords, for example). Worst of all, with the popularity of mobile banking increasing daily, mobile internet users risk having hackers steal their hard-earned cash. These threats are especially high on open source platforms such as Android.

Factorsthat contributed to the rise in cybercrime in the UAE include social media, unemployment, ease of attaining tools to conduct attacks, lack of awareness.

Although the current situation may seem bad, but it does create huge opportunities for operators​ to harvest on using applications and cloud services.

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UK: Get Ready for Two New Motorola Xoom 2 Media Tablets

Nov 16, 2011 12:00:00 AM / by Admin

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Motorola's Xoom 2 is coming to the UK and Ireland first. Where does this media tablet fit in the increasingly crowded market?

In its most recent financial quarter, Motorola Mobility announced it had shipped only 100,000 additional Xoom media tablets. While widely viewed as selling poorly, this decrease in product volume could be attributed to phasing out the original product in advance of the second-generation Xoom 2.

Unlike the Xoom launch in February 2011, Motorola Mobility faces much stronger competition from a broader cast of media tablet players, including: Acer, ASUS, HTC, LG, RIM and Sony among others. The most noticeable difference between the first and second-generation Xoom models is the cut corner mechanical design. While the supplier says the shape change makes it easier to hold the product, one has to wonder if the legal spat between Apple and Samsung over visual identity also motivated the change.

Xoom 2 won’t be the first media tablets to launch in Western Europe. Both Samsung and ViewSonic launched their first media tablets in the region as well. The bigger news with the Xoom 2 launch is the 8.2” Media Edition model. This is a smaller display than the standard Xoom and Xoom 2 models with an emphasis on the media playback experience.ABI Research isinterested in seeing how consumers respond to the two models and if new use cases for the media tablet emerge.​

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Nokia Windows 8 Tablet to Set Sail with Mid-2012 Launch

Nov 16, 2011 12:00:00 AM / by Admin

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Is the familiarity of Windows on a PC and the potential for similar experiences on a mobile device – such as access to common data files and applications – what the market is missing to see broader media tablet adoption? Today, Microsoft offers Windows 7 and Windows Phone 7 software platforms for different device form-factors, but the synergies between the two are few.

Compounding the issue is the dominance of ARM-based processor designs in media tablets; a segment that Intel x86 architecture has admittedly been absent for the first product wave. Windows 7 doesn’t work on ARM processors, but Microsoft aims to address that in the next major release of its full computing OS – Windows 8 – and a build specifically for ARM-based systems. Little is known about the readiness of Windows 8 for ARM on tablets. At the Microsoft BUILD conference in September, Samsung tablet PCs were given to attendees with an early developer preview of Windows 8. This first glimpse into Windows 8 on a tablet was powered by an Intel Core i5 dual-core processor similar to those found in mid-range laptop and desktop PCs. How well Windows 8 performs on an ARM-based device remains a well-guarded secret.

Nokia joins other system OEM companies, including Dell, HP, and Samsung, in positioning a Windows 8 tablet for launch in 2012. Notice that all of these suppliers except Nokia have a Windows 7 tablet in the market today for business users, many of which are built around the decade-old x86 Tablet PC architectures and not a consideration for consumers and the mass market. What exactly does Nokia bring to the party that today’s Windows tablets are lacking? Only Nokia can answer that question.
The company’s foray into “Internet Tablets” with the elongated N700, N800 and N900 series have not exactly made it a contender in the media tablet market. However, the company is rapidly working to transform itself back into a world-class brand and supplier. Its partnership with Microsoft for Windows Phone on new handsets could be the first of many device and OS pairings from the two vendors.
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Should Apple's iPhone 5 support TD-SCDMA? Nokia is with Windows Phone 7.5...

Nov 15, 2011 12:00:00 AM / by Admin

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China, and China Mobile in particular, is very keen on TD-LTE. It is seen as the natural successor to TD-SCDMA, China’s domestic 3G standard. While Wang Jianzhou, the CEO of China Mobile, would be overjoyed if the iPhone 5S did support TD-LTE, it may be more pragmatic for Apple and China Mobile to ensure that TD-SCDMA is added to the iPhone 5.

China is Apple’s fastest growing market. Apple’s largest revenue generating Apple store is not in New York, but rather in Beijing.Remarkably, China Mobile already has 9.5 million iPhone users who purchased their handsets through the grey market. Those 9.5 million China Mobile iPhone users cannot access the operator’s 3G network.

Nokia recently announced that it is launching a Windows Phone 7.5 smartphone with TD-SCDMA support for China Mobile.

Full ABI Insight can be found at:

http://www.abiresearch.com/research/1009823​

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