Forrester Predicts European Mobile Internet Explosion

Mobile internet usage will grow 39 percent in Western Europe in 2014 from 13 percent in 2008, according to a new report by Forrester Research released today. That means that more than a third of consumers in Western Europe will access Internet from their mobile phones by 2014, great news for mobile advertisers.

At the end of this year, Forrester expects mobile Internet penetration to reach 17% in Western Europe — the same adoption rate for the PC Internet a decade ago, according to Forrester analyst Thomas Husson.

“Consumers who have a flat-rate data bundle spend more and more time on the Internet from their mobile phones, brands begin to launch their mobile Web presence to monetize these growing audiences and engage with their customers via more relevant mobile content and services, which in turn attracts more and more consumers to unlimited mobile Internet tariffs. The current economic climate will lengthen handset renewal cycles, foster the development of low-cost offerings, and boost the uptake of SIM-only contracts.

At the end of 2009, mobile Internet penetration will reach 17 percent in Western Europe, the same level of adoption that PCs with Internet access had in 1999, which Husson described as being a critical mass. “In the next decade, the mobile Internet will replicate the success story of the PC-based Internet as social networks, widgets, search engines or company websites adapt for mobile presentation,” Forrester reports.

Hussan writes that the “iPhone is just the tip of the iceberg” and that many other devices and services will enable the surge of mobile internet usage in Europe over the next five years. Source: Mobile Marking Watch

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Stimulus: Government Receives 2,200 applications requesting $28 billion

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) announced today that they received almost 2,200 applications requesting nearly $28 billion in funding for proposed broadband projects reaching all 50 U.S. states.

This is the first round of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding aimed at expanding broadband access, with $4 billion available through loans, grants, and loan/grant combinations.

A preliminary analysis of applicant-reported data shows that NTIA and RUS received requests for grants and loans totaling nearly $28 billion. When including about $10.5 billion in matching funds committed by the applicants, there are over $38 billion in proposed broadband projects.

The applications break down as follows:

Infrastructure

• More than 260 applications were filed solely with NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), requesting over $5.4 billion in grants to fund broadband infrastructure projects in unserved and underserved areas.
• More than 400 applications were filed solely with RUS’s Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP), requesting nearly $5 billion in grants and loans for broadband infrastructure projects in rural areas.
• More than 830 applications were filed with both NTIA’s BTOP and RUS’s BIP, requesting nearly $12.8 billion in infrastructure funding. (Applicants for infrastructure projects in rural areas must apply to BIP but were given the opportunity to jointly apply to BTOP in case RUS declines to fund their application.)

Sustainable Broadband Adoption

• More than 320 applications were filed with NTIA requesting nearly $2.5 billion in grants from BTOP for projects that promote sustainable demand for broadband services, including projects to provide broadband education, awareness, training, access, equipment or support, particularly among vulnerable population groups where broadband technology has traditionally been underutilized. (The Recovery Act directs NTIA to make at least $250 million available for programs that encourage sustainable adoption of broadband services, of which up to $150 million is allocated in this first round of grants.)

Public Computer Centers

• More than 360 applications were filed with NTIA requesting more than $1.9 billion in grants from BTOP for public computer center projects, which will expand access to broadband service and enhance broadband capacity at public libraries, community colleges, and other institutions that provide the benefits of broadband to the general public or specific vulnerable populations. (The Recovery Act directs NTIA to make at least $200 million available for expanding public computer center capacity, of which up to $50 million is allocated in this first round of grants.)

In the coming weeks, NTIA and RUS will post online a searchable database containing summaries of all applications received. The dollar figures cited today represent applicants’ self-reported totals from proposals submitted before the August 20, 2009, deadline at 5 p.m. ET.

TowerStream says it is applying for $100 million to $120 million under the Broadband Technologies Initiative Program (BTOP). The money will be used to provide “for areas in and around major cities that don’t have adequate Internet access,” including Atlanta, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Phoenix and San Diego. The company has also applied for BTOP funds in its existing markets: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Seattle, says Unstrung.

Source: Dailywireless

U.S. Pays More, Gets Less in Telecom

Cell phone users in the U.S., Spain, and Canada pay more for mobile phone service than cell phone users in other parts of the world, according to a survey published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

For a medium-use package that provides about 780 voice minutes, 600 short text messages, and eight multimedia messages, the survey found that the monthly price of service ranged from $11 a month for service in the Netherlands to $53 dollars a month for service in the U.S. as of August 2008.

On a yearly basis, American cell phone users are spending about $635.85 on cell phone service. Spanish cell phone users pay about $508.26 for the year. And Canadian cell phone subscribers pay about $500.63. By contrast people in the Netherlands and Finland pay the lowest amount for cell phone service, only $131.44 per year. And cell phone users in Sweden only pay $137.94 per year.

The New America Foundation says bandwidth caps in US very restrictive compared to Japan (pdf). In the U.S., the lowest bandwidth cap identified for an ISP was Cable One, with a 1GB per month for combined up- and downstream traffic, while none of Japanese ISPs studied set caps lower than 150GB per month. Another key difference between the U.S. and Japanese business practices is that while U.S. companies regularly set bandwidth caps for download traffic, Japanese companies only cap upstream traffic. Source: Dailywireless.org