Telecom Industry News - May 2017
Enabling and improving content delivery
The ability to deliver high-quality, valuable content to consumers is driving a number of business and technical advances. Verizon Digital Media Services and Levels Beyond announced a strategic partnership to go to market with a combined solution that consolidates and streamlines the workflows of broadcasters and OTT providers. The new partners claim content owners will be able to manage content workflows, from production to multi-screen video delivery, and receive detailed information across a piece of content's entire lifecycle. They will also have access to in-depth insights, from content costs to revenue generation, throughout playout on OTT and syndicated platforms.
Broadpeak unveiled a new version of its nanoCDN™ solution that makes live HTTP video delivery to any device truly scalable by turning millions of broadband gateways, cable modems, Wi-Fi routers, or set-top boxes (STBs) into active components of an operator’s content delivery infrastructure. A variety of features have been added to the product, including low latency for live video streaming and live HTTP TV service delivery via satellite, with successful integration into more than 70 Consumer Premises Equipment (CPE) products from third-party technology partners.
Big data and business intelligence services provider NPAW (Nice People At Work) introduced a new subscriber analytics solution that it claims enables content providers to gain predictive insights into subscriber activity using predictive churn algorithms to launch improvements for reducing churn and maximizing revenues. NPAW introduced the new module that works within the YOUBORA analytics solution to enable content providers to A/B/n test new decisions on precisely segmented user samples. Analyses can be based on any desired parameters including predictive churn algorithms. The insights into content use enable successful improvements that can help retain subscribers and increase revenue.
The FCC spectrum auction
The FCC closed out its highest-grossing incentive auction in which 175 TV stations and 50 wireless bidders freed up 70MHz for mobile broadband, a first-of-its kind market for re-purposing valuable broadcast airwaves for nationwide wireless mobile use. At $19.8 billion in gross revenue for 70MHz of spectrum, the incentive auction is among the highest grossing auctions ever conducted by the FCC. The Commission now commences a 39-month transition period to move broadcast stations to new channel assignments.
T-Mobile won 45% of all low-band spectrum sold, covering 100% of the US and Puerto Rico and enabling the carrier to compete in every corner of the country. T-Mobile walked away with 31 MHz nationwide on average, quadrupling the carrier’s low-band holdings, for a total of $7.99 billion, the company’s largest investment ever. T-Mobile is also sharing plans to put that spectrum to use later this year in various parts of the country, defying industry expectations.
Dish Network spent a little over six billion dollars buying wireless spectrum space during the auction, surprising everyone by coming in second only to T-Mobile in airwave purchasing and fueling speculation that the company may become a phone company or that billionaire owner Charlie Ergen may be getting ready to sell it. Dish Network Corp. spent a surprising $6.2 billion on wireless airwaves, a big splurge that did little to address questions about the endgame for Ergen's satellite company. Only T-Mobile U.S. Inc. bid more in the auction, spending $8 billion out of the $19.8 billion in total proceeds.
