LTE is going to be an incredible evolutionary step for BlackBerry and smartphones. The technology will change the way we use data on our phone as well as aid carriers in coping with an increased network load.
According to research from ABI, wireless operators will spend about $3.3 billion building LTE base stations in 2011. That expenditure will have purchased some 142,000 base stations worldwide. LTE base station equipment spending is expected to rise sharply between 2011 and the end of 2012.
“Vendors will be shipping base station equipment in significant quantities in 2010 ahead of limited trials that typically last about a year, followed by full commercial launches,” says senior analyst Nadine Manjaro. “Many operators have been talking about re-use of existing equipment, but ABI Research understands that while there may be sharing of masts and cabinets most of those 142,000 base stations will have completely new baseband and RF components, because operators will generally try to keep the new LTE networks separate from their legacy networks.” Continue reading the ABI Research data regarding LTE
Considering that RIM has pimped out their Facebook application across all carriers in North America, it’s likely that you’ve accessed a social network via your BlackBerry (although we prefer m.linkedin.com, and are patiently waiting for a native BlackBerry app). Analyst ABI Research speculated earlier this week that by 2013, there will be more than 140 million mobile social network subscribers worldwide, and generating subscription revenues in excess of $410 million. To put these numbers in perspective, that’s more than the current worldwide unique visitor numbers of either MySpace or Facebook, which hover somewhere around 115 million.
The question to be asked is where all that money will come from — both MySpace and Facebook currently have mobile web-accessible versions of their sites, and the aforementioned BlackBerry Facebook app costs you nothing but time and data. ABI Research speculates that the revenue come not via advertising, but through a subscription model for social network access, likely in the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, and China.
Here’s a question (or two): how much would you pay to use a BlackBerry Facebook app per month? How much for a LinkedIn app?
In case you’ve forgotten, RIM’s conference call is tonight at 5 PM EST. ABI Research is guessing that BlackBerry will have cornered 10% of the smartphone market after this quarter, second only to Nokia. RIM’s stock took a nice jump this morning, showing some investor confidence despite a few shaky weeks. These calls tend to be pretty optimisic, but question period could bring up some issues hint at RIM’s direction for the new year. We’ll be sure to give you guys the low-down first thing tomorrow morning.
A new ABI Research paper is forecasting $100 billion to be made from GPS-enabled handsets, like the BlackBerry 8310, in 2012. In terms of units, that translates to 240 million mobile sales next year to 550 million in four years. Now, I’ve gone on the record for being pro-GPS and all, but Wi-Fi still seems like the feature of choice for a lot of people. Manufacturers are going to be in a tough position where, in an attempt to keep costs low and their handsets slim, they’ll need to be picky about what they would rather have under the hood, and ABI seems to think that many will go with GPS. Which are you guys siding with?
A free ABI Research paper has just come out on enterprise usage of mobile devices, primarily outlining how heavy-duty corporate users are and that there’s still room for service providers to get in on the big spending. On average, enterprise users spend 80% more on data services than regular consumers, the average revenue per user generated is 24% higher, and even spend 78% more on consumer-centric services. The report suggests that keeping enterprise and consumer services separate is detrimental to business, and that providers can rake in the dough if they bundle enterprise and consumer products together. The report also highlights the moderate interest in Wi-Fi; it’s seen largely as an unnecessary feature, but will still be something to pull in new handset owners.
A new ABI Research paper just came out citing $3.5 billion to be made from selling refurbished handsets in 2007.
ABI Research industry analyst Shailendra Pandey says, “Recycled and refurbished handsets can help mobile operators in improving per-customer profitability by allowing better management of subscriber acquisition costs. Operators can use these handsets to address low ARPU subscribers and start generating profits on low margin accounts quickly, rather than having to wait to recover subsidies on new handsets.”
When you put it that way, the quick succession of new BlackBerry releases doesn’t sound like such a crazy idea. Busting out the BlackBerry 8310 just results in discounted 8300s that appeal to a lower-spending customer. ABI is forecasting continued growth in the market, hitting $6 billion in refurbished handsets in 2012. On that note, RIM’s got a Trade-Up program available for folks looking to get rid of their old BlackBerry and upgrade.
In case you’ve forgotten, RIM’s conference call is 
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