Infographic - History of Phone System Development

From Compare Business Products, a review of the history of telephone system development as an infographic.

Milepost: 2 in 5 US Households are "cellphone-only"

The proportion of US households who only have wireless phones passed 40% in 2013, according to a report from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.  Furthermore, it would seem that the cell phone has replaced the land line as the "lifeline" for the poor and for families with children.  The report also shows that younger folks are also high adopters of the wireless-only lifestyle.

  The report found that 56% of "poor" households and 46% of the "nearly poor" are cell-only; furthermore, almost half (47.1%)of all children live in wireless-only households.
  Demographically, it's no surprise that older age groups are most likely to maintain their land lines even after acquiring cell phones - only 14% of those 65 or older are wireless-only, while roughly a third (31%) of those 45-64 have abandoned landlines to go wireless.  In contrast, two-thirds of those 25-29 reported being wireless-only. Hispanics reported the highest level of wireless-only households, at 53.1%.  Those households living in the Northeast were the least likely to be wireless-only, with just under a quarter (24.9%) without land lines.

These results fit several of the current memes on the diffusion and adoption of telephone service:

• mobile households are more likely to rely on mobile services, particularly those who change physical addresses.
• lower income households are less likely to maintain multiple services (the interesting note here is that cell services are becoming cheaper than land lines)
• households with multiple wireless users are more likely to go with individual mobile lines than a "family" land line

There are also policy implications of the switch.  If cell phones are increasingly becoming the telephonic lifeline for people, there should be a shift in Universal Service policy and promotion from traditional land lines to mobile services.  Or from the CDC's perspective, making sure that health campaigns embrace mobile.

Sources:   Two of every five U.S. households have only wireless phones, Pew FactTank
Wireless Substitution: Early Release of Estimates From the National Health Interview Survey, July-December 2013, CDC National Center for Health Statistics report

The Pace of Change (Wireless)

Post submitted by Whitney Wilson (edited-BJB) -

  Product cycles are short, in the phone business.  Cellphone manufacturers roll that new, improved phone out every 3-4 months. While good for their marketing, it can create problems for the wireless company - particularly if their branded flagship product seems outdated 3 months into a 2 year contract.  Columnist and senior writer for CNET Robert Cheng commented,

“The Bionic was supposed to be positioned as Verizon Wireless' flagship 4G LTE smartphone--the first with a dual-core processor--when it launched in early September. But its reign barely lasted a month, and following several recent announcements, it may not even rank as the third-best Android phone in Verizon's lineup by November.” 

These Wireless providers work furiously to provide users with the newest technology, but then around three months time at the very least, this “edgy” technology is outmoded. It burns consumers out on trying to be up to date with their technology not to mention it is wasteful in terms of engineering and advertising. Cheng continued:

“But the rate at which these new super smartphones are emerging is dizzying. That run of phones doesn't even include the wave of devices hitting the market with the other major carriers. People often hold off purchasing new phones so they can see what's coming ahead; with such a steady flow of new products, they may end up paralyzed with indecision.” 

  When carriers promote and advertise a new product they want instant gratification that they can visibly see in spiking sales, but Cheng advises that it is better to be patient because the amount of new technology can be overwhelming and this is particularly true around the holidays.
  Carriers should slow down and focus on either one or maybe several products and give them time to hit the market and give consumers a chance to process the new technology. This helps consumers to be able to make more sound decisions rather than making smartphone, and a newer technology coming out recently after. Maybe coming out with a new product or several new products every 2^nd quarter would be better for sales, and it would definitely be better on consumer’s minds and pocket books.

Source - Android super smartphones: Too much of a good thing?  CNET News

Microsoft buys Skype for $8 billion (cash)

Following the latest strategy of buying dominant competitors, Microsoft reached a deal with Skype, paying $8 billion in cash.  The acquisition gives an instant boost to Microsoft's new Lync unified communications platform, as well as its Outlook platform, and the Xbox, Kinect, and Xbox Live consumer products.
Microsoft pledged to continue to develop and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft operating systems, stressing, in Steve Ballmer's words, that "the value proposition of communication is being able to reach everybody, whether they happen to be on your device or not."

Source: "Microsoft To Buy Skype For $8.5 Billion,"  Information Week

Microsoft to add Voice to Lync Online

From Eric Hutchinson:

JAJAH, owned by Telefonica, plans to add voice calling to Microsoft Lync Online which is Microsoft’s cloud-based communications service. The service will allow Lync Online users to call landlines and cell phones. Also, users will be able to receive calls and route them to landlines, mobile phones or computers without needing a new phone number. JAJAH’s IP Communications Platform uses patented quality management to guarantee calls made over the JAJAH Network will be high quality.

Source: "JAJAH adds voice calling to Microsoft Lync Online..." TelecommunicationNews.net

AT&T to acquire T-Mobile

T-Mobile USA has been looking for a merger/purchase partner for a while - as #4 in wireless, it's not in a good long-term position to continue to finance periodic network upgrades.  Still, it seemed to be a surprise to industry analysts that the buyer looks to be AT&T (now #2 in the market)
The deal makes a lot of sense for AT&T - both it and T-Mobile use the same basic cell technology, so there shouldn't be any interface problems, and T-Mobile holds some 4G spectrum licenses in areas where AT&T is weak.  It should facilitate AT&T's "Long Term Evolution" build-out that will eventually cover 95% of the US population.
Because the combined subscribers will give AT&T a little more than half of all wireless customers in the U.S., the deal is sure to undergo intense regulatory and anti-trust scrutiny.  Already, critics are suggesting a number of reasons to reject the bid - mostly the same old anti-monopoly rhetoric about big, bad, Ma Bell.  But wireless is inherently different from the old wire-line - instead of local monopolies, wireless is locally competitive in all US markets.  And the old AT&T was never anti-innovation (that's how it achieved and maintained its dominant position in the old telephone marketplace). 
Still, as they say, interesting times...

Sources: "AT&T to Buy T-Mobile for $39 Billion", Information Week
"Meet The Old Ma, Same as The Old Ma," Information Week

FCC addressing Universal Service & Interconnection Fees

First, for those of you who aren't up on the jargon, Universal Service refers to the idea that telephone companies should try to provide a certain basic level of telephone service to all customers.  Historically, the level of service was defined as basic voice service.  Since the 1980s, there have been a number of calls to raise the minimum level of Universal Service to include some degree of computer/Internet access.
The FCC's finally taken the first step in significantly increasing the level of Universal Service, with a unanimous vote to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM for jargon fans) - the first formal step in changing regulations.  The proposal includes redefining minimal Universal Service as broadband data connection, with the idea that voice service can be carried over that connection.  The goal is a phased transition from a voice-based Universal Service to a broadband-based Universal Service.

Another part of the NPRM is a proposal to phase out the mandatory per-minute interconnection charges that accrue when a call involves multiple telephone companies. That's good, because those fees (and the fact that costs drop faster than the fees are reset), are a stumbling block for cellphone pricing plans. 

Story on Connected Planet
FCC News Release