Bullywood v. TikTok?

So this time, India decided to ban TikTok permanently*, depriving the Chinese platform of 17% of the world population, and of a nation that will never reach herd immunity when it comes to dance and music.

The 59 Chinese apps banned by India

India will survive: it's much easier to replace an app with tens of existing rivals than, say, to dump Huawei for another 5G provider.

TikTok will survive, but that sets a disturbing precedent. Somehow, ByteDance has been exposed to this kind of risks ever since they swallowed Musical.ly two years ago, and many consider TikTok as a Trojan Horse for Beijing more subtle than WeChat. So when it spread even faster than coronavirus*, calls to flatten the curve multiplied. And when Zhang Yiming hired former Disney streaming boss Kevin Mayer to lead TikTok and to become ByteDance's COO, some saw it as - beyond the obvious reach for proven talent - a telltale sign that some sort of sheep's clothing was required to better face upcoming legal battles over US national security. Obviously, proposing distinct platforms for the Chinese market (Douyin) and overseas isn't enough.

The weeks and months to come will test many nations, players, and sectors as TikTok extends across new territories and verticals (health, education...). ByteDance could prolong its success with other assets such as Xigua Video, an even more direct competitor to YouTube: with its limit of 60' loops, TikTok itself can't go further than 2 hand washings, and you can imitate Twitter and double your core limit once, but your concept has to keep some consistency. Of course, along the way, ByteDance will further perfect its already impressive A.I. know-how (something among others that Vine didn't have).

Can TikTok's momentum be broken by this single setback? No. But if the US or the EU start weighing in, things could change.

One thing is sure: India is changing. And even before this episode, Narendra Modi was benchmarking China for online censorship***. This is not just about banning 59 apps from a coopetitor nation, but in the process, about rounding up all players in a most pervasive, theoretically open ecosystem.

mot-bile 2020

* along with 58 other apps, starting with WeChat 

** mentioning killer apps during a lockdown sounds obscene because it is, but TikTok and Zoom purely seized the moment
*** see for instance "India Proposes Chinese-Style Internet Censorship" (NYT 20190214)

South Cow-rea already cow-nected to 5G

Lazy MNOs usually settle for milking the cow, but SK Telecom is neither lazy, not your usual MNO. And in its latest presentation, the Korean leader suggested to IoT-ize the cow in order to generate new applications and revenues:

LiveCare: "oral implant of bio capsule in cow, extract real-time information through LoRa, provide analysis through Web/app, alert and message to farmer" - that was Korea's version of the classic 'you have two cows' parable.

Of course, LiveCare was only a niche app illustrating the way the MNO intends to leverage its core techno and infra (network, A.I., cloud, data) to boost new business (e.g. IoT, commerce, media).  

A couple of days ago, BT CEO Gavin Patterson called all players to 'build a strong business case for 5G', and measuring bovine farts doesn't exactly sound like the next killer app... unless you replace cows with humans, and alerts with A.I.-picked medical or culinary recommandations customized for your microbiome (expect more A.I. news from SKT, already present with NUGU or Aibril - the latter with IBM Watson -, and recently joined by Hyundai Motor Company, Hanwha Asset Management, and the Canadian Element AI in a USD 45M fund to invest in A.I. and smart mobility).


SK Telecom is already 'building a strong case for 5G', particularly with its rival KT about to showcase its own flavor during the Pyeongchang 2018 olympics. And SKT are not just into testing earlier than others (e.g. recently 4G LTE-5G internetworking, or VR 360 over 5G with Samsung tablet-size device), or even into going commercial earlier than others, but also into building a stronger 5G standard (e.g. recently pushed for 200 Gbps packet swiching), and a stronger technological environment around 5G (e.g. recently 4.8 Gbps WiFi with 802.11ax in Bundang, or 5G-PON / Passive Optical Network distribution).


'Building a strong business case for 5G' will be more fun for marketers. Even if it starts, as usual, like with 3G or 4G, with existing services that will saturate the previous generation anyway, like HD video these days, a booming category if we ever saw one. 

'Building a strong business case for 5G' will also demand a touch of emotion, so I'll finish this focus on SK with their latest ad for 5G. It features an endangered species, Jeju-do's haenyeo (female diver):




mot-bile 2017

Pitching Google Pixel in 3 strikes

Google unveiled its Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL handsets.

What strikes first is the convergence of communication codes between Google, Apple, and Samsung, confirming the difficulties of differenciating in commoditization times. That said, Samsung has beefed up its human side, Google its pedagogy dimensions, and Apple... well Apple remained Apple.

What strikes next is the focus on image, from the name (Pixel), to the pitch ("highest rated smartphone camera", "Unlimited storage for all your photos and videos"). This is not only a Google Phone, but also a Google Camera, and a boost for Google Photos. The Pixel is marketed almost like a featurephone, with a message more... focused than its competitors, even if Apple did stress iPhone 7's "advanced new camera systems", and even if Samsung's ill-fated but polyvalent Galaxy Note 7 offered new arguments ranging from sensors and lenses to Samsung Cloud.

The third strike comes from Google Assistant. We knew it existed, we knew it had in its DNA the capacity to help you defeat LEE Sedol*, but its namelessness makes it an even scarier A.I. monster, plugged to both your personal environment (controled by Big G), and to Big G's phenomenal reach in queries about anything, anytime, on any platform. Yes, Siri has a name, but its brains have just been purchased by Samsung, who snatched Viv Labs, the startup created by Siri founders.

But if one player has been struck out here, it seems to be - for the moment at least - Andromeda: the OS of Google Pixel is Android 7.1 Nougat, not Google's hybrid Android-Chrome OS. And Pixel was the perfect alibi, since the brand was introduced on Chromebook...

For Google, launching a competitive smartphone was probably more urgent than rolling out its new convergent OS.



mot-bile 2016


* see "Man v. Machine, Garry v. Gary"

YouTube founder forced back to his old company

I just stole this laugh from Steve Chen ("mind if I send you back to YouTube?" - I consider his laugh as a "no", so here he is, back on YouTube):



Chen was invited to the 2013 Asian Leadership Conference (organized by Chosun Ilbo in Seoul), where he told his already rich (in every sense of the word) story.

According to him, the main reason why so few Korean start-ups make it to the world stage is that few have a global reach in mind in the first place, and that (a trait shared by many other countries) very few people are ready to "take the jump". I would also blame the weak SME ecosystem, with chaebols sucking out way too much value at the earliest stages of emerging technologies and innovations.

Chen started AVOS Systems with fellow YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley. They are reviving delicio.us, which they purchased from Yahoo!, and launched Zeen (social media - DYI magazines), an interesting revenge of traditional media in our paperless, always-on world.

mot-bile 2013

Motorola's Android Tablet : Focus On TV (Apple, Amazon, Others Watching)

Motorola and Android have already met, but Motorola and tablets are a new item.

The 10 inch screen device would be bundled with Verizon FiOS TV (pay-TV) service, which makes perfect sense. Much more sense than say Nokia, to name a fabled marketing counter-example... Let's see how rivals will move, for instance how Samsung will position its own Android tablet, smaller in size but with a screen of potentially much better quality, and a better grasp at personal computing.

But this is first about entertainment, and Verizon takes and interesting shot in the convergence barnum. Most quadplay operators across the World have necessarily been, if not working on, at least thinking about a "tabletish" gizmo to complete the set of home / away screens, and if people start (for instance) massively and legally downloading and watching movies with an Android 3.0 / 3G ticket on their tablet this November, xmas season looks fine...

Except maybe for Amazon : expect even more push marketing until then... unless of course Jeff Bezos manages to stevejobs a new Kindle feature high up into the buzzosphere.


mot-bile 2010

Cisco Cius ? Put it on my Samsung Galaxy Tab

With its Android based Galaxy series, Samsung seems to have packaged a nice alternative to the iPhone / iPad duet. Or is it the whole industry that's growing tired of the Cupertino arrogance ?

Anyway, the Galaxy S is already selling very well in Korea (over 200,000 units within days) and overseas (the top 5 MNOs went for it, 100 worldwide), and NTT DoCoMo already announced the launch of Galaxy Tab in October 2010 (LG's tablet is still expected in Q4).

Meanwhile, Cisco gave a new shot at the business tablet concept : the Cisco Cius is expected H1 2011. Also based on Android, the Cius looks much smaller than the 7 Inch Galaxy Tab, and seems to focus on video calls : "HD video (720p) with Cisco TelePresence solution interoperability for lifelike video communication with the simplicity of a phone call"*... That, of course, is provided you're connected to a big pipe, say Wi-Fi for instance.

Funny how Wi-Fi coverage is getting popular again : MNOs are abandoning flat rates for data... and all hopes that LTE can support the boom in heavy mobile / nomadic usages.

Cisco also throws in EVO 4G, Bluetooth, USB, the last one a sure bet.

But I would rather bet on RIM than Cisco for a hit in business circles, even if the BlackBerry Tablet is supposed to rely on the Blackberry handset for connectivity. Actually, that major drawback for the enduser could prove an excellent argument for CIOs and CFOs.

Nevermind that geeky CEO.


mot-bile 2010

* other applications apabilities (see Cisco Cius website) :
• 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, 3G/4G data and Bluetooth 3.0 help employees stay connected on and off-campus
• Virtual desktop client enables highly secure access to cloud-based business applications
• Android operating system, with access Android marketplace applications
• Collaboration applications including Cisco Quad, Cisco Show and Share, WebEx, Presence, and IM
Tablet Highlights:
• 7” diagonal, high-resolution color screen with contact-based touch targets delivers an elegant, intuitive experience
• HD Soundstation supports Bluetooth and USB peripherals, 10/100/1000 wired connectivity and a handset option
• Detachable and serviceable 8-hour battery for a full day of work
• Highly secure remote connections with Cisco AnyConnect Security VPN Client
• HD audio with wideband support (tablet, HD Soundstation)

YouTube sails away from Viacom in safe harbor

Google soberly* claimed victory over Viacom in a legal battle about copyrighted contents illegally uploaded on YouTube : removing them swiftly guarantees the portal a "safe harbor".

In Lingua Googla, the act of cleaning up the mess is reworded as "work cooperatively with copyright holders to help them manage their rights online". This is not policing but good editorial business.

In other words : Google, the piggyback media, is relegating Viacom into commodity categories. The real media is not Viacom but Google.

mot-bile 2010

* "YouTube wins case against Viacom"

Lagardere Active meets YouTube

An interesting partnership was announced at the 2010 MIPTV between Lagardere and YouTube for the international distribution of online videos, ranging from short programs to fictions and documentaries.

Turning the group's traditional media brands (ie Elle) into truly multimedia cash machines... this 3-year agreement is vintage Didier Quillot, who already boosted digital revenues to 7.5% of Lagardere's total turnover.

YouTube / Google promotes its own key features : advertising and DRM, with the IDfication of each content and the total control of diffusion for each region. Of course, this is pure streaming and no download is allowed.

Both partners will share advertising revenues, and the enduser will access new contents for free :
. short in-house programs (caranddriver.com, elle.fr, europe.fr...) : 7,000 by summer 2010, 15,000 by EOY. Distribution : 45% for the French market
. long programs (Lagardere Entertainment) : 315 hours by summer 2010, 600 by EOY. Distribution : 80% France 20% International
. TV programs and cartoons from Lagardere channels, including TV archives. Distribution : 100% for a French audience.

mot-bile 2010

Video In Print : an example in video

French advertizers' Bible Strategies published* this interesting video of a video : inserted in Enjeux-Les Echos (business news magazine), all commercials for Citroen DS3 car are played on small LCD screen with a rudimentary mike :



Beyond the mag (10,000 copies), the campaign run by agence H (Groupe Havas) also includes billboards featuring video and interactivity with cellphones.

For this model, the carmaker and its agency have been targeting urban hypists with an "anti-retro" claim, where Marilyn Monroe or John Lennon deliver dopey versions of "think different, think Pepsi".

The screen and holes in the cardboard for the mike do look retro compared to say the seamless and flexible epaper on that Minority Report subway, but that's enough for the buzz.

mot-bile 2010

"Le magazine Enjeux-Les Echos diffuse une vidéo dans ses pages" (Strategies 20100330)

HTC EVO 4G : Sprinting to 4G... or rather 4G WiMAX/3G EV-DO Rev. A

Sprint unveiled the HTC EVO 4G at CTIA : "America's first 4G phone" will be "Coming Summer 2010", and offer "3G/4G mobile hotspot capability-extend the power of the Now Network"*.

4G ?!? Don't expect LTE but simply 4G WiMAX combined with 3G EV-DO Rev. A. Yes, WiMAX got the 4G label**, just like DECT was 3G ITUwise.

But this HTC EVO is far from being a dud, dude. It also features :
- from Google : Android 2.1, Android Market (30,000 apps up to now), and among Google mobile services clearly advertised by Sprint : Google Talk and Google Voice.
- from HTC : a 4.3-inch screen ("with unique kickstand for easy media viewing", a connection "to your HDTV so you can watch HD movies" on a bigger screen), HTC Sense UI (with "social networking integration with Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and more"), 1,500 mAh Lithium battery, dual cameras (8 megapixel primary, 1.3 megapixel front-facing), proximity and motion sensors, digital compass, 1 GB ROM, 512 MB RAM
- from Qualcomm : 1 GHz Snapdragon processor
- from the air : Wi-Fi, GPS Navigation, Stereo Bluetooth, FM radio
- for the plug-ins : microSD Card slot, micro USB, 3.5 mm headset jack, HDMI output...
- from Sprint : Now Network, Sprint TV...

Yeah. The operator is not doing much beyond rolling out his 27-market WiMAX network and putting a sticker on the phone. The real PR winners here are HTC, Qualcomm (stuck to its proprietary 3G but associated to "4G"), and even more Google : Android starts outhyping iPhone, and Google mobile VoIP gets a front seat.

Hoping that Sprint's networks and HTC's batteries won't spoil the fun.

mot-bile 2010

* see now.sprint.com/evo
** as we saw earlier ("Aloha's long goodbye, Standards Wars Episode 4G and the phantom menace"), the ITU has been kind to WiMAX.

Wal-Mart's Vudu Trance - home entertainment and apps

mot-bile 2010 - What is exactly "home entertainment" according to Wal-Mart ? Everyday low prices for home movies or everyday more promotions for everything else on your TV screen ?

The Bentonville, AR giant acquired VUDU, Inc, an online video service embedded in broadband-ready TVs and Blu-ray players, and "combining VUDU's unique digital technology and service with Walmart's retail expertise and scale will provide customers with unprecedented access to home entertainment options as they migrate to a digital environment".*

But Wal-Mart also mentions VUDU Apps, a very crucial entry point in households for all sorts of services, including Twitter or Facebook, the kind of "web family names" we mentioned earlier as the hottest TV stars of the year (see "Skype on your TV : home improvement ?" - 20100106).

Wal-Mart was not the only bidder for this entry point : it won over direct rivals (Amazon & co), victims of Vudu curses (Blockbuster & co) media manufacturers turner entertainers (Sony & co), or the usual Redmond suspects (Micro and Soft).

Now back to the smaller screen, but still in the retailing arena : SK Telecom and Hana Bank eventually released their joint services** in Korea. Push and pull location-based marketing make sure you have always an incentive even if you came out without your paper coupons.

Note that in their latest TV ads, SKT are marketing Android a very cute way with a green robot dancing on "That's the way (uh uh uh uh) I like it", and that's likely to boost the brand's fun factor. The Android brand, I mean : the character bumps into SKT's dull "T" logo and roars at it... There was probably a smarter way of celebrating this encounter of the third kind.

* "Walmart Announces Acquisition of Digital Entertainment Provider, VUDU" (20100222)
** on this killer alliance, see "SK Telecom's Wild Hana Card" (20090612)

Google Smokescreen Computing : May The Dark Fiber Be With You

Google has made some progress since its previous experience as an innovative ISP (see "Google TiSP - US Open at Flushing Windows). Big G issued a nice video (see below*), but here are a few keywords :

Crowdsourcing - "Today we're putting out a request for information (RFI) to help identify interested communities".

Interested in what ?

1 Gbps FTTH - "We'll deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today with 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-the-home connections. We plan to offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people."

A lightweight on the market ?

Lobbying - "We've urged the FCC". We'll soon be urged by the EU but that's not the issue of the day...

Not in a hurry when it comes to digging your own grave ?

Digging - "We'll test new ways to build fiber networks". Like we don't actually build but find partners, or bail out people lost in the dark fiber, or invent smokescreen computing.

Smokescreen computing ?

The highest stage of cloud computing.

mot-bile 2010

*

"Think big with a gig: Our experimental fiber network" (20100210 - Official Google Blog)

Google Avatar

"Parisian Love", Google's Superbowl ad. Rom@nce, cliches and snapshots... as artificial and predictable as Avatar, only cheaper. And just like Avatar, you keep watching :

Skype on your TV : home improvement ?

mot-bile 2010 - Skype stole part of the Google show : if the Nexus One was already yesterday's news*, Skype is tomorrow's.

Because coming up this spring, Panasonic and LG internet-connected HDTVs will have Skype inside**.

OK. We're not talking major innovation there. Only smart bundling. And for the moment, it's either Skype or TV, so forget about chatting while watching a program, for instance a soccer game (heard the news ? there's a World Cup this year). But it should help videophony get a boost, and internet TV become as mainstream as it should be.

Next thing you know, some may reconsider using at home that other always on screen of theirs, a much more personal yet smaller and costlier one.

Former Skype owners eBay were left at the gate, but I'm sure they - among others - would love to take a shot at home shopping networks. Anyway, expect in a very near future more familiar logos sticked on every internet HDTV.

* see "Google Phone at hand, no kindling".

ADDENDUM 20100105 : on the official Google blog, Mario Queiroz, VP of Product Management
developped "Our new approach to buying a mobile phone" (or rather "superphones")
"through a new, simple online web store from Google".

** see Skype video on "Get Skype on your TV" (Skype - 20100105)

Gizmo5 found its Google Voice

Skype owners were considering snatching Gizmo5 as a B plan, should the legal matters with founders turn nasty.

Turns out Gizmo5 had a G plan : Google showed them the money, made a star of founder Michael Robertson, and yes, "Google Welcomes Gizmo5".

Gizmo5 welcomes visitors on its website with the less enthusiastic "Gizmo5 Has Been Acquired by Google". Note that "New user signup has been suspended and will return when we re-launch" Gizmoogle6.

Now that it owns a PSTN entry point, Google Voice will probably make use of its Dark Force : the fabled "dark fiber" it's been piling up and laying out everywhere.

Now let's see how cellcos swallow this VoIP doubledecker.

2010 should be an interesting year for anti-Big G movements (i.e. in the book section, Google may face a global front after reaching an agreement with the US Authors Guild).

mot-bile 2009

UPDATE 20100219

See this video from "Google Voice, Explained" (Google Voice official blog 20100219) :

Google found its voice

You can install voice and video chat to Gmail right here and now.

Nothing disruptive in this software, but that's an interesting tool for the Google platform (BtoB, CtoC, BtoC, BtoBtoC, AtoZ...).

And heck, that's not so phony telephony and videophony.

Beyond the software, Big G is providing a big push for hardware equipment : until Nov. 30, 2008, there will be special discounts at Buy.com for Logitech webcams.

The idea is to build a strong user base from day one, and to instantly catch a significant share just like they did with Chrome (see "Google Chrome : more open source, less open space ?").

Mind if this announcer chimes in during your free mobile videochat ?

Korea : 2G WiBro South, 3GSM North

North Korea (or at least certain parts of the hermitest kingless kingdom) has been enjoying 2G GSM since 2002. And for an even more restricted public since 2004, after the train explosion rumored to be an assassination attempt against KIM Jong-il.

Now the Dear Leader can enjoy movies on the go even outside of his personal bunker-train. CHEO Technology (a Korea Post & Telecommunications / Orascom - 25% / 75% - JV) was awarded a 25 year 3G W-CDMA license earlier this year and obviously started investing ($ 400 M for the network and the license).

Cross the border, China Unicom has been stripped of its CDMA network. New investments in online gaming (30% of Hong Kong's Magicgrids Networks and partnerships with its mainland China Magic Tech Network subsidiary) did not make up for this great loss for SK Telecom.

But the Dear South Korean Mobile Leader announced this week a successful real-time HD video trial of its Wibro Wave 2 : this 2G WiBro claims rates of up to 10Mbps / 37Mbps (up/downlink) will be rolled out across the capital (TTM H2 2008).

SKT wants to market Wibro Wave 2 cheaper than 1G WiBro. KT started its service much later but leads the market. Besides, it is merging its customer service units with KTF and the merger of the two companies seems everyday more probable.

And the competition is raging, forcing MNOs to slash prices for data (ie -30% for SKT phone-mail) and increase marketing expenses (+30% YOY for SKT 2008Q1 - handset subsidies frenzy is back). No wonder SKT's operating income went down 16.3% in 2008Q1.

The worst may be coming : as of July, USIM lock will end and Koreans will at last enjoy the fun of handset and operator switch.

IPTV in Korea

A 100 Mbps connection, a brand new Homevita home networking service including a complimentary Samsung Q1 Ultra (slick, black, DMB enabled, lovely keyboard). And all I can get is VOD channels. The closest thing to live TV I get is through classic web browsing or through CCTV (most exciting Reality TV program : who paid me a visit the last few days ?).

Forget about real time broadcasting : the Ministry of Information and Communication is in favor of it but the Korea Broadcasting Commission lobbied against it. The freshest news, sports or series you can get must be at least 24h old. And provided your IPTV service reached an agreement with the broadcaster, you must pay for them (like KRW 500 apiece - never mind those corny loyalty program points).

24 hour old ! Ancient by the standards of a (supposedly) information / knowledge society where 90% of households are already enjoying pay TV, where internet / mobile banking is commonplace, where interactivity starts when you wake up and stops when you fall asleep.

In spite of this key regulatory hurdle (the only reason why France is still a leader in commercial IPTV), and the competition of so many technos (including DMB*) IPTV is on its way to 3 M subs by EOY 2008.

And Daum still wants to become the 4th player this summer ; a TVNO on its competitors' backs with powerful partners : Microsoft (platform and Xbox 360 access), Celrun (set top boxes), and NHN / Naver (Korea's second portal and already a key VOD and TV aggregator - see Naver VOD or Naver TV news for example)

The competitors ? The usual suspects :
- SK Telecom : the mobile leader is wolfing pionneer and leader Hanaro Telecom down. HanaTV targets 1.8M subs EOY (800k EOQ1 2008) with a break-even point at 2M.
- Korea Telecom (on the way to merging with KTF) : Mega TV has the cutest logo and the best network (optic fiber all the way through its Megapass broadband subsidiary).
- LG Telecom : #3 as always for the TTM as well as the market share. myLGTV has the weakest VOD catalog but that's better than nothing.

These 3 players just reached the 10M 3G subs plateau : 5.28M for KTF (+440K for Show in April), 4.68M for SKT (+470K for T Live) and 190K for LGT's Rev. A service.

* KBS, a top broacaster, is also national and regional T-DMB license holder (with KTF) - about U-KBS (VOD, KBS Star, KBS Heart, KBS Music, KBS Data, KBS-Mozen TPEG telematics... - yet another "Ubiquitus" service), see kbs.co.kr/dmb.

SHOW time for KTF

KTF launched SHOW, its WCDMA service, last March 1st. The 1st Million mark was passed on July the 6th and 10,000 newcomers are joining every day (1,277,000 end of July 2007). "WCDMA" is now a cooler label than EV-DO in Korea. And it shows in KTF's end of July figures : during the last 3 month, its market share remained stable despite a 245k subs growth, but EV-DO subs were down (-45k). The 2-3G migration goes on (3G representing 52.8% of total, up from 47.4%) but furthermore, this confirms the CDMA migration has started, even at the 3G level (EV-DO down to 43.2% from 44.3%, WCDMA up from 3.0% to 9.6%).

Enough with boring figures. From a marketing point of view, you just need to know SHOW is the first real answer to June, SK Telecom's cool brand launched with EV-DO ages ago*.

As the name tells us, SHOW targets entertainment lovers in their 20s rather than business segments. And there is that "play" feature in the "O" of the logo. One third of subs use video telephony, especially couples. So KTF decided to launch, after the success of Movie Tariff Plan (1 free movie ticket per month included), a Movie Tariff Plans for Couples. And while they were at it another one for SMS addicts.

International Roaming (traditionaly restricted to the 2-3G CDMA world before) was another major sales pitch, and KTF announces more developments with partners DoCoMo / Conexus Mobile Alliance and Microsoft. Non-handset devices with USB connectivity are mentioned.

I guess it's time for KTF to propose something more relevant for business targets.

http://www.show.co.kr/ / http://www.conexusmobile.com/

* note that, unlike KTF, SKT declares no specific plan for migration to WCDMA. But the mobile leader is obviously and at last preparing triple play solutions with cablecos and fixed broadband players. As usual with a content flavor ("cable TV programs" are mentioned).

Pandora's set top box

The F.C.C. ruled that municipalities had to take quick decisions (within 90 days) regarding video franchise agreements with telephone companies. Due to excessive delays, telcos often cannot compete with cablecos on their highly profitable turf (Comcast & Co charge an average $43 per month, 5% more than last year and double the rate of 10 years ago). And the battle reaches beyond services : rolling out a fiber optic network can be prevented on the ground that it can deliver television and video.
But Verizon & Co haven't won yet. Is the F.C.C. the relevant authority ? Is the American broadcasting ecosystem ready to open all gates at such a crossroads (convergence, DRM issues, free DIY n-to-n casting for everyone...) ?
We already know that USA doesn't mean United Spectrum of America, but things are not that easy in the fixed arena either, where Federal, State and local layers also pile up. We already know that US operators always finish last in the lobbying race : media / content groups are tough opponents and high tech players make sure the game remains open to all of their kind.
Ten to fifteen years ago, Europeans would dream of a US like market where local calls would be free and hundreds of TV channels available to almost everyone.
Nowadays, I guess many US players are envying their European counterparts. If they cannot even leverage on the scale of their own country / continent, they should be worrying about yet another set of competitors (Asia, Middle East, you name it).