ABI Research: 539 Million Fiber Broadband Subscriptions Worldwide

There were more than 539 million fixed broadband subscribers globally at the end of second quarter, an 8% increase from the same quarter in 2010, according to ABI Research. The increase is driven in part by emerging markets.


At present, North America is the region with the highest fiber optic broadband penetration followed by Asia-Pacific. Extending fiber broadband coverage not only increases speed but also allows the roll out of services including video on demand (VOD) and IPTV. ABI Research estimates that worldwide fiber broadband subscriber numbers will more than double in 2016 to 142 million subscribers, from 69.6 million in 2011.


The Asia Pacific region is seeing strong subscriber growth, due in particular to the increasing number of subscribers in China. About 17 million Chinese subscribers have been added since the second quarter of 2010.
http://www.abiresearch.com

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Harris Delivers Wideband Falcon III Tactical Radio Network for Army Test

Harris is delivering wideband networking capability through its Falcon III AN/PRC-117G tactical radio system as part of the U.S. Army Network Integration Evaluation (NIE) at Fort Bliss, Texas and White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. This includes the deployment of a 20- and 30- Node wideband AN/PRC-117G network, powered by Harris' Adaptive Networking Wideband Waveform, or ANW2, for connecting a range of military vehicles to company command post platforms.

The NIE is the first in a series of semi-annual evaluations designed to integrate and mature the Army's tactical network. The evaluation involves a series of tests and evaluations among five programs of record and 30 emerging or developmental technologies. Involving all 3,800 soldiers of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, the NIE uniquely combines test and evaluation in a single venue, with the goal of speeding the deployment of an integrated battlefield network. One of the main purposes of the NIE is to evaluate existing network capabilities, including the Harris AN/PRC-117G multiband manpack tactical radio system.

"The NIE is a unique event designed to push systems to the limit," said Maj. Gen. Dennis Moran (Ret.), vice president, Government Business Development, Harris RF Communications. "Over the course of the exercise, the AN/PRC-117G has successfully delivered outstanding mobile ad-hoc networking capability to a range of vehicular-based forces.
http://www.harris.com
http://www.harris.com/view_pressrelease.asp?act=lookup&pr_id=3271

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Google Fiber Comes to 850 Stanford Residences

The first location for the Google Fiber last-mile network will be the residential housing subdivision of Stanford University. The campus newspaper, The Stanford Daily, reports that 850 homes will soon be connected to the gigabit speed fiber. Installation is underway and should be completed soon.
http://www.stanforddaily.com

• In March 2011, Google picked Kansas City, Kansas for its gigabit speed fiber build-out project. Nearly 1,100 communities across the country expressed interest in participating in the Google project and nearly 200,000 individuals submitted comments. Google has signed a development agreement with Kansas City and will be working with local organizations, businesses and universities, including Kauffman Foundation, KCNext and the University of Kansas Medical Center to help develop the gigabit applications of the future. Google will provide free access to schools and city facilities.



• In December 2010, Google appointed Milo Medin as Vice President, Access Services. Google also said that it has delayed the selection of its first fiber community. Nearly 1,100 communities across the country have sought to participate in the Google fiber project, and the company said it needs more time to make its selection. Milo Medin previously served as co-founder of Chief Technology Officer of Excite@Home, a pioneer in residential broadband service, and later at M2Z Networks.

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Sony Ericsson Sees Impact from March Earthquake/Tsunami

Sony Ericsson suffered a constrained supply line following the March earthquake in Japan and now reports lower sales and volume shipments for its most recent fiscal quarter.


Sales for the quarter were Euro 1,193 million, a 32% decrease year-on-year and a 4% increase sequentially.


Average selling price (ASP) for the quarter was Euro 156, a 3% decrease year-on-year but an 11% increase sequentially. The year-on-year decrease is due to product and geographic mix and price erosion. The sequential increase in ASP is attributed to favorable product and geographic mix, more than offsetting price erosion and unfavorable foreign exchange rates.


Units shipped during the quarter were 7.6 million, a 31% decrease year-on-year and a 6% decrease sequentially, due to a decrease in volume caused by constrained supply of critical components and an anticipated decline in the number of feature phones shipped.


Bert Nordberg, President and CEO of Sony Ericsson commented, "Sony Ericsson's second quarter profitability was affected by the March 11 earthquake in Japan. We estimate that the impact of earthquake-related supply chain constraints on our portfolio was close to 1.5 million units, with most of the effect in the early part of the quarter. Our shift to Android-based smartphones continues with smartphone sales accounting for more than 70 percent of our total sales during the quarter. We have shipped more than 16 million Xperia smartphones to date. We have introduced eight new Xperia smartphones this year and we continue to see strong consumer and operator demand across the Xperia smartphone portfolio."
http://www.ericsson.com

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