Australia Considers Balloons to Extend Mobile Coverage

Aerostats All Australia (AAA), a private company is proposing to extend mobile coverage to the 70 percent of Australia’s land mass not currently covered by cellular networks. The AAA solution uses tethered aerostats (lighter-than-air balloons) permanently anchored by a tether to an existing mobile base station where fiber-optic backhaul exists. An aerostat—essentially a floating mobile tower—at an altitude of 1,200 meters extends typical cell site coverage by a factor of 160, from 300 square kilometers to 48,000 square kilometers. The cost to deploy aerostats is an order of magnitude less than that of building new base station infrastructure, the company claims. As mobile technology advances with exponential rapidity, it is easy to overlook the facts that (1) many portions of the globe are being left out of this advancement for no other reason than geographic remoteness and (2) relatively low-tech solutions can potentially close the gap. This proposal from Australia is a good illustration of these facts. Isolated, low-population areas may not seem like massive revenue opportunities to operators, so spreading service there may not be attractive. However, achieving full coverage across a country can have an impact disproportionate to population size, and therefore a low-cost solution such as this one—if it works—is well worth the relatively small investment.

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Swisscom Integrates iO App with Vivo Packages

Swiss telecommunications provider Swisscom launched two new offerings for fixed line customers on 19 May 2014. These customers can receive calls anywhere in the world on their tablets via their existing fixed line number, at no extra charge. This is enabled by the new iO@home feature in the operator’s iO communications app. Furthermore, customers subscribing to a Vivo package can make unlimited calls to any Swiss network using their fixed line number and an internet connection whether they are calling from within Switzerland or abroad. These new services are currently available for iPad users only. Customers subscribing to a Vivo M, L or XL package can also choose a TV offering with fewer channels and without the time-delayed viewing feature for a CHF 15.00 (US $16.75) reduction in the monthly tariff.

The EU directive that will eliminate roaming charges from 15 December 2015 does not apply to Switzerland, as it is a non-EU state. However, a sizable segment of its population frequently travels or lives abroad, making both international calling and roaming key features for this market. Swisscom launched its free iO app in June 2013 as its answer to the competition from OTT services which would affect both the international calling and roaming segments. A key feature used to promote this app is that all data is encrypted and stored on secure Swiss servers. As of February 2014, more than 600,000 users had signed up for the app, including a significant number of customers from rival Swiss networks. Since its launch, Swisscom has used the app as another medium by which to extend the benefits of its packages to its subscribers. For example, subscribers to the Natel Infinity XL mobile plan, which offers unlimited calls to numbers in Switzerland, the EU, the U.S. and Canada, can also use the app to make similar calls free of charge, whereas for other customers, the international calling feature using the app is a flat-rate add-on.

Now Swisscom is integrating this app with its Vivo packages, which bundle fixed telephony with Swisscom TV 2.0 and high-speed broadband at monthly fees ranging from CHF 69.00 (US $77.05) to CHF 169.00 (US $188.71). By combining any Vivo package (except Vivo Casa) with any Natel Infinity mobile subscription, users can get a discount ranging from CHF 5.00 (US $5.58) to CHF 25.00 (US $27.92).  Thus through bundling of services and the app offering, Swisscom is not only addressing the competition from OTT services but it is also protecting its fixed line revenues. Furthermore, the promotion of the app for roaming calls in conjunction with competitive data travel packs for its Natel subscribers may increase data revenues, as well.

The above item appeared in a recent issue of The Tarifica Alert, a weekly resource that analyzes noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. To access all of the latest articles and issues:  http://www.tarifica.com/TarificaAlert.aspx

Sing Tel Launches Interactive Education Service

Singaporean mobile operator Sing Tel has launched Genio, an interactive education service to be used with the local primary school curriculum. Genio is available for iOS tablets and smartphones, as well as through any online browser for computers and on Sing Tel mio TV. The service will be available for Android devices by the end of August. Through the service students can access and view educational videos, which have been jointly developed by the operators educational partners Learning Point and On Sponge, anywhere and at any time. After viewing each video lesson, students complete an in-app assessment. Although users are not charged for the Genio app, customers must purchase each school subject for SGD 118.96 (US $95.16). Subscribers are being offered a discounted cost—SGD 108.98 (US $87.16) per subject—for purchases made by 30 June. Users can access the subjects that they bought for 12 months from the purchase date. Genio is rolling out this service for Primary grades 3 through 6, with the periodic addition of Math, Science and English classes.

Mobile learning projects such as Sing Tel’s Genio service are available sporadically around the world; however, according to a combined report from UNESCO and GSMA, large-scale programs are rare, particularly those that receive government support. In this category are a number of initiatives that leverage mobile technology to speed up progress, such as the Education for All programs that have been launched by the governments of Thailand, Uruguay and Rwanda. Nonetheless, the report’s findings indicate that m-Education could be a US $70 billion opportunity by 2020 due to the fact that mobile technology can widen access to education and improve its quality.

The digital behaviors of today’s students foster the need to educate them with more flexibility, mobility and immediacy than what was provided by older educating systems. The move toward virtual and interactive learning is beginning to change the education landscape; however, institutions have been slow to step out of their comfort zones and traditional methods of teaching. The GSMA/UNESCO report indicates that despite handset availability and improved connectivity, mobile learning implementations are still very much in the early stages, and that educators and policy makers need training and guidance, with support from the mobile industry.

Mobile technology’s impact on transforming education cannot be overemphasized. It will remove education from the classroom to a certain extent, and it will also be a bridge between in-class and out-of-class learning. Mobile operators can embrace this flourishing opportunity in several ways. There is the obvious need for devices and connectivity, but to go further, MNOs can partner with educators to provide technical support and advice in addition to hosting services. An additional step would be to take on the role of complete m-Education provider as Sing Tel has done with its Genio service, and we expect to see other operators doing the same by offering m-Learning solutions to academic institutions.

The above item appeared in a recent issue of The Tarifica Alert, a weekly resource that analyzes noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. To access all of the latest articles and issues:  http://www.tarifica.com/TarificaAlert.aspx