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IoT Spending To Nearly Double By 2019

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Internet of Things (IoT) spending will grow from US$698.6 billion in 2015 to nearly US$1.3 trillion in 2019, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC), with the Asia Pacific region a clear global leader.When it comes to IoT spending, more than 40 per cent of the worldwide total has come from the Asia Pacific this year, with North America and Western Europe the second and third largest regions, respectively.

The IDC has forecast that the regions that will experience the fastest growth in IoT spending over the five-year forecast period are Latin America, followed by Western Europe, and Central and Eastern Europe.

“The Asia/Pacific region’s robust IoT spending outlook builds on three dynamics: developing countries’ technology investment needs are not fully met with traditional IT, which is allowing IoT investments to accelerate; government investments in infrastructure development and local business modernisation, in China, India and the Philippines, for example, are incorporating more and more IoT elements; and a burgeoning new consumer class is accelerating expenditures in goods and services, including those with IoT components,” Marcus Torchia, IDC research manager, Internet of Things, commented.

Manufacturing and transportation topped worldwide IoT spending from a vertical industry perspective in 2015, with totals of US$165.6 billion and US$78.7 billion, respectively.

The IDC forecasts the industries that will record the fastest IoT spending growth over the next five years will be the insurance, along with the healthcare and consumer industries, with the consumer IoT market to comprise the third largest IoT spending category by the end of the forecast period.

“Manufacturing and transportation are both a good fit for IoT deployments,” Vernon Turner, IDC senior vice president and IoT research fellow, commented.

“Both industries have been connecting their supply chains, products, customers, and even workers, for some time now, and really embrace the value of business outcomes.”

ACCC Gives Go Ahead For ihail Taxi Booking App

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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has granted conditional authorisation to the ihail taxi booking app, reversing last year’s draft determination proposing to deny its authorisation.While the ACCC’s draft determination last October proposed to block ihail – the product of a joint venture including Cabcharge, Yellow Cabs, Silver Top Taxi Service, Black and White Cabs and Suburban Taxis – its final determination comes with some conditions attached.

“Following the ACCC’s draft decision proposing to deny authorisation to the arrangements, ihail made a number of significant modifications to its app,” the ACCC today stated.

“These include now giving passengers a choice to pay their fare in the taxi (rather than just via the app), and the ability to choose their preferred taxi network based on certain performance information during the booking process or the nearest available taxi (regardless of network).”

ACCC chairman Rod Sims commented that passengers will be provided with an additional platform to book taxis from a large pool of taxi networks and drivers via the app, with the ACCC accepting that “this is likely to reduce waiting times, particularly in peak periods, which is a benefit to the public”.

“The ACCC considers the ownership structure underpinning the ihail app is still likely to allow the participants to quickly establish a larger network of taxi drivers than any other app, and that this initial competitive advantage will not be gained from offering a better product to drivers and passengers but through ihail’s ownership structure alone,” Sims stated.

“However, the ACCC considers that ihail will still face competition from other taxi booking apps and ridesharing apps which have established brands and customer bases. There is also nothing in the arrangements preventing drivers using other booking apps.”

Sims stated that conditions imposed by the ACCC require ihail to explicitly inform drivers that they remain free to use competing booking apps, and also prohibit ihail and its shareholder networks from preventing drivers using other booking apps or disadvantaging drivers who do so in preference or in addition to ihail.

“These factors should mitigate the extent of the reduction in competition and associated public detriment due to the competitive advantage ihail will have as a result of its ownership structure,” he commented.

The ACCC noted that it was initially concerned that, with Cabcharge the exclusive provider of payments processing services to ihail – and originally passengers would only have been able to pay for fares through the app – “emerging competition between Cabcharge and other providers of taxi payment processing services would have been dampened”.

The ACCC, however, stated that the changes made allowing payment in the taxi means that other payments processing providers are able to compete to provide services to ihail customers.

In response to the final determination, Andrew Skelton, Cabcharge managing director and chief executive officer, stated the company believes “authorisation  will  enhance  competition  in the  local  market, which in recent times seems to have all but been reserved for players outside the traditional taxi industry”.

“There can be a remarkable premium attached to being regarded as agile and innovative, which can make it frustrating when regulators block efforts by existing players to improve their service,” Skelton commented.

“From ihail’s perspective, it now has a ticket to play across different taxi networks, just like the other competitors, who are typically regarded as innovative, have been doing for some time.

“To get there ihail has amended its business model to facilitate in-car payments as well as in-app payments, which is at odds with some of its competitors. However, we are pleased that ihail can get on with business and begin servicing passengers.”

Optus VoLTE Rollout: First Available For Galaxy S7 And S7 edge

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Optus has commenced its rollout of VoLTE (Voice over LTE) services across its 4G Plus mobile network in Australia’s major capital cities, with Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge to be the first devices available with the service.Optus states that plans are underway to include more devices, with postpaid consumer and small-and-medium-sized business customers in the Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra CBD metro areas to be among the first to see the rollout of VoLTE.

Whereas previously only data services were offered via 4G, VoLTE will allow customers to make and receive calls over the 4G network.

“VoLTE provides customers a number of benefits, including high-definition-quality voice calls, faster call connections, and the ability for customers to multi-task on their device while browsing and making a call over a 4G connection,” Dennis Wong, Optus Networks acting managing director, commented.

“We’ve been testing and tweaking VoLTE for the best customer experience and we’re excited Optus customers will start to see the benefits of this technology on our 4G Plus network.”

Wong stated that “Optus will continue to add capability to other devices”, and is focused on expanding its “VoLTE footprint to further locations, particularly in regional Australia”.

Telstra Customers Take Advantage Of Free Data

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Telstra customers took advantage of the telco’s free data offer yesterday, run as an apology for its mobile outage last week, downloading 1,841 terabytes of data.Telstra was last Tuesday hit by a nationwide network outage, impacting its mobile voice and data services, with Telstra chief operations officer Kate McKenzie subsequently announcing the day of free mobile data on Sunday.

Telstra Operations group managing director of networks Mike Wright has advised via a blog post that the telco’s “Australian network had its busiest day ever yesterday”.

Wright wrote that traffic jumped as soon as midnight ticked over, with weekday peak traffic levels being reached by 8am and climbing rapidly from there.

The free offer included all mobile data used by Telstra’s personal customers, business customers, prepaid customers, mobile broadband customers and customers with Telstra’s retail partner Boost.

“Over the course of the day we had twice as much traffic as we would normally see on a Sunday (or any day),” Wright wrote.

“As we anticipated, the high demand meant some customers had slower-than-normal data speeds on 4G services, but overall the network performed as designed.”

Apple Pay Expansion: Coming To Websites This Year?

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Apple has been telling potential partners that it is looking to bring its Apple Pay payments service to websites later this year, Re/code has reported multiple sources as stating.Apple Pay will be available via the Safari browser on iPhones and iPads with Touch ID fingerprint technology, Re/code reported its sources as stating, with Apple having also considered making the service available on Apple laptops and desktops.

Re/code, however, has reported that it is not clear if the service will find its way to laptops and desktops.

Apple Pay, which is available for compatible models of the iPhone and iPad along with the Apple Watch, currently allows users to pay in-store or within participating apps.

Competition is intensifying in the growing digital payments market, with a variety of players looking to consolidate a niche.

Juniper Research expects the annual transaction value of online, mobile and contactless payments to rise 20 per cent this year, with digital payments to reach US$3.6 trillion, up from US$3 trillion in 2015.

Juniper has noted the growing presence of social media companies in the eRetail space, with Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram among those to have introduced “buy” buttons, allowing users to make purchases directly from the companies’ mobile apps.

Re/code has reported that an announcement could be made at WWDC, the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, which in previous years has been held in June, with its sources however stating that the announcement’s timing could change.

Optus And Ursys Partner For Remote Area Services

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Optus Satellite has partnered with satellite-based voice and data communications provider Ursys for the delivery of telecommunications services to remote and rural areas.Under the wholesale relationship, Ursys will utilise dedicated satellite capacity on Optus’ D2 satellite, as well as access to third-party international satellite providers, with Ursys to also utilise Optus’ teleport facilities at Belrose, north of Sydney, and the telco’s wider infrastructure.

Optus Satellite vice president Paul Sheridan stated that the partnership is significant as it “focuses on joint go-to-market opportunities within the targeted LTE, SCADA [supervisory control and data acquisition] and unique network industries”.

“This exciting new relationship builds on the deep experience of both Ursys and Optus Satellite to meet demands coming from the market for a complete solution, particularly where more than just a simple broadband connection is required,” Sheridan commented.

Grahame Cover, Ursys CEO, stated that the partnership will “redefine services and offer bespoke solutions to remote business customers with specific network requirements”.

NBN Exploring Ways To Promote Competition

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NBN CEO Bill Morrow has stated NBN is looking into ways to increase services competition in regional Australia in an address to the National Press Club today.Morrow noted linking to certain NBN hubs could potentially prove prohibitively expensive due to the distance of the backhaul, creating a barrier to entry and having the effect of limiting the amount of retail offers.

Retailers either link to the hubs by building their own fibre connections or by buying a connection from existing providers.

With the NBN consisting of 121 hubs, Morrow stated that about 40 are more expensive for retailers to connect to.

“What’s on our minds is whether this will present a barrier to entry that might limit retail offers, and in turn limit choice,” Morrow commented.

“If this turns out to be the case, there are a number of options we could explore to boost competition, however before we do anything, NBN – our preference would be to see the market respond.

“We are working with others who see a market opportunity by solving for this remote regional point of entry. At the end of the day, it’s about levelling the playing field and ensuring there is a low barrier to entry, and we would hope the markets will do just this.”

Fairfax Media has previously reported sources as stating NBN is working on a proposal to connect facilities itself and sell a wholesale service directly to new entrants.

Upcoming NBN developments to take place in the next few months include the commencement of fibre-to-the-node services, along with the launch of the first of NBN’s dedicated broadband satellites.

TIO Internet Complaints Rise

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Consumer complaints were down year-on-year, however up on the previous quarter, with internet complaints rising in the January-March 2016 quarter, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) has advised.The TIO has reported that 31,297 new complaints were made in the quarter, down 5.6 per cent year-on-year, while up 32.8 per cent from the previous quarter, noting that the increase is both seasonal and due to more consumer complaints related to internet services.

“January-March is traditionally the TIO’s busiest quarter, but we are experiencing a sharper than usual increase this year,” TIO ombudsman Judi Jones commented. “Overall, complaints are continuing to trend down.”

The TIO received 10,985 new complaints about internet services in the quarter, with the proportion of internet complaints growing from 26 per cent to 35 per cent year-on-year.

There were 2,159 issues of slow data speeds, 2,125 issues of unusable services and 2,079 issues of connection delays, the TIO advised.

“These three issues were the top reason that brought internet users to the TIO in January-March 2016,” Jones commented.

“Consumers told us about internet services that performed at much lower speeds than they were promised, and long waits for connections and repairing unreliable services.”

The TIO received 9,248 landline complaints, the proportion of which grew from 28 per cent to 30 per cent year-on-year, with consumers reporting 1,725 issues of unusable landlines and 1,605 issues of new landline connection delay.

Mobile services complaints totalled 11,064, with the proportion of complaints decreasing from 46 per cent to 35 per cent year-on-year.

The TIO noted that the ratio of mobile services complaints over the past four years has decreased 48 per cent, while services in operation in Australia have increased 8.5 per cent in that time.

LG Spins Off Two Projects Into Start-ups

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LG is spinning off two initiatives originally developed in-house, Acanvas and Infit & Company, with the companies to be managed completely by former LG employees, along with being responsible for their own fundraising and strategy.LG additionally states that it is looking to “expand its initiatives to encourage more of the type of thinking” that led to the establishment of the two companies.

Acanvas will focus on the development of its art streaming platform, having last week started a Kickstarter campaign, with the platform containing “millions of licensed works of art displayed in cord-free customisable digital frames”.

LG states that Acanvas will initially target North America, with plans to next year expand to other markets.

Infit, meanwhile, has developed the Imaging Modular Diagnosis Machine, employing “the latest technologies to diagnose conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis”, using “an affordable and safer optical imaging system instead of radiation to peer inside patients”.

In supporting the ventures, LG has promised employees joining either of the two new companies that they will have guaranteed positions at LG if they decide to return within three years.

“By giving these two start-ups their own identity and freedom from the bureaucracies of a large organisation, we are sending a very clear message to innovator and the public that we are not interested in maintaining the status quo,” Dr Skott Ahn, LG Electronics president and CTO, commented.

PM Turnbull: Time For NBN Recalibration?

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It remains to be seen what sort of an impact the elevation of Malcolm Turnbull to prime minister will have on the Australian IT industry, however Ovum government technology principal analyst Al Blake believes it “will have significant consequences”.Blake states Turnbull understands technology and “appreciates what it can do to stimulate the economy and improve society”.

“He’s on record as regarding ‘digital literacy’ as important as reading and supporting open access to government data, and in his role as Minister for Communications, he espoused the benefits of using high-value government datasets to ‘assist government in making evidence-based policy decisions’,” Blake noted.

Blake additionally noted Turnbull earlier in the year created the Digital Transformation Office (DTO), observing that with Turnbull as prime minister “it’s hard to see how DTO can go anywhere apart from up, regardless of who takes over the reins at Communications”.

As for the NBN rollout, a different approach could now be taken, however a return to Labor’s original plan will not be on the cards.

“When the incoming Liberal government inherited the ‘Labor NBN’, after months of trashing it as a ‘massive white elephant’, it was a political imperative to promote a different approach – resulting the mixed-mode delivery model pushed for the last two years against the advice of many in the ICT industry,” Blake commented.

“Although he was following the party line there was always uncertainty as to how strongly Turnbull personally supported that approach and his elevation to the PM spot may allow for an NBN recalibration.

“Given the political realities, it would be impossible to go back to the original Labor plan – but we may see the proportion technologies slide further towards FTTP, which would mean world-call broadband performance for a greater percentage of Australians.”