The amount of mobile data generated globally is growing very rapidly and shows no sign of abating. This growth is largely driven by smartphones, tablets and connected devices, as well as mobile applications and content.   The Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) has been tracking this for quite some time – the latest update predicts that mobile data traffic will double globally in 2012 and increase by another 78 percent by 2014. 

In addition, there is a corresponding worldwide growth in the popularity of Wi-Fi. The number of Wi-Fi hotspots is expected to reach 2.7 million by 2014, with usage growing 200 percent. This growth is inspired by new enabling devices, recent technology improvements, public and private availability, and tiered mobile data plans from service providers. 

With this in mind, Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) has consulted with leading service providers from around the world to develop and evaluate 16 Wi-Fi business models that can provide a reasonable return on investment. Opportunities for monetization fall into four broad categories: (1) business effectiveness, (2) end-user services, (3) inter-carrier wholesale, and (4) value-added services.

For details about this and other interesting, provocative papers, go to the Service Provider Thought Leadership page of the IBSG web site.

Check it out . . .

Tags: Cisco, hotspots, IBSG, mobile_data, service_provider, vni, wifi

Come watch a special edition TechWiseTV, featuring Ike, to learn how Cisco takes you Beyond BYOD. Take the BYOD challenge for a chance to win a trip to the London Olympics or other fun mobility gadgets.

Today’s enterprise mobility requirements go beyond simply connecting mobile devices. It’s about securing any access, simply managing the complexities while scaling efficiently, and ensuring an optimal user experience while easing the IT burden. Gallant Ike does all of this and more with Cisco Enterprise Mobility Solutions.

To participate, here is what you do:

• Visit http://www.cisco.com/go/challenge
• Watch the 20-minute video featuring TechWise’s Jimmy Ray Purser and Robb Boyd with IKE
• Take the Challenge!  Test your knowledge and answer 10 questions. You just may win!

Good luck!

Tags: byod, BYOD challenge, cisc wlan, cisco challenge, enterprise mobility, enterprise networks, Ike, mobility, networking, Networks, TechWiseTV, wi-fi, wifi, wireless lan controllers, wireless lans, wlan, WLC

It’s been a great week for AT&T at the IP&TV World Forum, and by proxy, a great week for Cisco!

In case you hadn’t heard the word from “over the pond,” the IP&TV World Forum recognized AT&T with not one, but TWO accolades: Best TV App, for its U-verse for Tablet, and “Best Consumer Device,” for the U-Verse TV Wireless Receiver (built by guess who!)

The IP&TV Industry Awards, which occurred in London on the evening of March 21, honor service providers for their innovation, excellence, and achievement in the IPTV sector.

The AT&T Wireless Receiver, which launched across U-verse markets last October, is an IPTV set-top equipped with video-optimized Wi-Fi. From a consumer perspective, it means hanging the TV set anywhere, and not necessarily near a coaxial wall outlet — a no-wires way to arrange the TV to go with people’s lives, furniture, and living environments.

In Cisco-speak, we call this fabulous device the ISB7005 wireless DVR set-top, coupled with our VEN401 wireless access point. The former is a set-top that can go anywhere in the house; the latter is the video-optimized wireless access point.

So allow me to raise a (virtual) glass, on behalf of the hardworking team here at Cisco who helped make these technologies possible — and to our colleagues at AT&T, for making it happen! Clink and congrats.

Tags: AT&T, consumer, IPTV, mobility, tablet, Uverse, wi-fi, wifi, wireless

To borrow from Walt Disney, it’s a small (cell) world after all . . .

Not only was this Cisco’s message at Mobile World Congress 2012 but, in the weeks since, the mobile industry has been singing the same refrain.  The media, analysts, our partners, customers and competitors have enthusiastically joined the chorus, acknowledging that the post-macrocell era is upon us.

As Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers has said, “radio type no longer defines the network architecture — and small cells are critical in delivering the mobile Internet.” To be competitive, mobile operators must support heterogeneous network access including licensed and unlicensed (Wi-Fi) radio, have an intelligent core and offer cloud-based services that deliver more applications faster in a scalable, flexible and resilient environment.

Read More »

Tags: microcell, mobile world congress, mobility, mwc, small cell, wifi, wireless

With more than seven billion souls set to tote 10 billion mobile-connected devices by 2016, mobility has not just arrived, it’s taken over our schools, businesses and personal lives.

Just ask Mitch Davis, the CIO of Bowdoin College, a private liberal arts college in Maine. Before BYOD ever became a global IT trend, according to Mitch, the vast majority of college students were already bringing their personal devices into the campus environment.

These co-eds expected Bowdoin to fully embrace personal mobility, and, upon graduation, these same post-grads expect that their employers will do the same (this year’s Connected World Technology Report findings back this up, with more than 40 percent of recent college graduates/Gen Y employees choosing BYOD flexibility over higher pay).

Bottom line, the rules of the game are changing, and companies must move beyond basic BYOD connectivity to meet employee demands today and tomorrow. To help companies meet these demands, we’ve introduced a comprehensive approach that unifies policy, supports a better user experience and simplifies management to deliver an uncompromised user experience in any workspace. After all, Cisco wants to empower IT managers to allow employees to have their devices and use them too. That means delivering:

1. A unified security policy across the whole organization – wired, wireless, VPN and now MDM – helping companies set and enforce policies;
2. An uncompromised user experience over the entire wired/wireless network, across any type of device; and,
3. Simplified operations and network management to understand application performance from a user’s perspective, accelerating troubleshooting and lowering operating costs.

Like Ray-Ban aviators, BYOD is here to stay. And done the right way, BYOD demands a comprehensive approach to allow current and future employees to work how they want, when and where they want, and on the devices they want – while still allowing IT the control and visibility to sleep at night.

Learn more about our announcement and new technologies here.

By the way, whether you’re a college student or have been working for 30 years, you’re eligible to take the BYOD Challenge and win a trip to 2012 London Olympics – good luck!

Tags: access point, beyond byod, bring your own device, Bring your Own Device (BYOD), byod, CIO, enterprise mobility, MDM, Mobile Device Management, mobile devices, network management, vpn, wi-fi, wifi, wireless access points, wireless LAN, wlan