Qualcomm and the internet of everything
The future of mobile technology is this: Your phone will be the interface for your digital life. “Your digital sixth sense,” as Peter Lancia, senior director of corporate marketing at Qualcomm, put it.
But before we reach that point, let’s look at where the market stands today.
“Wireless has become the biggest tech platform in the history of mankind,” Lancia said.
US-based Qualcomm designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services. The company is set to open an Egypt office by the end of 2011.
Qualcomm’s strategy is to expand the availability of 3G services and promote the use of wireless mobile devices. Once it lays the foundation by enabling its market partners — operators, handset manufacturers and app developers — Qualcomm can then come in and offer its products and services on a wider scale.
Today, there are 5.7 billion wireless subscribers worldwide, and around 1.4 billion 3G subscribers. “Only 25 percent are on 3G and Qualcomm’s focus is to migrate those over to 3G,” he added.
By 2015, it is predicted that there will be 3.2 billion 3G subscribers, signifying a rapid uptake in 3G — around 1 million subscribers daily.
As the market evolves and grows, the “key parameters that will help the wireless market take off are the alignment of devices, apps/services and networks; each of these is driving the other.”
The main growth drivers for 2G to 3G migration include new markets, smartphones, devices and technology. Already, the subscriber base is decreasing for 2G, and by 2013, there will be more people leaving 2G than subscribing, which, Lancia said, is a “pretty historic point in our industry.”
In line with the changes in the market, mobile internet is seen to have more of an impact than fixed internet: By 2014, 75-80 percent of subscribers will be on mobile broadband versus fixed broadband.
“It’s a much different experience. Today with the ability to surf the net and get applications and data real-time, and have location-based services, that has pushed [mobile internet] to have more of an impact,” he added.
One of the main features of this trend is the development and further penetration of smartphones. Operators are shifting to smartphones more aggressively, representing around 25 percent of annual revenue growth.
In the first half of 2011, more than 90 smartphone models were launched. Smartphones sales in 2010 were 300 million (20 percent of all handsets) but by 2015, that number is expected to exceed 1 billion (50 percent) globally.
Total mobile app downloads are 20 billion to date and are due to surpass 100 billion by 2015.