HighTable Insights: Technology, Media & Telecom

A perspective on Mobile World Congress 2012

GLG Expert Contributor — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 16:06:55 EST

The biggest global mobile gathering is a chance for industry heavyweights to lay out their vision and show off new products and services.

China's smartphone fever

Lin Sun — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 12:38:15 EST

In 2011, over 350 million people in China accessed the Internet on their cell phones, an increase of nearly 50% since 2008. According to CNNIC, cellphone Internet access will surpass that by desktop PCs in three years. The tipping point is the rise of the smartphone: more than 100 million smartphones are in use in China and sales will likely exceed feature phones in 2012. For many, falling prices, improved performance and more apps are making smartphones the top choice for information, social media and entertainment.

Is Netflix's decline inevitable?

GLG Expert Contributor — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:36:36 EST

Netflix seems oblivious to the competitive dangers posed by other announced or foreseeable video streaming services from suppliers who can offer their own content, operate substantial broadband facilities and/or have established privileged broadband relationships. Its efforts to change or scrap the Video Privacy Act while ignoring the broadband video cartel that may emerge from the recently announced transactions between Verizon and major cable MSOs are a disturbing sign that it doesn’t appreciate the major threats to its future streaming video business.

Why isn't paid online advertising* an effective way to promote OTC remedies?

GLG Expert Contributor — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:13:12 EST

For some marketers, the internet seems like a magical medium that allows them to tap into the minds (and wallets) of Web users. This might be true in some product categories, however paid advertising (in any format) is not an effective way to generate sales for OTC remedies, at least not in Poland. My observations are based on several OTC marketing and research projects completed in this country.

Chinese consumer eyeballs are focused on online video sites

GLG Expert Contributor — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:40:48 EST

Online video websites are becoming the fastest growing vertical web platforms in China. According to the 2011 China Network Audio-Visual Industry Report, online video viewership has already reached 394 million in China and will hit 445 million by the end of 2012.

Three steps to make social media sell

Jeffrey Molander — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:16:08 EST

Knowing how to update your Facebook page, write an engaging blog, or create a viral YouTube video is, commercially speaking, worthless without knowing how social media platforms produce sales. The truth is that social media’s sudden arrival and instant popularity is causing most entrepreneurs to lose perspective on the ultimate goal:selling. In this sluggish economy, revenue trumps being most “liked” or highly “engaged with.”

China: Ten Years after WTO

Lin Sun — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:16:47 EST

When China joined the World Trade Organization in late 2001, it pledged to open its vast telecom market to foreign investment. Ten years later, the market has remained closed and static. China succeeded in tricking the world to its advantage;Kudos to the Middle Kingdom game master. What can we do now?

Facebook IPO : Is mobile a significant risk factor?

GLG Expert Contributor — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:36:14 EST

In its S-1 Facebook identifies use on mobile devices as a risk factor for future business. More broadly, Facebook’s future performance hinges on the evolution of the broadband access market and whether this market becomes an operator-controlled “walled garden” or duopolistic “walled gardens”. That outcome is likely in the U.S. if the Verizon/Cable MSO transactions are approved and AT&T follows suit.

What do the Verizon/cable MSO transactions mean for Sprint-Nextel?

GLG Expert Contributor — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:46:40 EST

I believe Verizon’s initiatives with four major cable MSOs (multiple system operators) - three of whom have been partners with Sprint and Clearwire – are the result of yet another example of Sprint management’s ineffable ability to set the wrong priorities for itself, and make harmful strategic and tactical moves that waste the potential of its assets, from spectrum to partners. Verizon’s spectrum transactions and accompanying commercial arrangements with cable MSOs place Sprint’s path to establishing a competitive mobile broadband network (its Network Vision) in peril, while strengthening Verizon’s already formidable position against Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile.

Gains appear likely for Spanish language radio in U.S.

GLG Expert Contributor — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:02:25 EST

The U.S. Spanish language radio sector continues to be a vibrant audience delivery and advertising vehicle reaching varied and multiple demographics.

SOPA and the wisdom of Yogi Berra

GLG Expert Contributor — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:25:20 EST

“Déjà vu all over again.” The bitter brawl over the Stop Online Piracy Act, featuring blackouts by notable Internet sites and services, is eerily reminiscent of the battle 15 years ago over the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If the outcome can be the same – a negotiated compromise that protects copyrights, but does not endanger the fundamentally free nature of communications online – content providers, the information technology community, and the public will all be better off.

The 3-D Olympics: Who will be watching?

GLG Expert Contributor — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:02:24 EST

Broadcasting 200 hours of the Olympics in 3D Is an exciting proposition, but how big is the potential audience?

Will 2012 be a bad year for LTE in China?

Lin Sun — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:24:26 EST

It doesn’t look like 2012 will be LTE’s year for hitting the big time in China. More testing is needed, especially for terminals and chipsets, and China Mobile does not want to give the impression that LTE will replace TD-SCDMA, the ill-fated 3G service. Overall, LTE will become a test for China Mobile’s new strategy, as the operator is anxious to maintain growth.

Larger wafers present a growth opportunity for LEDs

GLG Expert Contributor — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:42:50 EST

Currently, more than 80% of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for both electronics and energy-efficient LEDs (solid-state lighting) are manufactured using sapphire substrates as the platform for the chip. According to market research firm Canaccord Genuity, LEDs are the most expensive component of LED light bulbs, accounting for 40% of the material cost. In order to make LED lighting more affordable compared to compact fluorescents and other options, it is necessary to produce them with larger diameter sapphire wafers, well beyond the current 2 to 4-inch standard.

What are the trends for automotive media in Brazil?

GLG Expert Contributor — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:05:27 EST

Factory installed multimedia equipment is becoming more popular in Brazil. Fully equipped imports, mostly from Asia, are arriving to satisfy the appetite.

Does LightSquared win the prize for the most inept regulatory and lobbying campaign of 2011?

GLG Expert Contributor — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 10:26:24 EST

I believe LightSquared’s latest attempt to obtain a declaratory ruling from the FCC that GPS receivers are not entitled to any protection from the company’s planned operations in the adjacent 1.6 GHz band is inept and unlikely to be successful.

Chinese mobile: 2012 outlook

Lin Sun — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:06:04 EST

Chinese mobile operators will face a tough year in 2012. Diminishing profit and increased government oversight and public scrutiny all look to be issues in a slowing economy. Furthermore, the industry’s momentum has leveled off. As the market continues to diversify, the three operators will head in somewhat different directions. China Mobile, which once dominated mobile service, is caught between a losing battle in 3G and an uncertain outlook for LTE. Its two main competitors are struggling in their own entanglements.

Physician practice organizational needs and a proposed solution

GLG Expert Contributor — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:40:47 EST

Physicians face a financial squeeze caused by the gap between rising annual expenses and little or no reimbursement increases for their services. This article proposes a unique solution that has been used outside of medicine in the U. S. for over 200 years and could be successfully used by the modern physician practices today. The U.S. Internal Revenue Code provides a unique structure which allows for the formation of a legal entity called a physician cooperative.

What makes an alternative investment alternative?

GLG Expert Contributor — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:00:20 EST

We hear the word alternative all the time, but what does it mean in finance? Does it mean an alternative to conventional investments like stocks and bonds? Does it refer to exotic investments like CMO’s, CDO’s and an alphabet soup of other letters that mean nothing to the typical small investor?

Succes in China requires balance

GLG Expert Contributor — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:51:46 EST

Success in China requires strategic ideas balanced with executable operational plans and the ability to adjust over time. A multinational may initially require assistance developing a China entry strategy, conducting due diligence and integration and establishing a baseline HR infrastructure. If all goes well, profitable expansion, organizational transformation and technology implementation may become more important. Finally, sound financial controls and processes, low cost sourcing and supplier performance assessments may become priorities.