Telstra expects Christmas network traffic to go ballistic

Australian telco Telstra is expecting mobile data traffic to increase by 30% on last year with more Aussies than ever connecting to all and sundry, sharing pictures, video and text messages and checking their various social media accounts on their existing and brand new digital devices they may have found in their Christmas stockings.

However, the firm did note that surprisingly 10% more people than last year will opt for a more traditional way to connect, choosing their fixed or mobile phone for a bit of a  natter over the holidays. "Over the past 12 months we improved our 4G network and added new 4GX technology to help our customers connect faster, more easily and in more places,” said director mobility Scott McGibbony.

He added that network traffic would peak, rising 300% between 11pm and 1am on New Year’s Eve, while Christmas Eve remained the most popular time for phone calls and New Year’s Eve would top the bill for text messages sent.

Read More

Oracle Cloud takes off

Oracle has reported a 3.5% rise in quarterly revenue, against industry expectation,  with its cloud services business sales seeing 45% growth.  The company also reported shares rising by 2.5% to hit US$42.20 in after-market trading. The news came in the firm’s first report since since co-founder Larry Ellison stepped down as CEO.

“Oracle has been going through a transition as it rationalises the hardware business and moves their software business to the cloud,” noted Pacific Crest Securities analyst Brendan Barnicle, adding that the figures constituted good evidence that Oracle was making inroads.

Overall revenue increased to US$9.6 billion, up from US$9.28 billion, while revenue from cloud services came in at US$516 million.

Read More

ITU signs off on G.Fast

The International Telecommunications Union has approved the G.Fast broadband standard, making it an official access standard for delivery of broadband over legacy copper networks. G.Fast aims to supply speeds of up to 1Gbps over copper, approaching fibre speeds, enabling copper providers to take on the fibre players in providing fast broadband.

Read More

Amazon delivers new takeaway service

It would appear as though Amazon’s hunger for local expansion is not slowing down with the online retailer releasing a spanking new  takeaway and delivery service. The new service enables customers to browse available local restaurants and order a meal for pickup or have it delivered to their front door. No snappy new name for the service, though. 'Takeout & Delivery' will have to suffice, apparently.

Amazon is in the process of testing the new offering in Seattle. It includes  dishes from some 100 local restaurants and payments can be made using the same Amazon account clients use for their Prime deliveries. Some commentators expect the service to be expanded to other US cities before long.

Read More

Lollipop sees sticky takeup numbers: Google

According to figures released by Google, its new Android 5.0 mobile OS is right now running on less than a 0.1% chunk of mobile phones.  Nick-named Lollipop, the software upgrade came on stream in early November and carriers are in the process of deploying it to their users, in line with their own specific timeframes.

It would appear that the less than impressive adoption of Android’s fifth upgrade hits on a more pervasive issue in the mobile area, namely that of fragmentation.  Other examples along similar lines include Windows Phone 8.1 taken almost six months to hit the 50% market share mark, and Apple reportedly seeing slower takeup of its new iOS 8 than some commentators had predicted.

Reports suggest that Lollipop is seeing growing numbers of over-the-air updates,  which potentially might boost its market share numbers.  And yet, should Lollipop manage to grow its share of the Android install base through the end of the year, it will still in all probablity hit an adoption ceiling. As things stand, Android’s most popular version remains KitKat, or Android 4.4 commanding a solid 33.9% market share.

Read More

Steve Wozniak rumoured to host futuristic tech show

Tech pioneer, philanthropist and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is reportedly set to star in an upcoming futuristic tech reality show called ‘The Woz’. According to Gizmodo reports the show, featuring Wozniak testing futuristic gadgets, “introduces the audience to facilities where science fiction is quickly becoming reality.”  

With further details as yet being scant, media reports did note that Wozniak would be partnering Kari Byron, presenter of the TV show Mythbusters.

Read More

Bell Canada to acquire mobile phone distributor Glentel

Bell Canada has signed an agreement to purchase Canadian multi-carrier mobile phone distributor Glentel for about C$670 million. Bell noted that the deal underpinned its strategy to “accelerate wireless and improve customer service… while providing additional value to Glentel shareholders.” Glentel operates 494 retail locations across Canada, offering wireless products and services from carriers such as Bell Mobility, Chatr, SaskTel, and Virgin Mobile. 

In addition, Glentel owns, operates and franchises some 735 retail outlets in the US as well as 147 POS in Australia and the Philippines. Expected to complete by the end of Q1 2015, the deal is subject to customary closing conditions such as court, shareholder and competition approvals.

Read More