LATAM Telecom

Pinky: Gee, Brain, what are we going to do tonight? Brain: The same thing we do every night, Pinky - try to take over the world! Last week Google announced that GrandCentral, acquired by Google in 2007, is now Google Voice, with new features including voicemail to text and archive and search of SMS text messages. Analysts and bloggers are divided on how this will impact voice revenues from local and international calls, but the ability to offer free Internet calls will surely be seen as a threat. When Nokia announced last month that Skype came preloaded on the N97, it incurred the displeasure of mobile operators. According to Mobiletoday.co.uk , UK operators Orange and O2 may end up refusing to stock the N97 unless Nokia eliminated the application. The incursion of Skype and Google into telecommunications adds to the mounting pressure mobile operators are facing from new players. Last year, when Apple announced it was opening up its platform to developers, they redefined the power bal...

Despite the economic downturn, it is expected that the latest mobile applications for smartphones like BlackBerry and iPhone will drive industry growth in the coming years, providing alternate sources of revenue for operators. A new report by Juniper Research forecasts that smartphones will account for 23% of all new handsets sold by 2013 ( Cellular News ). Another report by Informa forecasts 35 percent growth in sold smartphones in 2009 and according to The Washington Post , Gartner expects smartphone sales to jump in 2009. The common element in these reports is the potential that innovative devices and applications have to promote mobile data consumption. This has industry players scrambling to secure their place in the value chain, including content providers, handset vendors and application developers. Handset vendors need to diversify into high-value content to offset falling margins on handset sales (1). This week, Nokia announced the arrival of new Nokia Music Stores, more Comes...