Voyager Mobile, the latest prepaid MVNO to resell Sprint’s 3G and WiMAX service, has delayed today’s launch because of an attack on its website. According to a post on the company’s website, Voyager Mobile “experienced a malicious network attack to

Business Line Meaningful use of Internet is key challenge. Photo by Bijoy Ghosh

Pressure of 4G Consumption has Operators Redesigning Unlimited Data Offerings

It could be considered a sign of the times – 4G times – where the demand for bandwidth has finally exhausted supply.  It may also be an indication that the time has come for mobile network operators to take a deeper look at ways to monetize in a 4G world.  Regardless of perspective, the reality is that the days of “unlimited” mobile data plans are numbered.

AT&T recently announced that it would be implementing bandwidth throttling for “grandfathered” unlimited mobile data customers who exceed usage limits within a billing cycle.  While throttling is not a new concept for AT&T, which began to throttle back its top 5% of bandwidth consumers in 2011, the new policy it has adopted is much less ambiguous and is likely to be better understood by customers.  The change will see customers of AT&T’s unlimited data plans having their throughput reduced if their data consumption exceeds 3GB for 3G/4G smartphones or 5 GB for 4G LTE smartphones.  Customers will be notified by text message the first time they exceed these limits.  AT&T stopped offering unlimited data plans to new customers in 2010.

By Chris Marsh, Senior Analyst at Yankee Group Employee-purchased smartphones are invading the workplace. Nearly one-quarter (23 percent) of employees plan to purchase a smartphone on their own for work purposes in the next 12 months, according to Yankee Group’s 2011 US Enterprise Mobility: Employee Survey, Wave 2. The survey also finds 60 percent of smartphones in the enterprise are being selected and purchased by employees rather than corporate IT buyers—and that percentage is growing.  Unfortunately, end-users who purchase smartphones for work purposes tend to find them wanting when it comes to providing true business productivity. As a result, many employees download mobile apps from consumer storefronts in an effort to increase their device’s work productivity. If device manufacturers and carriers want to entice employees to their wares, they must begin addressing this “business app gap.” Specifically, they need to rethink their device’s out-of-the-box business appeal and balance that with providing true business/productivity applications employees can download from their specific app stores.  When it comes to the devices employees choose to use for work, our employee survey finds Apple’s iPhone, Research In Motion’s (RIM’s) BlackBerry and Google’s Android are running neck and neck: 40-43 percent of employees are considering purchasing each brand. Each smartphone’s reputation attracts different types of business-minded buyers: Android attracts younger employees. Most Android buyers are employees aged 18 to 34. They are less likely to have formal work leadership roles and less likely to have incomes over U.S.$50,000 than are buyers of BlackBerrys and Apple iPhones. Apple also attracts younger employees. Like Android buyers, most iPhone buyers fall into the 18-34 age range, but iPhone buyers are more likely to have a leadership role at work. BlackBerry attracts older employees. The BlackBerry employee ...

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Sandvine to Unveil New LTE-Ready Policy Traffic Switch Platform at Mobile ...TMC Net... optimal for dynamic multi-session 3G and LTE mobile environments -- Highest port density on the market, suitable for network edge aggregation, ...and more »

Sandvine, (TSX: SVC)(AIM: SAND) a leading provider of intelligent broadband network solutions ... optimal for dynamic multi-session 3G and LTE mobile environments -- Highest port density on the market, suitable for network edge aggregation, thus reducing ...