At Thursday’s Telecom Council’s TC3 Conference, upstart wireless wholesaler LIghtSquared announced the opening of a “Sandbox” or innovation center for 3rd party developers.  Located in Mt View, CA, the Sandbox is being hosted by Nokia Siemens Networks, one of LightSquared’s wireless infrastructure vendors.

This new “playground for developers” was said to be the first to offer three types of radio technologies:

• Proximal (NFC, Bluetooth, WiFi),
• Terrestial (2G, 3G, LTE) and
• Satellite based radio

LightSquared is seeking 3rd party software, hardware, and applications for its combined terrestial- satellite 4G-LTE network. The Sandbox team, led by Moe Motamedi, is looking for innovative solutions in any of the following areas: VoIP, video streaming, multi-player gaming, digital advertising, security, Digital Rights Management (DRM), Smart Grid, M2M communications,telematics, Location Based Services (LBS), mobile health/ telemedicine, cloud server virtualization.

Start-ups, entrepreneurs and other interested parties are invited to test and optimize their solutions for these (and possibly other areas) on LightSquared’s terrestial and satellite network. The proximal wireless technologies are also available for testing of technologies in this Sandbox. LightSquared would like to aggregate APIs from several device companies and make them available to developers of mobile apps and other software that leverage its network.

For more information, please visit: http://www.lightsquared.com/what-we-do/applications-and-services/

Contact: [email protected]

Backgrounder:

On July 28, 2011, LightSquared agreed to pay Sprint $9 billion to build a 4G-LTE network using its L-Band spectrum. That terrestial network will use Sprint’s cell towers and nex-gen, multi-mode Base Stations to be deployed in its “Network Vision” plan. LightSquared also will be able to fallback to Sprint’s EVDO based 3G network in areas where terrestial LTE is not available.  (We wonder how roaming/ handoff will work between satellite-LTE, terrestial-LTE, and terrestial-3G?  And how will it be decided to roam to 3G or satellite based LTE when terrestial LTE isn’t available?).

LightSquared plans to wholesale the combined 4G/3G terrestial network (built and maintained by Sprint) along with its own LTE satellite network.  However, U.S. Federal regulators are hesitant to allow LightSquared to use its satellite-based spectrum, because of claims it interferes with GPS frequencies.  

Proposed tour of Sandbox Facility:

IEEE ComSocSCV is talking with LightSquared management to arrange a tour of their Mt View Sandbox for interested hardware and software developers.  Please contact this author if interested:  [email protected].

References:

https://techblog.comsoc.org/2011/07/29/is-it-lights-out-for-lightsquared-faa-says-revised-plan-to-mitigate-gps-interference-not-good-enough

https://techblog.comsoc.org/2011/03/28/lightsquared-in-contract-talks-aims-to-be-king-of-wireless-wholesale-networks-in-u-s

http://www.lightsquared.com/press-room/press-releases/sprint-nextel-and-lightsquared-announce-spectrum-hosting-and-network-services-agreement/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-tech/post/lightsquared-sprint-strike-partnership-but-questions-loom/2011/07/28/gIQAHvuleI_blog.html

https://techblog.comsoc.org/2011/08/25/sprint-will-not-abandon-wimax-customers-or-clearwire-after-deploying-lte-but-no-plans-for-4g-apis

http://viodi.com/2011/08/26/fcc-restarts-180-day-clock-on-att-t-mobile-merger-cutting-through-all-the-hype/comment-page-1/

http://wimaxcommunity.ning.com/profiles/blogs/sprint-can-support-both-lte

https://techblog.comsoc.org/2011/09/06/what-next-for-sprint-if-att-get-done-4g-strategy-will-be-key

Verizon has announced that it is now running traffic at 100 gigabits per second on a portion of its Chicago-to-New York optical backbone. The mrga-telco, which was the first to trial 100 Gbps in 2007, debuted the technology in Europe on its Paris-to-Frankfurt link using an optical-transport solution from Ciena. Verizon said it plans to expand the technology to more than 10 additional routes by year’s end.

Similar to the routes Verizon has already incorporated–100 Gbps into Europe and in other parts of its U.S. backbone network–the latest 100 Gbps route also leverages the provider’s existing fiber network infrastructure. In addition, Verizon can carry traffic on a single 100 Gbps wavelength versus multiple 10 Gbps wavelengths.

Ihab Tarazi, vice president of global network planning at Verizon, said that their drive to deploy 100 Gbps in the U.S. is a response to “not only growth in traffic, but also in the need for immediacy from our customers that are managing financial transactions, health care data exchange, energy services and entertainment on-the-go.”

Out of the major telcos, Verizon has arguably been one of the most aggressive purveyors of 100 Gbps optical technology.

After initially deploying 100 Gbps in some early trial networks and on two routes in Europe, Verizon has been tactically deploying the technology on segments in the U.S., including segments in Chicago to New York, Sacramento to Los Angeles and Minneapolis to Kansas City.

Veizon is using optical networking gear from long time DWDM leader Ciena (which acquired bankrupt Nortel’s optical network division last year). 

Read more: Verizon to deploy 100 Gbps optical on 10 U.S. routes this year – FierceTelecom http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/verizon-deploy-100-gbps-optical-10-us-routes-year/2011-09-12#ixzz1XtkHc6pw

http://www.fiercetelecom.com/press_releases/verizon-first-global-service-provider-deploy-100g-us-long-haul-network

http://www.multichannel.com/article/473716-Verizon_Claims_To_Light_Up_First_100_Gig_Backbone_Link_In_U_S_.php

Note:  IEEE ComSocSCV’s July 13, 2011 meeting was on 100G bit/sec transmission systems.  THe presento can be downloaded (free) from: http://www.ewh.ieee.org/r6/scv/comsoc/ComSoc_2011_Presentations.php

And you thought Sprint-Nextel was just a wireless carrier?  The company, thought of primarily as a 3G/mobile WiMAX provider, has just announced that it will add Ethernet service to 25 new U.S. markets by the end of 2011 and expand the service into additional global regions next year. The carrier offers Ethernet to businesses and wholesale partners in 40 American markets and 37 countries. Sprint said it recently expanded the service by adding additional speeds, ranging from 2 to 10 Gbps.

Enhanced Ethernet access coverage for Sprint Global MPLS and dedicated internet access provides businesses and wholesale partners to maintain multiple types of technologies. Sprint Ethernet access is offered in 40 markets nationwide and 37 countries globally. Sprint plans to launch domestic markets in existing markets by end of year, as well as expand availability globally next year. Sprint has enhanced its service by adding speeds to current aggregated speeds, with ranges of 2-10 Gbps, subject to market availability. Businesses can select from eighteen aggregated speeds and sixteen dedicated speeds, choosing the port speeds that fit their network needs. Aggregated Ethernet access can provide an alternative to traditional TDM access, while Dedicated Ethernet access expands to meet specific customer bandwidth needs, offering fixed-rate and fractional billing.

http://www.telecompaper.com/news/sprint-to-expand-ethernet-access-service-to-65-markets

Comment and Analysis

We expect that Sprint will compete in the U.S. with Comcast Business, Verizon Business, AT&T, Century Link, Megapath and XO Communications.  We’re not sure about who they’ll compete with outside the U.S.

A key issue is whether Sprint will extend its fiber plant to commercial buildings and offer Optical Ethernet.  It’s that techology that offers customers “liquid bandwidth,”  i.e. they can upgrade their access speed without having the carrier deploy a new facility.  For example, a customer could initially order a 10M bit/sec Ethernet Private Line or Virtual Private Line service and then upgrade to 50M or even 100M bit/sec by simply using more of the bandwidth available in the fiber access link.  Of course an automated provisioning/ re-provisioning system is needed to be in place at the carrier’s Central Office (where the Ethernet link access is terminated) to realize such “liquid bandwidth.”  Ethernet over copper (DS1/E1, nx DS1/E1, bonded DSL, etc) can not generally support this capability.

Perhaps, the expansion of Sprint’s metro Ethernet service will provide a lifeline for the company in view of its challenges and difficulties in the 4G market.

https://techblog.comsoc.org/2011/09/06/what-next-for-sprint-if-att-get-done-4g-strategy-will-be-key

If the U.S. Justice Department succeeds in blocking the $39 billion merger of AT&T and T-Mobile, Sprint – the nation’s 3rd largest wireless carrier- will be very pleased.  The company would then not face competition from an even larger #1 wireless carrier in its major markets.  But Sprint still faces daunting challenges.  Its market share of subscribers on contracts dropped to 13 percent in 2010, down from 17 percent in 2008, according to Barclays Capital. The company reported a net loss of $847 million in the second quarter of this year.

Christopher King, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus said that Sprint has already lost to Verizon Wireless and AT&T. Sprint itself has acknowledged the difficulties it faces when competing against companies whose scale will allow them to secure better deals on hardware. The company has also argued that the amount of spectrum that a combined AT&T and T-Mobile would control would be anti-competitive.

But even without the AT&T-T-Mo merger, Sprint is being left in the dust by VZW and AT&T primarilly for picking the WRONG “4G” network (mobile WiMAX rather than LTE). . As LTE has become the defacto “4G” industry standard, there are and will be many more devices for it than for WiMAX.  That gives the customer much more choice.  That is a huge disadvantage for Sprint now that mobile data service is what wireless customers care most about now.  Rolling out LTE over one year after Sprint offered mobile WiMAX (as a Clearwire MVNO), Verizon Wireless has now overtaken Sprint as the nation’s largest “4G” network provider.

Mobile data service is becoming increasingly important to a wireless industry that is experiencing declining revenue from voice traffic. Data charges will account for more than 41 percent of the revenue from contracted wireless subscribers in 2011, according to James Ratcliffe, an analyst at Barclays. That compares with less than 30 percent in 2009.  And all the mobile data subscribers want a lightening fast “4G” service for their smart phones, tablets and notebook/ netbook PCs.

Sprint is planning to disclose its new strategy for its 4G network October 7th at its investor conference in New York.  Everyone expects that strategy to be based on LTE- either on its own, with Clearwire or with LightSquared. 

With respect to the latter option, LightSquared agreed to pay Sprint $9 billion to build a 4G network using its spectrum.
But Sprint hit yet another barrier. Federal regulators are hesitant to allow the companies to use this spectrum because it interferes with GPS frequencies.

Between Clearwire and LightSquared, Sprint should have the spectrum it needs to build its network, analysts say, but it is unclear how it will be able to make the investment to take advantage of this. There is speculation that Sprint will have to buy Clearwire outright, or assemble a consortium of other companies to help it do so. Another option would be a collaboration with cable companies that control spectrum and could be willing to work with Sprint.

The only advantage Sprint seems to have today, is that it offers unlimited data plans, while both VZW and AT&T have instituted “tiered pricing” with data caps.

For more information, please see:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/05/technology/sprint-faces-challenges-with-or-without-atts-deal-for-t-mobile.html

Steve Elfman, Sprint’s president and head of network operations recently met with a reporter from the Seattle Times.  Among the looming changes that Elfman sees from his perch are phones with newer multimode radios that do a better job seamlessly shifting across different networks, including 3G and different flavors of 4G.

One of the challenges to getting there is figuring out how to put enough antennas onto a phone to work with all the different bands of spectrum that are available, he said.

Also in the works is new software that does a better job of orchestrating the handoff when you move across networks.

Elfman explained that this software isn’t just embedded in the handset or part of the operating system. It extends from there through the network and into the carrier’s billing systems.

For more information, please see:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2016103487_brier05.html

Note that there’s a lot of speculation that Sprint will announce availablity of Apple’s iPhone 5 on its network, but that would probably be for LTE and not WiMAX.  Deutsche Telekom (but not T-Mobile) has already started to take orders for the iPhone 5.  DT has no plans for WiMAX and supports a GSM based technology called HSPA for 3G, while Sprint supports WiMAX (as a Clearwire MVNO) and CDMA based EVDO as its 3G mobile data network.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/09/apple-iphone-5-pre-orders-on-at-germanys-deutsche-telekom.html

Additional References:

https://techblog.comsoc.org/2011/08/25/sprint-will-not-abandon-wimax-customers-or-clearwire-after-deploying-lte-but-no-plans-for-4g-apis

http://viodi.com/2010/11/01/highlights-of-sprint-developers-conference-oct-26-28-2010-santa-clara-ca/

http://viodi.com/2011/08/26/fcc-restarts-180-day-clock-on-att-t-mobile-merger-cutting-through-all-the-hype/comment-page-1/

http://viodi.com/2011/03/21/att-acquisition-of-t-mobile-has-huge-impact-on-u-s-telecom-industry/

https://techblog.comsoc.org/2011/07/29/is-it-lights-out-for-lightsquared-faa-says-revised-plan-to-mitigate-gps-interference-not-good-enough 

http://viodi.com/2010/08/12/hold-the-obit-sprint-pays-105m-for-spectrum-will-focus-on-wimax/

http://viodi.com/2010/03/31/1835/

http://viodi.com/2010/12/07/sprinting-to-lte/

http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=216333

http://viodi.com/2010/12/01/consumer/

http://viodi.com/2010/11/12/lte-market-forecasts-up-as-operators-announce-deployment-plans/

http://viodi.com/2011/03/21/att-acquisition-of-t-mobile-has-huge-impact-on-u-s-telecom-industry/

Building a Platform for the Emerging M2M Dialogue

Upcoming International Conference in Atlanta Will Highlight M2M Advances

By Cheryl Blum, Vice President, Technology and Business Development, TIA 

The last two years have seen a remarkable renewed interest from wireless carriers, telecommunications equipment suppliers and standards development organizations (SDOs) in machine-to-machine (M2M) communications. M2M protocols and technologies allow two pieces of equipment to exchange data and commands with little or no human involvement. That functionality is now permeating the United States and global economies as companies demand real-time data from networked systems that span many vertical markets such as healthcare, manufacturing, information and communications technology, shipping, finance, and utilities. 

For example, real-time vehicular telematics technologies helped shipping giant United Parcel Service (UPS) reduce the amount of fuel consumed per package in the United States by 3.3 percent and engine idling time by 15.4 percent in 2010, Data sensors track vehicle performance mechanically and driver route and behavior behind the wheel. Scott Wicker, UPS’s Chief Sustainability Officer, says: “the data we gather from telematics enables us to make small adjustments with big payoffs.”  

M2M technology for monitoring is also used to save lives. Cinterion and TZ Medical are launching a new heart monitoring device that can detect abnormalities in heartbeats and communicate the diagnostic data to physicians via mobile networks and the Internet. Authorized caregivers can securely view patient data at any time, from anywhere in the world to determine treatment approaches. 

However, harmonizing M2M technologies across such a wide range of industries is a significant challenge, which is why the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) is hosting the next GSC Machine-to-Machine Standardization Task Force’s (GSC MSTF) meeting at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) Sept. 20-21. The theme of the Atlanta event is “M2M Standards as Growth Enablers.” 

The GSC MSTF was created in September 2010 at an international meeting of major SDOs in Beijing to facilitate global coordination and harmonization in M2M standardization. The MSTF roundtable will help in finalizing an activity map and make recommendations on current and future M2M standardization undertakings to the Global Standards Collaboration (GSC) in Halifax, Nova Scotia, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3. 

The meeting, open to the public and free of charge, features a conference followed by a roundtable. Attendees will have valuable collaborative opportunities, and gain technical insights into the area of M2M technology from the perspective of industry experts involved in critical vertical markets.  

The conference will include panels on healthcare; transportation, logistics and supply chain; residential and commercial security and home automation; payments (ATM/vending/mobile payments); manufacturing and industrial processes; and energy and Smart Grid.  

A number of prominent industry experts will be participating, including Dr. Daniel Russler, VP of Clinical Informatics at Oracle; Chuck Holland, VP of Industrial Engineering at UPS; Ron Zimmer, President and CEO of the Continental Automated Buildings Association; Cynthia Merritt, Assistant Director of the Retail Payments Risk Forum at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta; Alexander McMillan, Director of Global Standards and Trade at Rockwell Automation, and member of the American National Standards Institute Board and IEC Standards Management Board; and Eric Gunther, Chairman and CTO of EnerNex Corporation, and Chairman of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), GridWise Architecture Council.  

The GSC MSTF roundtable will feature organizations and companies that are contributing to M2M standards development. It will appeal to attendees directly involved in M2M standards or interested in monitoring the progress of M2M standardization. The roundtable will be moderated by Dr. Ron Bohlander, associate director for Business Operations & Commercialization at GTRI’s Information and Communications Laboratory (ICL) and will include representatives from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the European Standards Telecommunications Institute (ETSI), the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), the Zigbee Alliance, the Continual Health Alliance and TIA. 

The GSC MSTF will be convened by TIA’s TR-50 Smart Device Communications Engineering Committee Chair, Dr. Jeffrey O. Smith, CTO of Numerex. (Please see info on current and past GSC MSTF meetings at www.tiaonline.org/standards/mstf/index.cfm.) 

TIA’s M2M standardization work is multifold. TR-50 is developing a multipart standard for M2M architectures and security to define requirements for access agnostic monitoring and bi-directional communication of events and information between smart devices, applications, and/or networks. TR-50’s central M2M standard feature is interoperability for interfacing with a broad range of machine-to-machine specifications and technologies. Technical interoperability with M2M technologies is also being addressed by TIA’s TR-48 Vehicular Telematics, TR-49 Healthcare ICT, and TR-51 Smart Utility Networks Engineering Committees. 

Attendees at the Atlanta GSC MSTF meeting will have a unique opportunity to participate in the emerging global M2M dialog.  

For additional information about the event, including registration details and a full agenda, please visit www.tiaonline.org/standards/mstf. 

———————————————————————————————————————————————–

Numerex has organized this M2M meeting. 

“Numerex is honored to have been chosen to organize this important event in the global M2M arena, which will feature international Standards Development Organizations, various standards alliances focusing on specific vertical markets, and companies that are leaders in their field,” said Stratton J. Nicolaides, chairman and CEO of Numerex, in a statement.

“The effective collaboration with TIA (News – Alert) and Georgia Tech, in particular GTRI’s Information and Communications Laboratory has contributed to make this premier international M2M gathering a required stop for any M2M player interested in keeping current with the latest M2M developments,” Nicolaides added.

Jeff Smith, Numerex CTO, presented at IEEE ComSocSCVs M2M/Smart Grid workshop in Sept 2010.  His presentation is at:  http://www.ewh.ieee.org/r6/scv/comsoc/Workshop_092510_M2MStandards.pdf

Alan J Weissberger

IEEE ComSocSCV Chair

www.comsocscv.org

Note: This is a followup article to the excellent Mobile Data Offload panel session report posted by IEEE ComSocSCV Wireless Expert (and webmaster) Daniel Wong, who now resides in Singapore.  Please refer to Daniel’s post:

Summary of Connectivity Week panel session on Mobile Data Offload

https://techblog.comsoc.org/2011/06/06/summary-of-connectivity-week-panel-session-on-mobile-data-offload

Introduction

Several techniques to decrease cellular data traffic, including offloading mobile data traffic to WiFi hotspots, optimized mobile video compression, and elimination of extraneous 3G/4G status checking requests from mobile apps are described in this article.

Solutions for Mobile Data Offload

It is abundantly clear that Wi-Fi hotspots will continue to grow in terms of locations, the total number of connections and their importance to cellular network operators who must keep pace with explosive growth in mobile data traffic.

Market research firm Instat writes:

“The (WiFi) hotspot market continues to surge forward with phenomenal growth in footprint and usage, a trend that In-Stat anticipates will continue. As with the past several years, growth in the hotspot market is largely being driven by wireless and broadband providers embracing Wi-Fi as both a competitive differentiator and enhancement to core services.

How WiFi hotspots are being used, the frequency, and the occasion for usage all continue to transition due to a variety of factors, including:
-Wide-scale adoption of Wi-Fi-enabled handsets and a blending of mobile and Wi-Fi experiences
-Further integration of Wi-Fi into mobile operator strategies
-A promise of automatic login and seamless access as next-generation hotspot technologies are implemented in coming years
-Revised payment models shifting to free and bundled access
-New application potential, including mobile video and location-based services.”

Instat forecasts that wireless hotspots will account for nearly 120 billion connect sessions by 2015!

http://www.in-stat.com/catalog/wcatalogue.asp?id=167#IN1105002WS

Notebook PCs are still the No. 1 device for Wi-Fi hotspot use, which is understandable as Wi-Fi radios and cards are integrated into almost all notebook PCs. Most smartphones and tablets now have integrated WiFi as well as 3G or 4G radios.  According to the Devicescape WiFi Report 2010, 81 percent of US Smartphone users prefer using Wi-Fi over 3G provided by their existing mobile carrier for browsing Web sites, downloading data, performing Google searches and sending e-mail. Today, about half the smartphones sold have Wi-Fi functionality. By 2014, the report forecasts about 90 percent of smartphones will offer seamless access to Wi-Fi.

Mobile device owners are apt to take advantage of free or low-cost hotspots to mitigate the risk of mobile broadband data overage charges, as almost all carriers (except Sprint) have done away with unlimited data plans. Another benefit is that the Wi-Fi connections are often faster than 3G.  However, that’s dependent on the number of concurrent WiFi hot spot users and the throughput of the hotspot’s broadband access facility (which is almost always wireline based- fiber is better!). 

Cellular network operators see the benefits of Wi-Fi for mobile data offload and are likely to expand hotspot locations by partnering with businesses directly or through existing hotspot networks, such as Boingo Wireless. In July, for example, Japanese network operator KDDI said it would build out 100,000 Wi-Fi hotspots by March 2012 that will seamlessly work with the carrier’s WiMAX network in Japan.

The WSJ reports, that cellular network providers are turning to outside technology companies to find ways to cope with the broadband burden caused by soaring use of smartphones and tablets.  The methods used include sensing when a WiFi network is near enough to use, compressing mobile video traffic, and eliminating extraneous update requests.

TDC A/S, a Denmark mobile operator, turned to Birdstep Technology ASA, a Norwegian company, to help ease the data overload. Essentially, the technology reaches out to users and urges them to temporarily switch away from the wireless 3G/4G network to Wi-Fi hot spots whenever possible, promising faster speeds as an incentive. Because it costs significantly more to provide mobile broadband coverage than fixed-line Internet, Birdstep’s off-loading technology, in use for two years, helps lower TDC’s overall costs. It also helps keep quality levels high by connecting those in the range of a hot spot to faster, more stable Internet, while also freeing up the mobile Internet for those using the company’s cell sites, says Mr. Langkilde.

Other companies offer systems to compress video, reducing the amount of bandwidth it needs. Another product on the market cuts down in the amount of unnecessary requests for data made to networks for updates.

In March, Montreal-based Vantrix Inc. partnered with Sweden’s Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson, which makes telecom equipment, to sell a “video optimization” system that helps reduce the bandwidth mobile video uses. Allan Benchetrit, president and CEO of Vantrix, says that the system, which is being pitched to wireless service providers, can compress mobile video bandwidth between 30% and 50% and save operators up to 70% in costs related to operating and upgrading the network. Earlier this month, Ericsson said that Mobifone, a Vietnamese carrier, has signed on as a new customer of the system.

The system delivers videos online closer to the time frame spent watching them instead of delivering the entire video, helping to save bandwidth when someone clicks off before the video is finished. It can also adapt the video to the quality of the Internet connection, and adapt it for different screens and devices. Vantrix said it is working with a number of companies in addition to Mobifone, but declined to name them.

Sprint is trying to be proactive in addressing the burden from increased data use.  The 3rd largest wireless carrier in the U.S., Sprint is testing software from Seven Networks of Redwood City, CA.  That technology monitors requests for data coming from smartphone or tablet apps and then connects to the cellular broadband network only when new updates are available. The result can mean a 40% reduction in the time a smartphone or tablet is on the network and an improvement of up to 25% in battery life, says Seven Networks. Sprint’s Mr. Yarkosky says that so far the results of the testing have been positive, though he adds that the company is still validating the results.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904070604576518304117541590.html?mod=ITP_marketplace_2

Explosion of Mobile Data Traffic (especially video) to Continue Unabated

Global mobile data traffic this year is expected to more than double from 2010, reaching 0.6 exabytes per month, up from 0.24 exabytes monthly, according to research from Cisco Systems Inc. Mobile video traffic is expected to make up 52.8% of that traffic this year, up from 49.8% in 2010.

Global data revenue for wireless carriers is expected to more than double to $491 billion in 2014 from $214 billion in 2009. Those wins will be offset by a 2% decline in revenue from voice services to $620 billion in 2014 from $633 billion in 2009, according to market researcher Gartner Inc.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904070604576518304117541590.html#ixzz1WSnd9Pei

Another Reference:

https://techblog.comsoc.org/2011/05/29/metro-wifi-reborn-city-wide-mega-hot-spot-for-mobile-data-offload

Received today from Kristin Wallace, Sprint Corp Communications Mgr: