US telecoms giant Verizon paid an eye-opening US$4.8 billion for Yahoo’s search, email and advertising businesses, which will be merged into its own online operation, bought from and still branded as AOL, to better compete against tech giant rivals Google and Facebook.
Telecommunications clearly facilitate economic growth and participation. As such, countries should care about competitive outcomes in this sector. When competition works it can result in expanded services and lower prices, and it can stimulate innovation.
Traditional pay-television providers, already under pressure from consumers opting for streaming internet video, are facing a new threat. Google is getting into TV advertising, and a decision made earlier this year by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has everyone from traditional set top box providers to diversity champions worried.
Chinese telecoms giant Huawei posted an eye-popping 70% growth in 2015. It is now beating HTC and Sony when it comes to market share in Europe and is third only to Apple and Samsung when it comes to global smartphone sales.
Huawei’s growth is another indication of how Chinese companies are successfully moving away from their traditional strategy of producing cheaper products to attack the low-end of the market.
In a bid to halt falling sales in emerging markets, Finnish mobile giant Nokia on Thursday unveiled a $99-touchscreen smartphone for the Indian market, which the company claims will “reinvent the affordable smartphone” line.
According to Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop, the Asha 501, which comes with built-in social media applications and Internet access, will target consumers looking to move up from no-frills handsets; and become the bedrock for future affordable smartphone.
Telecommunications industry deals with the activities and services of electronic systems for transmitting messages through cables, telephone, radio or television.
