Blu-ray players, game consoles, and TV sets are connecting to the Internet, and everything on the Internet is becoming accessible on smart-phones and other connected devices.  Internet video is the new "must have" service.  Hybrid Web-to-TV Set Top Boxes will bring a new set of Internet services to TV sets, by integrating Internet capability into cable, satellite, telcoTV (IPTV), and digital terrestrial set top boxes.  Work is being done to create “hybrid” services that bring "apps" and "widgets" to TV programming, along with advanced advertising, according to In-Stat (www.in-stat.com).

In flight broadband investment should approach half a billion dollars by 2013, according to a report by In-Stat. The commitment that airlines are making to providing in-flight broadband has been remarkable. Total in-flight broadband equipment investment should approach half a billion dollars globally by 2013, reports In-Stat. In-flight Wi-Fi deployments have moved past the trial stage and are approaching critical mass with 2,000 airplanes to be deployed by the end of 2010. 

In a recent analysis of the Asia-Pacific broadband market SNL Kagan found that despite recessionary pressures, the region’s broadband subscriber base grew 17.7% to 181.4 million in 2009 compared to 154.1 million in 2008, with a household penetration of 22.2% at year-end 2009. SNL Kagan forecasts the market will continue to grow, increasing from 208.8 million households at year-end 2010 to 352.5 million by 2015, a five-year CAGR of 11%.

The African mobile industry has been witnessing impressive growth in its mobile subscriber base for the past few years on the back of rising demand for telecommunication services, according to the latest Research and Markets report entitled the "African Mobile Market Forecast to 2013."

The total number of broadband subscriptions worldwide will reach one billion by 2015, according to a report just published by analyst firm Strategy Analytics. The Asia Pacific region—which today claims almost 45% of all broadband subscriptions—will lead in subscriber growth, seeing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 18% in the next five years.

This week marks the 41st anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, the culmination of a space race between the United States and the Soviet Union, the two dominant space powers of that era. By contrast, the United States today is one of many spacefaring nations—a fact recognized by the new U.S. National Space Policy, which places a greater emphasis on international cooperation. Understanding the capabilities of the many countries now active in space is essential to an effective implementation of such a policy.

San Jose, CA, July 15,2010—The Multimedia Research Group, Inc. (MRG) announced that its updated report on global annual growth shows IPTV subscribers will reach 102 million in 2014, a 25% CAGR. Despite economic hardship in some countries, robust Broadband and IPTV investments have been driving growth as a means to meet and outperform Cable and Satellite competition. IPTV Operators are using Fiber in high-competition markets and advanced DSL such as channel bonding and VDSL2 in other (less competitive) markets. As a result, Telcos have been discreetly improving their IPTV bandwidth capacity to sub-markets that need upgrades without overspending in markets that don’t require immediate upgrading.

 Amman, Jordan, July 15, 2010—As of the  end of June 2010, 26 out of 55 operators licensed to offer WiMAX offered the service. WiMAX is commercially available in Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the UAE. Moreover, Yemen and Oman are slated to WiMAX services in the second half of 2010

The World Teleport Association (WTA) published the highly anticipated update to its Sizing the Teleport Market study.  Published every three years, the 2010 edition of this pioneering study reveals that since its first publication in 2004 the global teleport sector has seen commercial revenue growth of 50% (7% compound annual growth rate) while the number of teleports operated by commercial and broadcast companies has increased 20% to nearly 1,740.

This year's CommunicAsia in Singapore held earlier this month had a different feel to it. I've been attending CommunicAsia for nearly 15 years now and there was an air of optimism that was borne by real prospects in this growing market.