Home

Worldwide

Worldwide Wi-Fi Hotspots Top 100,000 Mark

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 24, 2006 - 9:57am.
Washington - The number of worldwide Wi-Fi hotspots has now surpassed the 100,000 mark, according to new statistics from JiWire, a provider of Wi-Fi hotspot information and services. The company defines a hotspot as a physical address where people can connect to a public wireless network, such as a cafe, hotel or airport. JiWire said that Seoul (2,056) has the greatest number of hotspot locations, followed by Tokyo (1,802) and London (1,627). The top domestic Wi-Fi cities are San Francisco (801), New York (643) and Chicago (501). Locally, the company said there are now 249 hotspots in DC, 988 in Virginia and 712 in Maryland. "In just this past year, we've seen almost 100% growth in the number of hotspots around the world," said Kevin McKenzie, the CEO of JiWire.
tags: Wi-Fi | Worldwide | Hotspot |

Report: Worldwide Digital Radio Shipments to Hit 22 Million in 2009

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 9, 2006 - 5:11am.
Scottsdale, Ariz. - Worldwide shipments of digital radios, both for satellite and terrestrial services like HD Radio, are projected to grow from 5 million units in 2004 to 22 million units in 2009, according to a report from market research firm In-Stat. Driving growth in this market will be eroding prices for digital radios, partnerships between radio makers and car manufacturers, and new and compelling content and data services, In-Stat said. Satellite radio subscribers in the U.S. now number more than 9 million, while some 600 U.S. radio stations are now broadcasting in the digital HD Radio format. "In the U.S., satellite radio is driving the digital radio market," said In-Stat analyst Stephanie Guza. "In other markets, most notably in the U.K., terrestrial digital audio broadcasting is driving it. The launch of Digital Multimedia Broadcast (DMB) services in Japan and Korea, along with increased promotional activity in Singapore, Australia and Taiwan over the next year, will drive digital radio shipments in Asia."
tags: Reports | Digital Radio | Worldwide | Shipments |

U.S. Launches Initiatives to Advocate Against Piracy Worldwide

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 22, 2005 - 8:32am.
Washington -- The Bush administration on Wednesday announced new initiatives to fight worldwide intellectual property theft, or piracy, as Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez met with technology industry executives in Silicon Valley and movie industry executives in Los Angeles this week. "The protection of intellectual property is vital to our economic growth and global competitiveness and it has major consequences in our ongoing effort to promote security and stability around the world," Gutierrez said. The government will appoint Intellectual Property Rights Experts, who will be stationed in countries the U.S. has labeled as piracy havens -- including Brazil, China, India and Russia -- and advocate there for improved IP protections. It will also create a Global Intellectual Property Academy, which will offer training on IP issues to judges, prosecutors and copyright officials from developing countries. In the U.S., a Small Business Outreach program will be hatched, offering two-day seminars across the country to educate small business owners on protecting and enforcing their intellectual property rights. The new initiatives follow the appointment of a senior-level Coordinator of Intellectual Property Enforcement by the Bush administration. The Commerce Dept. estimates that IP theft costs U.S. businesses $250 billion and 750,000 jobs each year.
tags: Launches | Piracy | U.S | Worldwide | Advocate |

IFPI: One in Three CDs Sold Worldwide is Pirated

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 23, 2005 - 8:23am.
London -- One in three CDs sold worldwide is a pirated copy, part of a $4.6 billion global market for pirated music, according to a report from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). A total of 1.2 billion pirated discs were sold in 2004, or 34% of all discs sold worldwide. However, IFPI added that the growth of disc piracy has slowed to its lowest level in five years, and sales of all pirate recordings actually fell slightly, to 1.5 billion units, while the value of the pirate music market was flat overall, compared with 2003. Sales of pirated music were found to exceed legitimate music sales in a record 31 countries in 2004, including Greece, India and the Czech Republic. The IFPI identified ten "priority" countries where piracy is at unacceptable levels and urgent government action is needed: Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, Paraguay, Russia, Spain and Ukraine. It also drew attention to Canada, Korea, Taiwan and Bulgaria as countries whose online and physical piracy is of concern to the industry. "The music industry fights piracy because if it did not the music industry would quite simply not exist," said IFPI chairman and CEO John Kennedy. "Billions of dollars of investment go into releasing and marketing over 100,000 albums in a single year, and this is only possible when there is good, effective enforcement of copyright."
tags: IFPI | CDs | Worldwide |

Number of DSL Lines Worldwide Increased 60% in 2004

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 11, 2005 - 3:44am.
London -- According to the latest figures from market analysis firm PointTopic, the number of DSL lines worldwide increased to more than 96.9 million in 2004, a remarkable 60% increase compared to 2003. This marked an absolute increase of more than 35 million lines last year. China extended its lead as the world's top DSL country, boasting 17.1 million lines. China also added more than 4.4 million lines in the second half of 2004 alone, nearly twice as many lines added by the U.S., which came in second on PointTopic's report. Japan came in third place, adding nearly 1.3 million lines to bring its total to about 13.3 million. Europe also recorded strong growth, with France, Germany, Italy and the U.K. all adding more than 1 million DSL lines last year. France fared the best of the lot, adding more than 1.6 million lines to take its total to nearly 6.3 million. In fact, PointTopic said France would likely overtake Germany (6.7 million lines) in fifth place sometime this year
tags: Worldwide | DSL Lines | Increased |

Academici Launches Network for Researchers Worldwide

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 9, 2005 - 5:02am.
Birmingham, England -- Academici Ltd., a U.K.-based start-up, has launched what it describes as the world's first global online networking platform for academics and scientists. The company said the service -- an "exclusive network for eggheads" -- aimed to improve communication across disciplines and borders between academics, academia-related associations, societies, academic services, students and academic-related business. "Academici is about networking with academics and researchers across continents and about content, facilitating the exchange of ideas, discussing research findings," said the University of Birmingham's Markus Vinzent, one of the founders of the platform. The Technical University of Chemnitz, Germany, has already agreed to take up corporate membership of the site, Academici said.
tags: Worldwide | Academici | Network for Researchers |

Mobile Handset Sales Worldwide Grow by 30% in 2004

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 4, 2005 - 6:55am.
London -- A new report by market analysis firm Gartner shows that mobile phone sales in 2004 grew by 30% year-on-year to a new record of 674 million devices. Gartner said a 24% year-on-year increase in shipments for the fourth quarter was a big boost for the year's overall results, which exceeded most analysts' expectations. Better than expected replacement sales in mature markets and substantial gains in emerging regions also played key roles in a banner year for mobile phone makers worldwide. "Consumers in developed markets, such as Europe and the U.S., were especially drawn to camera phones, as manufacturers offered mass-market prices for these devices and buyers had a compelling reason to upgrade," said Gartner analyst Hugues de la Vergne.
tags: Grow | Mobiles | Worldwide | Mobile Handset Sales |

Report: Record 1.1 Billion Pirate CDs Sold Worldwide in 2003

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 22, 2004 - 4:49am.
London -- Despite reaching a record 1.1 billion discs in 2003, global sales of pirated music CDs have spread more slowly in recent years due to stepped up enforcement efforts, according to a report from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). CD piracy in 2003 grew at its slowest rate in four years (4%), although total estimated illegal music sales were valued at $4.5 billion, or about 15% of all recorded music sold. The IFPI also identified 10 countries -- including Brazil, China, Pakistan and Russia -- where "governments urgently need to crack down on rampant illegal music sales." "Commercial music piracy dominates large swathes of the world's music markets, despite an encouraging slowdown in growth in 2003," said IFPI chairman and CEO Jay Berman. "The responsibility now is for governments -- and especially on the 10 priority countries our report names -- to act decisively against the problem. This means proper enforcement, deterrent sentences against pirates, effective regulation of disc manufacturing and, above all, the political will to make sure real change happens."
tags: Reports | Records | Worldwide | Pirate CDs |

China Leads Worldwide DSL Market With 10.95 Million Subscribers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 8, 2004 - 6:36am.
Fremont, Calif. -- China has become the world's largest DSL high-speed Internet market, with 10.95 million total DSL lines in 2003, according to a report from Fremont, Calif.-based DSL Forum, an industry trade group. The Asia-Pacific region accounted for 20 million of the world's 63.8 million total DSL subscribers, or 32% of the marketplace. Japan was second in total subscribers for 2003, with 10.27 million, followed by the U.S. with 9.12 million and South Korea with 6.43 million subscribers.
tags: Subscribers | China | DSL | Worldwide |

Report: IFPI Predicts Legit Music Services Will Flourish Worldwide in 2004

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 22, 2004 - 2:57am.
Geneva -- Legitimate online music services are poised to take a larger share of the market from peer-to-peer services like Kazaa during 2004, according to an annual online music report from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. The trade group points to the impending launch of iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody and other services in Europe, as well as the 30 existing legal sites operating there now. Industry data shows that Americans bought 30 million downloads in 2003, while Europeans purchased 3 million. The number of available songs on European services has risen 30% in the last three months to 300,000, and is expected to increase further this year. The group also credits increased awareness worldwide that most forms of file-sharing are illegal, due to the legal campaign against file-swappers, and the fact that the number of music files available on the Internet has fallen by 20% to 800 million over the last year, after peaking at one billion at the start of 2003. "For everyone working to create a successful legitimate online music business, this report reflects a new sense of optimism and evidence of real change," said IFPI chairman and CEO Jay Berman, IFPI. "We believe the music industry's Internet strategy is now turning the corner, and that in 2004 there will be, for the first time, a substantial migration of consumers from unauthorized free services to the legitimate alternatives that our industry is providing internationally." Record industry groups in both Canada and the U.K. have said they soon plan to start suing individual file-swappers in their respective countries. 
tags: Reports | IFPI | Music Services | Worldwide |

Report: Worldwide Ringtone Sales Up 40% to $3.5 Billion

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 13, 2004 - 3:34am.
London -- A new study by the Arc Group shows that global sales of cell phone ringtones over the last year have surged by 40% to more than $3.5 billion. What had begun as a marketing gimmick has quickly grown into a multi-billion-dollar market, equaling about 10% of the global music market, the Arc Group said. Arc Group analyst Richard Jesty said: "It's become a very profitable area, and there's strong growth ahead." The study also found that the global prices of ringtones vary widely, ranging from as little as 20 cents in South Korea to as much as $2.75 in the U.K. -- averaging out to about 60 cents per ringtone.
tags: Reports | Ringtones | Worldwide |

Report: Broadband Lines Worldwide Surpass 100-Million Mark

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 5, 2004 - 4:17am.
London -- According to new estimates by British analyst firm Point Topic, there are now more than 100 million broadband Internet lines in the world. The company said that the total number of lines grew to more than 89 million in September, an increase of more than 10 million lines compared to more than 79 million recorded at the end of June. Point Topic's Tim Johnson said that the same percentage growth in the fourth quarter of 2003 would push the global total of lines past 100 million, making broadband Internet one of the fastest growing technologies in history.
tags: Broadband | Reports | Worldwide | Surpass |

Sony to Cut 13% of Worldwide Staff, Eliminating 20,000 Jobs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 28, 2003 - 10:00am.
Tokyo -- Consumer electronics giant Sony Corp. announced on Thursday that it plans to cut 20,000 jobs, or 13% of its worldwide workforce, over the next three years in an attempt to increase weakening profit margins. Sony said the restructuring, which will cost some $3.09 billion, will save the company $2.8 billion annually. The company, which employs around 154,000 worldwide, did not elaborate on the layoffs other than to say 7,000 jobs will be eliminated in Japan. Sony plans to boost profits by eliminating redundancies in its U.S. electronics and marketing divisions, and promoting collaboration between its developers of home and mobile consumer electronics products.
tags: Sony | Jobs | Worldwide | Eliminating |

First Half Worldwide Music Industry Sales Plunge 10.9%

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 1, 2003 - 6:06am.
London -- As the music industry continues to cope with piracy issues, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry reported that sales for the first six months of the year fell 10.9%, a higher rate than the 7.2% fall recorded in 2002. Sales of all audio and music video formats totaled $12.7 billion for the first six months, compared with $14.2 billion a year earlier. Jay Berman, chairman of IFPI said, "The music industry continues to suffer from the unauthorized file-sharing and commercial piracy."
tags: Music | Sales | Worldwide | First Half |

Report: Number of Worldwide Broadband Subscribers Leapt 72% in 2002

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 16, 2003 - 6:51am.
Geneva -- The number of worldwide broadband subscribers grew 72% in 2002, to 63 million, according to a report issued Tuesday by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). South Korea leads the world with 21 percent broadband penetration; 94% of Internet users there have a broadband connection. Hong Kong ranks second with nearly 15% broadband penetration, while Canada ranks third with just over 11% percent of its residents connected to broadband. The report stated that the U.S. is likely to reach the 25% broadband penetration mark more quickly than either PCs or mobile telephones have in the past. The report also found a positive relationship between broadband penetration and monthly spending on communications services, as South Korea has the second highest level of monthly telecommunications spending after Switzerland, and other high broadband penetration countries like Canada and Iceland also have above average levels of consumer telecommunications spending. http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2003/25.html
tags: Broadband | Reports | Subscribers | Worldwide |

Internet Piracy, CD Copying Blamed For 7% Drop In Worldwide Music Sales

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 9, 2003 - 2:56am.
London -- Worldwide music sales dropped by 7 percent last year after a 5 percent dip in 2001, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said on Wednesday. The group blamed the decline on what it called Internet piracy and the "massive proliferation" of CD copying. In the U.S., the IFPI said album unit sales were down 10 percent on the year. The IFPI said that piracy has jeopardized the jobs of 600,000 people in the industry. Other factors in the slump were economic uncertainty and competition from DVDs and video games. "This year's figures hold no surprises," said IFPI chairman Jay Berman. "Widespread use of illegal sites, made easier with the growth of broadband access in the major markets, is affecting an industry that is also having to compete with increased sales of other entertainment formats such as DVD films and new video game consoles."
tags: Internet | CD | Musics | Worldwide | Copying |

Report: Worldwide Set-top Box Sales Revenue to Top $7 Billion by 2005

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 8, 2003 - 2:58am.
Las Vegas -- Worldwide growth of digital set-top boxes for cable, satellite and terrestrial TV will exceed 29.5 million new units in 2005, driving worldwide the digital video subscriber base to over 126 million and annual set-top box sales revenue to $7.34 billion, according to a report released by MRG (Multimedia Research Group) Inc. The report points to enhancements in quality and cost made in related areas like Internet Protocol (IP), Gigabit Ethernet, video servers, storage, and compression, which will propel the set-top industry by enabling emerging services like HDTV, video-on-demand and digital video recording.
tags: Reports | Set-top Box | Worldwide |

Iraq War Sparks Boost in Worldwide Web Traffic

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 20, 2003 - 4:42am.
London -- Internet traffic worldwide surged on Thursday as users went online to get details of the invasion of Iraq by U.S.-led military forces, Reuters reported. Yahoo said it saw three times more traffic than normal after President Bush's national TV address announcing the invasion last night, while MSNBC.com and other sites reported traffic two to three times higher than usual. Internet measurement firm ComScore reported that the top 15 news sites saw an average of 41 percent more traffic this week than during the past four weeks. Keynote Systems, another measurement firm, reported that several U.S. and U.K. military websites have experienced glitches caused by increased traffic. "People are still watching the television and right now this is a visual thing," Keynote Systems consultant Eric Siegel told Reuters. "As more information appears than they can get from the TV, people will turn to the Web." http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=2416284
tags: Boost | Web Traffic | Worldwide | Iraq War |