Global and Local Market Trends

When people talk about the latest
market trends with regards to multimedia, they often speak in terms of
global or macro usage.  One of the things that we have seen is that
while there are broad changes and usage patterns for video services
that are driven by devices, networks and applications, most of the real
news comes from individual markets.

From a global perspective, we can
look at the increasing number of 3G subscribers and especially relative
to the total number of mobile customers.  The percentage of 3G
subscribers is almost reaching 20% which is the point where people
start to say there is a tipping point.  New smartphones from iPhone to
G1 to RIM’s Blackberry are showing people how easy it is to access
quality video on a daily basis.  Prices for these services are
generally falling and all-you-can-eat pricing plans are making
multimedia more accessible to the masses.  New codecs such as H.264 are
providing a near-HD experience which helps to promote increased usage.

Then we have the local markets
driving local services.  It’s easy to point to India and China where
more than a billion people will eventually have access to
next-generation mobile broadband, and their networks are being built
out now - but these services are yet to be launched - though there are
high hopes.  We see very specific applications tailored to a country in
markets such as the Middle East and in South East Asia.  There are also
cultural norms that have be followed - including the allowance of adult
services in Western and Northern Europe (UK, Germany, Switzerland,
Austria for example), which would obviously not be permissible in
countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait or Bahrain.

What do you think and see?  Which markets are truly leading this revolution?  How much do global trends apply to local markets?