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Mobile Phone Predictions for 2017


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Old 29-12-2016, 16:53
jonmorris
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They haven't given a date but did mention the intention to use it at an event last year. I have no idea what Three plans to do in the future.

It's a shame BT isn't using its 4G spectrum for home broadband yet, as given my lack of FTTC/P access - that could be ideal as an alternative.
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Old 29-12-2016, 16:57
lightspeed2398
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They haven't given a date but did mention the intention to use it at an event last year. I have no idea what Three plans to do in the future.

I imagine it's in testing and will complement their plan towards the latter half of next year as an effective way to add capacity. Three will be the same but it'll be a very strange situation for Three tbh.

It's a shame BT isn't using its 4G spectrum for home broadband yet, as given my lack of FTTC/P access - that could be ideal as an alternative.
Building out LTE for fixed wireless is very different than for normal mobile. It's worked OK in the Nordic countries because of their rural population density but here the best scenario for that would be something similar to Telekom Deutschland's fusion product where it bonds a traditional DSL connection and adds LTE on top so it makes sure as much of the traffic as possible goes over the fixed wireless.

It's been suggested that the 3.4-28Ghz spectrum that will be used for 5G could also be used for fixed wireless in the future, again possible but it's whether the networks will use it. FTTP is the long term solution and I do believe BT will implement it but they seem be dragging their heels in the most rural and underserved areas trying to arse around with long range VDSL etc. Their idea of a slow transition as demand builds is reasonable though.
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Old 29-12-2016, 18:44
d123
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It really depends what happens to the £/$ exchange rate. We might be surprised if prices don't rise if everything else imported starts to get more expensive!
The Brexit effect is a good point, but the last Pixel special offer in the US saw it almost half price.
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Old 29-12-2016, 20:54
clewsy
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I've heard lots of people say how "that Google phone looks nice". But then when they learn the price, they lose interest.

Maybe the weakness in the Google brand is how people expect it to be cheap.
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Old 29-12-2016, 22:42
jonmorris
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I've heard lots of people say how "that Google phone looks nice". But then when they learn the price, they lose interest.

Maybe the weakness in the Google brand is how people expect it to be cheap.
I'd say that's the case. Google knew that too, when it struggled to sell the Nexus 6, 9 and now the Pixel tablet (and likely the Pixel Chromebook).

I don't think Google itself is a premium brand. It's a search engine, email provider etc. A software company first and foremost.

A bloody good and powerful one, but to date had sold hardware almost as loss leaders (as Amazon also did/does).
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Old 30-12-2016, 23:05
Everything Goes
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O2 will fail to meet their coverage obligation. Ofcom won't be happy and no one will be surprised.
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Old 30-12-2016, 23:22
plymouthbloke1974
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EE will hit their 95% coverage landmass target. They'll switch on the ESN service in September. They'll refarm a chunk of 2100 to 4G no doubt.
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Old 31-12-2016, 00:44
packages
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EE will hit their 95% coverage landmass target. They'll switch on the ESN service in September. They'll refarm a chunk of 2100 to 4G no doubt.
In 2017? They're aiming for 2020.
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Old 31-12-2016, 23:03
Orbitalzone
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Sort of cellular related - I reckon BT will rollout their new home hub 7 to fibre users that'll not only broadcast BT wifi like now but also be a picocell to rebroadcast their mobile network to increase coverage even more in an attempt to get their 95% uk coverage as required by the blue light services. Or they'll start sticking up picocells on every other telephone pole around the country.

Champagne may be influencing this prediction.
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Old 31-12-2016, 23:17
Gigabit
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It's EE that is required to meet the coverage obligation. BT Mobile isn't.
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Old 31-12-2016, 23:21
ShaunIOW
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There still won't be a flagship spec phone in the compact (sub 4.7" screen) catagory, and certainly not with a decent size battery.
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Old 01-01-2017, 12:21
Orbitalzone
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It's EE that is required to meet the coverage obligation. BT Mobile isn't.
But BT own EE or is it likely to stay a subsidary?
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Old 01-01-2017, 13:13
d123
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But BT own EE or is it likely to stay a subsidary?
I'm still amazed by how many people get confused by what BT, BT Mobile and EE actually are.

BT is the parent company of BT Mobile and EE, 2 separate entities.

Just like EE wasn't Deutsche Telekom or France Telecom when they owned it, it's not BT now that BT own it. It is a wholly owned separate division and there are no known plans for that to change (yet).

This might help

BT today announced a new organisational structure that will take effect from April. This follows its acquisition of EE, the UK’s leading mobile network operator.

Under this structure, there will be six lines of business. Two will serve consumers, two will focus on businesses and the public sector - one in the UK and Ireland and one globally - and two will provide wholesale services to other industry players.

The lines of businesses are:

Consumer – the largest ISP in the UK, BT Consumer will continue to serve ten million households with a mix of superfast broadband, telephony, TV and mobile services. Its CEO will continue to be John Petter.

EE – EE will focus largely on the consumer market retaining its brand, its network and its hundreds of high street stores. It will serve its customers with advanced mobile services, broadband and TV. It will also continue to deliver the Emergency Services Network contract which was awarded to EE late last year.Its CEO is Marc Allera.

Business and Public Sector - this is a new division with around £5 billion of revenues. It will serve businesses - large and small - as well as the public sector in the UK and Ireland. It will be comprised of the existing BT Business along with EE's business division and those parts of BT Global Services that are UK focused. Its CEO is Graham Sutherland.

Global Services – Global Services will serve the communications needs of multinational companies and financial services organisations headquartered in the UK and across the world. It will also focus on serving major public and private sector customers outside the UK. Luis Alvarez will continue as its CEO.

Wholesale and Ventures - this division, which provides wholesale services to more than 1400 communications providers, will be expanded to include EE's successful MVNO business as well as some specialist businesses such as Fleet, Payphones and Directories. Gerry McQuade, currently Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Business at EE, will be its CEO.

Openreach – operating at arm’s length from the rest of BT, Openreach will be unaffected by the re-organisation. It provides all companies with equal access to BT's local access network in Great Britain and is heavily regulated with more than 90 per cent of its revenues coming from price regulated services. Clive Selley takes over as its CEO today.

The six divisions will be supported by Technology, Service and Operations which is currently responsible for BT's 'core' networks in the UK and overseas, its IT platforms and its global Research and Development arm. Howard Watson takes over as its CEO today, replacing Clive Selley.
http://www.btplc.com/news/#/pressrel...ucture-1304769
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Old 01-01-2017, 13:20
jonmorris
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One thing I predict, going by what I've seen so far (including some news under embargo, so my prediction has a bit of help!) is that prices of low to mid range phones may be creeping up quite a bit this year.

Suffice to say, we'll see that the new flagships coming later will no doubt try and mimic Samsung/Google/Apple pricing levels.

As the market gets ever more saturated, and our currency falters, it seems we're going to need to save up a few more pennies.
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Old 01-01-2017, 13:29
clewsy
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One thing I predict, going by what I've seen so far (including some news under embargo, so my prediction has a bit of help!) is that prices of low to mid range phones may be creeping up quite a bit this year.

Suffice to say, we'll see that the new flagships coming later will no doubt try and mimic Samsung/Google/Apple pricing levels.

As the market gets ever more saturated, and our currency falters, it seems we're going to need to save up a few more pennies.
Thats a fair point about prices increasing however your also forgetting that if that happens someone else will see that as an opportunity to fill that gap in the market and will offer a cheaper alternative to try and appeal.

In a saturated market the price will be a bigger factor in consumer choice when the benefits are perceived to be very similar.
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Old 01-01-2017, 14:50
jonmorris
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Who will fill the gap though? We're seeing all those companies that came in with cheap devices pushing prices up.

There's not an infinite number of manufacturers out there, and while there are still going to be £50-100 phones (EE will sell one this year with VoLTE support, and Vodafone will likely continue their entry level phones), they're going to be much cheaper phones with poor displays, cameras and chipsets.

It was the likes of Motorola/Lenovo, Honor, WIleyfox and many others that brought decent, very usable, performance to the lower-end. Now they all seem to be going up in price (with pretty similar specs to when they were cheaper).

We shall see of course, but I think you're going to be paying £50-100 more this year than last for a comparable device.
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Old 01-01-2017, 15:01
1saintly
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I'm still amazed by how many people get confused by what BT, BT Mobile and EE actually are.

BT is the parent company of BT Mobile and EE, 2 separate entities.

Just like EE wasn't Deutsche Telekom or France Telecom when they owned it, it's not BT now that BT own it. It is a wholly owned separate division and there are no known plans for that to change (yet).

This might help



http://www.btplc.com/news/#/pressrel...ucture-1304769
Don't forget Plusnet also now do mobile.
https://www.plus.net/mobile/
And to confuse people even more, it uses EE network and people think BT are plusnet
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Old 01-01-2017, 17:17
clewsy
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Who will fill the gap though? We're seeing all those companies that came in with cheap devices pushing prices up.

There's not an infinite number of manufacturers out there, and while there are still going to be £50-100 phones (EE will sell one this year with VoLTE support, and Vodafone will likely continue their entry level phones), they're going to be much cheaper phones with poor displays, cameras and chipsets.

It was the likes of Motorola/Lenovo, Honor, WIleyfox and many others that brought decent, very usable, performance to the lower-end. Now they all seem to be going up in price (with pretty similar specs to when they were cheaper).

We shall see of course, but I think you're going to be paying £50-100 more this year than last for a comparable device.
I get your point, however some of those cheaper phones will just move up a step to fill the void. Or maybe even the networks will try and get in with a mid range branded beast.

Remember Google have really left a void in the market that I'm sure someone is already planning to fill. Those Nexus customers have nowhere to go really at the moment.
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Old 01-01-2017, 17:40
jonmorris
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I think everything is shifting up in price and what comes in to replace the gap at the bottom won't be something to consider.

I think Google will, for the second time, realise it misjudged with the Pixel pricing and cut the price. Then it will satisfy the Nexus owners who don't care what they're called.

Meanwhile, we'll get closer to phones costing a cool grand. We're almost there and 2017 could be the year!

(we did sort of get there last year with things like the Porsche Designed Mate 9)
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Old 02-01-2017, 09:29
blueisthecolour
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I think everything is shifting up in price and what comes in to replace the gap at the bottom won't be something to consider.

I think Google will, for the second time, realise it misjudged with the Pixel pricing and cut the price. Then it will satisfy the Nexus owners who don't care what they're called.

Meanwhile, we'll get closer to phones costing a cool grand. We're almost there and 2017 could be the year!

(we did sort of get there last year with things like the Porsche Designed Mate 9)
I paid £350 for my replacement Nexus 6P back in November and it is still a very good phone.
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