SDN Could Save Operators $9 Billion Globally:

Switching to Software Defined Networking (SDN) could reduce the mobile industry's backhaul network expenses by US$9 billion, by dynamically managing traffic and backhaul bandwidth.

Research conducted by Strategy Analytics projects that by 2017, total operating expense (OpEx) savings from SDN in mobile backhaul networks could reach $9 billion globally.

In a new study, Tellabs reveals that OpEx savings from the same 5 applications are more than twice as much as the CapEx savings.

In fact, their report reveals that OpEx savings are forecast to be far greater than CapEx savings every single year between now and 2017, across all 5 applications. According to the August 2013 study, CapEx savings could potentially reach $4.2 billion by 2017. Overall OpEx savings are forecast to reach almost $9 billion, or more than twice the CapEx savings, over the same timeframe.

Vodafone Indicates Support for Ubuntu Based Smartphone:

Vodafone Group has indicated support for an Ubuntu based smartphone after it joined the OS's Carrier Advisory Group.

As a member of the CAG, Vodafone Group will join national and multi-national carriers in discussions that influence the development of Ubuntu for smartphones.

The advisory group currently includes 15 companies, from Hutchison 3G, to China Unicom and T-Mobile.

Members of the CAG have the opportunity to be a launch partner and gain the right to ship Ubuntu based smartphones in markets they serve.

"The mobile industry still needs an independent platform that enables innovation and differentiation. That platform is Ubuntu. The Carrier Advisory Group will have the opportunity to influence the Ubuntu roadmap, and take full advantage of the potential of this emerging platform." said David Wood, CAG Chairman

M2M Revenues Forecast to More Than Treble over the Next Five Years:

Although machine-to-machine (M2M) technology is a bright spot in the rapidly maturing mobile industry, operators will not realize its full potential without strategic partnering, says Ovum. Forecasts from the global analyst firm show that over the next five years, M2M revenues will grow to reach US$44.8bn, with more than a third coming from Asia-Pacific.

New forecasts from Ovum reveal that revenues will grow slightly more slowly than connections, reflecting the increasing competitiveness of the market and the extension of M2M into lower-value applications. Total global M2M connections will more than treble from 106.4 million in 2012 to 360.9 million in 2018, at a CAGR of 22.6 percent. There will be growth across all regions, but it will be fastest in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and Africa. Revenues in Asia-Pacific will grow to almost US$15bn, at a CAGR of 26.5 percent, between 2012 and 2018.

The most important industry verticals in 2018 will be healthcare, manufacturing, and energy & utilities, which are forecast to generate revenues of US$7.9bn, US$7.1bn, and US$7bn respectively by 2018.

Ovum's M2M forecasts present a more modest and sober picture than some of those produced by other industry pundits. "This is not a forecast of the 'Internet of Things' but rather of managed and paid-for connections over public mobile networks, "says Jeremy Green, Principal Analyst, Industry Communications and Broadband at Ovum. "For telcos there are really two opportunities: to stand back and provide the connectivity for M2M services, or to roll up their sleeves and get involved with the end-to-end provision of solutions."

Ethiopia Refused to Liberalise the State Telecoms Monopoly:

Ethiopia's Prime Minister had rejected calls for the state-monopoly in telecoms services to be broken, saying that the government needs the revenues to fund an unrelated railway project.

Liberalisation of the telecoms market is a requirement for accession to the World Trade Organisation, which has been stalled for a decade by the telecoms monopoly held by Ethio Telecom.

Ethiopia's Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn said that the government currently earns US$323 million a year from the telecoms monopoly and its revenues would be hurt if the monopoly was broken.

Much of that money is not reinvested back in the telecoms industry though -- it is being used to finance the construction of the Ethiopia- Djibouti railway.

"You may think that the government can get money from taxation; but there is no way that we can generate this much from taxation," the Prime Minister said. "Therefore, the sector remains with us for the years to come."

It has however been argued, largely by the GSMA that boosting telecoms participation through lower prices thanks to competition can grow the overall economy and taxes from that more than offset any losses a government suffers from lack of a state-monopoly.

Recent studies by the World Bank and others, it was shown that there is a direct relationship between mobile penetration and GDP. In developing countries, for every 10 per cent increase in mobile penetration there is a 0.81 per cent point increase in a country's GDP.

Across the African continent, the mobile industry contributes US$15 billion in government revenues.