2014 is underway and this year will yet again prove to be productive for wireless in Canada.
What to expect this year? Well, manufacturers will most likely come to market with similar design lines from 2013 to all their upcoming flagship smartphones and tablets. This year will bring increased power, larger displays — curved and possibly bendable/flexible — plus a strong educational focus so Canadians can make the most of their devices for both work and play. Machine-to-machine (M2M), or what’s called “the internet of things,” will play a larger role with more people understanding how powerful it is to have their devices talk to each other. More information. More tracking. More data. Hopefully longer battery life.
Adding to the limelight in 2014 will be a growing emphasis on the wearable space with new smart watches, glasses, arm bands and activity bracelets. With this focus, the developer community will expand past smartphones and tablets to create more products and also increase their revenue. The OS race between Android, iOS, BlackBerry and Windows Phone will continue and we’ll also see a battle begin for your automobile.
This year will also be pivotal for the Canadian carriers. We’ll unfortunately see the end of Mobilicity as consolidation will occur. Public Mobile’s spectrum and subscribers base will be fully absorbed into TELUS, thus continuing to secure itself as Canada’s second largest wireless player. TELUS has also been building on their foundation in the health space and 2014 will bring deeper relations with the government and businesses for Canadians to embrace the e-Health era. Meanwhile, Rogers and Bell will continue to battle it out in the media space, specifically honing in on the power of mobile TV. Something common amongst the industry will finally be the adoption of mobile payments — which will bring Canadians closer to shedding their wallet of plastic cards and opting for digital commerce and identity.
The upcoming ‘beachfront’ 700 MHz spectrum auction is happening on January 14th. Analysts are predicting the government will rake in billions of dollars, but the downside is that it won’t bring the competition that many desire. What it will bring is better wireless reception in rural areas and within buildings.
These are just some possibilities for the Canadian wireless market in 2014.
What are your thoughts? How do you see 2014 shaping out?
