revenue – Steve Blum's Blog

Qualcomm's consumer services business going to the dogs

15 October 2012 by Steve Blum
arpu, business model, churn, consumer electronics, ctia, mobile, mobile broadband, pepcom, qualcomm, retailing, revenue, snaptracs

Tagg is a mobile pet tracker and promising veterinary diagnostic tool, offered by Snaptracs, a Qualcomm subsidiary. The hardware costs $100, with ongoing service at $8 per month for the first pet and and $1 for each additional one.

That eight bucks gets you a text message whenever your dog strays from home, with GPS feeds to help you find him. Or your cat, if it’s one of the few big enough to handle the weight and tolerant enough to wear it.… More

Policies, partnerships and common goals attract broadband investment to communities

7 June 2010 by Steve Blum
business, capital cost, casf, community networks, operating cost, private capital, public policy, public private partnership, revenue, RUS

Capital expense, operating expense and revenue are the basic parameters of a business plan. With broadband-specific incentives that improve those metrics – even marginally – local governments and economic development agencies can attract private broadband investment into underserved areas.

Public policies can be tailored to significantly reduce construction costs. Uniform, broadband-friendly right of way and permit procedures eliminate a huge source of uncertainty for business planners. The more certain they are of their estimates, the more likely they are to invest.… More