Year 2008 will be remembered for the financial crash but also as the year when
- iPhone 3G confirmed Apple’s revolution of mobile phones. RIM also strengthened their corporate position with new multimedia capable models and Android saw its first handset launched, the G1.
- Wireless broadband became a reality, with 3G/HSDPA/EVDO unlimited data plans widely available
- Netbooks went mainstream, led by the Asus Eee PC
- Cloud computing emerged as the new paradigm, inspiring new data center architectures, more powerful browsers and renewed offerings from Amazon, Google, Microsoft and others to run online apps.
- Online Video consolidated, with major broadcasters creating their own Internet TV platforms, such as Hulu.
And despite the gloomy economic outlook, Technology might be one of the sectors that suffer the less in 2009, as Governments are likely to incentive investments mainly on two axes: green tech and Internet infrastructure.
Making Internet access universal and reducing the carbon footprint of Information and Communications Technologies are tasks at hand in the coming years, and this is the right time for governments to stimulate the economy by committing to these goals.
Year 2008 saw a few ISPs trialling metered Internet access and opening a debate that I hope 2009 will close as government incentive investment in building a better and ubiquitous broadband access. Fiber in the developed world and wireless broadband (WiMAX and 3G) in the emerging markets where copper does not exist will bring a better Internet to more people.
Telcos should worry about stimulating demand for communications rather than capping it. Wouldn’t telcos be happier in a world where telepresence is used in all enterprises and HDTV is the standard for movies downloads? Telcos should not worry about over-the-top players like YouTube or iTunes making business on their infrastructure, but rather on how to better serve them by adding more value than pure connectivity.
My wish for 2009: Universal unlimited Internet everywhere.
Happy New Year. May the Net be with you.
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