WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — A new economic study released today by NDN finds that the adoption and use of successive generations of cell phones supported by the transition from 2G to 3G wireless networks led to the creation of 1,585,000 new jobs in the U.S. between April 2007 and June 2011. The study also estimates that a rapid transition from 3G to 4G mobile broadband networks could create more than 231,000 additional jobs within a year.
The study, “The Employment Effects of Advances in Internet and Wireless Infrastructure: Evaluating the Transitions from 2G to 3G and from 3G to 4G,” was co-authored by economists Robert J. Shapiro, chairman of the Globalization Initiative at NDN and former U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs, and Kevin A. Hassett, senior fellow and director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. In the paper, the authors quantify the large economic benefits – from employment to innovation – associated with the deployment of and investment in more advanced wireless infrastructure and associated mobile devices, tracking the impact of the transitions from 2G to 3G and from 3G to 4G network technologies.
Before we ring in the New Year, the Mobile Future team took a look back at some of the year’s exciting developments and ground-breaking wireless innovations. Our new video, the Mobile Year in Review 2011, and accompanying paper highlight many of the key consumer and mobile tech trends and explore what’s driving the dynamic mobile sector.
Watch the video here.
At the State Capitol in Austin recently, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples honored 119 Texans whose families have farmed and ranched the same lands in the Lone Star State for more than 100 years.
These rural entrepreneurs are representative of the hundreds of thousands of Texans in rural communities all across our state, families and businesses that truly represent an integral part of our Texas economy.
Yet, think how much the world has changed in 100 years for these families and their farm and ranching businesses. Cultivating a crop and moving cattle to market today relies far more heavily on technology than they just a decade ago. The need is ever increasing for greater connectivity across rural America.
And, while most Texans enjoy adequate access to the Internet, the sheer size of our state makes access to broadband a struggle still for many rural communities. The Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Plan set out the admirable and important goal of bringing high speed Internet to every home, ranch and small business in America.
It’s good timing, too, given recent studies that point to rural communities increasing preference and reliance on wireless devices to communicate, educate, access health care and do business.
READ MORE +
December 6, 2011
Governor Rick Perry has appointed Rolando Pablos of Olmos Park and reappointed Ken Anderson Jr. of Dallas to the Public Utility Commission (PUC). The three-member PUC encourages competition and customer choice in Texas, and ensures electric and telephone operations, services and rates are fair and reasonable.
Recently he told TEP that,”I look forward to working with my friend Robert Howden and his members to ensure that telephone and electric services remain reliable, plentiful and affordable in rural Texas.”
Pablos is an attorney in private practice and a senior advisor of SNR Denton. He is honorary consul to Spain, a member of the State Bar of Texas, chair of the San Antonio Free Trade Alliance, and a member and past board chair of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He is past chair of the Texas Racing Commission and City of San Antonio Small Business Advisory Committee, and a past board member of the Nueces River Authority and Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. He is also a former adjunct professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), a past member of the UTSA College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council, and a graduate of Leadership San Antonio. Pablos received a bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s University, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio, a master’s degree in hospitality management from the University of Houston, and a law degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law. He is appointed for a term to expire Sept. 1, 2013. READ MORE +
by MARK AREND
mark.arend@conway.com
If the path being beaten to Texas’ front door is any indication, there’s a better way to do things in the Lone Star State. Giving businesses some certainty with which to risk investment capital and expand their enterprises has been central to the state’s economic success.
By most measures, including Site Selection’s own Governor’s Cup and Business Climate Rankings, Texas is the place to be for business and industry. Companies are flocking to the Lone Star State — Atlas Van Lines’ annual study of corporate relocations in 2010 logged more than 7,200 relocations inbound to Texas, the sixth highest, and 5,300 outbound relocations. Overall, Texas claimed 58 percent of the inbound relocations. More to the point, 40 percent of the new U.S. jobs created since June 2009 were created in Texas, giving Gov. Rick Perry an enviable credential with which to make a run for the Republican presidential nomination. READ MORE +
by Joan Engebretson, Connected Planet
Which five states have the highest percentage of wireless-only homes? The answers, which came this week from a Georgetown University Center for Business and Public Policy white paper, are not only surprising, they also have some interesting policy implications.
Topping the list were five heavily rural states, including Arkansas (35.2%), Mississippi (35.1%), Texas (32.5%), North Dakota (32.3%) and Idaho (31.7%). In comparison, the national average is 25%. This may not seem logical, considering that rural telcos have seen less landline erosion than counterparts in metro areas. But as the researchers theorized, wireless communications has the strongest appeal to people who are not “yoked to their nodes (e.g., domiciles.)” The researchers also offer an example of the theory in action, which illustrates their thinking in a more down-to-earth manner. The white paper, titled “Achieving Rural Universal Service in a Broadband Era: Emergent Evidence from the Evolution of Telephone Demand,” quotes a U.S. Cattlemen’s Association official and rural rancher:
“When I leave the house and head out to the high country, I have, at best, limited access to Internet and cellphone service. While out gathering cattle, I am virtually unreachable and must suspend all business communications…and that is not an ideal working situation.”
Read full article on Connected Planet +
by Cecilia Kang, Washington Post (Post Tech)
There are now more wireless devices being used in the United States than there are people, and Americans have doubled the amount of Internet data traffic they generate on smartphones, according to the trade group CTIA.
The number of mobile devices rose 9 percent in the first six months of 2011, to 327.6 million — more than the 315 million people living in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Wireless network data traffic rose 111 percent, to 341.2 billion megabytes, during the same period.
How is this possible? Many adults have more than one wireless device, which include smartphones, tablets, and wireless cards.
Analysts have also pointed to the shorter lifecycle of electronics in U.S. homes, a trend prompted mostly by the availability of high-speed wireless access and more affordable devices. Read full article on Washington Post +
(WASHINGTON, DC) — Today, Mobile Future and Roger Entner of Recon Analytics, released a new report, What’s It Worth To You? Comparing Wireless Pricing in 14 Countries. The analysis finds that Americans consume more than five times the wireless services at more affordable rates than those in key countries around the world.
“Never has it been cheaper and more affordable for Americans to take full advantage of all that mobile connectivity has to offer,” Entner said. “Putting both voice and data spending together, Americans pay more than $4 less per month on mobile communications than they did three years ago, all while enjoying faster speeds and increased utility through more applications and tools. That is a remarkable value given the exponential growth in recent years in U.S. mobile Internet use.”
READ MORE +
September 27, 2011
Texas’ jobs climate continues to receive accolades, with the Lone Star State ranked as best business climate of all 50 states by both Development Counsellors International (DCI) and Area Development magazine, with DCI also naming Texas “Best in Class” for state economic development organizations.
“I’m proud of the environment we’ve created in Texas that allows employers to risk their capital, receive a return on their investment, and create jobs, thanks to our low taxes, reasonable and predictable regulatory environment, fair legal system and skilled workforce,” Gov. Perry said. “These top rankings echo what employers in our state have known for a long time – that Texas is wide open for business.”
In DCI’s 2011 Winning Strategies Report, corporate executives with site selection responsibilities were asked to choose the state with the most favorable business climate. Texas was named the favorite by 49.4 percent, with the next highest state receiving 27.8 percent of votes. Executives noted Texas’ tax climate, pro-business climate and economic development incentives as reason to relocate or expand a business in the Lone Star State. DCI also asked location advisers to indicate up to three “Best in Class” regional, community or state economic development organizations. The Office of the Governor Economic Development and Tourism Division earned the top spot among the states, and Austin earned the number five spot in the regional or community category. READ MORE +
By Todd Staples, Commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture
Jobs and improved quality of life — that’s what greater access to high-speed wireless service means and there are a lot of successes under way toward that end. Upgrades are in store for business, education, health care and home life.
Why should all Texans care about rural technology? Because rural Texas is where hundreds of billions dollars in Gross State Product (GSP) originate. About $100 billion, or around 9 percent of Texas GSP, comes from agriculture alone. More than 86 percent of Texas’ land mass is over rural Texas, and let’s face it; our need to communicate doesn’t stop because we’re traveling across our state’s huge geography. In this day and age, we want a reliable Internet connection no matter where we live, work or travel.
With a focus on broadband expansion being a priority these days, study after study is reiterating something critical — rural communities are often the last to gain access to the technology and tools that allow for job creation, enhanced health care and educational advancement. Many urban counterparts enjoy tremendous competitive advantages when they are the first to receive the technological infrastructure. READ MORE +
