Hotspot 2.0 becomes mainstream as deployments exceed 6 million hotspots by 2020, says ABI Research

Mobile operators are increasingly relying on Wi-Fi networks, both directly and indirectly, to support their businesses. Out of the massive global Wi-Fi coverage in 2020, at least six million public locations will support Hotspot 2.0 features, according to ABI Research.

Although a number of operators have already upgraded or committed to upgrade their networks to support Hotspot 2.0, the adoption remains slow. Initially, Hotspot 2.0 offered seamless discovery and access, which can potentially enhance the user experience and attract more engagement. Operators, however, still lack the tools to generate revenue streams from this technology. "Hotspot 2.0 will evolve to allow operators higher flexibility for supporting different policies, which in turn, will encourage implementation of innovative business models, and ultimately wider market adoption" says Ahmed Ali, research analyst at ABI Research.

The rise of IMS-enabled Wi-Fi calling has boosted the confidence in Wi-Fi voice capability and is suggesting even a larger role for Wi-Fi technologies in 4G and 5G networks. Many operators that have tapped the technology in countries such as the US, the UK, Australia, South Africa and Hong Kong, have launched the service with VoLTE side by side, aiming for a complete seamless voice experience and driving the usage to five-fold by 2016.

Migrating to 802.11ac is another top priority for operators in order to release or avoid congestion problems within public spaces. Following the residential and enterprise pattern, metro dual-mode access point shipments rapidly grow to dominate the carriers' equipment shipment.

"Overall, investment in carrier Wi-Fi solutions remains significant despite the emergence of seemingly competing technologies like LTE-U and LAA. User demands as well as competition from non-telecom operators (e.g., cablecos) drive market activity and business case creation,"added Ali.

Intel on track to cut $800M in mobile losses, but will still pay to get its chips inside devices

Intel said it remains on track to cut $800 million in losses from its mobile business this year as it ramps up production of its chipsets for entry-level phones and tablets. The company, which reported first-quarter earnings yesterday, also said it will continue to pay device makers to put its silicon inside their gadgets, but it will do less of that this year than it did in 2014.

Overall, Intel said net income for the period grew just 3 percent year-over-year to $2 billion on $12.8 billion in overall revenue, which was flat from a year ago. Intel disclosed that operating income for its client computing group dipped 24 percent in the first quarter, while sales fell 8.3 percent. Intel recently merged its PC business with its smartphone and tablet chipset businesses so the PC segment was likely dragged down by the mobile portion. Intel said that it shipped chips inside 7 million tablets in the first quarter, up 45 percent year-over-year.

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said the company merged its PC and mobile units because customers like Lenovo and Acer view phablets, tablets and low-end PCs as essentially all one platform. "They look at all of those platforms as the same type of hardware," he said on the company's earnings conference call, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript. "And they want to have a single group that they interface with and so our customers wanted this."

Krzanich also said Intel could save costs by merging the two units. The practical financial reporting effect though is that Intel no longer breaks out its mobile business as a separate unit. Intel's mobile grouped reported $4.2 billion in losses in 2014. Intel aims to cut those losses by $800 million this year.

At Mobile World Congress in March Intel unveiled three new Atom-based mobile processors called the x3, x5, and x7, in addition to a new 7360 LTE modem. The x3, which had been named "SoFIA" for 3G devices, is designed for low-cost smartphones, phablets and tablets. Intel has said it has 20 customers committed to deliver designs based on the x3, and that chip is expected to boost Intel's market share in the entry-level smartphone market this year.

On the earnings call, Intel CFO Stacy Smith said Intel's chips will be inside products with higher margins this year.

Intel racked up losses in mobile last year by effectively subsidizing device makers that put its higher-powered chips into lower-end devices. Now that it has a chip designed for that segment, Intel will be spending less money on engaging in that practice, known as "contra revenue," Smith said. However he acknowledged that Intel is "planning to pay contra revenue dollars associated with the SoFIA shipment."

Intel will start to see the financial benefit of that in the second half of the year, Smith added. "The product mix, SoFIA reduction in contra revenue dollars, really kicks-in in the back half of the year," he said. "So, it's more a back-end loaded of course based on the SoFIA ramp."

There has also been speculation that Intel will have its 7360 modem chip ship inside a special version Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) next iPhone that will be marketed to emerging markets in Asia and Latin America. Financial analysts did not ask Intel about that but the company has declined to comment on the topic. Intel was also not asked about reports that it had broken off talks to acquire Altera, which makes chips used in base stations.

Intel Rebrands Its Low-Power Atom Chips for Mobile Devices

Intel will be re-branding its Low-Power Atom chips made for mobile phone and tablet with easier to understand and remember Atom x3, x5 and x7 names. This new naming scheme is similar to the existing naming used by Intel for its Core Processor - with the i3, i5 and i7, for PC.

Intel officials said the Atom processors will be branded according to their capabilities in good (Atom x3), better (x5) and best (x7) rankings. The Atom x3 chips will offer basic capabilities for smartphones, tablets and phablets, while the x5 will offer more features for greater performance. The x7 will be the flagship Atom family line and will offer the highest levels of performance and capabilities.