What an amazing year 2013 has been for mobile innovation - and consumers. With hockey stick growth trends continuing without a beat throughout the wireless ecosystem - in demand, in data consumption, in competition, in new services and products, and in investment, we at Mobile Future are proud to present our annual animated highlights of the best of our wireless world: the Mobile Year in Review.
- "Tweet" is now an official word in the Oxford dictionary
- Nearly nine out of 10 [Americans] use their wireless device while watching TV
- More than 20 companies now compete to offer ultra-fast 4G/LTE service in the U.S.
- Global wireless data traffic nearly doubled in the past year
The Mobile Future team spent some time in Washington, DC last week with a group of amazing mobile entrepreneurs who are propelling this new age of wireless. The Mobileys awards, which were presented last week, honored mobile innovators who are developing apps that are making a lasting difference in their communities.
The winners are a true inspiration and powerful demonstration of what great ideas and mobile technology can accomplish together:
- Page- Out - A logistics application that helps organize volunteer firefighters and EMTs in an emergency. Home base: Wichita, KS.
- HeadsUP! - A safety-focused transparent LED windshield display that integrate with your smartphone to help keep drivers eyes on the roads and hand off their keyboards. Home base: Washington, DC.
- Learn with Homer - Tablet apps that help teach kids ages 3-6 to read. Home base: Brooklyn, NY.
- INRFOOD - Our 'people's choice' award that helps consumers wirelessly scan grocery store items and instantly access nutrition and ingredient information. Home base: Raleigh, NC.
And as the New Year begins, there are tremendous opportunities - and even greater expectations -- still ahead. With a new chairman and a full slate of commissioners now in place at the FCC, wireless spectrum auctions are now taking center stage as the make-or-break technology policy issue of the year ahead. It's a complex debate that comes down to fulfilling a critical goal: the need of all -not just some - of our nation's 300 million consumers to stay reliably connected to networks and technologies that remain the envy of the world.
Safeguarding the mobile future by advancing this progress is at the top of my wish list this holiday season. Mobile innovation gives us much to be thankful for--and even more to look forward to in the year ahead. Happy holidays.
###
Mobile Future Chair Jonathan Spalter, a technology executive and former senior federal government national security official, leads a coalition of technology companies/stakeholders dedicated to increasing investment and innovation in the burgeoning U.S. wireless sector.