It would seem there is a relatively simple solution to the wireless data deluge faced by mobile operators: shift the traffic that is tying up their networks to Wi-Fi hotspots whenever possible.
Ostensibly, a shift towards a gross profits tax relieves the operators of having to apply for Amusement Machine Licence Duty licences and having to account for VAT on their takings.
Even as the shift to computerized dialing systems famously wiped out the jobs of switchboard operators, it created enormous job growth in new types of jobs that often involved more skill and paid better.
Communications operators that manage petabyte scale today expect 10-100x data growth due to the shift to 4G and LTE with increasing endpoint devices connected to leverage thousands of mobile apps.
Now that Microsoft has bought Skype, we believe that it might be able to influence a faster shift from landlines to VoIP and may even pose competition to existing VoIP services provided by telecom and cable operators.
Most of the operators have at least a dozen different software platforms in the market, which slows down the application environment shift through cost and complexity.