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Michael Small, president and CEO of Aircell, makers of the Gogo Inflight internet service:

“Wireless apps are changing human behavior. People demand to be ‘always on,’ everywhere, including in flight. When celebs like Josh Duhamel are booted off flights for refusing to turn off their mobile devices at takeoff, it’s an indication that consumers are driving wireless innovation – even at 35,000 feet in the air. As a result Gogo Inflight Internet has seen five-times growth this year and we expect 2011 to be similarly substantial, with many new innovations that address consumer demand.”
David Smith, SVP Telecoms, Enterprise Ireland:
“This year, Yankee Group reported that mobile data traffic has surpassed voice and it will continue to grow in the same fashion for many more years to come. In 2011, new innovation and pricing models will continue to be developed as carriers are looking for ways to keep people off the network at certain times. We may see a move to try to charge more for higher data usage the same way as we have on phone plans. We are also going to see a lot more Irish companies start to develop smarter ways of dealing with congestions, everything from smarter algorithms in terms of compressing data before it gets sent out  to caching and compression in the backhaul. We will also see more innovation around timing of machine-to-machine message and when they are sent – perhaps sending messages out at off-peak times for non-critical M2M devices. In 2011, as we see more money being spent on reducing congestion, we will see more innovation and companies coming up with solutions to solve the problem.”
Dermot O’Shea, Director, Taoglas:
“Wireless and M2M applications are growing at a phenomenal rate. Today, nearly every new technology is embracing wireless, from electrical vehicle charging stations, to smart appliances in the home – almost every asset in our lives is being connected. Industrial devices and controls are being monitored such as oil and water tanks, pressure and heat sensors. Countries that don’t have landline facilities are now going directly to wireless infrastructure rollouts. In 2011, the Internet of things that we’ve been hearing about for many years will be realized. My own company is reacting to this growth by investing in new wireless test chambers with extra test equipment for 3G and 4G networks. As the mobile operators continue to invest heavily in improvements to their wireless infrastructure, we have to bear in mind that the networks will be under increased pressure and demand to provide a quality service. Antenna and RF design will be critical to the success of these next generation networks.”
Stephen Seawright, Commercial Director, Benetel:
“In 2011, mobile data capacity will continue to be constrained leading to increased investment to replace copper backhaul lines with microwave links or optical fibre. It will also be marked by efforts from mobile operators to move data traffic off the macro network through the deployment of femtocells. Against this backdrop, the battle to control and define the ‘home gateway’ will continue. Traditional broadband suppliers, mobile operators and cable and utility companies will all compete and be forced to collaborate in the definition of this.  We could very well see collaboration between mobile operators and cable companies where the femtocell function is integrated into the set top box.  A number of U.S. and European operators will follow the Softbank model of offering femtocells for free contingent on users allowing open access. This will be driven by a realization that the first mover will capture a significant share of the residential family market and reduce churn accordingly.”
Barry Downes, Executive Director of Innovation and Commercialisation, TSSG (www.tssg.org) and director, 3CS (www.3cs.info):
“There’s been a lot of talk about context-related mobile services but the grand vision of context-aware services seamlessly transferring between devices and leveraging complex context information, beyond location, has not been realized to date. In 2011 however, we will see context-based services tailored to specific environments hit prime time. TSSG’s research centre is working with Zolk C on a pioneering example of how context and data mining will be applied to indoor locations such as museums and outdoor locations such as historic battlefields. In 2011, we will see mobile services that seamlessly transfer across devices, that also leverage users’ location and context, at museums and other points of interest, using data from multiple sources such as sensors, Wi-Fi, GPS (where appropriate) and barcodes. Maps, interpretation through video, audio and augmented reality and exhibit information will be served up by tracking user context and preferences and even building profiles to alert visitors of exhibits they may be interested in, or items they may have missed. Real-time commerce and advertising related to exhibits will offer organizations creative new revenue streams and a way to give value-added services to customers. The best thing is, this is just the beginning of what’s to come.”