Jan 27, 2021

Looking forward to 2021 & looking out for what's next

By The TechBurst Asia Newsletter from Charles Reed Anderson • Issue #1 • View online

Welcome to the first edition of my bi-weekly(ish) newsletter.

I spend so much of my time keeping up with the latest tech trends, so why not let me vet the news for you? Here’s what you need to know:

NEWS THAT CAUGHT MY EYE: The latest trends, innovations & a bit of humour
GIVE ME DATA! Reports/forecasts/surveys to help you evaluate the tech industry - or support your confirmation bias
CHART OF THE WEEK: Yeah, I know I said it’s a bi-weekly newsletter, just work with me
CRA RANTS: I have lots of strong opinions & I’m not afraid to share them
THE LATEST TECHBURST ASIA PODCASTS: My recent guests and topics covered
WHO THE HELL IS CRA? What I do & what the industry says about me (hopefully nothing bad, at least to my face)

If you like the newsletter, please share with your friends, colleagues & contacts.

And if you don’t like my newsletter, make sure you only share it with people you hate…

Enough rambling, let’s get to it!

NEWS THAT CAUGHT MY EYE

Worst technology failures of 2020

#AI #ZoomDick: As George Santayana said, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” The MIT Technology Review looks back on how technology failed us in 2020, including unregulated facial recognition, failed covid tests, and THE hashtag of 2020, #ZoomDick.

www.technologyreview.com • Share

What won't happen in telecom in 2021

#5G #OpenRAN: Light Reading goes against the industry norm of looking into a crystal ball to predict what will happen and instead predicts what won’t happen in 2021. Why? Because, according to the author, “predictions are generally as secure as a log cabin at the base of a smouldering volcano.” 🔥 Well put.

www.lightreading.com • Share

China 5G still immature, says think tank

#5G: China had 200m 5G subscribers and over 700k basestations, yet the state-backed China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) insists China’s 5G market is immature. What’s missing? 5G apps & a cross-industry ecosystem. Still early days…

www.lightreading.com • Share

Cities prepare for home delivery by drone

#SmartCities #Drones: The US Federal Aviation Administration loosened its rules to lay a welcome mat for future drone deliveries of takeaways, Amazon packages, etc. Other countries will follow suit - and this type of regulation drives innovation!

www.axios.com • Share

2021 Global Mayors Challenge - $15m up for grabs!

#SmartCities: Bloomberg launched a competition to identify ambitious ideas developed in response to COVID-19. 15 winners will receive $1 million each and multi-year support to implement their ideas. City budgets are tight - an extra $1m goes a long way!

bloombergcities.jhu.edu • Share

Time spent in the pub is a wise investment

#Wellbeing: Finally, the story we all needed to see! The Financial Times points out time in the pub is needed by employees to generate social capital. A bit of confirmation bias never hurt! 🍺 🍺 🍺 (subscription req’d.)

www.ft.com • Share

GIVE ME DATA!

So many reports, so little time. If you need stats, these reports are a great place to start.

Nokia's Business readiness for 5G

#5G #Private5G #IoT: Nokia covers how, when & why businesses plan to leverage 5G. Think 5G is all about faster connectivity? Think again. Only 13% of 5G-related ICT spend is forecasted to come from connectivity, while 18% will come from Private 5G!

www.nokia.com • Share

Ericsson Mobility Report

#5G #LPWAN #IoT: The latest release of Ericsson‘s bi-annual mobility report. Good stats to help you better understand the trends in mobile adoption, IoT & Low Power WANs.

www.ericsson.com • Share

McKinsey: What 800 execs envision for the post-pandemic workforce

#FutureOfWork: McKinsey Global Institute ‘s global survey suggests a disruptive period of workplace changes lies ahead due to acceleration of automation, digitisation & other trends.

www.mckinsey.com • Share

CHART OF THE WEEK

75% of the world's cellular IoT connections are in China

CRA RANTS

Urban Technology Alliance’s Smart Cities Trends event

#Smart Cities: This video keynote explains why it took a global pandemic to make me optimistic about Smart Cities.

And, back by popular demand, I close the presentation with the updated Charles Reed Anderson Perfect Smart City Ranking (aka: “my CRAP Smart City Ranking”).

Charles Reed Anderson - Smart Cities 2021: The Obstacle is the way

THE LATEST TECHBURST ASIA PODCASTS

Here’s the most recent episodes from my podcast. For more, click here or subscribe on Apple, Google, Spotify, Soundcloud, Stitcher, etc.

And for good measure, you can also follow TechBurst Asia on Twitter, LinkedIn & Facebook.

5G is Dead, Long Live 5G!

#5G #Private5G: We discuss what differentiates 5G from traditional networks & whether 5G will become the tech buzzword that finally lives up to the hype.

Guest: Nokia’s Global Sales Head for Enterprise Services - Danial Mausoof

charlesreedanderson.com • Share

Are Telcos Ready for 5G? And Do Customers Actually Want It?

#5G #Telecoms: 5G will be fast…is that enough? Many mobile operators have launched 5G, but the question is whether they can monitise it. And more importantly, do customers even care about 5G?

Guest: One of the world’s leading ICT industry analysts - Chris Lewis

charlesreedanderson.com • Share

The Sustainability Challenge: Balancing Profits & Social Impact

#Sustainability #VentureCapital: For ESG investing, how do you find the right balance from delivering social impact - while still creating a profitable business?

Guest: ESG Investor and co-Founder of PropertyGuru - Steve Melhuish

charlesreedanderson.com • Share

WHO THE HELL IS CRA?

CRA is one of Asia’s leading technology industry innovators and thought leaders. His in-depth knowledge of emerging technologies, combined with his understanding of the market demand, provides him with a unique ability to separate industry hype from reality.