On CE - For Dealers, Distributors and OEMs of Consumer Electronics throughout EMEA

Financial Times tells the story of Thames AV, a hifi TV shop, that has no significant debt but Barclay’s Bank just doubled the interest on his bank overdraft facility, and refused his loan application. When questioned, the bank replied: “Barclays is loath to lend any money at the moment…”

Yes, that’s right. The banks have been bailed out but they are not going to pass on that cash. They are going to sit on it, to protect their sorry butts.

The Federation of Small Businesses told FT: "Our members are being refused loans and threatened with overdraft withdrawals unless they agree to new, hiked-up rates. The banks have had their bail-out. They should not pass their problems on to loyal . . . customers."

Barclay’s reply? “The bank manager explained the bank “has a duty to shareholders and depositors to lend responsibly" and has to raise to rates to reflect higher risks… 

And where was this cherished responsibility when the banks lost the money they were given in the first place?

The banks have their bail-out, from the money coughed up by governments who are going to take it from taxpayers like the owner of Thames AV. While he can borrow money from Barclays, he can have the satisfaction of knowing that he will pay extra tax so that Barclay’s manager can afford to show attitude.

Nokia must be really upset about Google’s Android Challenge.

Informa Telecoms & Media says digital TV penetration of W. European households broke the 50% barrier in 2007, ending the year at 54%.

At NetEvents in Portugal, Nokia Siemens Networks Head of IP transport Bernd Schumacher told his audience that most telecom operators agree that 100X increase in internet usage is expected by 2015. Operators expect 5 billion users and are scrambling to cut operational costs.

Below you can see a chart detailing the explosion of consumer traffic. That by itself puts pressure on the current internet infrastructure, enough pressure that AT&T claims the internet could implode if no investments are made.

But you have to add to this consumer explosion both the business traffic (and their new love of video) and the latest craze of device-to-internet traffic (where razor blades tell their warehouse what truck they are taking to the store).

Schumacher says “the future has already started” and predicts most carriers will have to move to Carrier Ethernet technology to attempt to accommodate the surge.The widening financial crisis globally only serves to underline the main concern of all carriers, a concern that existed before the Wall Street crisis emerged and a concern that is now exacerbated by the crisis: Who can now afford to spend billions on infrastructure?

Why does retail need to know about this?Two very important facts emerge from Schumacher’s presentation: first, keep repeating this word to yourself..femtocell, femtocell, femtocell…It’s an odd name for the consumer product that may bail mobile operators out of their crisis.

A femtocell is a small cellular base station, typically designed for use in residential or small business environments. It connects to the service provider’s network via broadband (such as DSL or cable); current designs typically support 2 to 5 mobile phones in a residential setting. A femtocell allows service providers to extend service coverage indoors, especially where access would otherwise be limited or unavailable.