Deutsche Telekom has finally launched a joyn service in Germany just weeks after blaming technical difficulties for delays to its introduction of the technology.

The German incumbent becomes the latest operator to add joyn, the brand name for the Rich Communication Suite-enhanced (RCS-e) standard backed by the GSM Association (GSMA), to its portfolio of services.

Widely seen as an attempt by operators to fight over-the-top players on their own terms, joyn has been heavily criticised as too little and too late.

Nearly seven out of eight U.S. smartphone owners care more about smoothness and less buffering time on a standard definition video than they do about high definition pixel quality while watching mobile video over a poor connection, according to newly-released results from a survey conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by Skyfire. This new research shows the importance of network data quality, speed of delivery, and smooth multimedia playback for smartphone users.

Last week, Cisco issued results from its annual initiative to forecast and analyze Internet Protocol (IP) networking growth, and found that by 2016, annual global IP traffic is forecast to be 1.3 zettabytes - (a zettabyte is equal to a sextillion bytes, or a trillion gigabytes). The projected increase of global IP traffic between 2015 and 2016 alone is more than 330 exabytes, which is almost equal to the total amount of global IP traffic generated in 2011 (369 exabytes).

The Unified Communications (UC) market is on the cusp of a significant transformation, largely fueled by the advent of new technologies and capabilities such as video, making previously complex features and services within the realm of possibility today. In fact, most industry analysts expect the UC market to grow at an aggressive rate over the next several years. One industry estimate has the UC market at $22 billion by 2016, up from approximately $8 to $10 billion today.

On Wednesday, Calix Inc released a report based on analysis of data aggregated from 45 U.S. communications service providers, which provides new insights into Internet application and usage patterns among rural Americans.