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InCode Telecom, an advisor to telecom companies, enterprises, and private equity companies in North America, has announced its seventh annual Top 10 Telecom Predictions concerning emerging business, network, device, and application trends likely to affect consumers and businesses.

Highlights include the assertion that consumer adoption of netbooks driving a “significant increase” in operator data plan sales, but could strain data networks and reveal device management and synching issues.

We’re sure they’re on the money with the netbooks, this reporter uses and heartily endorses the Acer Aspire One.

InCode also thinks the FCC (News - Alert) will “struggle with competing forces regarding net neutrality rules, but eventually permit wireless operators to prevent or limit specific types of traffic as long as operators don’t discriminate.” Right. “Everybody play nice now.” We’ll see how that, uh, plays out.

And here’s a good one: “Since all mobile phones above entry level evolve into computing platforms, the smartphone as a category dies by 2011.”

Rob Chimsky, inCode (News - Alert) Telecom Vice President and CTO, notes that incremental revenue is shifting from voice to data: “However, threats from new competitors offering ‘over-the-top’ business models emphasizing value delivered by applications directly to consumers, rather than simple connectivity, will reshape the industry.”

Other predictions are that wireless operators play “Whack-a-Mole” with data issues, “device battery life rears its head further because high-speed data applications and always-on connections drain battery life quickly,” and wireless data pricing “looks more like the airlines’... wireless operators increasingly turn to charging for incremental features and capabilities beyond basic transport.”

Let’s hope the customer service is better.

One other prediction of note: A device OS bites the dust: “A recession is still on, and there isn’t enough device revenue to support seven (count ‘em) different operating systems: BlackBerry, OS X, Windows Mobile, Web OS, Android, Symbian, and Linux Mobile. While the ‘Open’ oasis attracts much support for Google (News - Alert) and Android, expect that one OS drops in the desert.”

 

See the whole list at the Web site. Last year around this time TMC’s (News - Alert) Shireen Dee reported that inCode announced the completion of the management buyout from previous owner VeriSign (News - Alert), leading to the full ownership and control of inCode being assumed by its management team:

 

“With this latest development of the full management buyout, inCode now has an individual identity and will continue to operate as an independent consultancy.”