The "network neutrality" debate is becoming more nuanced, with possibly greater understanding by many participants that it is important to find common ground that does not jeopartdize the Internet's future in a misguided attempt to preserve its past.
The Information Technology Industry Council, which includes Microsoft, Ebay, Intel, Apple, Qualcom, Adobe and Cisco, seems to be threading a needle, for example.
Everybody seems to agree that "certainty" is needed or innovation will be impeded. Everybody also seems to agree that innovation "at the edge of the network" likewise should not be impeded.
One way of getting there is by avoiding the temptation to write overly-detailed rules in advance of issues that could arise. That means the ITIC prefers that issues be settled on a case-by-case basis, as needed, rather than by creating new rules in advance of any conceivable set of issues that could arise.
"The FCC cannot posibly anticipate all future circumstances, and it is entirely possible that conduct that may appear to be harmful today will in fact be beneficial to consumers in light of future circumstances," the ITIC now says.
Managed services, for example, should be allowed unless it is proven that the services are "anticompetitive or harmful to consumers." That suggests a new openness to the possibility of enhanced services that take advantage of user-defined and user-requested packet prioritization features.
Quality of experience, especially during periods of congestion, almost requires that such mechanisms be available for users and applications that want to make use of such features.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Information Technology Industry Council Reaches Common Ground on Net Neutrality
Gary Kim was cited as a global "Power Mobile Influencer" by Forbes, ranked second in the world for coverage of the mobile business, and as a "top 10" telecom analyst. He is a member of Mensa, the international organization for people with IQs in the top two percent.
Cbeyond Asks FCC for Mandatory Wholesale Optical Access
Cbeyond has the Federal Communications Commission to reverse its rules on wholesale obligations for fiber-to-customer networks. On copper access networks, competitors have rights to buy wholesale access. The FCC has ruled that on new fiber-to-customer networks, competitors have no similar rights.
Predictably, incumbents say the current rules should remain in place, which allow any voluntary wholesale deals, but do not require incumbents to offer wholesale access. The rules are consistent with rules that apply to U.S. cable companies, which likewise have no obligation to sell wholesale access to competitors.
The Telecommunications Industry Association and the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council have filed comments opposing the change.
The debate is an old one. Incumbents argue that the business case for FTTH is troublesome, and that they need the ability to profit from FTTH investments without being required to make those faciltities available to competitors who do not have to build expensive facilities of their own when they can simply lease capacity from others.
Though it is difficult to prove, one way or the other, the FCC has faced a dilemma. It can seek to spur competition by mandating robust wholesale access, or it can spur deployment of new optical access facilities, but might not be able to achieve both goals.
The reason is that incumbents can simply refust to upgrade their networks when they do not feel they will get an adequate financial return. There is some important evidence that incumbents are right about the ability to raise investment capital for FTTH.
Investors punished Verizon Communications for pushing ahead with its FTTH program, preferring AT&T's less-costly FTTN approach, for example. Calle and telco executives point out that all competitors are free to build their own facilities if they want, and most observers would note that in markets where there are three ubiquitous FTTH or FTTN networks, it has proven difficult to sustain business models allowing all three competitors to remain in business.
The calls for mandatory wholesale come at a time when everybody acknowledges that the business case for traditional cable TV and voice services is becoming more difficult, and that neither cable companies nor telcos can rely on their mainstay businesses (video and voice) for future growth. In fact, both types of companies are seeing steady shrinkage of those legacy businesses.
Under such circumstances, and given the shift to Internet-based applications, it might not make lots of sense to weakent he business case for robust optical access investments at a time when the financial returns for doing so are under pressure in any case.
Supporters of mandatory optical access obviously would benefit from a rule change, as they could offer optical access without incurring the expense of building new facilities. So the dilemma the FCC faces is an emphasis either on innovation or competition, in some clear sense.
Since virtually all applications now can be delivered over IP-based connections, it no longer makes as much sense as it once did to directly link "access" and "competitive" services. With or without broadband access, companies now can deliver virtually any service over the top, on any broadband connection.
Under such circumstances, robust competition occurs at the application level, not the access level. In fact, that is precisely the problem telcos face with VoIP, and that cable companies face with online video.
Predictably, incumbents say the current rules should remain in place, which allow any voluntary wholesale deals, but do not require incumbents to offer wholesale access. The rules are consistent with rules that apply to U.S. cable companies, which likewise have no obligation to sell wholesale access to competitors.
The Telecommunications Industry Association and the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council have filed comments opposing the change.
The debate is an old one. Incumbents argue that the business case for FTTH is troublesome, and that they need the ability to profit from FTTH investments without being required to make those faciltities available to competitors who do not have to build expensive facilities of their own when they can simply lease capacity from others.
Though it is difficult to prove, one way or the other, the FCC has faced a dilemma. It can seek to spur competition by mandating robust wholesale access, or it can spur deployment of new optical access facilities, but might not be able to achieve both goals.
The reason is that incumbents can simply refust to upgrade their networks when they do not feel they will get an adequate financial return. There is some important evidence that incumbents are right about the ability to raise investment capital for FTTH.
Investors punished Verizon Communications for pushing ahead with its FTTH program, preferring AT&T's less-costly FTTN approach, for example. Calle and telco executives point out that all competitors are free to build their own facilities if they want, and most observers would note that in markets where there are three ubiquitous FTTH or FTTN networks, it has proven difficult to sustain business models allowing all three competitors to remain in business.
The calls for mandatory wholesale come at a time when everybody acknowledges that the business case for traditional cable TV and voice services is becoming more difficult, and that neither cable companies nor telcos can rely on their mainstay businesses (video and voice) for future growth. In fact, both types of companies are seeing steady shrinkage of those legacy businesses.
Under such circumstances, and given the shift to Internet-based applications, it might not make lots of sense to weakent he business case for robust optical access investments at a time when the financial returns for doing so are under pressure in any case.
Supporters of mandatory optical access obviously would benefit from a rule change, as they could offer optical access without incurring the expense of building new facilities. So the dilemma the FCC faces is an emphasis either on innovation or competition, in some clear sense.
Since virtually all applications now can be delivered over IP-based connections, it no longer makes as much sense as it once did to directly link "access" and "competitive" services. With or without broadband access, companies now can deliver virtually any service over the top, on any broadband connection.
Under such circumstances, robust competition occurs at the application level, not the access level. In fact, that is precisely the problem telcos face with VoIP, and that cable companies face with online video.
Gary Kim was cited as a global "Power Mobile Influencer" by Forbes, ranked second in the world for coverage of the mobile business, and as a "top 10" telecom analyst. He is a member of Mensa, the international organization for people with IQs in the top two percent.
Google Voice Extension for Chrome Browser Now Live
Google Voice now is available as an extension for the Chrome browser. Adding the extension
adds click-to-ccall functionality to Web pages. If there is a phone number on a Web page, or your online address book, it will now have a hyperlink. Click it and Google will open a pop-up window asking which phone you want to use to set up the call, and does.
Google Voice, you will recall, is not an IP telephony or VoIP application n the sense that Skype or Vonage are. Basically, Google uses the Web to set up and complete calls using your existing mobile or fixed connections, adding some interesting call management features.
The extension also adds a small icon in the upper right of the browser. You can type in a name or phone number and call or send a text message from the browser, and read recent text messages and transcribed voicemails (Google automatically transcribes voicemails, usually not all that well).
Many observers think Google ultimately will add softphone functionality, allowing Google Voice to function as an VoIP client.
adds click-to-ccall functionality to Web pages. If there is a phone number on a Web page, or your online address book, it will now have a hyperlink. Click it and Google will open a pop-up window asking which phone you want to use to set up the call, and does.
Google Voice, you will recall, is not an IP telephony or VoIP application n the sense that Skype or Vonage are. Basically, Google uses the Web to set up and complete calls using your existing mobile or fixed connections, adding some interesting call management features.
The extension also adds a small icon in the upper right of the browser. You can type in a name or phone number and call or send a text message from the browser, and read recent text messages and transcribed voicemails (Google automatically transcribes voicemails, usually not all that well).
Many observers think Google ultimately will add softphone functionality, allowing Google Voice to function as an VoIP client.
Gary Kim was cited as a global "Power Mobile Influencer" by Forbes, ranked second in the world for coverage of the mobile business, and as a "top 10" telecom analyst. He is a member of Mensa, the international organization for people with IQs in the top two percent.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Geolocation's Downside
Don't get me wrong. Location services will be really useful. But as with everything else connected with the Internet, there are downsides. This is one of them. UYou may want to use location services. But you probably don't want to allow "broadcasting" of that location.
The Secret Service knows the location of POTUS on the second or third floor of the White House. The rest of us should not.
The Secret Service knows the location of POTUS on the second or third floor of the White House. The rest of us should not.
Gary Kim was cited as a global "Power Mobile Influencer" by Forbes, ranked second in the world for coverage of the mobile business, and as a "top 10" telecom analyst. He is a member of Mensa, the international organization for people with IQs in the top two percent.
fring Upgraded for Android and Symbian Mobile Devices
The Symbian version, for Nokia users, lets users notify their friends know if they are online, offline, busy, or just stay invisible if they don’t want to be disturbed; all in the click of a button.
DTMF dialing now is supported as well. Now dialing “#” (“pound”) and “*” sign (“star”) is possible to use within a call through the new fring dialer.
Android users will find increased app stability as well as the ability to hide or show offline buddy presence, hide or show the address book, and manage privacy settings for IM signatures and "mood" messages.
The company also fixed some audio issues formerly experienced on Motorola Droid or Milestone devices and added better support for Google’s Nexus One device.
Improved battery consumption also is new.
The new apps can be downloaded at http://www.fring.com/default.asp.
Gary Kim was cited as a global "Power Mobile Influencer" by Forbes, ranked second in the world for coverage of the mobile business, and as a "top 10" telecom analyst. He is a member of Mensa, the international organization for people with IQs in the top two percent.
U.S. is Key Android Market at the Moment
Worldwide mobile advertising requests from Android devices increased 97 percent from October to December 2009 and the big change since October is that Motorola devices have shown the greatest growth, undoubtedly because of Verizon's Droid launch late in the year.
AdMob says that in October, 98 percent of requests came from HTC devices. In December, just 56 percent of requests were from HTC devices, 39 percent from Motorola devices, and five percent from Samsung units.
Increased device diversity: In December, seven devices generated more than three percent of requests each: the Motorola Droid, HTC Dream, HTC Magic, HTC Hero, Motorola CLIQ, HTC Droid Eris, and the Samsung Moment.
This is up from only three devices in October (HTC Dream, HTC Magic, and HTC Hero).
The Motorola Droid is already the leading Android handset in the AdMob network and generated 30 percent of requests in December.
The U.S. market also, at least for the moment, the most-important global Android market. About 90 percent of Android traffic was generated in the United States in December, up from 84 percent in October. The United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Canada were the other countries with some significant traffic.
AdMob says that in October, 98 percent of requests came from HTC devices. In December, just 56 percent of requests were from HTC devices, 39 percent from Motorola devices, and five percent from Samsung units.
Increased device diversity: In December, seven devices generated more than three percent of requests each: the Motorola Droid, HTC Dream, HTC Magic, HTC Hero, Motorola CLIQ, HTC Droid Eris, and the Samsung Moment.
This is up from only three devices in October (HTC Dream, HTC Magic, and HTC Hero).
The Motorola Droid is already the leading Android handset in the AdMob network and generated 30 percent of requests in December.
The U.S. market also, at least for the moment, the most-important global Android market. About 90 percent of Android traffic was generated in the United States in December, up from 84 percent in October. The United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Canada were the other countries with some significant traffic.
Gary Kim was cited as a global "Power Mobile Influencer" by Forbes, ranked second in the world for coverage of the mobile business, and as a "top 10" telecom analyst. He is a member of Mensa, the international organization for people with IQs in the top two percent.
Coopetition Model for Cloud App Providers and Telcos?
Discussing the future of apps in the cloud, IBM enterprise initiatives VP Mike Hill and Salesforce.com director platform research Peter Coffee said the line between competing and cooperating was becoming blurred, with "coopetition" the likely result.
“The only place we tend to have some level of friction with service providers is when you’re up in to the largest organisations,” says Hill. “We see service providers as a huge platform opportunity for us here, because we’re going to take the platforms that we build in IBM to deliver these services, and we’re going to pitch and sell it to service providers so they have the opportunity to white label services from us; or even white label to start with so they don’t have to invest capital up front.
Coffee says the Salesforce.com model provides one example of how application providers and Internet service providers can cooperate for mutual benefit.
“We have our services being re-sold by telecom providers who want to take advantage of the fact they already have more than their foot in the door, they’re already completely inside the door as a small business service-suite provider.”
"British Telecom packages and sells our CRM application as a service as part of BT’s small enterprise suite, and there’s absolutely no reason why we wouldn’t want to foster that because that means their skills, their knowledge of the local marketplace, local business customs, local regulations, becomes a leveraging factor for us to do what we do, which is to provide enterprise functionality, and then they make it relevant to the local market," Coffee says.
“The only place we tend to have some level of friction with service providers is when you’re up in to the largest organisations,” says Hill. “We see service providers as a huge platform opportunity for us here, because we’re going to take the platforms that we build in IBM to deliver these services, and we’re going to pitch and sell it to service providers so they have the opportunity to white label services from us; or even white label to start with so they don’t have to invest capital up front.
Coffee says the Salesforce.com model provides one example of how application providers and Internet service providers can cooperate for mutual benefit.
“We have our services being re-sold by telecom providers who want to take advantage of the fact they already have more than their foot in the door, they’re already completely inside the door as a small business service-suite provider.”
"British Telecom packages and sells our CRM application as a service as part of BT’s small enterprise suite, and there’s absolutely no reason why we wouldn’t want to foster that because that means their skills, their knowledge of the local marketplace, local business customs, local regulations, becomes a leveraging factor for us to do what we do, which is to provide enterprise functionality, and then they make it relevant to the local market," Coffee says.
Gary Kim was cited as a global "Power Mobile Influencer" by Forbes, ranked second in the world for coverage of the mobile business, and as a "top 10" telecom analyst. He is a member of Mensa, the international organization for people with IQs in the top two percent.
Recession Spurs SMB Shift to Conferencing, Away from Overseas Travel
The global recession seems to have spurred more thinking--and activity--by businesses large and small about the use of conferencing services and applications as a replacement for business travel.
A recent survey of U.K. users by Skype indicates that about a quarter of U.K. small and mid-sized businesses have started using conferencing and communications to displace international travel.
Although 24 percent of U.K. small business executives surveyed communicate with international colleagues on a daily basis, 54 percent say they have had to take unnecessary overseas trips when conferencing would work.
The emergence of more sophisticated technologies is having a clear impact on the way that businesses are opting to communicate and do business.
About 41 percent of respondents says they use instant messaging to avoid some travel. About 40 percent use Skype, while 34 percent use teleconferencing. About 28 percent say they use some form of video conferencing.
Video-based communication likely is the biggers winner as travel substitutes have been sought.
Significantly, almost half of SMEs in the United Kingdom (49 percent) are planning to increase the amount it is used for business and 59 percent indicate it will be a direct replacement for business travel.
That isn't to say other methods are ineffective. About 65 percent of respondents said email was effective. Voice was seen by 39 percent of respondents as effective. Video calls were seen by 36 percent of respondents as effective, compared with 29 percent citing Skype.
About 17 percent say instant messaging is effective. About nine percent say social networking is effective as well.
But 36 percent of respondents said they miss having a real picture of the person that they are dealing with. For videoconferencing as for entertainment television, the advantage of "realism," a greater sense of "being there," is what drives image or audio resolution, high-definition images and audio, bigger displays and ease of use.
“With the obvious cuts in business travel, companies need to find new ways to communicate, collaborate and compete,” says Stefan Oberg, Skype for Business VP.
“Without regular face to face meetings, tools that enable people to build and maintain trusted relationships are key," he says.
A recent survey of U.K. users by Skype indicates that about a quarter of U.K. small and mid-sized businesses have started using conferencing and communications to displace international travel.
Although 24 percent of U.K. small business executives surveyed communicate with international colleagues on a daily basis, 54 percent say they have had to take unnecessary overseas trips when conferencing would work.
The emergence of more sophisticated technologies is having a clear impact on the way that businesses are opting to communicate and do business.
About 41 percent of respondents says they use instant messaging to avoid some travel. About 40 percent use Skype, while 34 percent use teleconferencing. About 28 percent say they use some form of video conferencing.
Video-based communication likely is the biggers winner as travel substitutes have been sought.
Significantly, almost half of SMEs in the United Kingdom (49 percent) are planning to increase the amount it is used for business and 59 percent indicate it will be a direct replacement for business travel.
That isn't to say other methods are ineffective. About 65 percent of respondents said email was effective. Voice was seen by 39 percent of respondents as effective. Video calls were seen by 36 percent of respondents as effective, compared with 29 percent citing Skype.
About 17 percent say instant messaging is effective. About nine percent say social networking is effective as well.
But 36 percent of respondents said they miss having a real picture of the person that they are dealing with. For videoconferencing as for entertainment television, the advantage of "realism," a greater sense of "being there," is what drives image or audio resolution, high-definition images and audio, bigger displays and ease of use.
“With the obvious cuts in business travel, companies need to find new ways to communicate, collaborate and compete,” says Stefan Oberg, Skype for Business VP.
“Without regular face to face meetings, tools that enable people to build and maintain trusted relationships are key," he says.
Gary Kim was cited as a global "Power Mobile Influencer" by Forbes, ranked second in the world for coverage of the mobile business, and as a "top 10" telecom analyst. He is a member of Mensa, the international organization for people with IQs in the top two percent.
ComScore Hit for "Pay to Play" Plan
"Pay to play" business arrangements are unfortunately all too often a cost of doing business. Grocery retailers get stocking fees from suppliers who want better placement, or placement at all, on retail shelves.
Some industry awards essentially are sold. Firms win awards in some category of business excellence, but have to pay money to "announce" the awards. Other competitions require firms to pay money to apply to win.
Trade publishing often involves some explicit promise of coverage in return for advertising, or more commonly, just an implied obligation. Major conference sponsorships nearly always have some element of "taking care of sponsors."
You can make your own decision about whether this is simply a way of doing business, or something worse.
Now comScore is accused of promoting a version of pay-to-play with its Web traffic ratings by Henry Blodgett at Silicon Alley. He says the new policies are a form of blackmail.
http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-comscore-blackmail-pay-us-10000-or-well-keep-underreporting-your-traffic-numbers-2010-1?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider+(Silicon+Alley+Insider)&utm_content=Google+Reader
Some industry awards essentially are sold. Firms win awards in some category of business excellence, but have to pay money to "announce" the awards. Other competitions require firms to pay money to apply to win.
Trade publishing often involves some explicit promise of coverage in return for advertising, or more commonly, just an implied obligation. Major conference sponsorships nearly always have some element of "taking care of sponsors."
You can make your own decision about whether this is simply a way of doing business, or something worse.
Now comScore is accused of promoting a version of pay-to-play with its Web traffic ratings by Henry Blodgett at Silicon Alley. He says the new policies are a form of blackmail.
http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-comscore-blackmail-pay-us-10000-or-well-keep-underreporting-your-traffic-numbers-2010-1?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider+(Silicon+Alley+Insider)&utm_content=Google+Reader
Gary Kim was cited as a global "Power Mobile Influencer" by Forbes, ranked second in the world for coverage of the mobile business, and as a "top 10" telecom analyst. He is a member of Mensa, the international organization for people with IQs in the top two percent.
Android Downloads Explode, Apple Continues High Growth, BlackBerry Leads
Keep in mind that Android starts from zero share, so extremely-high rates of growth are not unexpected. The bigger news would have been Android downloads failing to gain traction.
The analysis was made on Myxer’s 30 million members and their behavior relating to mobile entertainment downloads.
In part, Android growth is driven by the increasing number of Android devices now available, as well as a huge marketing push by Verizon Wireless to support its Droid introduction.
In December 2008 only one handset, the HTC Dream/G1, was operating on Google’s open source Android operating system. By December 2009, Myxer had seen nine different handsets running the Android OS.
• The HTC Dream/G1 remained the leader throughout 2009 garnering 35 percent of the unique users completing downloads on Android handsets. That makes sense, as the Verizon Droid launch did not happen until December 2009. It would be shocking if the Droid did not appear at the top of lists by the end of 2010.
“While we’ve seen the Android OS emerge as a serious competitor in the operating system landscape, RIM’s operating system still dominates the smartphone market on Myxer’s mobile site, growing from 51 percent in 2008 to 67 percent in 2009,” saysMyk Willis, Myxer CEO.
According to research conducted in the fourth quarter of 2009, Android users download seven times as many ringtones, wallpapers, videos, applications, and games as iPhone users.
Still, Apple iPhone downloads also grew 170 percent.
Windows Mobile and Palm both lost ground in 2009, combining to relinquish 24 percent of the smartphone traffic on Myxer’s mobile site and giving ground to the Android, iPhone, and RIM.
Gary Kim was cited as a global "Power Mobile Influencer" by Forbes, ranked second in the world for coverage of the mobile business, and as a "top 10" telecom analyst. He is a member of Mensa, the international organization for people with IQs in the top two percent.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
-
We have all repeatedly seen comparisons of equity value of hyperscale app providers compared to the value of connectivity providers, which s...
-
It really is surprising how often a Pareto distribution--the “80/20 rule--appears in business life, or in life, generally. Basically, the...
-
Financial analysts typically express concern when any firm’s customer base is too concentrated. Consider that, In 2024, CoreWeave’s top two ...
