Google and GrandCentral

Some of you know I am a big fan of Google and GrandCentral. Well now Google owns GrandCentral. And while Google can not fairly be said to desire to be a communications service provider, that is precisely what GrandCentral is. A provider of a unified communications service, not a unified communications network, though. So count Google as among those firms now offering a unified communications service.

Some might see this as competition for Skype or Jajah (I use both), and there is some logic to that notion. For the most part, I don't see it that way. Google now is a provider of unified communications. That's the story.

Comcast says it Could; Not "Would"

“We’re not necessarily saying we want to offer 100 or 160 megabits” per second access speeds, says Comcast CTO Tony Werner, referring to the DOCSIS 3.0 upgrade Comcast is planning. Using channel bonding, DOCSIS allows a cable operator to support downstram bandwidth as high as 480 Mbps and upstream as high as 120 Mbps, on a shared basis.

And that’s the key. Two bonded TV channels (6 MHz each) will support that amount of bandwidth from a fiber node to customers served off that node, possibly an area of 500 or more homes in any given location. At 60 percent video penetration and 30 percent cable modem penetration, that implies a potential customer base of about 90 homes or businesses.

If three customers really wanted 150 Mbps downstream and 40 Mbps upstream, that would chew up 12 MHz of bandwidth, equivalent to two analog TV channels.

So unless a cable operator wants to reclaim a fairly significant amount of television bandwidth, it isn’t going to be able to provide such speeds to more than one or two customers in a fiber-served area.

The DOCSIS 3.0 upgrade is supposed to start in 2008.

iPhone Apparently Forces Helio Policy Change

Wireless service provider Helio recently announced a fee for access to YouTube video on its handsets. It just about as quickly rescinded the policy after it became clear iPhone handsets would be able to access YouTube content just like any other Web content. The switch shows just how easily a serious competitor can force a walled garden approach to crumble.

The Good News for SunRocket....

..could be that its recent round of layoffs was a prelude to a new round of funding. SunRocket has raised approximately $20 million in additional venture capital from existing investors since early spring, bringing the company's total capital raised to date to about $100 million, the company says.

The company is likely to close the new funding round by August with a total of $30 million to $40 million in new venture capital, says Jonathan Ebinger of BlueRun Ventures, one of SunRocket's investors.

SunRocket Axes Most of its "C" Titles

Andy Abramson says he also has gotten confirmation that SunRocket has laid off its gets CTO, CIO, CFO and CPO. The founders, including Paul Erickson, Joyce Dorris and Chris Koehncke all left in February. It's a shame. The founders had brought some of that old MCI marketing flair to the independent VoIP space.

Convergence Spells Opportunity for Managed Services | PodTech.net: Technology and Entertainment Video Network

Convergence Spells Opportunity for Managed Services | PodTech.net: Technology and Entertainment Video Network

Jajah for iPhone

First Jajah said to ditch your headset. Now Jajah says to "free your phone." Jajah earlier had optimized its site for smart phones, so it obviously works with the Apple iPhone. Yes, you can pay a monthly fee of $4 for the privilege of making 23 cents a minute calls to the United Kingdom. Or you can use Jajah for three cents a minute. The site is mobile.jajah.com.