DirecTV to Stream to DVRs

DirecTV is betting that the Web will serve as a major technological ally as it tries to match cable in delivering on-demand video content.

The top U.S. satellite-TV provider now says DirecTV On Demand will deliver content over broadband Internet connections The service provides more than 4,000 standard-definition and HDTV titles through a DirecTV PlusHD DVR or R22 DVR receiver.

The service allows customers to download programming to their digital video recorders. 

Ditch the PBX?

Though it might not seem an approach very-large enterprises will want to take, at least not now, all sorts of smaller organizations might well find they do not need to buy new IP-based phone systems to take advantage of most of the features most users at most smaller organizations or branch offices will need. They might find it makes more sense to equip users with smart phones and then map hosted PBX features to those mobiles. In other cases it probably will make more sense to map hosted PBX features to both desk and mobile phones. 

The BroadSoft MobileMax Enterprise Edition Mobile Client is a software application that resides in the mobile user’s device and extends the functionality of a BroadSoft powered hosted solution to the mobile device, replicating desk phone functions. Among the features possible are "single number" service for both inbound and outbound calls, single voicemail, least cost routing, short code dialing,  transfer, redial, hold, conference, record, call waiting, simultaneous ring, conference calling, email and synchronization to PCs. 

Though it might seem an improbable choice, here's a scenario that is more likely by the day. An enterprise issues its employees a smart phone of their choice, and then maps phone system features to those mobiles, positioning the move as an employee benefit. Given the right companywide plan, users then can use the smart phones they want, for business and personal use, without having to worry about submitting reimbursement claims.

The other conceivable benefit is that employees can be issued new models periodically, as another benefit. Older users might need to get used to such things. Younger workers might find the deal appealing. Desk phones are hard to position as any sort of employee benefit. 

Use of a smart phone costing $400 to $700, with periodic replacement and ability to use the device for personal and business use can be positioned as a company benefit. 

Cloud Computing Changing Markets

Cloud computing today includes contestants in multiple markets, arguably based on existing segments that are reforming into one vast new and broad business, in much the same way that the "global telecom business" might be thought of as a single economic category, though it is composed of many distinct segments. 

There are myths, though, says Frank E. Gillett, Forrester Research analyst. One myth is that cloud service offerings are one large market. So far, as has been the case with other potential markets such as IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), providers have rushed to rebrand existing offerings as "IMS compatible." The same thing is happening with cloud computing. 

Other misconceptions are that cloud computing mostly is synonymous with "virtualization" of servers or that cloud computing applications and services will compete on price. It is more than either of those trends, says Gillett.

In fact, one might distinguish at least five separate markets within the broader cloud computing universe. Two of these markets, Web-based services such as Google and software-as-a-service offerings such as salesforce.com, are known markets delivered from the cloud. In that sense, most consumers now use cloud computing applications. 

But there are business-to-business markets emerging as well, including the notion of  app-components-as-a-service, software-platform-as-a-service, and virtual-infrastructure-as-a-service. Those segments essentially provide building blocks for application and service providers to create retail offerings. 

So why might this be important for telecom or cable service providers? Cloud computing should change the way enterprises build their computing infrastructures, deemphasizing on-premises, "build your own" data centers and increasing demand for remotely-sited data centers. That should lead to a reconfiguration of the hosting business, at the very least, increasing the role for service providers and decreasing the role for smaller independent providers. 

Roughly the same thing is happening in the enterprise and consumer software businesses, shifting delivery from physical media to networked, online access. That likewise creates new demand for networking services, especially quality-assured networking services. 

Australian ISPs Say U.S. Pricing Plans Are Wrong

There is no need for network neutrality rules, say executives of Australian Internet service providers. U.S. ISPs simply need to stop offering "unlimited" access and switch to metered usage, argues Justin Milne, Telstra Media group managing director. The only problem is the business model," argues Simon Hackett, Internode managing director, reports ZDNet.com.

"The U.S. problem isn't about running out of capacity," says Simon Hackett, the managing director of Adelaide-based ISP Internode. "It's a business model that's about to explode due to stress."

The problem with an "unlimited access" plan is that it devalues what a megabyte is worth, they argue. U.S. ISPs have a couple basic options, they argue: absorb the costs, stop offering unlimited access plans or charge business partners for quality-ensured delivery of video and other high-value traffic.

Malone says that when users are offered truly unlimited access to download as much as they want, three per cent of customers use over 50 per cent of all the downloads. Download quotas can eradicate that problem and have no impact on 95 percent of users.

The Australian model gives ISP's predictability about income and network costs, and is self correcting: users trade up to higher-cost plans when they need to, the Australian ISPs argue.

Wal-Mart Gets its Own Geek Squad

Wal-Mart and Dell are testing the Solution Station by Dell in 15 Dallas stores, creating a service and support operation along the lines of the Best Buy Geek Squad, the Circuit City Firedog or AT&T Tech Support 360. Solution Station will repair PCs and set up home entertainment and wireless networking gear sold by Wal-Mart.

The move shows the increasing need for end user support, in the small business and consumer markets, as more complex digital technology sales now require more set-up, training and configuration services.

The AT&T service allows customers to receive live help for everything from setting up and configuring their computer to setting up Wi-Fi networks and hooking up printers, scanners and routers via the Internet. Subscription plans range from $19 to $28 a month, per computer, with an $89 initial setup cost.

As IP technology becomes the dominant way service providers deliver services to customers, it no longer is possible to terminate services cleanly at some demarcation point. Increasingly, support must be provided for end user devices as an integral part of the customer experience. 

T-Mobile Sells out G1 Stock

T-Mobile USA apparently has sold out all of their pre-sale stock of the Android-powered G1 smart phone, according to TmoNews.com. Current T-Mobile customers were offered a chance to buy the device early, before the actual mass market launch on October 22. The site says T-Mobile planned on offering 60,000 pre-sale devices.

Bandwidth Caps Inevitable

T-Mobile USA's swift retraction of a 1 Gbyte monthly cap on 3G data access to G1 Android phones was wise. The cap was paltry, compared to competing offers available from Verizon, AT&T and Sprint. Granted, T-Mobile probably wanted to avoid taxing its brand-new 3G network, and likely was aware that five class action lawsuits filed against AT&T for misrepresentation suggest legal liability if 3G performance was compromised by excessive demand. 

That said, bandwidth caps are inevitable for mobile users, and likely inevitable for fixed broadband access as well, as video becomes a more-common application. The reason is simple: video consumes an order of magnitude, or in some cases two orders of magnitude, more bandwidth than anything Internet service providers yet have encountered.

Anybody who has followed the cost of fiber-to-home construction knows how expensive access to core bandwidth actually is. In fact, the business case is quite difficult, under nearly all circumstances. 

User expectations aside, when demand jumps that much, one can expect either bandwidth caps, or metered usage or new higher-priced tiers of service that better match the underlying cost of providing service. For some of us, Internet access, using broadband, is as much a utility as water, electricity, wastewater services, heating or cooling. 

And it simply does not make, long term, to provide most of those services on a "flat fee, irrespective of usage." There are real costs (carbon footprint, drilling, refining, construction, maintenance) for providing clean water, water removal or electrrical services. It would not make sense to provide them on a flat rate basis for all customers, as well as that might work for most customers, most of the time.