No Demand for Fractional T-1?

AT&T has asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to stop selling fractional T-1 services that have very little demand in e in Arkansas, California, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin.

In fact, says AT&T, the company “has no customers subscribing to this service in Arkansas, California, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Texas.”

Once upon a time, a fractional T-1 (128 kbps, 256 kbps, 384 kbps, 512 kbps or 768 kbps) service was an affordable alternative to purchase of full T-1 services. In the 1990s, some of you might even have purchased a fractional T-1 service (consumer or business).

These days, even if some legacy applications remain, you would be hard pressed to point to any widely-used or mission-critical service that depends on fractional T-1, and fewer and fewer applications for full T-1 services as well.

As AT&T points out, people and businesses simply do not buy fractional T-1 anymore.

Dish Network 2Q: Revenue and Subscriber Losses

Dish Network reported second-quarter 2016 earnings that topped expectations, but Dish Network also had a net loss of 281,000 pay-TV subscribers, including satellite and the Sling web TV service, said to be the biggest quarterly subscriber loss ever, for Dish.

DirecTV, owned by AT&T, seems to have added customer accounts in the second quarter.

Here’s the importance: every legacy service provider is in a race to create new revenue streams at least as fast as each service provider loses legacy accounts. Pressure on top-line revenue and customer account attrition might mean Dish Network is losing that battle, despite the launch of Sling TV streaming services.

That leaves speculation about Dish Network entering the mobile business.

Opinions about what Dish Network might be able to do with its amassed mobile spectrum have varied. Some seem never to have believed Dish Network really would become a mobile service provider, and eventually would simply sell its spectrum.

Others believed Dish Network might well try and enter the mobile business.

The “problem” for observers is that much hinges on whether Dish Network concludes it is time to sell, time to build to create value before selling, or time to transition to a new business model and grow over the long term.

It is not clear anybody outside Dish Network, and aside from Charlie Ergen, Dish CEO, have any idea what the company will do.

Verizon Enterprise Solutions Launches "Virtual Network" for Enterprises

Verizon Enterprise Solutions is launching Virtual Network Services, allowing enterprises access to what we have long called “bandwidth on demand” features. Verizon Enterprise solutions calls it a “virtual infrastructure model.”

Verizon says it will offer three models for deploying virtualized services including: premises-based universal customer premises equipment (CPE), cloud-based virtual CPE services (available fall 2016) and hybrid services where clients can mix premises-based and cloud-based deployment.

Service providers have wanted such capabilities since the 1980s, generally referring to the concept as bandwidth on demand, and generally believing it would happen first for business customers, especially enterprises preprovisioned with optical access.

These days those concepts are more likely to be known as “virtual infrastructure” or “virtual networks.”

Verizon’s initial Virtual Network Service packages are: Security, WAN Optimization, and SD WAN services, and include:

Verizon’s new services can be delivered across public, private and wireless networks from Verizon or other service providers, or a combination of multiple providers across multiple networks.

How Much Will Artificial Intelligence Change Job Markets?

It remains difficult to predict just how much artificial intelligence will affect a growing range of jobs. In what might prove to be an optimistic outcome, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and robotic automation will likely mean 16 percent of U.S. jobs will disappear by 2025, some estimate.

However, such technologies will also create new jobs, such as robotic engineers and technicians, data scientists, and content curators, amounting to a nine percent job increase to 2025, Forrester Research now estimates.

Optimistically, humans will be left with more “person to person” jobs and “higher value” work.

On the other hand, such forecasts might prove, at least in some cases, to be too pessimistic. Many made the same predictions when automated teller machines  were widely adopted in the 1990s.

Since 2000, the number of bank tellers has increased two percent annually, however.

But banks also shed about 25 percent of people in the back office staff.

Forrester Research forecasts a net job loss of seven percent. Office, sales, and administrative support jobs will be "the most rapidly disrupted", says Forrester.

The number of white collar office workers, of which there are 89 million in the U.S., is forecast to decline by 12 percent between now and 2025.

Nor are gains and losses equally distributed. When economies evolve, it very often happens that gains are reaped by one segment of citizens or workers, while others are harmed.

Few likely really believe that when steel mills and auto plants are shut down that workers actually wind up in new high-paying jobs in growing industries. There might be winners, but there surely are losers.

Eventually, one has to wonder how machine learning and artificial intelligence will affect many jobs in the communications business, beyond the simple matter of firms needing to reduce operating and capital costs that almost necessarily require job cuts.

How much of the complexity and difficulty of buying and using communication-related services will be made much easier as we apply AI to the process of creating, delivering and selling services?

source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

How Much Will Artificial Intelligence Change Job Markets?

It remains difficult to predict just how much artificial intelligence will affect a growing range of jobs. In what might prove to be an optimistic outcome, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and robotic automation will likely mean 16 percent of U.S. jobs will disappear by 2025, some estimate.

However, such technologies will also create new jobs, such as robotic engineers and technicians, data scientists, and content curators, amounting to a nine percent job increase to 2025, Forrester Research now estimates.

Optimistically, humans will be left with more “person to person” jobs and “higher value” work.

On the other hand, such forecasts might prove, at least in some cases, to be too pessimistic. Many made the same predictions when automated teller machines  were widely adopted in the 1990s.

Since 2000, the number of bank tellers has increased two percent annually, however.

But banks also shed about 25 percent of people in the back office staff.

Forrester Research forecasts a net job loss of seven percent. Office, sales, and administrative support jobs will be "the most rapidly disrupted", says Forrester.

The number of white collar office workers, of which there are 89 million in the U.S., is forecast to decline by 12 percent between now and 2025.

Nor are gains and losses equally distributed. When economies evolve, it very often happens that gains are reaped by one segment of citizens or workers, while others are harmed.

Few likely really believe that when steel mills and auto plants are shut down that workers actually wind up in new high-paying jobs in growing industries. There might be winners, but there surely are losers.

Eventually, one has to wonder how machine learning and artificial intelligence will affect many jobs in the communications business, beyond the simple matter of firms needing to reduce operating and capital costs that almost necessarily require job cuts.

How much of the complexity and difficulty of buying and using communication-related services will be made much easier as we apply AI to the process of creating, delivering and selling services?

source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

How Much Will Artificial Intelligence Change Job Markets?

It remains difficult to predict just how much artificial intelligence will affect a growing range of jobs. In what might prove to be an optimistic outcome, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and robotic automation will likely mean 16 percent of U.S. jobs will disappear by 2025, some estimate.

However, such technologies will also create new jobs, such as robotic engineers and technicians, data scientists, and content curators, amounting to a nine percent job increase to 2025.

Optimistically, humans will be left with more “person to person” jobs and “higher value” work.

On the other hand, such forecasts might prove, at least in some cases, to be too pessimistic. Many made the same predictions when automated teller machines  were widely adopted in the 1990s.

Since 2000, the number of bank tellers has increased two percent annually, however.

But banks also shed about 25 percent of people in the back office staff.

Forrester Research forecasts a net job loss of seven percent. Office, sales, and administrative support jobs will be "the most rapidly disrupted", says Forrester.

The number of white collar office workers, of which there are 89 million in the U.S., is forecast to decline by 12 percent between now and 2025.

source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Application-to-Person Messaging Grows

Global use of SMS as a channel for business communications will continue to grow over the next 10 years as more organisations adopt A2P (Application to Person) services and integrate them into their digital communications, according to a report released today by Telefónica.

Between 2014 and 2015, A2P text messaging volume grew 22 percent globally.

Though application to person texting will not prevent the decline of carrier text messaging revenue, it might ultimately represent a bigger share of what remains of the text messaging revenue contribution.

Some 8.3 trillion text messages are sent annually, Telefonica says.


source: Credence Research