Backhaul Portion of Harbinger Capital Plan is Where Questions Might be Asked

Of several questions that might be raised about the Harbinger Capital plan to create a new national wholesale fourth-generation mobile network using the Long Term Evolution air interface and satellite backhaul, nothing is more important than the ability to attract enough capital to build the network, and the ability to get at least a few  anchor tenants.

The other issue is how the backhaul can be optimized in terms of latency performance. Putting a fleet of satellites into low-earth orbit is one way to reduce latency. Doing so for birds located in geostationary orbit will be more of a trick. Streaming video won't necessarily be an issue.

But interactive applications, such as gaming, voice, videoconferencing and enterprise apps, might be. The ground-based LTE network is a clever idea. Apparently wholesale customers will be able to lease ground segment separately from satellite backhaul.

But that will pose some issues for would-be wholesale customers as well: how to create the fiber backhaul network supporting all those LTE sites. A rational observer might conclude that a would-be anchor tenant would be better off leasing capacity from Clearwire, which will have the backhaul in place as a necessary part of building out its radio sites, without the satellite latency issues to contend with.

Perhaps there is some clever way to use the proposed Harbinger network's satellite backhaul only for apps where latency is not an issue, keeping latency-sensitive traffic confined to the terrestrial fiber networks. Maybe using it for video on demand only is one such approach.

The issue would seem to be that satellite transponders are optimized for point-to-multipoint video distribution. "On demand" services can be provided, but do not play to the network's advantages.

At some point, complexity becomes the enemy, though. Ways to seamlessly integrate other terrestrial 4G and 3G networks with a separate satellite network potentially are workable. But the cost and complexity might be relatively high.

If demand proves robust enough, one could conceive of a telemetry network build around the Harbinger network that is designed specifically for applications that are latency in-senstive. But Harbinger would not be the first company to attempt a business model for applications and customers that proved not to be sufficient.

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Fiber Connections: Australian Company Can't Give Them Away

Only half of the homes and businesses in the three Tasmanian towns involved in stage one of the Australian National Broadband Network rollout have chosen to connect to the network. The connection is free, and puts into place the network that will completely replace the old copper network within eight years.

The connection also is the equivalent of a "dark fiber" connection at the moment. At some later point, retail providers will lease capacity and try to sell services to consumers. But none of that is "live" now.

The opposition will prove expensive at some point. Any business or home that does not opt to get the free install now will have to pay for a "live" connection in the future.

Apparently, people simply do not understand the proposition. It's an interesting development.

Premier considers NBN 'opt out' option - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Typical Small Business Search Advertiser Spends $2231 Per Year

Small businesses have dramatically increased their spending on search advertising over the past year, up 159 percent, in fact.

Kindle's Future in an "iPad World"

 Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com CEO, thinks there is plenty of room in the market for optimized e-book readers.
Bezos believes the Kindle can continue to succeed as a device that’s dedicated to reading, especially long-form reading. Amazon isn’t looking to “create an experience." Amazon thinks the author will create the experience.

In a world with short attention spans, one would hope Bezos is right. Fast-paced, short form content is good for lots of things. Reflection isn't typically one of them.

Voice Quality Isn't What It Used to Be

Most people, despite the reliance placed on their mobile phones, likely would say there are times when call quality isn't very good and calls get dropped. Most users of business-grade IP telephony and consumer VoIP might also agree that there are times, especially on multi-party conference calls, when quality also is not good, despite the measures taken to control each discrete set of resources.

Unfortunately, for all the good things that loosely-coupled systems make possible (faster innovation, greater creativity, lower end user prices), one of the downsides is inability to control session quality end-to-end.

The old AT&T monopoly might not have been so good at innovation and pricing (slow innovation and high prices) but it was very good at ensuring high quality.

Can You Hear Me Now?

Is Mobile Device Market Becoming the PC Market?

The phone device market is turning more and more into the PC market, says Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi.

What she apparently means is that devices are becoming commodities where software and services do not create as much differentiation as once was hoped.

On the other hand, that might be good for consumers who will find they get more power and utility from newer devices without paying higher prices.

"Some, including me, thought that apps and services would help vendors add value to hardware," says Milanesi. "It seems to me though, that the popularity of Android is not going to allow that to happen."

Perhaps oddly, what Milanesi is suggesting is that "open" platforms, though generally considered a better way to foster innovation than "closed" approaches, might need to be re-thought.

She says Apple and Research in Motion provide alternate examples, where suppliers can innovate and capture the returns. She also seems to be suggesting that the separation of ownership of operating systems and hardware is not necessarily the best way forward for device suppliers.

The healthier financial approach would be to feature an "open" approach to applications on "closed" platforms (operating system and hardware bundled).

2Q10 Earnings season comes to an end. One main theme: margins pressure

Rep. Dingle OpposesTitle II Reclassification

In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission Rep John Dingell (D- MI) said that the chairman should abandon his effort to reclassify broadband.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski apparently responded that while he looks forward to working with Congress to a update the Communications Act, the Commission cannot wait for Congress to complete its deliberation.

Virtually all observers expect protracted legal action should the FCC reclassify broadband access as a regulated Title II service.

Dingle Opposes Broadband Reclassification