Media clippings and personal ramblings on broadband technologies and associated political, economic and regulatory issues.
Monday, October 31, 2005
FCC Approves SBC-AT&T, Verizon-MCI Unions
FCC Approves SBC-AT&T, Verizon-MCI Unions - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON - Government regulators on Monday approved SBC Communications' takeover of AT&T and Verizon Communications' purchase of MCI, removing the final federal hurdle for the multibillion-dollar deals."
Online Extra: At SBC, It's All About "Scale and Scope": "How concerned are you about Internet upstarts like Google (GOOG ), MSN, Vonage, and others? How do you think they're going to get to customers? Through a broadband pipe. Cable companies have them. We have them. Now what they would like to do is use my pipes free, but I ain't going to let them do that because we have spent this capital and we have to have a return on it. So there's going to have to be some mechanism for these people who use these pipes to pay for the portion they're using. Why should they be allowed to use my pipes?
The Internet can't be free in that sense, because we and the cable companies have made an investment and for a Google or Yahoo! (YHOO ) or Vonage or anybody to expect to use these pipes [for] free is nuts! "
Latest News and Financial Information | Reuters.com: "Telecommunications network provider Level 3 Communications Inc. (LVLT.0: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday it would buy competitor WilTel Communications in a deal valued at $680.5 million.
The combination aims to reduce some of the overcapacity that has plagued the wholesale network business since the crash of the 1990s telecommunications boom."
Rocky Mountain News: Technology: "Several factors are fueling the growth of online degree programs: a demand for higher education opportunities to let workers remain competitive in the job market, accessibility through broadband connections and improved online curriculum. The number of people obtaining online degrees has grown from 483,000 in 2002 to a level expected to surpass 1.2 million by the end of this year, according to a recent report from Eduventures, an educational market research firm based in Boston. "
Business 2.0 :: Magazine Article :: Features :: Tech's Big Comeback: "Two rubbery-looking potted plants adorn the lobby of 285 Hamilton Ave. in downtown Palo Alto. The five-story building sits across the street from City Hall and is a short bike ride from Stanford University. Google got its start down the street, as did Yahoo and Sun Microsystems. Downtown Palo Alto is the focal point for the massive surges of company creation that periodically course through Silicon Valley, and over the years, 285 Hamilton has proven to be an unusually accurate barometer for detecting early changes in the wind."
WSJ.com - Microsoft Will Unveil Internet Push: "The software giant has been battling the perception that Internet-based companies have taken the lead in technology innovation. Where Microsoft has struggled to get users to buy and install new versions of its Windows operating system and Office productivity programs, companies such as Google Inc. and Salesforce.com Inc. have grown quickly by offering 'hosted' software, which runs on the companies' computers and is accessed by customers over the Internet."
To Battle the Telephone Giants, Small Internet Providers Choose Wi-Fi as a Weapon - New York Times
To Battle the Telephone Giants, Small Internet Providers Choose Wi-Fi as a Weapon - New York Times: "With cable providers and the Bell telephone companies dominating the market for residential high-speed Internet service, smaller Internet access providers are desperately trying to find a new way to connect with consumers. They say they may have found it in wireless technology that avoids the need to build expensive underground networks."
From Your Living Room to the World, Via Podcast - New York Times
From Your Living Room to the World, Via Podcast - New York Times: "WHEN Kim Maffin learned that she had multiple sclerosis about a year ago, she decided to use a new technology to reach out to others coping with the disease. She started making podcasts - recorded audio programs that people can download from the Internet and hear on their computers or MP3 players."
What We Have Here Is a Failure to Communicate - New York Times
What We Have Here Is a Failure to Communicate - New York Times: "OHN F. STREET, the mayor of Philadelphia, perhaps put it best at the announcement of a new corporate headquarters for the Comcast Corporation early this year: 'As Microsoft is to Seattle and Coca-Cola is to Atlanta, Comcast is a symbol of Philadelphia's growth and innovation.' So imagine if the city of Seattle decided to make Linux a cornerstone of its civic software strategy, or Atlanta sponsored a program that made Snapple the official beverage of its school system."
DOJ approves telecom megamergers | CNET News.com: "The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday gave its blessing for Verizon Communications to buy MCI and for SBC Communications to purchase AT&T."
Investing In A WiMax Future - Forbes.com: "NEW YORK - Hype and fear always accompany newfangled technologies. Both now swirl around WiMax, a wireless broadband standard that could either change the way that people access the Internet or get left in the dust by competing wireless technologies. Careful stock pickers can hedge their bets by getting their WiMax exposure with a handful of tech blue chips. "
IM Services Offer Alternative to Phones, But Are No Bargains
WSJ.com - Personal Technology: "All over the world, consumers are turning to the Internet for phone service. Companies like Skype Technologies and Vonage Holdings have been marketing inexpensive, even free, calls. Now, Internet giants like Google and Yahoo, and software manufacturer Microsoft are upgrading their services and features to win the same customers."
That's the way venture capitalists see the explosion in the technology. Different IT sectors--networking, semiconductors, and software--are creating products and services tied to the wireless revolution. And, venture capitalists are pumping money at record levels into companies creating wireless products and services."
The company currently owns 32 per cent of the residential and SOHO market in North America, though that's its lowest share in nine months. Meanwhile cable companies are on the rise, with Time Warner Cable holding 25 per cent of the market and Cablevision 19 per cent."
Now Playing: Your Home Video - New York Times: "Captain Jack is an atypical movie star. A blind Chihuahua rescued from a shelter, he does not have a B-list celebrity owner or a craving for tacos. And he can be a bit cantankerous, according to his companion, Deborah Tallent. 'He didn't like me at first, until I gave him a piece of chicken,' she said."
The Fight Over Wireless - Will we get Internet access from big government or big business? By Adam L. Penenberg
The Fight Over Wireless - Will we get Internet access from big government or big business? By Adam L. Penenberg: "Wireless Internet access means more than being able to check your e-mail at Starbucks. Imagine if the town you live in transformed into one gigantic wireless hot spot overnight. You could feed parking meters with your MasterCard instead of hunting for quarters. Utility companies might read meters in real time and pass the savings on to customers. The next time you saw a pothole, you could instantly e-mail a camera phone photo to city hall."
VOIP Providers Ask FCC to Stay E911 Order: "An alliance of Internet telephony providers Tuesday petitioned the Federal Communications Commission for an administrative delay of an order requiring that providers furnish 911 service for all Internet phone users by Nov. 28."
Survey Shows That Businesses Expect 40 Percent Savings with VoIP: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
Survey Shows That Businesses Expect 40 Percent Savings with VoIP: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance: "Qwest Communications International Inc. today announced the results of its national enterprise voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) survey, which found that U.S.-based companies anticipate saving 40 percent on telecommunication costs as a result of implementing VoIP. Additionally, 100 percent of information technology (IT) managers surveyed plan to install new or additional VoIP services within the next year."
Skype targets businesses as growth accelerates - Yahoo! News
Skype targets businesses as growth accelerates - Yahoo! News: "AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Internet telephony firm Skype, which is being bought by eBay, reported accelerating subscriber growth on Tuesday and said it is adding a new service that makes it easier for employees to make all calls over Skype.
Skype is adding 170,000 new subscribers every day to its 61 million person user base, up from 150,000 a day until September, when Skype announced it was to be taken over by eBay for up to $4 billion.
'We definitely, coming out of the summer, have seen an acceleration of subscriber additions,' said Saul Klein, vice president for marketing."
Google Describes its Wi-Fi Pitch - Yahoo! News: "SAN FRANCISCO-- Google wrote grandly of the importance of Wi-Fi in its recent proposal for free wireless here, but the search company downplayed its own potential role in delivering Internet service."
WSJ.com - Cable Firms Near Pact With Sprint: "A consortium of cable operators including Comcast Corp., Cox Communications Inc. and Time Warner Inc. are close to an agreement to sell cellular service using the wireless network of Sprint Nextel Corp., according to people familiar with the talks.
The deal, expected to be announced in the next few weeks, would give cable operators another weapon in their battle with telephone companies. Since early last year, as several big cable operators have rolled out landline telephone service, competition between the cable and traditional telephone industries has heated up, with each side attempting to poach the others' customers with a bundle of telecom offerings, including telephone service and high-speed Internet access."
WSJ.com - In the Fast Lane: "Japan has the fastest, cheapest high-speed Internet access in the world. Roughly half the nation's households are connected to broadband networks, with speeds available that are more than three times as fast as the highest speeds available to U.S. consumers.
With all that speed, many people expect Japan to be teaching the U.S. a thing or two about the broadband lifestyle. Well, here's lesson one: It takes more than lots of bandwidth to revolutionize people's lives. Although a number of carriers and electronics companies in Japan are pushing new services like Internet television, there are few takers so far."
JS Online: SBC pitches durable service: "SBC is making a low-tech pitch to consumers in its latest ad campaign: an old-fashioned wire line phone that uses traditional phone lines is the only kind that will work during a power failure.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 mandated that phone companies share their lines to allow long distance firms to enter local markets and vice versa -- the idea being that the consumer then would have more choices.
The act, signed nearly 10 years ago by President Clinton, had unintended consequences for broadband development, and industry observers contend an overhaul of the act would be an important step toward clarifying the legislative landscape."
AOL, and Other Online Keys: "The most ferocious battle on the Internet these days is between Microsoft Corp., the incumbent software giant, and Google Inc., the extraordinarily profitable Internet search firm. It's both an epic clash over this era's new mass medium and a cool development for people who use computers, because the companies constantly try to top each other with new products, such as mapping and desktop organizers."
CNN.com - Wi-Fi on the farm - Oct 19, 2005: "HERMISTON, Oregon (AP) -- Parked alongside his onion fields, Bob Hale can prop open a laptop and read his e-mail or, with just a keystroke, check the moisture of his crops.
As the jack rabbits run by, he can watch CNN online, play a video game or turn his irrigation sprinklers on and off, all from the air conditioned comfort of his truck."
Broadband Parasites: Welcome (Kind of): "SANTA CLARA, Calif. —eDonkey, Kazaa and other peer-to-peer software is the 800-pound gorilla here at the ISPCon Fall 2005 conference, a gathering of broadband providers and network operators.
The group assembled here realizes it can't stop the results of the freely available software for using the Internet to exchange computer files with anyone else. About a third of all Internet users regularly file swap, generating up to two-thirds of all the traffic on an operator's network at any given time."
Internet TV Provokes Changes in Telecom Laws - Yahoo! News: "The regulatory structure for the cable TV industry is being toppled by new technologies, such as Internet Protocol TV, industry watchers warn, and a new regulatory regime needs to evolve, and quickly, to deal with the changes.
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A panel of the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. Senate on Wednesday heard testimony from SBC Communications Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., two major phone companies that plan to deliver TV, and Internet access, via an IP network."
Existing systems are rife with problems, the Government Accountability Office said in a 107-page document (click for PDF). The list of vulnerabilities included everything from easily-guessed administrator passwords and voter-verified paper-trail design flaws, to incorrect software installation and system failures on Election Day."
Phone companies strike back at VoIP - TechSpot News
Phone companies strike back at VoIP - TechSpot News: "Various phone companies around the globe have resorted to blocking VOIP traffic that they detect being carried on their lines. Companies like Vonage have started to get a lot more press the past few years as the adoption rate of VoIP increases and both businesses and home users turn to Internet based phone. "
Some of the companies say the users are hogging bandwidth, taking up too much space on networks and slowing down service for all customers that tap the Internet for email, video, music, phone and other services."
eBay chief foresees free voice calls for all | CNET News.com: "In a few short years, consumers can expect to make telephone calls for free, with no per-minute charges, as part of a package of services through which carriers make money on advertising or transaction fees, eBay's chief executive said Wednesday."
Should you have a right to broadband? | CNET News.com: "Silicon Valley's favorite parlor game is to try and predict the next big thing. I don't want to spoil the fun but tomorrow's transforming technology event is not going to be a new piece of software code or a smaller, faster mobile computing device."
SBC sees little threat from Skype, Net calling - Yahoo! News
SBC sees little threat from Skype, Net calling - Yahoo! News: "SBC Communications Inc. sees little challenge to its traditional telephone business from services such as Skype that offer free phone calls over the Internet, SBC's chief financial officer said on Thursday."
WSJ.com - As More Cellphones Link to Internet, Threat of Viruses Grows
WSJ.com - As More Cellphones Link to Internet, Threat of Viruses Grows: "So far, most cellphone viruses have been 'proof of concept,' or created by virus-writers merely to show that they are possible without being generally released into the public. But malicious viruses are expected to become more common as more cellphones morph into so-called smart phones, which can send e-mail, surf the Internet and download software such as videogames -- all of which makes them more vulnerable to viruses."
Intel Heeding Call of VoIP: "Intel itself is piloting what it describes as a leading-edge hybrid VoIP solution at its Parsippany, N.J. site. The chip maker said it would reduce maintenance costs through a reduction in the number of equipment racks and the amount of floor space required to handle its own heavy call volume. When the entire New Jersey site is fully IP-enabled, Intel estimates that MAC (Moves/Adds/Changes) costs will be reduced by 72 percent and floor space for equipment racks will decrease by approximately 89 percent."
Google's Wi-Fi plan envisions testing ground - Computerworld
Google's Wi-Fi plan envisions testing ground - Computerworld: "Google Inc. wrote grandly of the importance of Wi-Fi in a proposal for free wireless in San Francisco that was made public on the Web Monday, but the search company downplayed its own potential role in delivering Internet service."
Analysis: How To Turn The iPod Into IPTV: "Gigabit Ethernet in the last mile. Terabyte personal video recorders. Ultrawideband home networks. The list of technological breakthroughs touted by broadcasters, network operators, and consumer electronics companies goes on and on.
But their real accomplishment over the decades hasn't been more sophisticated technology, but rather the continuous improvement of the consumer experience. Thanks to the advent of terrestrial radio broadcasting, Roosevelt's fireside chats reached a large number of homes. Yet it wasn't the new-fangled technology that captured the attention of the American public; listeners were hooked because for the first time they could hear the president's own voice live."
Voice phone calls to be free within years: eBay CEO - Yahoo! News
Voice phone calls to be free within years: eBay CEO - Yahoo! News: "SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - In a few short years, users can expect to make telephone calls for free, with no per-minute charges, as part of a package of services through which carriers make money on advertising or transaction fees, eBay's chief executive said on Wednesday."
Spammers have created millions of Web logs to promote everything from gambling Web sites to pornography. The spam blogs -- known as 'splogs' -- often contain gibberish, and are full of links to other Web sites spammers are trying to promote."
AOL Rediscovers Success With Free Web Sites: "Earlier this year, Wall Street analysts were ready to write obituaries for America Online Inc., which was losing dial-up Internet subscribers at a rate of 2 million per year. Now the Dulles-based service is suddenly at the heart of a bidding war among Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. because it has something they all want:
Rocky Mountain News: Business: "A dispute between Level 3 Communications Inc. and a major competitor over prices and terms of their Internet service ended Friday, a battle that blocked off portions of the Internet for thousands of users worldwide for more than two days."
The Time Is Now: Bust Up the Box! - New York Times
The Time Is Now: Bust Up the Box! - New York Times: "COMPUTING is breaking out of the beige box. Millions of miles of fiber-optic cables are weaving together software that lives on the Internet and data moving at the speed of light into a single global fabric."
Light Reading - Networking the Telecom Industry: "Just when you thought SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE: SBC - message board), Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ - message board), and others had big plans to provide digital video services, along comes Optical Entertainment Network with a whopper. (See OEN Launches Big FTTH Project.)
Mr. Allaire was an architect of the evolution of Macromedia's Flash system into a video format that is now second only to Microsoft's Windows Media platform in popularity for delivering video on the Internet. Now, he has started a new company called Brightcove."
Internet Carried On Power Lines: "The Washington area is a major hub for technology that transmits high-speed Internet connections over power lines, and yesterday the city of Manassas celebrated becoming one of the first communities in which the service is commercially available.
Chantilly-based Communication Technologies Inc. announced it had completed citywide installation of the technology and will step up marketing it to Manassas's 12,500 households."
Networking: A Special Section - New York Times: "TO glimpse the real effect of today's computer networks, it helps to travel far beyond the high-tech hothouse of Silicon Valley, away from the venture capitalists, inventors and billionaire-wannabe entrepreneurs. To go where Google is just a search engine, not an obsession.
Try Elkhart, Ind., home to Nibco Inc., a century-old maker and distributor of plumbing supplies. A private company, Nibco employs 3,000 workers and generates $500 million a year in sales. It faces stiff competition from Chinese producers."
Moves by VoIP Players Could Dampen Cable's Voice Ambitions
Cable Digital News: "Forget about the Baby Bells or Vonage. Skype Technologies and the other Internet telephony providers like it may well turn out to be the biggest competitive threats to the cable industry's voice-over-IP (VoIP) ambitions.
The good news, though, is that the more successful these competitive VoIP players become, the more demand MSOs will see for their broadband Internet access services."
