Carl Ford
| 4G is the next evolution in wireless technology. Discover how 4G will transform the wireless industry
10 Lessons from Volleyball, Part 2
Part 1 of the 10 Business Lessons from Volleyball can be found here. In volleyball, the only play you control yourself is...
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CloudTC and N-Able Acquired
"Australian-owned IP PBX systems company, Vixtel, has completed the acquisition of Silicon Valley based glass phone developer, CloudTC, for an undisclosed figure,"...
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ProfitBricks: Where InfiniBand Meets Cloud 2.0
In a recent meeting with William Toll and Pete Johnson of ProfitBricks, the pair were ecstatic to explain how their company has...
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Proactive Care Puts Operators One Step Ahead
By Thomas Fuerst, Senior Director, Multimedia Solutions MarketingAlcatel-Lucent
Monitoring and analyzing network data proactively saves operators time, money, and customers.
When a network service fails, it makes headlines, ticks off customers, and costs that network operator money. When a failure is headed off in advance, on the other hand, there might not be praise-laden headlines, but it's newsworthy nonetheless.
The traditional approach to customer care has typically been: a disgruntled customer calls customer service and complains of a service interruption or problem; the rep, learning of it for the first time, sends out a technician the next day, and eventually finds a resolution. Often, customers are left feeling put out, and the operator has spent significant time and money resolving the problem. Even worse is the customer who doesn’t call and just feels this is ‘typical’ of their network experience. That is a customer at risk of leaving.
Proactive care flips this dynamic on its head by using predictive analytics to identify potential outages or errors in the network and stop them before they occur. It consists of three main parts: one, constantly monitoring and measuring data on the network; two, real-time analysis of the data; and three, the most important, acting on that analysis to fix the problem.
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10 Lessons from Volleyball
I've played volleyball for over 25 years. I have traveled around the US to watch the pros live - both indoor...
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Emerging Threats Combats a Million Plus Pieces of New Malware a Week
There are 250,000 plus new pieces of malware being produced each day equating to one piece per person in the US in...
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NFV-Based Software Telcos Need OSS/BSS Interoperability
One of the goals of ETSI NFV is to allow new entrants to provide solutions to carriers based on software instead of...
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Sprint Executives Resign From Clearwire Board Due to Anti-Trust Laws
October 5, 2010
The three Sprint (S) executives that were residing on the Clearwire(CLWR) board have resigned, leading many to question the stability of the company. Sprint, owning 54%, is the majority shareholder of Clearwire. With three empty seats on the board and Sprint CEO Dan Hesse available to perhaps sit on another board, have more investment options been opened for both Sprint and Clearwire?
At face value, the reasoning for Sprint's resignation from the board is sound.
LA the Other California
October 3, 2010
We have arrived in LA and the difference between movies and computers is an interesting one. Content may be king in LA but apps are the story after Mobilize.
It's fitting that we are producing our version of the blend with 4G Wireless Evolution Television. We are following our friend Bob Bowman's, CEO of MLB.com, advice and charging for it because we have real costs.
You pay $1.00 for iTunes, so why not $20.00 for 20 hours of hearing the artists that make the technology that delivers the iTunes.
Here in LA Mobile Video is about entertainment, in Northern California the Mobilze story was the over the top folks. During App Time we have Ramu Sunkara founder of QiK speaking with friends who do telecollaboration.
While segmenting the market always makes sense, the consumer has a problem understanding why broadcast quality can be delivered for free on the Internet, and Telecollaboration costs so much.
Another dimension comes from the posting on social networks of people's personal video and likes from various (sometimes pirated) places.
In the end it may be that these markets have to find some blending. A video water cooler that allows point to point and commentary, entertainment and conversation.
I am looking forward to experimenting, learning and generally entertained by the conversations we are having while we are here. I expect I am
It's fitting that we are producing our version of the blend with 4G Wireless Evolution Television. We are following our friend Bob Bowman's, CEO of MLB.com, advice and charging for it because we have real costs.
You pay $1.00 for iTunes, so why not $20.00 for 20 hours of hearing the artists that make the technology that delivers the iTunes.
Here in LA Mobile Video is about entertainment, in Northern California the Mobilze story was the over the top folks. During App Time we have Ramu Sunkara founder of QiK speaking with friends who do telecollaboration.
While segmenting the market always makes sense, the consumer has a problem understanding why broadcast quality can be delivered for free on the Internet, and Telecollaboration costs so much.
Another dimension comes from the posting on social networks of people's personal video and likes from various (sometimes pirated) places.
In the end it may be that these markets have to find some blending. A video water cooler that allows point to point and commentary, entertainment and conversation.
I am looking forward to experimenting, learning and generally entertained by the conversations we are having while we are here. I expect I am
Streaming (& Archiving) 4GWE.
October 2, 2010The last three years have been pretty amazing. Thanks to Apple's iPhone we finally got to see what its like to have "full" access to the Internet. The iPhone shifted everyone's strategies, and where LTE looked like it would be slow to develop we now have initial implementations in scattered areas around the world.
However, this is no longer about the transport; it's about the application demand. Having verified the insatiable appetite the carriers are now racing to find ways to expand the coverage and recover the cost.
The question is can Wireless have parity with the customer's Internet experience at home and at work.
While many will tell you that the Web is dead, the reality is the Internet evolves. From a research project, to a modem extended email system, to the web , to music, to movies and now to mobile.
There is Something about a Tablet
September 30, 2010
Rich Tehrani was sitting with his wife and kids and his IPad at the lunch table.
The discussion turned to why the IPad was acceptable at the lunch table while a laptop would not be.
Here at Mobilize I am hearing the same thing from Nicolas Negroponte voice the same opinion about tablets.
Tablets can become part of the social experience acceptable as part of our culture?
The discussion turned to why the IPad was acceptable at the lunch table while a laptop would not be.
Here at Mobilize I am hearing the same thing from Nicolas Negroponte voice the same opinion about tablets.
Tablets can become part of the social experience acceptable as part of our culture?
Is Clearwire on the Market
September 30, 2010
According the Wall Street Journal Dan Hesse the CEO of Sprint and two other execs have resigned from the board of Clearwire.
This indicates some interesting issues as to why now. Sprint owns 54% of Clearwire, but it does not have board control. So why is AntiTrust an issue Now.
If you want to look for a likely suitor, Who would you vote for? T-Mobile, One of Cable companies? Google? Could it be that Sprint wants to bring all of the Clearwire back into the fold? Or does it suggest a split in the unified network strategy?
This indicates some interesting issues as to why now. Sprint owns 54% of Clearwire, but it does not have board control. So why is AntiTrust an issue Now.
If you want to look for a likely suitor, Who would you vote for? T-Mobile, One of Cable companies? Google? Could it be that Sprint wants to bring all of the Clearwire back into the fold? Or does it suggest a split in the unified network strategy?
Over the Top - Money
September 30, 2010
Who cares if you carriers billing system is working right? when you have all these options to pay from the web. Once again the mobile Internet is really just the Internet.
Watching a panel of companies at Gigaom's Mobilize of companies successful in mobile payments. But it is all over the top.
The companies include Boku, Groupe Hi-Media, Mastercard, Paypal, Zong
Interesting Geoff of Mastercard, has not brought up Smart Cards.
Watching a panel of companies at Gigaom's Mobilize of companies successful in mobile payments. But it is all over the top.
The companies include Boku, Groupe Hi-Media, Mastercard, Paypal, Zong
Interesting Geoff of Mastercard, has not brought up Smart Cards.
BOF: The New 4G: the FCC decision and use of White Spaces
September 30, 2010On one of the mail lists I participate in the conversation has been intriguing about what technology is the right technology for TV White Space. WiMAX, WiFi and LTE advocates which can normally find detante' showing different ecosystems. The opportunity with White Space represents a different kind of opportunity, because it is unlicensed Spectrum.
On Wednesday at the Conference we are running a BOF about the White Space where we look at it not from the technology alone but from the business model.
Does the concept of a service provider matter, or will we get a wider ability to mesh as end users?
Where and When should we expect solutions in the market place?
You can join us remotely by clicking here http://www.zipdx.com/event/ws6oct2010.php.
Barlow Keener will moderate.
Jack Unger
President of Ask-Wi.Com, Inc.
Jack Unger founded the company in 1993 after working for 14 years in the Silicon Valley telecom industry for ROLM, IBM, Siemens and NEC. Ask-Wi.com has been serving the broadband wireless community for the past 17 years. Mr. Unger deployed one of the world's first wireless ISPs (WISPs) in Silicon Valley 1995. He has personally has trained over 3500 wireless personnel and he wrote the first handbook for the WISP industry, "Deploying License-Free Wireless Wide-Area Networks", which was published by Cisco Press in 2003.
Missing the Point on e911
September 23, 2010
The Commission is rearranging the deck chairs on e911.
First of all to their credit they want to improve accuracy of wireless services. According the Chairman Genachowski over 50% of the e911 calls need better details.
Then came examples of suggestions for people to tell the dispatcher. What Floor you are on, what are nearby landmarks. All good stuff except they have little to do with the GPS system.
On the other hand, pictures using MMS, or email would be useful.
Oh Wait! The dispatcher does not have capabilities for these things.
It would be nice if more emphasis was placed on fixing the government's side of the connection and upgrading it rather than putting pressure on the private sector to deliver more details.
Worse, solutions such as VoIP they force fit the old rules upon. It makes me wonder if the commission had been around at the beginning of POTS would it have required an integration to the telegraph. After all at the time it was the central point for all communication.
The sad reality is that we could build a better 911 application on Android than any dispatcher can get from the current system. Anyone up for the challenge?
First of all to their credit they want to improve accuracy of wireless services. According the Chairman Genachowski over 50% of the e911 calls need better details.
Then came examples of suggestions for people to tell the dispatcher. What Floor you are on, what are nearby landmarks. All good stuff except they have little to do with the GPS system.
On the other hand, pictures using MMS, or email would be useful.
Oh Wait! The dispatcher does not have capabilities for these things.
It would be nice if more emphasis was placed on fixing the government's side of the connection and upgrading it rather than putting pressure on the private sector to deliver more details.
Worse, solutions such as VoIP they force fit the old rules upon. It makes me wonder if the commission had been around at the beginning of POTS would it have required an integration to the telegraph. After all at the time it was the central point for all communication.
The sad reality is that we could build a better 911 application on Android than any dispatcher can get from the current system. Anyone up for the challenge?
A New Series of Posts
August 21, 2010
We are getting close to 4GWE and I am off to LA next week for other reasons, so I am looking forward to scoping out the place in advance. I am trying to minimize my impact on the time, buy allowing staging the intros. While doing that, I decided to try something different.
Tell me what you thing of my Better Know A Session Series?
Tell me what you thing of my Better Know A Session Series?
Steve Colbert, used to do "Better Know a District" This is my version.
And this session on Wednesday is 4G Synergies in Silicon by Mindspeed's CEO Raouf Halim.
Mindspeed has been part of the community that serves the VoIP and wireless world, so it's logical that as they look at the expansion of the wireless Internet, Mindspeed brings an understanding of concerns around over the top and wireless backhaul service delivery.
Why do they call the session Synergies is the question I have on my mind. From the perspective of Mindspeed is the silicon stable for both LTE and WiMAX? Are the deployments in the handset impacting the evolved packet core, or are we actually seeing a détente that allows the Wireless Internet at the core to be just as interoperable as the Internet Backbone is on fiber? In other words is the backhaul network still an access network or is it closer to the Internet Backbone?
Those are the questions on my mind, but the more important question is probably in your mind. So join us at 4GWE so you can ask it and be part of the event.
Clearwire Saved by LTE? Its not the Technology its the Spectrum.
August 9, 2010
Refering to the Forbes article. reference http://bit.ly/cuB6Bb.
Andrew,
Respectfully you are missing the point. WiMAX and LTE are both connected to the WiFi standards. The migration to these technologies is an admission by the wireless carriers that they have to be better at delivering the Internet.
The Internet motivates all of the 4G decisions being made by Apple, ATT, Cablevision, Clearwire, Comcast, Google, etc.
The spectrum asset is the "Clear" value of Clearwire. As the use of Wireless broadband increases the concept of a phone will become less and less relevant.
The WiMAX standard is already completed its IMT 2000 compliance meaning it is in lying in wait for the LTE - Advanced to catch up.
Clearwire can support the end points of dungles with superior service for the next few years and still be ahead of LTE roll outs.
Additionally, your point about standards ignores the fact that LTE interoperability is more than a year away.
So we have a window of opportunity for the WiMAX to work and a migration plan for when LTE catches up.
To me means the future is strong for CLWR.
If you want to hear more join me at my event at 4GWE. http://bit.ly/aHnwbs
Andrew,
Respectfully you are missing the point. WiMAX and LTE are both connected to the WiFi standards. The migration to these technologies is an admission by the wireless carriers that they have to be better at delivering the Internet.
The Internet motivates all of the 4G decisions being made by Apple, ATT, Cablevision, Clearwire, Comcast, Google, etc.
The spectrum asset is the "Clear" value of Clearwire. As the use of Wireless broadband increases the concept of a phone will become less and less relevant.
The WiMAX standard is already completed its IMT 2000 compliance meaning it is in lying in wait for the LTE - Advanced to catch up.
Clearwire can support the end points of dungles with superior service for the next few years and still be ahead of LTE roll outs.
Additionally, your point about standards ignores the fact that LTE interoperability is more than a year away.
So we have a window of opportunity for the WiMAX to work and a migration plan for when LTE catches up.
To me means the future is strong for CLWR.
If you want to hear more join me at my event at 4GWE. http://bit.ly/aHnwbs
