Recently in Convergence Category

A report today from ABI Research says that the broadband video market worldwide saw "explosive growth" for 2005 and will grow to over $16 billion by the end of the decade.

A news release today from ABI says that "both pay and ad-supported broadband video markets" grew over 100% year-over-year  in 2005. For this aggressive growth, ABI cited as drivers:

• "consumers' continuing increase in broadband video usage"
• "content owners' demand for alternative outlets as existing channels (cable, broadcast and DVD) mature"
• advertisers' "pushing to increase their expenditure in this market because sought-after demographic groups such as young adults are spending more time online, instead of watching TV"

Mike Wolf, ABI's principal analyst for broadband, digital home and media, cited "Disney/ABC's announcement that it would sell episodes of ‘Desperate Housewives' for $1.99 per episode through iTunes" and "NBC's decision to push its flagship nightly news online through an ad-supported model" as indicative of content companies' strong desire for new distribution channels.

Wolf also mentions the "digital home" trend as important in the development of the broadband video market. Today's release says companies such as Microsoft, Sony and Apple have positioned themselves as "key gatekeepers for consumers with home technology platforms, giving them leverage with content owners looking to reach consumers with broadband video content."

Wolf says, "Consumer platforms, be they Xbox 360s, iPods or TiVos, have millions of loyal users who are hungry for content. The kingmakers in the broadband video market will be those who can offer not just online distribution of content, but can then extend the reach of this content to the consumer, by whatever method that consumer prefers."

AB -- 12/8/05

This announcement came across the TMCnet news feeds today:

Lucent Technologies Builds New Agency Line Up to Lead Worldwide Advertising and Brand Communications; GlobalWorks Selected along with International Co-Production and Carat in 'True Convergence' Campaign Spotlighting Today's Digital Lifestyles

It looks as if this is a new campaign launched in conjunction with Lucent's hiring a new lead ad agency for its worldwide marketing efforts. The new agency is GlobalWorks Group, based in New York and known for its multicultural experience.

Today's release explained the 'True Convergence' theme in these terms:

Yuri Radzievsky, president of GlobalWorks: "Our mandate is to reinforce how Lucent is making true convergence a reality by enabling truly simple, truly seamless communications experiences for the end-user. We're all living and running around with four or five pieces of gear, which reflects today's digital lifestyle and work style, and the advertising will focus on how Lucent will bring real harmony to what until now has been an ever growing vortex of communications chaos."

John Giere, chief marketing officer for Lucent: "The overriding theme is to show how Lucent's solutions will simplify life, at work, at home and on the go across the entire horizon of personal communications media, and give end-users control of the experience."

The front page of the Lucent Web site is now highlighting a Flash presentation (developed by GlobalWorks or its partners, I assume) that does a good job presenting the position of the 'True Convergence' campaign. Here's one image that might give you an idea of the flavor of the campaign and the creative employed in it:

Lucent is sending speakers to the upcoming Internet Telephony Conference and Expo in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Jan. 24-27, 2006: Geeta Chaudhary, who works in IP video solutions; Tim Gore, working in WiFi development; and Tim Connelly from Lucent's professional consulting division.

AB -- 12/1/05

This news item just came across on our TMCnet news feeds:

Cisco Systems, Inc. Announces Agreement to Acquire Scientific-Atlanta, Inc.; Acquisition Completes Cisco's End-to-End Triple Play Solution for Networks and the Home

The companies have scheduled two conference calls for today to discuss the union.

This acquisition should accelerate Cisco's progress in the triple-play arena. Today's release says that Scientific-Atlanta is a supplier of "digital content contribution and distribution systems, transmission networks for broadband access to the home, digital interactive set-tops and subscriber systems designed for video, high-speed Internet and Voice over IP (VoIP) networks."

AB -- 11/18/05

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all the calls and messages coming at you in so many forms from so many devices -- cell phone, SMS, home phone, IM, work phone, VoIP calls and so on? Need I even ask?

iotum has developed the Relevance Engine, a technology that intelligently routes the right call to you at the right time on the right device. I talked with iotum CEO Alec Saunders on our podcast this past Friday -- go here for the MP3 of this most recent podcast, or to our podcast page for an index of previous programs.

Rich Tehrani had a separate briefing with Alec and wrote it up in his article from today, "Just in Time Communications Getting Close."

AB -- 11/15/05

The TMCnet news feeds today picked up an announcement from research firm In-Stat, predicting that broadband-enabled hotels worldwide will grow from 14,300 in 2004 to 54,000 in 2009.

The study specifically looks at properties that offer broadband access in guest rooms, not just in business centers and public areas. In-Stat says that hotel broadband service is growing especially in North America. North America represents about two-thirds of broadband-enabled properties. When you look at total worldwide markets, penetration is still quite low. In-Stat says that, worldwide, "broadband will have only penetrated 3.4 percent in 2004, growing to 11.4 percent in 2009."

As I prepared for the road trip my wife and I took last month (September 2005) from Connecticut to South Carolina, I was wondering what to expect in terms of Internet access in hotels along the way. For several years now, I've relied on my Earthlink dialup account to keep me connected while traveling. But after last month's trip, from now on I'm bringing an ethernet cable. Hotel broadband is indeed proliferating.

Most intriguing was the Telkonet BPL (Broadband over Power Lines) access offered at the English Inn in Charlottesville, Virginia. Here's a picture of Telkonet's iBridge unit on the Spassmeister blog. It's a small, easy-to-use device that sits on the desk and is maybe a little smaller than a WiFi router.

I found that Telkonet worked pretty well. The system provides Internet access over the hotel's electrical circuits, so all you really have to do is plug the iBridge into a wall outlet and plug your ethernet cable into the iBridge. I think I might have had to restart my laptop once to give it a chance to shake hands with the iBridge, but after that it worked seamlessly and gave me fast reliable access during my stay.

However, I have to admit that on this trip I was just as happy to stay for four nights at the 1837 Bed & Breakfast in Charleston, South Carolina, where we didn't even have a telephone in the room, not to mention broadband! And my wife was very happy with that, as it left me free to go on walks with her through the beautiful historic district of Charleston, instead of sitting in the room hunched over my laptop.

AB -- 10/12/05

I could let myself speak cynically about this study sponsored by Verizon:

Tampa, Hillsborough County Residents Want Choice and Competition for Cable TV From Verizon

It's probably a good idea to recognize that survey research is easily colored by factors such as who pays for it and what questions are asked in the survey. A reasonable person will be careful about saying that any position is "proven" by the results of a survey. Naturally, this Florida study paid for by Verizon concludes that consumers in two important Florida markets want to see competition for their business. That would probably be true in most markets.

To me, the significance of this study lies more in what it says about the current strategy of Verizon (and its cousins SBC, BellSouth and other telcos) to break into the video space. Some of the telcos advancing triple-play strategies are hoping to get government help to leap-frog local franchise requirements and get easier access to markets. Being able to point to "research" can help persuade legislators to move ahead and ease up requirements.

That said, it is probably true that most of us as consumers in the overall U.S market would like to see more competition and choice among communications providers, not just for TV, but for voice services, Internet access and wireless. In the following survey results, quoted from Verizon's press release today, perhaps the surprising thing is that the percentages in favor of competion are not even higher:

* When asked if they had cable or satellite television service, 79
percent of Tampa respondents and 87 percent of Hillsborough County
respondents said yes.

* When asked whether or not they support companies being able to offer
television service through a fiber-optic network as competition to
cable and satellite, 78 percent in Tampa and 83 percent in Hillsborough
County were in favor.

* When asked about Verizon being one of these companies, 68 percent were
positive in Tampa and 62 percent in Hillsborough County, an average of
65 percent.

* Most area residents are not satisfied with the level of competition in
the cable television service market. Fully 57 percent of Tampa
residents and 51 percent of Hillsborough County residents say they are
not satisfied with the amount of competition between companies that
provide cable television service in their area. Dissatisfaction is
even greater among those who currently have cable television service.
Six out of 10 cable subscribers in Tampa (60 percent) say they are not
satisfied with the amount of cable service competition, as do 52
percent of Hillsborough cable subscribers.

* Whether young or old, male or female, white, African-American or
Latino, there is broad support for increasing the number of companies
offering this type of television service, with the percentage favoring
more choice ranging from 64 percent to 85 percent.

AB -- 6/24/05

I haven't seen this news item anywhere else other than TMCnet, so I thought it was worth drawing attention to:

Smart Telecom in Dublin, Ireland Selects Minerva Networks’ IP Television Platform

This story comes from Minerva Networks, a provider of carrier-class infrastructure for delivery of video over broadband IP. Service provider Smart Telecom has chosen Minerva's iTVManager software and VC8000 headend system for its IPTV offerings in Ireland.

According to today's announcement, "Smart Telecom is the very first operator in Ireland to offer the digital triple play via a high performance FTTH network."

AB -- 6/20/05

Rich Tehrani forwarded an announcement to me from GEPON (Gigabit Ethernet Passive Optical Networks) developer Alloptic. I haven't seen this announcement anywhere else, so I thought it was worth highlighting:

Alloptic Expands Product Portfolio To Support 15 Mbps Ethernet Over Existing Copper Telephone Lines

This is intriguing because it seems to provide a crucial piece of the broadband puzzle for existing homes and businesses. The release explains how this product offering works:

"Alloptic’s Xgen7000 is the latest in its Fiber-To-The-Premise product line. It allows the wiring in existing buildings or neighborhoods to carry high-speed Internet, IP-Video (including HDTV) as well as traditional voice services in excess of the current speed of xDSL technology. Alloptic’s Gigabit Ethernet PON is used to carry services into the neighborhood or building where the Xgen7000 uses existing copper telephone lines for delivery of service to the consumer. As with other long-range Ethernet and xDSL technology, an inexpensive home media converter is used to change the signals back into the traditional Ethernet interfaces."

Alloptic says that Xgen7000 allows network operators to "to easily deploy high-speed broadband to existing, pre-wired high-density applications like hotels, condominiums, and apartments."

The release quotes Mike Serrano, Director of Product Marketing for the company: “Until now, high-speed data services were limited to locations within 3 miles of a central office. With the Xgen7000, service providers can leverage a passive optical network (PON) to deliver high-speed data services to customers located beyond 12 miles (20km) of a central office.”

AB -- 6/7/05

TMCnet just received this announcement about an upcoming Video on Demand (VOD) demonstration from Arroyo Video Solutions:

Sorenson Communications has announced that it will open new interpreting centers in Boston, Charlotte, Dallas, Milwaukee, New York and Philadelphia, to expand the capabilities of its video relay service (VRS) for the deaf and hard of hearing. Today's release is available on TMCnet at:

Popularity of Videophones, Video Relay Service for Deaf Prompts Sorenson Communications to Build Six Additional Interpreting Centers

Previously I wrote about VRS services operated by Hands on and CSD in this blog entry:

Video Relay Services for Deaf-Hearing Communication

This is a fascinating class of service made possible by converged communications and is growing rapidly in popularity among the deaf and hard of hearing. VRS services allow deaf users to communicate with hearing users through a sign interpreter via videophone. Here's how Sorenson describes how the service works:

"With Sorenson VRS, a network of qualified ASL interpreters receive videophone calls from deaf or hard-of-hearing people and interpret conversations for them with hearing people. Dialogue flows spontaneously back and forth with the deaf or hard-of-hearing person signing ASL to the interpreter who speaks to the hearing individual over an ordinary telephone line."

This illustration from Sorenson is also useful in understanding the service:

Sorenson says they are opening the new contact centers to meet increasing demand for their VRS services. The six new centers were set up in key areas where qualified ASL (American Sign Language) interpreters are readily available.

AB -- 5/23/05