FiOS Update

Verizon's FiOS is a project that has garnered attention from many sources. Some say that it is too expensive, especially considering that AT&T is choosing a less costly architecture. This report posted today in BusinessWeek reports some project cost estimates and gives some initial market results.

Is this a worthwhile gamble for Verizon? Will they be vindicated, or will the cheaper architectures turn out to be the better choice?

Technorati Tags:
Verizon, AT&T, FiOS, broadband

WiMAX in India

I had posted earlier about 3G in India. Continuing on this theme, I came across this item, which details India's WiMAX plans. As I posted earlier, Sprint sees WiMAX as a 4G technology ...

Would you imagine WiMAX as a viable technology in India? Are these frequency bands the same as the bands being used by other countries? If they are different, what kinds of issues arise? Does it seem as though the Indian Department of Telecommunications is positioning WiMAX in the same fashion as Sprint-Nextel is?

Technorati Tags:
India, WiMAX, wireless, broadband

Closed platforms and digital music

You might have spotted this article, as I did today. Nicholas Carr must have as well, because he had this thoughtful reflection on his blog. This topic also caught the attention of Arik Hesseldahl at BusinessWeek, who has this interesting article to complement the others. I have studied standards and standards development, phenomena that are a way to acheive interoperability among products from competing suppliers. What is interesting is that we are moving into a "battle of the systems" model, rather than a "battle of the components" model.

Is this a transitory phenomenon, or is there something about the information industries that is pulling in this direction? Do you see similar phenomena in other instances of the information industries?

You might also be interested in this article at ZDNet, which mentions some of the consequences of the shifting sands of industry structure. Can you think of other times that were similar, or do you think this is without precedent?

Technorati Tags:
Standards, mp3, itunes, network externalities, music, information, systems

Akamai and network neutrality

I came across this article in BusinessWeek about Akamai. As I read it, I began wondering about the practical side of "net neut*", about which I had posted earlier (follow this link). While I know this is a topic on people's minds, there has been relatively little discussion about it over the past couple of months -- perhaps because of the Congressional recess.

Does the deeper insight into Internet service provision enrich your position on this topic? Do you think that Akamai (and/or Google) would be in a position to construct an alternate backbone if they find AT&T's (or Verizon's) pricing unacceptable (that is, do we see echoes of the Western Union/Associated Press here? Does this change the debate for you, especially regarding the appropriate role of government?

Technorati Tags:
Network neutrality, Internet, Akamai, Verizon, AT&T

Interconnection in NGNs

Interconnection is an important (and sometimes difficult) topic in communications networks. This article, via the ITU Newsblog, points out that an interconnection regime for the so-called "Next Generation Networks" (or NGNs) is absent.

What do they mean by NGNs, anyway? Can existing interconnection regimes be adopted (or adapted) for these networks? Why or why not?

Technorati Tags:
NGN, Internet, Broadband, ITU, Interconnection

Spectrum Auction No. 66 update

Today's USA Today has this article about the spectrum auctions, which, they report, could end today. How do the results reported in this article compare with the interim results discussed earlier on this blog? Do you see any change in strategy by the carriers as the auction proceeded?

Technorati Tags:
Wireless, spectrum, auctions, Verizon, T-mobile, cellular, 3G

3G in India

I found this item on Om Malik's blog interesting. It has long been suggested that developing countries might have some advantages by skipping generations of technology. This same thing was suggested in the 1980s and 1990s around digital switching, and it this isn't the first time that it has been brought up in connection with wireless systems.

Do you think this viewpoint has merit? Is the social or user "infrastructure" able to exploit these more advanced technologies? What about handset costs and how that affects penetration?

Technorati Tags:
3G, wireless, spectrum, India

Telecoms in the EU

The ITU's newsblog pointed to these three studies of telecommunications in Europe. These studies are part of the ongoing review of the EU Communications Framework. They also pointed to this paper for your further reading pleasure. The upcoming Telecommunications Policy Research Conference will also feature a panel on this topic.

We will certainly be hearing more about this in the future!

Technorati Tags:
ITU, EU, Communications, Telecommunications, , TPRC

Broadband TV

AT&T and Verizon have promised triple- or quadruple-play services on the FTTH networks that they are building. This appears to be the first incarnation of that for AT&T. While this article is short on technical details, it does allow users to select programming in an apparently on-demand format.

Would this replace or supplement your TV viewing? How is this different from TV cards that you can purchase for less than US$100 and plug into your existing cable system? Do you think this is a "who cares" service?

Technorati Tags:
AT&T, video, Internet, television, media, streaming

Telecom Italia

This item has shown up in various news outlets over the past couple of days. What is interesting to me is that it seems to go against the prevailing trend toward consolidation. Others have wondered about this (see this article in BusinessWeek). Nonetheless, it is not without precedent (see this, and this, for example).

Do you think this is wise given the trend in access lines (see this for data)? Do you think the triple/quadruple play strategy that many carriers are following (i.e. an integrator strategy) will end up being best, or is a specialist strategy (like Telecom Italia's proposed strategy) better in the long run? In the context of globalization, John Hagel and others have argued for a specialist strategy; how does his argument apply to the telecom industry?

Technorati Tags:
Telecommunications, EU, Telecom Italia, integration, broadband, mobile

Regulatory Capture

When people like me who teach regulation discuss theories of regulation, we normally start with the "public interest theory" because that is the intellectual rationale for regulation. We then discuss how it is difficult to show how public interest regulation meets a "public interest" standard. One of the alternative theories that is offered is called "capture theory". All of this is a preface to a pointer to this article that Tim Lee posted over at Technology Liberation Front (that amounts to a book synopsis) on this topic.

Technorati Tags:
Regulation, regulatory capture, technology, telecommunications

Broadband through gas pipes

Public utilities are industries that have historically been characterized by being capital intensive, slow growth, dependable revenue companies. During the "dot-com" boom of the 1990s, utility companies sought to break out of that mold by adapting their infrastructure to support new communications services. Enron was the "poster child" for that strategy. During their heyday, they acheived remarkable growth for a utility (in part due to fraud as it it turned out, though there was some significant innovation that happened there as well, especially in bandwidth trading).

Some of the biggest assets that a utility has are its rights-of-way and its installed infrastructure. So, utilities have been seeking ways of "monetizing" this asset. Sometimes this has meant allowing communications companies to install fiber in their conduits. In another case, electric utilities have developed power line communications (PLC) systems to bring communications services to businesses and residences over the electric power system (here is the Wikipedia post -- I haven't checked it yet for correctness).

What brings all of this to mind is this article in today's USA Today. Apparently some gas companies are interested in a system that uses Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology in gas lines to support communications over their infrastructure.

Why not treat gas lines as waveguides and use RF? Do you think this could be a viable "third pipe"? Why is such a third pipe desirable anyway? From a public policy standpoint, is it a good thing (or not) to have competition among a variety of "third pipe" technologies? Why or why not?

Technorati Tags:
Broadband, power line communications, Internet, third pipe, gas, utilities

Spectrum Auction (No. 66) update

Earlier, I had discussed the spectrum auction currently underway in the US. In case you were wondering how it was going (as I was), this article in BusinessWeek has some answers for you. Not surprisingly, T-Mobile is one of the biggest bidders. They have long been spectrum constrained and this added capacity should help them expand their network. What is surprising is Verizon's activity. Apparently, they are girding up for providing more high speed services. The BW article also reports that the prices are attractive. Do you think that this accounts for the surprises in activity? How do you think this will change the competitive dynamics in the industry? Do you expect another wave of consolidation after the auction concludes?

Technorati Tags:
Wireless, spectrum, auctions, Verizon, T-mobile, cellular, 3G