by Ed GubbinsApril 27th, 2011
[Note: This blog post was originally published at NRPG Insights and can be read in full there. We think NPRG analyst Ed Gubbins for sharing his analysis]
CenturyLink’s (CTL) acquisition of Savvis (SVVS) illustrates a crucial dynamic in the current convergence of telecom and data center services. As I pointed out in my recent report on this sector, one of the key competitive battles going forward in the cloud space will be between players that bundle cloud services with their own networks and those who promise “network independence.” Today’s deal demonstrates just how important and valuable the network component is for cloud providers, especially those targeting managed services. (more…)
Related Topics: Business Services |
by Ed GubbinsMarch 29th, 2011
The following is a guest post by New Paradigm Resources Group, view the original here.
As startup Ethernet Exchanges continue to ramp up, most discussions of them include the caveat that this market, which sprang up less than two years ago, is still young and its future is therefore hard to predict. That already muddy view of the sector gets a bit muddier as more carriers add another variation to the model by launching their own Ethernet interconnect services independent of third-party exchanges, as two more carriers did last week. Will carrier hubs eventually diminish the need for third-party exchanges? (more…)
Related Topics: Business Services |
by Ed GubbinsJanuary 20th, 2010
Now that the rules have changed for the second round of broadband stimulus funding awards, will incumbent telco carriers get more involved?
(See below for a list of the rule changes.) (more…)
Related Topics: Broadband Stimulus |
by Ed GubbinsJanuary 15th, 2010
The NTIA and RUS are issuing separate rules for the second round of broadband stimulus funding, worth $4.8 billion.
The NTIA is allocating $2.6 billion in funding during the next round, of which $2.35 billion will go to infrastructure projects, with a focus on what the NTIA calls “comprehensive community” proposals: “middle-mile broadband projects that connect key community anchor institutions – such as libraries, hospitals, community colleges, universities, and public safety institutions,” the NTIA said.
RUS, meanwhile, will distribute $2.2 billion, with a focus on last-mile projects. It will also add “support” for satellite-based proposals, but only in areas that are left unserved after other funds are awarded. (more…)
Related Topics: Broadband Stimulus, Broadband/FTTX, Community, Connected homes, Distance learning, E-Government, Independent, Residential Services, Smart Grids, Telecom Jobs |
by Ed GubbinsJanuary 15th, 2010
The FCC is clearing the way for use of wireless spectrum in the 700 MHz band with a proposed ban on the sale of devices that currently use that spectrum.
Interference with wireless microphones in particular has been one of the stumbling blocks toward the use of 700 MHz spectrum for broader communication purposes. Powerful figures in the entertainment industry, such as Clay Aiken and Dolly Parton, had pressed the FCC to back off. More recently, however, the FCC has been barraged with calls from all corners of the telecom industry to free up more wireless spectrum in order to meet the bandwidth demands of the wireless data market.
The FCC is setting a deadline on the sale of 700 MHz devices for June 12, 2010, a year after the digital TV conversion mandate.
Verizon is already praising the FCC’s move. Clay Aiken could not be reached for comment.
Related Topics: 3G/4G, Independent, LTE, WiMAX |
by Ed GubbinsJanuary 11th, 2010
The past few days have seen a spate of announcements of hosted high-definition (HD) voice services, illustrating the technology’s growing momentum.
Orange, the UK’s third-largest mobile operator, caused a stir when it announced plans late last month to offer HD voice as an alternative to the scratchy service consumers have come to expect from their mobile phones. But it’s not yet clear how much extra consumers would be willing to pay for higher mobile voice quality, nor is it clear what the added bandwidth requirements of such an offering would mean for already congested mobile networks.
By contrast, HD voice’s promise seems more immediately clear in the realm of IP-based and web-based calling for businesses, which are more likely to shell out the extra cash for clear telephony. Several companies are jumping on the bandwagon. Phone.com announced a hosted HD voice service today, following Junction Networks’ announcement late last week that its OnSIP hosted PBX service now supports HD voice. Meanwhile, Ooma recently added HD voice to its consumer-focused Telo. HD-quality voice may be a sought-after differentiator for IP communications providers. My question is: How long will it be until it’s too common to be a differentiator and turns into table stakes? What do YOU think? Leave a comment below.
Related Topics: All Stories, Business Services, VoIP |
by Ed GubbinsJanuary 4th, 2010
Prices for video services are expected to rise this year as cable companies agree to pay broadcasters more for their content. But prices for broadband services among major providers are going up at least as much as video prices are, according to Bernstein Research analyst Craig Moffet. And unlike video, broadband prices don’t have the same history of perpetual increases.
“Cable and telco operators almost across the board are implementing price increases for broadband as well as video,” Moffet wrote in a note today. “Taken together with video price increases, they may enable cable and telco fiber operators to (more…)
Related Topics: All Stories, Broadband Stimulus |
by Ed GubbinsDecember 23rd, 2009
Genband’s bid for Nortel’s carrier VoIP equipment business — if it succeeds — could give the vendor a more direct relationship with the world’s largest carriers than it currently enjoys through its major vendor partners. But the deal could also be seen as further solidification of the VOIP equipment space as the domain of specialist suppliers, according to Elisabeth Rainge, IDC’s director of NGN operations.
“Clearly, given Genband’s acquisitions of assets from NSN, Alcatel-Lucent and others in the past few years, it makes sense that those larger players wouldn’t have a strong interest in taking on the Nortel CVAS VoIP asset,” Rainge said in an email. “For better or for worse, what we’re seeing with this move — assuming it goes through — is that 
VoIP infrastructure is a market for experts. No longer is it the expertise or possibly even the bread and butter, of the traditional telecom network equipment vendors. This is partly an acknowledgement that voice is an application and partly an outcome of the state of voice infrastructure for the largest operators. In a nutshell, the IP transformation is not only underway but today’s reality. To build on IP networks means treating voice as an application.”
Acquiring assets from major vendors and using them to create products that major vendors want has been key to Genband’s success, though the novel strategy is not an easy one to pull off. Likewise, integrating Nortel’s products with its own will be no small task for Genband, Rainge said, especially since the latter’s existing portfolio is already packed with gear from previous acquisitions.
“Genband has a continuing, and now expanding challenge in product portfolio management. I don’t envy their sales team with so many acquired product lines in the fold, especially for long-lived investments such as we see in the TDM-VoIP space,” Rainge said. “There is no doubt that Genband already offers and supports many voice infrastructure solutions. In taking on the Nortel assets, Genband will need to work to position itself as a product company with its own mission rather than a caretaker of a variety of products.”
One bright side for Genband: The shedding of similar assets from major vendors means the company is unlikely to enter a bidding war for Nortel’s business with much larger rivals.
Related Topics: All Stories, Business Services, Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC), IMS, IP/NGN, Unified Communications, VoIP |
by Ed GubbinsDecember 17th, 2009
Vice President Joe Biden announced the recipients of the first $182 million in broadband stimulus grants today (just 9% of the first round of funding and 2% of the overall total) in Dawsonville, Ga.
The 18 projects included in the winners being announced today will benefit 17 states and have already been matched by more than $46 million in private funding, the White House said.
UPDATE: The full list of recipients announced today is available here.
Though the administrators of the program promised to announce the first round of winners this month, the White House said today those announcements — pertaining to $2 billion in awards — will be spread out over the next 75 days. Of the $182 million in funds being announced today, $129 million will come from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and $54 million will come from the Rural Utilities Service.
The awards announced today include: (more…)
Related Topics: All Stories, Broadband/FTTX, IP/NGN, Independent, Residential Services, Smart Grids, Telecom Jobs, WiMAX |
by Ed GubbinsDecember 16th, 2009
BendBroadband, a family-owned cable and broadband provider serving Bend, Ore., is claiming to have launched the nation’s fastest wireless data service, with speeds averaging between 6 and 8 megabits per second and reaching 15 Mb/s “under optimal conditions.”
The company is delivering those speeds with an HSPA+ (High Speed Packet Access Plus) wireless broadband network that is upgradable to Long Term Evolution (LTE).
The company is supplying users with WiFi-enabled modems for home networks along with a USB device to access its network “virtually anywhere in Central Oregon.” It plans to launch a “feature-rich” residential telephony service next year. (more…)
Related Topics: All Stories, IP/NGN, Independent |
