Net neutrality opponents have devoted so much effort to spreading the word that proposed reforms could lead to job losses that many of us are getting tired of hearing about it. Perhaps recognizing this, the Phoenix Center this week issued a paper (PDF) that not only provides one of the highest estimates yet of potential Net Neutrality-triggered job losses—it also notes that many of the jobs likely to be lost are high-paying ones. (more…)
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Archive for the ‘All Stories’ Category
With Net Neutrality bill stalled, telcos need to do more network ‘education’
What will happen now that action on net neutrality legislation in the House has stalled? Senators Henry Waxman and Rick Boucher proposed to:
- Restore the FCC’s power to regulate the Internet;
- Prevent ISPs from engaging in unreasonable network management;
- Prevent wireless broadband providers from blocking Web sites;
- Require the FCC to issue transparency regulations so consumers know exactly what they’re getting from providers. (more…)
AT&T launches unified voicemail, version 2010
AT&T last week rolled out the U-verse Voicemail Viewer app, which allows its U-verse Voice customers to view and manage their home phone messages with via their AT&T smartphones. The overall look is something like an e-mail inbox, with the ability to listen to voicemails or return calls by clicking on them.
The AT&T press release has more:
“U-verse Voice customers can opt for a single, combined voice mailbox for convenient access to both home phone and wireless messages. They can also view their call logs on their PC or TV screen, initiate a call from their PC or TV, and view voicemail notifications on their U-verse TV screen as well as experience Caller ID on TV.”
Unified voicemail has been around as a concept for years, though we most often hear about it in conjunction with business and enterprise calling services. Now, the idea is catching up with the consumer multi-screen evolution. One question though: Does anyone actually still get voicemails at home? That’s one of the things I always wondered about Caller ID on TV, a pretty cool advanced TV application that nevertheless leverages the gradually dwindling likelihood of customers actually getting calls while at home watching TV. Kidding aside, this is what converged applications are all about—making everything available on multiple screens consolidated on a single screen, In 2010, the screen of choice is the one on your mobile phone.
AT&T, Microsoft ready Windows Mobile 7 unveiling
AT&T scored big getting into bed early (and exclusively) with Apple and the iPhone. It seems to be making a similar bet (though if history holds, NOT exclusively) with Microsoft and its upcoming Windows Mobile 7 smartphone. According to reports, Microsoft will be launching its new phone on Oct. 11, with Steve Ballmer keynoting the festivities from the Microsoft side, and AT&T wireless head Ralph de la Vega joining from the operator side. (more…)
DSL puts off the FTTH future a little longer
In a world increasingly wired by fiber, and in which many service providers are trying to stem DSL subscriber losses, we have been hearing an awful lot lately about how we shouldn’t declare the DSL market dead quite yet. Now, Ovum analyst Kamalini Ganguly, in a column published in The Nation, weighs in with another endorsement for DSL. Ovum believes DSL revenues (not including DSL CPE) hit $848 million in the second quarter, somewhat higher than FTTB/FTTH revenues of $796 million. (more…)
Hulu plus monetization equals cable TV’s business model
Hulu Plus, the online TV streamer’s so-called premium service is started to gain some traction in advance of its official launch expected sometime in the coming weeks. The service, a $9.99-per-month subscription plan that is intended to finally monetize the popular site, has been available on a free trial basis since for viewers who signed up for invitations this past summer. Now, alternative set-top box players TiVo and Roku reportedly are planning to offer Hulu Plus through their respective boxes. Could the new partnerships and the new business model logic help Hulu better compete with traditional providers and lead to more video cord-cutting? (more…)
Multiplication effect: The intersection of mobility and the cloud
There are few more hyped areas in telecom these days than mobile and the cloud. Mobility takes communications and computing devices and makes them always accessible. The cloud takes IT infrastructure and makes it (at least theoretically) endlessly scalable and flexible. (more…)
LTE does Dallas — courtesy of MetroPCS
MetroPCS today launched in Dallas its second long-term evolution network, just a week after going live in Las Vegas. As Metro rolls out market by market, the scope of its rollouts is growing considerable. While the Samsung-built network in Las Vegas is by no means small, the Ericsson-built network in Texas will cover the entire Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. Since MetroPCS focuses primarily on the big markets, it really has nowhere to go but bigger. New York, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco all lie ahead on its roadmap. (more…)
Should CALEA ‘eavesdropping’ obligations extend to Web, device players too?
Earlier this week came news that the Obama administration wants the monitoring of communications to extend to digital technologies, which up until now did not feel the CALEA-like burdens already placed on traditional communications technologies since 1994. The Feds want broader eavesdropping rights because law enforcement and intelligence agencies find it difficult to conduct electronic surveillance on equipment, facilities, and services associated with the Internet such as social networking sites and with smart devices like iPhones and BlackBerries. (more…)