by Alex LeslieJuly 13th, 2011
The recent report from the Chief Marketing Officers’ Council highlights the internal struggles telcos face as they get to grips with the challenges of the next generation of communications needs. We covered some of the yesterday (CP: CMO Council: The ghosts of the past (legacy mindsets) still haunt telcos).
Diving even deeper into the data, it is worth taking a closer look at one opportunity — demand for greater bandwidth due to over-the-top services – that seems to be passing telcos by and which they are currently seeing as a threat.
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Related Topics: BSS/OSS, Residential Services |
by Joan EngebretsonJuly 13th, 2011
Rock bands can gain some free publicity and years of exposure to Hard Rock Café visitors by donating gold records, guitars, stage outfits and the like to the people who run the increasingly ubiquitous dining destinations. And telecom equipment manufacturers now may now be able to achieve a similar goal by donating devices to the FCC for a new “Technology Experience Center” that opened today. (more…)
Related Topics: Business Services, Independent, Residential Services |
by Rich KarpinskiJuly 13th, 2011
With the big U.S. operators like AT&T introducing wireline data caps (CP: AT&T set to roll with DSL, U-verse broadband usage caps), and content providers like Netflix starting to complain (CP: Netflix says telcos not playing fair with bandwidth), quibbling over the same topic north of the border – where Canadian broadband operators have been charging by th – takes on a bit more importance. (more…)
Related Topics: Residential Services |
by Rich KarpinskiJuly 12th, 2011
We recently wrote about Netflix implementing optional user controls to help limit their customer’s bandwidth consumption — not to mention its legal counsel complaining about telcos limiting access to that bandwidth. But complaining about the “pipe” end of the equation turns out to be just phase one. Today, the company radically changed its pricing structure, essentially forcing customers to choose between its original DVD delivery business or its instant streaming offering – or face a price increase of more than 60%. (more…)
Related Topics: Mobile Apps, Residential Services |
by Alex LeslieJuly 12th, 2011
It certainly isn’t news that telcos and over-the-top providers have been eying each others’ businesses warily (CP: Netflix says telcos not playing fair with bandwidth). This week, a new report out of Europe suggests one solution: if OTTs are going to encroach on telco turf, let telecom service providers adopt almost any business model they want to. (more…)
Related Topics: Residential Services |
by Rich KarpinskiJuly 11th, 2011
Netflix may be the Internet’s biggest bandwidth hog (CP: Netflix number-one bandwidth gobbler), so much so that it’s starting to help its subscribers – many of whom are starting to face data caps – how to manage their bandwidth consumption (CP: Facing cap impact, Netflix lets customers manage their own bandwidth). Netflix isn’t happy about those caps, and it isn’t going to be quiet about it. (more…)
Related Topics: Residential Services |
by Kevin FitchardJuly 8th, 2011
If mobile operators aren’t going to bring voicemail into the 21st century, then companies like Youmail will. The visual voicemail provider revealed this week that it has answered and recorded 1 billion phone calls through its downloadable smartphone app. That may be a mere drop in the bucket compared to the total of volume of voice messages recorded each year, but considering Youmail’s still limited reach, it’s an impressive feat. (more…)
Related Topics: Residential Services |
by Joan EngebretsonJuly 8th, 2011
AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Verizon announced yesterday that they have agreed to participate in a Copyright Alert System aimed at curbing illegal content downloads. But as they implement this program, they face a problem similar to that of cities that have installed red light cameras—they know someone did something wrong and they know what device was used to do it, but they don’t know who actually did it. (more…)
Related Topics: Residential Services |
by Rich KarpinskiJuly 7th, 2011
Need any further proof that voice line cord-cutting is real? The Technical Advisory Council (TAC) to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), made up of an array of telecom experts, last week told the FCC it should “set a date” for the end of today’s legacy public switched telephone network. (more…)
Related Topics: Residential Services |
by Rich KarpinskiJuly 7th, 2011
Over-the-top video providers are moving from a volume game to focus on monetizing all those streams they are delivering, according to a new report from IMS Research. That transition is likely to open up opportunities for service providers to both enable that monetization – and possibly taking a (fair) share of the profits. While the OTT video market was worth just $1.9 billion last year, it will increase to $16.4 billion in 2016, IMS said, making it a pie worth taking a knife to. (more…)
Related Topics: Residential Services |
