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Viodi View Newsletter - January 25th, 2006
Click here to learn more about Viodi's Local Content Workshop
By Ken Pyle, ken.pyle@viodi.com, Managing Editor, Viodi View
- Local Content @ OPASTCO
- What's Next - A Google Phone Directory???
- High Definition Shopping?
- 700 MHz WiMAX & More? - Special Report from Allan Weissberger
- A New Form of Wireless IPTV
- A Hot Idea for Hot Spots on the Bus
- Krazy Ken's Korner - An Idea for the United States Postal Service
If there has been a recurring them to this season’s conference season, it is the importance of creating a culture that readily embraces change. I write this as I am quickly becoming acclimated to a culture that runs at a slower the pace as compared to my normal environment. Yes, I have finally made it to Hawaii; 49 states down and one to go. The reason for my foray to this tropical paradise is OPASTCO’s Winter Conference.
John Sununu gave a very inspiring talk that served as part history lesson, part metaphor for the telecommunications’ industry. He described how world politics has become much more complex than it was when there were two superpowers. In those days, countries would choose one side or another. Today, coalitions are much more dynamic and focused on particular situations. Sununu suggested that world politics are in a transition and that, “systems are in their greatest points of tension when they are in transition.” Telecom, content or world politics, his speech applied to all three.
| Content
Pavilion Update: All Content Is Local?
Local content will be a major feature of Viodi’s Content Pavilion at TelecomNEXT. From government meetings to cooking shows to historical reenactments to home improvement shows, the creativity unleashed by today’s low-cost technology is amazing and is finding its way into multiple broadband distribution networks. We are gathering content from small to larger operators and will be showcasing it in the Content Pavilion and associated awards ceremony and reception on the TelecomNEXT exhibit floor. Interested in submitting content, then please click here. |
Local Content at OPASTCO & More
|
I was fortunate enough to talk about my favorite topic, local content production by independent telcos. This topic was of great interest to many telcos, as the 7:00 AM OPASTCO U Local Content workshop was packed. Click on the image to the right to see the video that I used to open the first session of OPASTCO U. It provides a few scenes from Hawaii as well as some repurposed video that some may recognize from other Viodi presentations. |
One of the things brought up in this workshop was that a key to success in local content production is having a champion; someone who can spearhead the effort and get the rest of the company and community involved, such that it becomes an integrated part of the telco's operation. I discussed some important findings from a Viodi survey of telcos regarding local content. One thing this survey confirmed is that the number one reason telcos create or plan on creating content is because they wish to help their communities.
David Wright from Cross Telephone had some good ideas for upgrading a NGDLC network on a pay-as-you-grow basis by adding adjunct cabinets with IP DSLAMs. He had an even better idea regarding how to generate local content with minimal investment, while improving a telco’s community. To read these and other specific ideas that flowed from this meeting, please click here [Club Viodi members only].
| OPASTCO
Coverage Sponsored by NRTC |
What's Next - A Google Phone Directory???
And local is not just for small communities. Google’s purchase of dMarc, the Internet ad agency for radio stations, could be an indication of where things are going with regards to the nationalization of local content (sounds like I am describing Venezelua). Indications are that Google will provide a similar service, whereby an advertiser can take a template of an advertisement and customize it online and purchase advertising spots on a given cable system. Spot Runner announced this type of capability last week and it is pretty impressive in terms of capability and can open up new forms of advertising for small businesses.
Will these television advertisements prove to be much more effective than the phone directory? In fact, it would not be surprising to see someone like a Google or a Comcast come out with their own version of a print directory to augment their online and television advertising. This might be something they offer to sweeten the deal with local advertisers and woo them away from the traditional phone company directory.
Telcos with directory page advertising businesses will have to respond in kind. Jeff Weber of SBC/AT&T indicated at last year’s IP Video @ Supercomm, that phone directory advertising would play into their IPTV plans. With SBC’s purchase of AT&T and its text to voice technology, it is conceivable that they could put together a “do-it-yourself” advertising package for small businesses. Or, utilizing their existing relationships, they could provide a value-add to their existing advertisers by giving them streaming video advertisements.
Regarding advertisements, Allison Dollar of the Interactive Television Association recently penned a good article regarding the impact of high definition on the direct marketing industry. In a nutshell, she suggested that high definition will help the direct marketing of higher end products, because it will allow consumers to see so much more detail as compared to traditional standard definition television. Combine high definition with on-demand and an operator will be able to create a virtual shopping center that may appeal to wider audience than existing television shopping channels.
700 MHz WiMAX & More? - Special Report from Allan Weissberger
The operator carrying that high def shopping channel might someday be your friendly WiMAX provider. Allan Weissberger had the chance to hear first-hand the well reported words of Michael D. Gallagher, Assistant Secretary of Commerce and NTIA Administrator.
WiMAX may be able to be deployed in the 700MHz band in a few years:
- Current broadcast industry will transition out of that band by Feb 19, 2008.
- FCC will be defining "service rules" for the private sector to acquire that spectrum. Service Providers will have the flexibility to provide whatever services the market dictates. The government will step aside and let the private sector determine what technologies and applications will be used.
- Currently, 24MHz of the 700MHz spectrum is reserved for public safety applications.
- The balance of the spectrum is to be auctioned and licensed by the FCC, paving the way for greenfield telcos and WISPs to use it for WiMAX (or other broadband wireless technologies).
Click here to read more of Weissberger's report.
The WiMAX providers might just use this system for their own versions of IPTV. The most impressive demonstration I saw at the show was done by software supplier, Kencast. Kencast (you have to love the name), is an OEM supplier to the likes of Time-Warner, TVN and hotel VOD suppliers, so they lots of experience sending around packets of data in a multicast manner. William E. Steele, CEO of Kencast, suggested that WiMAX will overtake any proprietary systems for deploying video to mobile devices.
Kencast demonstrated 12 channels of approximately 400 kilo bits per second video multicast on a WiFi system. The responsiveness and the quality of the system were impressive, as KenCast has figured out a way to account for and, effectively, recover lost packets. It featured the ability to record video onto the PDA; sort of a handheld DVR. This might seem impractical at first glance, but their first customers are government agencies, such as the military and public safety departments. For instance, a fire chief could send fire fighters videos and associated maps of a burning building to give them more accurate location information.
A Hot Idea for Hot Spots on the Bus
Another municipal application that is so obvious, but I had never heard of until two weeks ago, is the idea of hot spots on buses. At NTCA’s Broadband Summit, an independent telco reported that they are bidding for a project whereby they will put wireless hotspots on buses. Their plan is to feed the hotspots using their 700 MHz licensed band. The transit authority will provide this service for at no charge to encourage rider-ship. What a great idea. Wake up Silicon Valley, this should be something we are doing to increase rider-ship on our public transit system.
This is just one of the many good ideas at the NTCA Broadband summit. I have pages and pages of notes from that gather that are, unfortunately, on another computer. Instead of relying on my faulty memory, I will report more in a later issue……
Krazy Ken’s Korner - A New Career Opportunity?
One thread that ran through many of the presentations at NTCA’s Broadband Summit was the idea of the challenges of changing company culture when trying to change a company's direction. Whether it is shifting from TDM to voice over IP or creating video, change is difficult. So maybe the most important thing we can all do is to push ourselves and do things that test our limits or push into arena’s that are uncomfortable.
I was given the opportunity to feel real uncomfortable a few weeks ago. After casually mentioning to the organizer of a 50s-style sock-hop that I once had a bathroom dedicated to Elvis (yes, every King needs a throne), I was tagged as someone who could also impersonate the King. What I didn’t make clear was that the Elvis bathroom shrine was a bit of a joke. It started as repository for a postcard someone had given me and the next thing you know I had towels, light switch plates, posters all adorned with the image of Elvis. I am proud to say that I never purchase anything, although I was tempted to get the velvet Elvis in Tijuana – thank goodness I didn’t have too many cervezas that night.
| Fast forward to the day of the sock-hop and I was very reluctant to try to make myself into something I was not. In fact, I am older than the old Elvis and I had to play the young Elvis. In classic procrastination fashion I didn’t do anything to prepare, other than warbling “Hound Dog” in the shower. Finally, the morning of the sock-hop, I procured some black jeans, found a white tee-shirt and fashioned side burns out of large bandages (colored black with a felt tip market). My barber Manny was the true artist as he took my unkempt mop and made it look like a hair cut from the 1950s. The topper was the Elvis-style glasses, supplied by the sock-hop's DJ, that gave me a bit of a protective shield. When I went on stage I pretended I was Elvis and I think it worked, as one of the kid’s at the party thought I really was an Elvis impersonator and not just Charlie’s dad. More importantly, my kids were excited to see “Elvis” and it is an image that will probably stay with them for a long time. |
And in the end, I am glad pushed myself. This silly example reinforced my belief that, in order to stay current, we must continually push ourselves beyond our comfort zone. Still, I don't think I will quit my day job to be a full-time Elvis impersonator.
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