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In this on-line publication, we share our analysis, opinions and direction on the interactive television news and views that we believe will be of interest and use to our friends associated directly or indirectly with independent telephone companies. For more information as to the various ways Viodi works with independent telephone companies, please go to http://www.viodi.com/alliance/
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Viodi View Newsletter - April 11th, 2007
Click here to learn about Telecom@NAB 2007
By Ken Pyle, ken.pyle at viodi.com, Managing Editor, Viodi View
Is the “Field of Dreams” in our own backyard? This was the title of my presentation at last week’s Iowa Telephone Association (ITA). While this phrase is synonymous with the idea of building something and the customers will follow, I gave this metaphor a different spin in my presentation. My premise is that the big corporations, such as Major League Baseball, are likely to overlook the hidden gems at the local level that independent telcos can mine so easily. More about how telcos can exploit what larger corporations miss in an article I will soon pen for Club Viodi.
Good Local Content Ideas from Independent Telcos & More at Club Viodi
In the meantime, Club Viodi members, Hunter Callanan of Clear Lake Telephone provided some good ideas at the ITA conference on how they are leveraging local content to make a community a better place.
Some other posts on Club Viodi in the past two weeks include:
Iowa Telephone Association Video Workshop – Video & More….
Hunter Callanan was one of several speakers at the ITA’s Video Workshop. Here are some other posts from that one day, very informative gathering.
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Roger Musick of Innovative Systems talked of the challenges and opportunities with IPTV in a talk that focused on how independent telcos can differentiate themselves from their larger competitors. Click here to read, IPTV – Over Promised and Under Delivered.
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Tom Wacker of NTCA provided a good overview of the video regulatory history as well as an argument for why telcos should be proactive with regards to the upcoming CableCard mandate. Click here to read, Not the Time to Beg for Forgiveness.
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David Lepak of Telechannel gave an excellent overview of the cable television programming business in his presentation. Click here to read Programming 101 at Iowa Telephone Association’s Video Conference.
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Justyn Miller of Kalona Telephone talked of the importance of independent telcos staying up with technology in a dazzling display of gadgets and gizmos. Click here to read, Embracing the Gadgets and Gizmos – A Telco’s Opportunity.
He Blinded Me with Broadcast - A Unique Chance to Mix (advertorial) Justyn Miller is one of the many excellent speakers at Telecom @ NAB. Thomas Dolby (yes, of she “Blinded Me with Science” fame from the MTV golden years) will be joining service provider speakers such as Gene South of Lakedale Communications, Scott Sandall of D&E, Jim Rennard of Canby Telephone and Alexis Johnson of Verizon-FIOS. Gary Arlen, who is also speaking at Telecom @ NAB, wrote a good article, Herding Dinosaurs Towards Convergence, that looks at the motivation for and the importance of this event to both telcos and broadcasters. . Learning the tools and techniques for producing content is the focus of the Video Production Crash Course. As an organizer of this particular track, I am lucky to see the presentations ahead of time and what I have seen is right on the mark for telcos wanting to get into the video production business. Just announced to the speaker line-up are Tony Carrison and J.R. Reid who are veteran sound and lighting experts, respectively. Independent telcos, contact me at ken dot pyle at viodi dot com, if you are planning on attending either the Video Production Crash Course or Telecom at NAB. We have some special things planned for our independent telco friends. |
The IPTV Crash Course – A Book Review
I don’t read many books. It has something to do with my short attention span. So, when I told my wife that I had read a book on my trip to Des Moines, her reaction was that the book must have been awfully compelling. In short, it was and I recommend this book as a must-read for anyone interested in the topic of IPTV. To read the full review, click here.
A Potential WiMAX DoublePlay in the 700 MHz Band
Alan Weissberger reports on the potential double play use of Mobile WiMAX in the 700MHz band. To read the full article, click here.
Apparently, the uproar of a purported 4,000 complaints to the FCC caused Qwest and Cingular to have a change of heart regarding blocking certain conference bridges. Having said that, another press release suggests that call blocking is negatively affecting non-profits. As a result, Independent telcos and conferencing companies will present their position to the FCC next week, April 18th to 20th. My bias is towards these conference providers, as I use their services quite frequently and love their value. Click here for more information.
State Wide Franchise Debate – In Depth Video Coverage
| Roger Bindl filmed over 7 hours of testimony at the Wisconsin State Capital regarding a proposed statewide cable television franchise bill. Roger does an excellent job of cutting this down to approximately 10 minutes of meat. He provides a balanced view, especially given that he is Chairman of the Madison Public Access channel, WYOU. Probably the most interesting thing about this video is towards the end, when a television broadcaster blocks Roger’s camera to get a “feel good” shot. According to Roger, this was the only time that the mainstream media appeared at this event. Click here to view Roger's report. |  |
IPTV 2007: Best Practices and Beyond (advertisement) Zhone Technologies, Inc. and Consolidated Communications, Inc. are hosting “IPTV 2007: Best Practices and Beyond”, an education symposium and workshop. It will take place in Mattoon, IL at Consolidated Communications headquarters May 16 and May 17. This will a full day workshop offered on each day to service providers, engineering consultants and distributors interested in IPTV. As hosts for the workshop, Consolidated Communications will offer attendees a tour of its IPTV head end, currently delivering 178 channels, along with its operations center. Zhone will provide attendees hand-on demonstrations during the workshop of a working IPTV system that includes MPEG-4 AVC with HDTV. The workshop will be an educational opportunity to learn about IPTV best practices from Consolidated Communications, where the market and technology is in 2007 for IPTV services, as well as the features, functions and applications of the complete IPTV system. Participating in the workshop with Zhone are leading IPTV technology suppliers Tut Systems, Amino Communications, Verimatrix, and Kassena. ViewNow TV will also be represented to address content and value. Attendance is free to registrants, and will include breakfast, lunch and a reception the evening of May 16. More details and registration can be found at www.zhone.com/iptv2007. |
THIS JUST IN – Standards Survey for Independent Operators
The Rural Standards Initiative is surveying independent telcos to determine there view on standards. Forrest Wilhoit, Project Coordinator for the Rural Standards Initiative, reports that,
“The Rural Standards Steering Committee is conducting a process of due diligence in order to measure the perceptions of the industry and to develop a coordinated response to technical challenges. The steering committee is taking a highly open-minded, organic approach to this at this time - we're focusing on getting a clear picture of the "ground truth".”
The Rural Standards Initiative is an important effort and you can learn more from this exclusive ViodiTV interview with Charlie Watts. To participate in the survey, please contact Mr. Wilhoit at forrest at ruralstandards dot org.
Mike Tylka began his new career a few weeks ago as the General Manager for Eastern Oregon Telecom in Hermiston , Oregon on Monday March 26. For the last 9 years, Mike was with Project Mutual, a long-time provider of the triple play and video CLECing.
Long-time industry and Raynet, Next Level and Myrio/Siemens veteran Ray Young is now covering the New England area for Computer Telephone, Inc., a provider of IP based PBX systems.
Congratulations to Mike and Ray
The Korner–Is that a Baseball or Donut Batter?
When marketing and the product become one, a company stands to make a fortune. Baseball, and most other major professional sports, has achieved that corporate nirvana. Unlike other corporations, MLB does not have customers; it has fans. Fans pay for the privilege of marketing their team. Instead of buying airtime, MLB sells airtime as evidenced by the huge deal with DirecTV and iN DEMAND. Marketing is actually a profit center for the well run league.
What a coincidence then, that Angela Abshier gave me a sneak preview of a new video campaign she has been working on with James Robinson, Alliance Marketing Partners, Dunkin Donuts and the New York Mets. The premise is that Joe Dunkin (a person dressed in a big Dunkin Donut’s cup) will be the secret weapon of the New York Mets. It is a video clip that is more about entertainment than a selling the product (although I could use a cup of coffee and a donut right now). The release of this video is imminent and will soon be all over the Internet. I have a number of questions for Angela about this video that I hope she can address at next week’s Video Production Crash Course, such as: 1) Is this a first in a series of videos? 2) What was the release process like in working with a professional sports team? 3) How long did it take to produce? 4) Are the producers planning any Joe Dunkin merchandise? If you have any questions for Angela and won’t be at next week’s event, please send them to me at ken at viodi.com. |
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[Lastly, thanks again for the feedback regarding the two-part approach to sending the Viodi View. We are back to one part. We have been including more posts at ViodiTV and have a video highlight that is roughly equivalent to the text Viodi View. Please send us any feedback.]
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The Video Business Case for Independent Telcos – The Report
Viodi’s report, Video Business Case provides results to a survey of independent telcos and their business case for video. Most of the telcos that responded to the survey have figured out a way to deploy video services. This survey provides insight from the independent telcos as well as several of their Engineering firms.
