11.30.2006

Reality of HK's 'one country, two systems'The intervention of the


Reality of HK's 'one country, two systems'
The intervention of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office in the sale of PCCW to foreign bidders represents Beijing's boldest intervention in the territory's supposedly sancrosanct commercial affairs since the 1997 handover.

Bundling of telecommunications services workshop
UTC will host a workshop on developing an interpretive or policy statement relating to the bundling of telecommunications services

NTIA approves new .com domain name agreementThe National Telecommunication &


NTIA approves new .com domain name agreement
The National Telecommunication & Information Agency (NTIA) issued the following press release today:

The agency retains oversight of .com domain with safeguards to protect consumers, and Internet stability and security

by approving a new .com agreement between ICANN and VeriSign Inc. This allows VeriSign to operate .com until 2012.

But the interesting point is the amendment negotiated by the Department of Commerce (DoC):
As a condition of approval, the Department negotiated an amendment to its existing Cooperative Agreement with VeriSign to address the competition and Internet security and stability issues identified during the review process. Under this amendment, the Department retains oversight over any changes to the pricing provisions of, or renewals of, the new .com registry agreement. Department approval of any renewal will occur only if it concludes that the approval will serve the public interest in the continued security and stability of the Internet domain name system and the operation of the .com registry, and the provision of registry services at reasonable prices, terms and conditions.
So what is left to ICANN?

Richard

China veto stops $7bn PCCW asset saleA senior Chinese official


China veto stops $7bn PCCW asset sale
A senior Chinese official intervened to scupper the $7bn sale of the PCCW telecommunications group's assets to foreign investors in the most flagrant breach of the territory's commercial autonomy since Beijing resumed sovereignty in 1997.

Telecom regulation in the EU
This article is a good illustration of the "give and take" between the European Commission and national regulators (here is the EU's press release on the subject). A similar example was published earlier on this blog.

Do you think that this supra-national approach can be replicated in other areas of the world? Do you think it should be replicated?

Technorati Tags:
Telecommunications, wireless, mobile, EU

Martin Weiss

Austria starts with the ENUM-based number rangeAustria started in December


Austria starts with the ENUM-based number range
Austria started in December 2004 as first country worldwide with the commercial deployment of ENUM. In this phase existing geographic, mobile, corporate and national-portable (nomadic) numbers could be registered.

The next step will be the opening of the ENUM-based number range +43 780. The Austrian Regulator RTR announced today together with enum.at, the Austrian ENUM Registry,that the opening of the number range for service will take place on May 17th, 2005 at 12 pm. From this time subscribers may register individual numbers on a first-come-first-serve basis.

The ENUM-based number range was defined in the new numbering ordinance (KEM-V) issued 12.05.2004 and is intended for convergent services. The numbers in this range may be reached both from the public Internet and from the PSTN and are linked with the related ENUM domain. Calls from the PSTN are routed via SS7 to VoIP gateways enabled to query ENUM to find out the SIP or H.323 URIs of the destination. On the Internet the End-user may query ENUM directly or via a SIP proxy or gatekeeper to find the destination.

So what is the advantage of this ENUM-based number range?

Unlike "normal" E.164 numbers the usage of these numbers is not bound to the provision of a telephone service.

The number range is specifically targeted for communications service providers offering only VoIP and related real-time communication services to provide their customers easily and swiftly with globally reachable E.164 numbers to be reached from the PSTN and also with an ENUM domain. The only pre-condition is to provide their customers with a SIP or H323 URI.
Some will like to hear this, some may not ;-)

The subscriber simply requests the delegation of an ENUM domain in this range via an accredited ENUM Registrar. This registration triggers automatically the number assignment, so no validation is required, one of the major draw-backs of ENUM registrations of already existing numbers.

On the other hand the end-user may control the associated ENUM domain and change the NAPTRs pointing to his VoIP service at any time, thus "porting" from one provider to another.

But the number range also offers benefits to the conventional telcos on the PSTN, because they may provide their own gateway to route these number ranges and keep the money from the calling user, because no cascading takes place and no terminating fees need to be paid out.

ENUM allows the global connectivity between customers of different providers without the need of bilateral agreements both on the Internet and also from the PSTN.

This service is the first to truly implement the horizonal layered model of the future, separating transport, call set-up and applications. These open possibilities will enable an abundance of new and innovative services and applications for the end-users.

Richard

ShufflingCybertelecom is attempting to make better use of blogs and


Shuffling
Cybertelecom is attempting to make better use of blogs and rss feeds. To this end, this blog and feed is now the "Cybertelecom Blog," which will have articles about recent federal Internet policy and legal developments (such as the recent ADA lawsuit against Targer regarding the accessiblity of its website). Cybertelecom News has migrated to http://cybertelecomnews.blogspot.com/ This is all a
Cybertelecom

Commission declines to reconsider order in Level 3 Communications interconnection dispute with Qwest
Dispute involves Virtual NXX numbering and intercarrier compensation. Docket 053039

November's Top 10 PostsMike Sansone of the blog ConverStations was


November's Top 10 Posts
Mike Sansone of the blog ConverStations was kind enough to name Communication Overtones as one of his Dialing 8 features. According to Sansone, Dialing 8 is a set of posts from a blogger that, I find lasting long and being strong - the cornerstones.

It was very interesting to see what one reader of this blog considers my most interesting posts and it spurred (shamed) me into updating my sidebar that purportedly lists the most popular blog posts on this site. It has been (ummm) a few months since I have done this. I used to be much more reliable in keeping these updated. So, consider me chastised. See the sidebar for the update for the most popular posts of all time (which is only a year, but it is of all time for this site anyway) ;-)

For the month of November, the top 10 most popular posts were:

  • 7 Habits of Highly Effective Blogs
  • (This is, by far, the most popular post of all time, nothing else touches it)
  • Wikipedia: Jimmy Wales Talks to PRSA, Says "Hands Off"
  • (Stay tuned, some stuff is happening behind the scenes on this post, there will be more later)
  • What I Learned About PR at McDonalds
  • (what did you learn from your job in high school/college about PR that you carry with you today?)
  • Viral Video: The YouTube Curse
  • (In other words, the more popular you are, the more likely you will be sued)
  • Process PR: Advertising and Marketing in the Mix?
  • (A simple process for formulating and PR and marketing plan)
  • Fun Friday: Social Media Drawing Tool (Proof that fun is still popular)
  • Media in Second Life Not Too Different From First (Some things never change)
  • Six Principles of Public Relations: But First Develop a Spine (My call-out to the PR profession to push back on bad ideas)
  • Deliver, Respond, Delete: Get Control of Your Inbox (I am still working on this, do you have any great tips to share?)
  • McDonalds Blogger Learns Fast (Hard to believe this one still ranks, but it chronicles McDonald s rough entry into the blogosphere. It s a good case study, if nothing else)


  • kamichat@yahoo.com (Kami Huyse, APR)

    "Body of Knowledge" in infrastructure regulationI came across this item


    "Body of Knowledge" in infrastructure regulation
    I came across this item on the ITU website today. This seems like it is an interesting adjunct to the World Bank's Handbook.

    Technorati Tags:
    World Bank, ITU, telecommunications, regulation, infrastructure

    Martin Weiss

    Verizon, YouTube and network neutrality
    This article reports a pending deal between Verizon and YouTube, which was recently purchased by Google. What is notable here (to me) is that these two firms were on opposite sides of the network neut* debate. In fact, I could probably make the case that YouTube is the kind of service that serves as a kind of "canary in the coal mine" for this debate. On the one hand, it is an innovative service that seems unlikely to emerge if transport and content is exclusively linked (so it serves the pro-regulation side of the debate). On the other hand, it is a high bandwidth service (being streaming video) that the carriers are concerned with (so it serves the pro-market side of the debate).

    So, what do you make of this? Is this an indication that these content/carrier issues can be sorted out by private contracting in the general case? Does this suggest that "network neutrality" regulation is unnecessary?

    Technorati Tags:
    Verizon, YouTube, Google, network neutrality, Internet

    Martin Weiss

    ENUM commercial in Finland +358Ficora launched .8.5.3.e164.arpa User ENUM into


    ENUM commercial in Finland +358
    Ficora launched .8.5.3.e164.arpa User ENUM into public commercial operation after a succesfull pilot phase that started in 2003.

    The database was cleared between the pilot phase and commercial operation and thus there are no delegations at the moment.

    Juhani Juselius from Ficora:

    Our next aim is to get as much support from telcos and registrars for ENUM as possible. Currently I'm optimistic for their support since we are having good discussions with all major Finnish telcos.

    Congratulations!

    User ENUM is currently in commercial operation in

    Austria
    Poland
    Romania
    Germany
    Netherlands
    Finland

    Ireland is still negotiating

    Richard

    11.29.2006

    Telecom Operators to Invest about $450 Million on Infrastructures for


    Telecom Operators to Invest about $450 Million on Infrastructures for Fixed-Mobile-Convergence

    solokay1@yahoo.com (Solomon Ige)

    Keeping calls local proves costly for HK
    When Li Ka-shing set out for Richard Li's executive suite in late June, worried that his son's efforts to sell the assets of PCCW had angered the Chinese government, the gulf between the two men and their corporate headquarters was very wide.

    Free Calls for U.S Troops in Iraq and elsewheresolokay1@yahoo.com (Solomon


    Free Calls for U.S Troops in Iraq and elsewhere

    solokay1@yahoo.com (Solomon Ige)

    UTC ok's $1.25 million public purpose fund from Verizon-MCI merger
    Settlement conditions help ensure that merger is in the public interest. Docket No. 050814

    Peopleline Opens VoIP Phone Storesolokay1@yahoo.com (Solomon Ige)CourseCastOne of the technologies


    Peopleline Opens VoIP Phone Store

    solokay1@yahoo.com (Solomon Ige)

    CourseCast
    One of the technologies I will be using in this course is called CourseCast. This is a multi-media course support technology. An example of the output of CourseCast is here, which supports the first module of the course. I have tested it with both Firefox (1.5.0.3) and Internet Explorer 6.0 (SP2), and found that the graphics are rendered best on IE, so I recommend that one.

    Viewing the output is pretty straight-forward. You click on the link, and it plays. One of the useful features of CourseCast is that you can navigate by clicking on the slide in the left column. If you pick one, you will find that you jump ahead to that point in my talk and the audio and video jumps ahead with you. I hope you find it useful!

    Martin Weiss

    Project Lights Outinfo@riedelcommunications.com (Riedel Communications)UTC to arbitrate interconnection agreement between


    Project Lights Out

    info@riedelcommunications.com (Riedel Communications)

    UTC to arbitrate interconnection agreement between Qwest and Eschelon Telecom, Inc.
    UTC to arbitrate interconnection agreement between Qwest and Eschelon.

    Bundling of telecommunications services workshopUTC will host a workshop on


    Bundling of telecommunications services workshop
    UTC will host a workshop on developing an interpretive or policy statement relating to the bundling of telecommunications services

    Transition to IPv6This topic comes up from time to time


    Transition to IPv6
    This topic comes up from time to time (see, for example, this post). Today, BusinessWeek's website had this article that addressed the subject again.

    Do you think things are different now than they were last year when I blogged about this subject before? Why or why not?

    Update (3 Nov 2007): Robert Cringley must have had the same topic on his mind (see this). Please take the time to read the response comments at the end. Does this change your opinion? How does this gel with the BusinessWeek article, in your view?

    Technorati Tags:
    IPv6, Internet

    Martin Weiss

    The Art of Warinfo@riedelcommunications.com (Riedel Communications)Rural Telephone Service WorkshopUTC invites


    The Art of War

    info@riedelcommunications.com (Riedel Communications)

    Rural Telephone Service Workshop
    UTC invites comments on rural telephone service. Workshop will be August 17, 2006. Docket No. 061116.

    Peopleline Opens VoIP Phone Storesolokay1@yahoo.com (Solomon Ige)


    Peopleline Opens VoIP Phone Store

    solokay1@yahoo.com (Solomon Ige)

    11.28.2006

    "Body of Knowledge" in infrastructure regulationI came across this item


    "Body of Knowledge" in infrastructure regulation
    I came across this item on the ITU website today. This seems like it is an interesting adjunct to the World Bank's Handbook.

    Technorati Tags:
    World Bank, ITU, telecommunications, regulation, infrastructure

    Martin Weiss

    Comcast names new CFOComcast, the biggest US cable operator, has


    Comcast names new CFO
    Comcast, the biggest US cable operator, has hired a senior private equity executive, Michael Angelakis from Providence Equity Partners, to become its new chief financial officer.

    FCC Announces E911 IP Disability Access SummitDA 06-1908 Released: September


    FCC Announces E911 IP Disability Access Summit
    DA 06-1908 Released: September 21, 2006 FCC ANNOUNCES E9-1-1 DISABILITY ACCESS SUMMIT The FCC will hold a Summit to focus on E9-1-1 calling and access for persons with hearing and speech disabilities on Wednesday, November 15, 2006. Last year, the Commission initiated a proceeding seeking comment on how the Commission can ensure that consumers using Internet-based forms of Telecommunications
    Cybertelecom

    Intec pours cold water on takeover talkIntec Telecom Systems, the


    Intec pours cold water on takeover talk
    Intec Telecom Systems, the telecommunications billing software provider, has denied reports it was in preliminary takeover talks with Oracle, the US software group.

    Strategy Analytics Predicts Ongoing Wireless Instant Messaging Growth
    A recent report by Strategy Analytics suggests that business use of mobile instant messaging applications in North America and Western Europe will grow into a US$2 billion market by 2010.

    iTunes, networks, and digital musicAs I mentioned in this post


    iTunes, networks, and digital music
    As I mentioned in this post earlier, the current trend in digital music seems to be toward developing closed platforms (or vertically integrated systems). While this enables the provider to capture the value of networks and to lock consumers in, it also creates powerful incentives for consumers to find work-arounds. Given the market dominance of Apple's iPods, it isn't surprising to find some workarounds.

    Certainly converting to analog and re-converting to MP3 is one way of doing this, it results in a loss of fidelity. A "cleaner" way of doing this, and one that would not involve the loss of fidelity, would be to circumvent the controls digitally. This is basically what is reported in this article.

    On a related note, you will find this article, over at Telecom Liberation Front, in which Adam Thierer talks about the benefits of incompatible platforms.

    What do you think the implications are for Apple? What about for the other music services? What about for the non-iPod MP3 players? Do you think that Apple will react? What kinds of reactions would you expect from them?

    Technorati Tags:
    MP3, music, iTunes, iPod, Apple

    Martin Weiss

    And Setting Back the US Image A Few More Years...
    While traveling by train in Belgium, this billboard in Ieper (Ypres) jumped out at me. Being that I currently live in Texas, this caricature of Texans gave me a real laugh. The store, Media Markt, sells electronic goods. I saw the television commercial and it was even funnier, more exaggerated. However funny, the image of this American isn't one to which I aspire.



    I am tagging my other fellow Texas bloggers on this one since you really can't miss it. Scott, Alan, Lauren, Moo, Christie, and John. Also, my Belgian blogging friend, Serge. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.


    kamichat@yahoo.com (Kami Huyse, APR)

    Pinpoint aim brings success for PerlicoIn Perlico's Dublin headquarters, top


    Pinpoint aim brings success for Perlico
    In Perlico's Dublin headquarters, top executives of the telecoms company are assessing the impact of their latest marketing campaign - on a big computer screen in real...

    11.27.2006

    Topsy Turvyinfo@riedelcommunications.com (Riedel Communications)XM Falls Behind Sirius in Canadian Satellite


    Topsy Turvy

    info@riedelcommunications.com (Riedel Communications)

    XM Falls Behind Sirius in Canadian Satellite Radio Business
    A year after satellite radio was switched on in Canada, the country s two leading satellite radio providers, XM and Sirius, continue to battle for customers, and so far, Sirius is well ahead.

    Mobile WiMAX Technology Set to Make Huge Gains in Years


    Mobile WiMAX Technology Set to Make Huge Gains in Years to Come
    The mobile version of WiMAX broadband technology is in for rapid growth over the next few years, according to a recent report by market research firm, In-Stat.

    FCC Sunshine Notice: BPL :: Service Rules for the ...
    July 27, 2006FCC TO HOLD OPEN COMMISSION MEETING THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 2006The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on the subjects listed below on Thursday, August 3, 2006, which is scheduled to commence at 9:30 a.m. in Room TW-C305, at 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C.ITEM NO. BUREAU SUBJECT 1 WIRELINE COMPETITION TITLE: United Power Line Council s Petition for
    Cybertelecom

    11.18.2006

    OECD Broadband FiguresCybertelecomRural Telephone Service WorkshopUTC invites comments on rural


    OECD Broadband Figures

    Cybertelecom

    Rural Telephone Service Workshop
    UTC invites comments on rural telephone service. Workshop will be August 17, 2006. Docket No. 061116.

    A day in the life of fiberThere are still a


    A day in the life of fiber
    There are still a lot of people who play up concerns that fiber builds in dense urban areas are inherently massively disruptive to traffic and normal life. Check out these cool photos from Amsterdam, which seem to convey a slightly less apocalyptic reality - a section of pavement is dug up, fiber buried, and the pavement left clean and ready for restoration, all within a single day.

    While you're at it, there are a number of other fiber themed photos in Flickr - it seems like a subject which excites people, imagine that...

    james.enck@dir.co.uk (James Enck)

    11.08.2006

    Commission defers investigation of alleged release of phone records to


    Commission defers investigation of alleged release of phone records to NSA
    UTC asks for legal, jurisdictional issues in ACLU request to investigate alleged phone company information sharing. Docket No. 060856

    Sinsationalinfo@riedelcommunications.com (Riedel Communications)


    Sinsational

    info@riedelcommunications.com (Riedel Communications)

    XConnect aquires IpeerXXConnect, already the world s largest provider of IP


    XConnect aquires IpeerX
    XConnect, already the world s largest provider of IP Communications Peering and Federation services and the operator of the XConnect Alliance, today announced at the VON in Boston that it has acquired IPeerX, a leading US based VoIP peering company owned by industry-leader Jeff Pulver s Pulver.com Enterprises.

    With the acquisition, XConnect will bolster its global VoIP peering presence and significantly increase the size of its ENUM registry of VoIP numbers. Jeff Pulver, founder and CEO of Pulver.com Enterprises will become a member of the XConnect Advisory Board, and Kingsley Hill, President of IPeerX, will head XConnect s Strategic Federation development activities.

    The acquisition of IPeerX comes on the heels of XConnect s acquisition in May of e164.info, the Germany-based Carrier ENUM Exchange. This brings the total XConnect membership to approximately 300 service providers in 30 countries, together contributing over eight million active VoIP numbers to XConnect s ENUM Registry.

    XConnect and IPeerX share the common goal of enabling the full potential of end-to-end IP communications services and combined form the largest neutral ENUM registry for VoIP calling in the world.

    The customers of a VoIP company enrolled in an XConnect peering federation can enjoy the full promise of IP Communications; free or unlimited calling with hi-fidelity audio and video conferencing, with the customers of other XConnect federation members. Without peering, such advanced services would be limited to those calls within each individual network.

    Eli Katz, Chief Executive Officer of XConnect said, In creating the definitive global ENUM registry, XConnect enables the development of innovative IP services and delivers new revenue opportunities for Service Providers, while significantly reducing the costs of interconnections. This deal is a win-win for the customers of both companies and the VoIP Industry as a whole.

    Jeff Pulver, Founder and Chairman of Pulver.com Enterprises said, VoIP Peering will drive the adoption of the new generation of IP communications including video, voice and messaging. The success of VoIP Peering depends on having a sufficiently large community of service providers this deal creates an industry player with the critical mass to succeed.

    With IP peering federations, the value to each operator and consumer increases with the addition of new participants. Peering federations, and the combination of XConnect and IPeerX in particular, bring efficiency not found in bilateral agreements, bring greater trust and security among peering partners, and most importantly, by connecting VoIP islands, enables operators to offer features only available when there is end-to-end IP connectivity, said Lynda Starr, Senior Analyst, IP Communications at Frost & Sullivan.

    This is also called Metcalfe's Law by others ;-)

    Richard

    Conquered By Temptation

    info@riedelcommunications.com (Riedel Communications)

    11.07.2006

    Metcalf's law discussionSome of you might have heard about Metcalf's


    Metcalf's law discussion
    Some of you might have heard about Metcalf's Law, which states that the value of a communications network grows as the number of users grows. So, you might be interested in listening in to a conversation that was stimulated by an article in July's IEEE Spectrum.

    So what do you think? Who is right? Does the growth rate matter?

    Technorati Tags:
    Internet, networks, Metcalf's Law, IEEE

    Martin Weiss

    Axa chairman wants tighter regulation of buy-out deals
    Claude B b ar, chairman of French insurer Axa, has criticised private equity groups for attempting "crazy" deals and called for tighter regulation. Mr Bebear is...

    Sinsationalinfo@riedelcommunications.com (Riedel Communications)


    Sinsational

    info@riedelcommunications.com (Riedel Communications)

    11.06.2006

    ENUM commercial in Finland +358Ficora launched .8.5.3.e164.arpa User ENUM into


    ENUM commercial in Finland +358
    Ficora launched .8.5.3.e164.arpa User ENUM into public commercial operation after a succesfull pilot phase that started in 2003.

    The database was cleared between the pilot phase and commercial operation and thus there are no delegations at the moment.

    Juhani Juselius from Ficora:

    Our next aim is to get as much support from telcos and registrars for ENUM as possible. Currently I'm optimistic for their support since we are having good discussions with all major Finnish telcos.

    Congratulations!

    User ENUM is currently in commercial operation in

    Austria
    Poland
    Romania
    Germany
    Netherlands
    Finland

    Ireland is still negotiating

    Richard

    Comcastic Consultantsinfo@riedelcommunications.com (Riedel Communications)Blogging tutorialsPer request, here is a tutorial


    Comcastic Consultants

    info@riedelcommunications.com (Riedel Communications)

    Blogging tutorials
    Per request, here is a tutorial on blogs; here is another; and here is yet another. Note that the technical details on how to post and comment vary ... this blog is hosted by Blogger; please check their help files for specific information.

    A good blog "search engine" is Technorati, although Yahoo and Google support blog search as well.

    Blogs are marked up with RSS and ATOM, so you can use a feed aggregator to track many blogs (I called them "blog aggregators" in my earlier post). Here is another good overview. Here and here are "how-to" tutorials for readers.

    Martin Weiss

    Hotel Telephone Revenues Drying Up, Says Industry Association Fewer and


    Hotel Telephone Revenues Drying Up, Says Industry Association
    Fewer and fewer visitors are using the phones available in hotel rooms, according to a recent study by the American Hotel & Lodging Association.

    13th CEPT Conference in Berlin
    I was invited to speak at the 13th CEPT Conference, which took place in Berlin 11-12 October 2006. The title of the conference was "Regulations und Challange" and the speaker list was quite impressive. A good overview of the state of the art in VoIP from a regulators and incumbents viewpoint was given. The programme and the presentations can be found here, click on programme/presentations to the right.

    The motto of day 1 was "Policy Challenges" and featured as speakers Yoshio Utsumi (ITU), Guido Landheer (CEPT), Fabio Colasanti (EC), Michael Bartholomew (ETNO), Kevin Power (ECTA), Tom Lindstr m (EICTA), Sergio Antocicco (INTUG), Peter Scott (EC), Kip Meek (ERG and OFCOM), Mathias Kurth (RSPG), Rainer M nch (ETSI TISPAN), Kenneth Neil Cukier (The Economist) and Chris Marsden (RAND).

    The motto of day 2 was "Regulatory Practices under Challenge" and was split into two tracks. I was speaking in track 2 in "Bulding Blocks of NGN" about "ENUM - Promises or Reality",
    together with Alex Mayhofer (enum.at), speaking about VoIP Peering, and Tony Holmes (BT and TISPAN WG4 chair), speaking on "NGN Identifiers".

    The conference presentations where very well selected and gave an excellent snapshot of the current developments from the incumbents perspective.

    Richard

    11.05.2006

    Creatures Of The Nightinfo@riedelcommunications.com (Riedel Communications)


    Creatures Of The Night

    info@riedelcommunications.com (Riedel Communications)

    3G in IndiaI found this item on Om Malik's blog


    3G in India
    I found this item on Om Malik's blog interesting. It has long been suggested that developing countries might have some advantages by skipping generations of technology. This same thing was suggested in the 1980s and 1990s around digital switching, and it this isn't the first time that it has been brought up in connection with wireless systems.

    Do you think this viewpoint has merit? Is the social or user "infrastructure" able to exploit these more advanced technologies? What about handset costs and how that affects penetration?

    Technorati Tags:
    3G, wireless, spectrum, India

    Martin Weiss

    Closed platforms and digital musicYou might have spotted this article,


    Closed platforms and digital music
    You might have spotted this article, as I did today. Nicholas Carr must have as well, because he had this thoughtful reflection on his blog. This topic also caught the attention of Arik Hesseldahl at BusinessWeek, who has this interesting article to complement the others. I have studied standards and standards development, phenomena that are a way to acheive interoperability among products from competing suppliers. What is interesting is that we are moving into a "battle of the systems" model, rather than a "battle of the components" model.

    Is this a transitory phenomenon, or is there something about the information industries that is pulling in this direction? Do you see similar phenomena in other instances of the information industries?

    You might also be interested in this article at ZDNet, which mentions some of the consequences of the shifting sands of industry structure. Can you think of other times that were similar, or do you think this is without precedent?

    Technorati Tags:
    Standards, mp3, itunes, network externalities, music, information, systems

    Martin Weiss

    XConnect aquires IpeerX
    XConnect, already the world s largest provider of IP Communications Peering and Federation services and the operator of the XConnect Alliance, today announced at the VON in Boston that it has acquired IPeerX, a leading US based VoIP peering company owned by industry-leader Jeff Pulver s Pulver.com Enterprises.

    With the acquisition, XConnect will bolster its global VoIP peering presence and significantly increase the size of its ENUM registry of VoIP numbers. Jeff Pulver, founder and CEO of Pulver.com Enterprises will become a member of the XConnect Advisory Board, and Kingsley Hill, President of IPeerX, will head XConnect s Strategic Federation development activities.

    The acquisition of IPeerX comes on the heels of XConnect s acquisition in May of e164.info, the Germany-based Carrier ENUM Exchange. This brings the total XConnect membership to approximately 300 service providers in 30 countries, together contributing over eight million active VoIP numbers to XConnect s ENUM Registry.

    XConnect and IPeerX share the common goal of enabling the full potential of end-to-end IP communications services and combined form the largest neutral ENUM registry for VoIP calling in the world.

    The customers of a VoIP company enrolled in an XConnect peering federation can enjoy the full promise of IP Communications; free or unlimited calling with hi-fidelity audio and video conferencing, with the customers of other XConnect federation members. Without peering, such advanced services would be limited to those calls within each individual network.

    Eli Katz, Chief Executive Officer of XConnect said, In creating the definitive global ENUM registry, XConnect enables the development of innovative IP services and delivers new revenue opportunities for Service Providers, while significantly reducing the costs of interconnections. This deal is a win-win for the customers of both companies and the VoIP Industry as a whole.

    Jeff Pulver, Founder and Chairman of Pulver.com Enterprises said, VoIP Peering will drive the adoption of the new generation of IP communications including video, voice and messaging. The success of VoIP Peering depends on having a sufficiently large community of service providers this deal creates an industry player with the critical mass to succeed.

    With IP peering federations, the value to each operator and consumer increases with the addition of new participants. Peering federations, and the combination of XConnect and IPeerX in particular, bring efficiency not found in bilateral agreements, bring greater trust and security among peering partners, and most importantly, by connecting VoIP islands, enables operators to offer features only available when there is end-to-end IP connectivity, said Lynda Starr, Senior Analyst, IP Communications at Frost & Sullivan.

    This is also called Metcalfe's Law by others ;-)

    Richard

    11.04.2006

    9.26.6 :: FCC Security Bureau Established :: WISI Report Online


    9.26.6 :: FCC Security Bureau Established :: WISI Report Online :: Pew on the Future of the Net ::

    Cybertelecom

    WiMAX in India
    I had posted earlier about 3G in India. Continuing on this theme, I came across this item, which details India's WiMAX plans. As I posted earlier, Sprint sees WiMAX as a 4G technology ...

    Would you imagine WiMAX as a viable technology in India? Are these frequency bands the same as the bands being used by other countries? If they are different, what kinds of issues arise? Does it seem as though the Indian Department of Telecommunications is positioning WiMAX in the same fashion as Sprint-Nextel is?

    Technorati Tags:
    India, WiMAX, wireless, broadband

    Martin Weiss

    Next Thursday - Communicator Meetup in Second LifeSorry about the


    Next Thursday - Communicator Meetup in Second Life
    Sorry about the light week of blogging, but duty has been calling and business has been well busy. However, I haven t been too busy to line up our next meeting of PR and marketing communicators in Second Life.

    Next Thursday, October 12, 2006, we will meet at Text 100 island in Second Life from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. PT (US), networking will begin at 12:30 p.m. PT. You can use the World Clock Converter to get the start time wherever you are.

    (Update: I have added an agenda and additional information in this post)

    If you would like, feel free to add this event to any calendars, blogs or other tools in order to broadly get the word out.

    The half-hour of networking will allow people to get acquainted and practice moving around (something that I have to do). The main presentation will be 30 to 40 minutes and will be followed by a Q&A session. To join the meeting, log on to Second Life, hit Search and type Text 100 in the search bar. Once it finds the entry, select it and his the Teleport button. You will then arrive at the meeting place.

    Let us know in comments if you plan to attend.

    The topic hasn t been completely set, but we will probably talk about the opportunities of Second Life for businesses, and also how Text 100 went about setting up its agency Second Life. We are hoping someone from the Electric Sheep Company might be there to talk a little about this. Maybe even give a short building demonstration?

    I will post more information on this meetup in the next few days. But ask that each of you help to get the word out so that we can continue to grow the attendance of these meetings.

    While you may have strong reactions against Second Life, I encourage you to at least be an informed skeptic. That is a category that I feel I am firmly within, but I also think that this kind of technology will break the walls of silos such as second life and as such, I think we should all be aware of them. So, for those who don t have an account and want to attend, go to the Second Life webpage and get an account (it is free), download the client and spend a little time at Welcome Island before next Thursday. IF you wait until the day of, you will miss the meeting.

    Next month, Eric Rice has agreed to host us at his coliseum in Second Life on November 9, 2006, and I am already working on arrangements for December. If there are topics that you think would be good, feel free to leave you suggestions in comments.

    Thanks to everyone who attended last month.

    A number of people showed up to the first meeting including Lee Hopkins, who hosted the group; Jeremy Pepper of Weber Shandwick, who served as our first speaker; Miller Copeland, a reporter who covered the event; David Parmet; Aaron Uhmacher; Neville Hobson; John Mims; Mike Sansone; moo Money; Chris Thilk; Eric Rice; Steve Lubetkin; and Justin Hayward.

    Maybe Mike Driehorst will also make it this time ;-)

    If you are interested in what happened at our first meeting, you can visit the wrap-up post or take a look at thePDF transcript of the event


    kamichat@yahoo.com (Kami Huyse, APR)

    FCC ADOPTS PILOT PROGRAM UNDER RURAL HEALTH CARE MECHANISM with

    OECD Broadband FiguresCybertelecom

    RFC :: NIST :: SCADA & BGPCybertelecom

    11.03.2006

    XConnect aquires IpeerXXConnect, already the world s largest provider of IP


    XConnect aquires IpeerX
    XConnect, already the world s largest provider of IP Communications Peering and Federation services and the operator of the XConnect Alliance, today announced at the VON in Boston that it has acquired IPeerX, a leading US based VoIP peering company owned by industry-leader Jeff Pulver s Pulver.com Enterprises.

    With the acquisition, XConnect will bolster its global VoIP peering presence and significantly increase the size of its ENUM registry of VoIP numbers. Jeff Pulver, founder and CEO of Pulver.com Enterprises will become a member of the XConnect Advisory Board, and Kingsley Hill, President of IPeerX, will head XConnect s Strategic Federation development activities.

    The acquisition of IPeerX comes on the heels of XConnect s acquisition in May of e164.info, the Germany-based Carrier ENUM Exchange. This brings the total XConnect membership to approximately 300 service providers in 30 countries, together contributing over eight million active VoIP numbers to XConnect s ENUM Registry.

    XConnect and IPeerX share the common goal of enabling the full potential of end-to-end IP communications services and combined form the largest neutral ENUM registry for VoIP calling in the world.

    The customers of a VoIP company enrolled in an XConnect peering federation can enjoy the full promise of IP Communications; free or unlimited calling with hi-fidelity audio and video conferencing, with the customers of other XConnect federation members. Without peering, such advanced services would be limited to those calls within each individual network.

    Eli Katz, Chief Executive Officer of XConnect said, In creating the definitive global ENUM registry, XConnect enables the development of innovative IP services and delivers new revenue opportunities for Service Providers, while significantly reducing the costs of interconnections. This deal is a win-win for the customers of both companies and the VoIP Industry as a whole.

    Jeff Pulver, Founder and Chairman of Pulver.com Enterprises said, VoIP Peering will drive the adoption of the new generation of IP communications including video, voice and messaging. The success of VoIP Peering depends on having a sufficiently large community of service providers this deal creates an industry player with the critical mass to succeed.

    With IP peering federations, the value to each operator and consumer increases with the addition of new participants. Peering federations, and the combination of XConnect and IPeerX in particular, bring efficiency not found in bilateral agreements, bring greater trust and security among peering partners, and most importantly, by connecting VoIP islands, enables operators to offer features only available when there is end-to-end IP connectivity, said Lynda Starr, Senior Analyst, IP Communications at Frost & Sullivan.

    This is also called Metcalfe's Law by others ;-)

    Richard

    Sistema may be seeking haven for investmentRussian analysts yesterday said


    Sistema may be seeking haven for investment
    Russian analysts yesterday said Sistema's approach to Deutsche Telekom over a possible asset swap might reflect the kind of political savvy that has characterised the...

    Second Thursday in Second Life
    Okay, this is my last vitual/Second Life post of the day (I promise), but I am going on a vacation, so it is important I get this date out there for you.

    Second Thursday in Second Life is a monthly meetup of those interested in exploring Second Life from a communication perspective.

    Our next one is coming up in two weeks, so mark your calendar:

    Second Thursday in Second Life
    Date: Thursday November 9, 2006
    Time: 9 a.m. Pacific Time, which is also SL time ;-)
    Place: Hipcast Expo Center in Second Life
    Which belongs to

    This time will allow for those of you in the UK to attend, and will fall roughly around lunchtime for most of us in North and South America. For my Australian mates, I think it will be in the middle of the night (sorry)! We will try to vary the times to give everyone a chance to attend from time to time.

    Let me know if you plan to come.

    And if you are interested in getting to a meeting soon. The Business Communicators of Second Life are meeting next week with Adam Reuters. Watch Linda Zimmer s
    blog for more details or join the group in Second Life to get notification.

    kamichat@yahoo.com (Kami Huyse, APR)

    Commission revises hearing schedule in McLeod USA - Qwest disputePetition


    Commission revises hearing schedule in McLeod USA - Qwest dispute
    Petition to enforce interconnection agreement. Docket No. 063013

    Demand for Internet services and the demand for electricityI found


    Demand for Internet services and the demand for electricity
    I found this post in Nicholas Carr's blog interesting. Discussions around electricity and data center demand has surfaced before elsewhere.

    • This article discusses the impact of power demand on system design

    • The impact of power on service provider strategies have been discussed here (and elsewhere)

    • Articles like this one show how sensitive large data center firms are to the price and supply of electricity


    Taken together, interesting questions begin to emerge.

    Since data centers can be located anywhere, can we begin imagining an "outsourcing" of data centers (a commenter on Carr's blog suggests this)? Can this be conceived of as a strategy for economic development? To what extent do national e-commerce and energy policies intersect? Could you conceive of a tie between electricity supply and the "net neut*" debate?

    Technorati Tags:
    Google, Yahoo, electricity, energy, data centers, Internet, services, e-commerce, network neutrality

    Martin Weiss

    CourseCastOne of the technologies I will be using in this


    CourseCast
    One of the technologies I will be using in this course is called CourseCast. This is a multi-media course support technology. An example of the output of CourseCast is here, which supports the first module of the course. I have tested it with both Firefox (1.5.0.3) and Internet Explorer 6.0 (SP2), and found that the graphics are rendered best on IE, so I recommend that one.

    Viewing the output is pretty straight-forward. You click on the link, and it plays. One of the useful features of CourseCast is that you can navigate by clicking on the slide in the left column. If you pick one, you will find that you jump ahead to that point in my talk and the audio and video jumps ahead with you. I hope you find it useful!

    Martin Weiss

    Carphone Warehouse upbeat on mobile sales
    Carphone Warehouse's shares fell nearly 4 per cent on Thursday after its management struggled to convince investors that its retail and telecoms businesses were on track.

    Qwest cost-cuts bear fruitQwest Communications reported a $194m profit in


    Qwest cost-cuts bear fruit
    Qwest Communications reported a $194m profit in the third quarter compared with a loss a year earlier reflecting the Denver based telecommunications group's efforts to...

    UTC to hear Cingular complaint against Qwest
    Cingular alleges that Qwest improperly billed Cingular for Signaling System 7 (SS7) service.

    11.02.2006

    Carphone Warehouse upbeat on mobile salesCarphone Warehouse's shares fell nearly


    Carphone Warehouse upbeat on mobile sales
    Carphone Warehouse's shares fell nearly 4 per cent on Thursday after its management struggled to convince investors that its retail and telecoms businesses were on track.

    OECD broadband statisticsThe OECD periodically publishes broadband statistics for its


    OECD broadband statistics
    The OECD periodically publishes broadband statistics for its member countries, which are all industrialized. The latest report can be found here. There are a few surprises here of note:
    • First, the US ranks ahead of Japan in broadband penetration, which I believe to be a first.
    • Another interesting thing is that the US is the only OECD member country in which cable modem subscribership is ahead of DSL. But, the use of each of these technologies is remarkably balanced (8/100 for DSL and 9.8/100 for cable) compared with other OECD countries.
    So that brings to my mind a few questions ... what do these statistics say about some of the concerns raised by "net neut*" proponents? Would you anticipate "net neut*" arguments to emerge in other countries as well?

    Technorati Tags:
    OECD, broadband, network neutrality, DSL, cable modem

    Martin Weiss

    11.01.2006

    Qwest cost-cuts bear fruitQwest Communications reported a $194m profit in


    Qwest cost-cuts bear fruit
    Qwest Communications reported a $194m profit in the third quarter compared with a loss a year earlier reflecting the Denver based telecommunications group's efforts to...

    Three's company, five's a crowd
    The ever-excellent Guy Kewney has a great post (read it before someone forces him to take it down), relating gossip that 3 UK has had some German visitors at its offices of late.

    james.enck@dir.co.uk (James Enck)

    Commission revises hearing schedule in McLeod USA - Qwest disputePetition


    Commission revises hearing schedule in McLeod USA - Qwest dispute
    Petition to enforce interconnection agreement. Docket No. 063013

    UTC to arbitrate interconnection agreement between Qwest and Eschelon Telecom,