Daily telecommunications news, stories and etc.
... standards could also bring scale economics to gear makers. In ideal conditions, that is. However, we have started to observe some disturbing trends that run counter to the scale-is-the-salvation argument, at least anytime soon. Concerns both about multiple frequency ranges as well as the question of fixed vs. mobile flavors may keep WiMAX from scaling up quickly, making it more vulnerable to Wi-Fi and 3G/4G cellular alternatives.
India and China are often showcased as the big WiMAX opportunities, and with a reason. Booming economies and a lack of legacy wired infrastructure makes WiMAX perfect for the local needs. However, as we noted last week, India is opting1 for WiMAX in the 3.3-to-3.4 GHz band, a spectrum slice not available in say, the U.S. market. So there are spectrum conflicts that need to be thrashed out.
Traditional telcos' services can, in fact, prove to be cheaper when calling countries like Israel, he says. My personal experience shows that using prepaid calling cards is still cheaper when dialing Russia, meanwhile.
Traditional telcos' services can, in fact, prove to be cheaper when calling countries like Israel, he says. My personal experience shows that using prepaid calling cards is still cheaper when dialing Russia, meanwhile.
Ultrawideband is to be legalised across Europe within the next six months, following its approval by a key European Commission group.
The short-range, high-bandwidth technology - which promises speeds of up to 1Gbps - has until now been illegal outside the US. Its status has now been reversed at a meeting on the 4th and 5th December of the Radio Spectrum Committee (RSC), a European Commission body which can mandate spectrum usage across the continent.
Ofcom's chief technologist, Professor William Webb, said on Friday that the UK regulator was "delighted" at the approval of ultrawideband (UWB). He pointed out that if the RSC approves a document "it automatically becomes EC law" and said the decision to mandate acceptance of UWB across all European states within the next six months was taken at an RSC meeting earlier this week.
The Land of the Free.
... My fear is that, as written, this bill would do great damage to the Internet as we know it. Enshrining a rule that broadly permits network operators to discriminate in favor of certain kinds of services and to potentially interfere with others would place broadband operators in control of online activity. Allowing broadband providers to segment their IP offerings and reserve huge amounts of bandwidth for their own services will not give consumers the broadband Internet our country and economy need.
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I am confident that we can build a broadband system that allows users to decide what websites they want to see and what applications they want to use and that also guarantees high quality service and network security. That network model has and can continue to provide economic benefits to innovators and consumers -- and to the broadband operators who will reap the rewards for providing access to such a valued network.
... standards could also bring scale economics to gear makers. In ideal conditions, that is. However, we have started to observe some disturbing trends that run counter to the scale-is-the-salvation argument, at least anytime soon. Concerns both about multiple frequency ranges as well as the question of fixed vs. mobile flavors may keep WiMAX from scaling up quickly, making it more vulnerable to Wi-Fi and 3G/4G cellular alternatives.
India and China are often showcased as the big WiMAX opportunities, and with a reason. Booming economies and a lack of legacy wired infrastructure makes WiMAX perfect for the local needs. However, as we noted last week, India is opting1 for WiMAX in the 3.3-to-3.4 GHz band, a spectrum slice not available in say, the U.S. market. So there are spectrum conflicts that need to be thrashed out.
Ok, I am officially putting my money where my mouth is. I am initiating a Viral Video "Save the Net" Marketing Contest.
I am fed up with the current wave of soundbites, platitudes, ads and marketing flooding the airwaves that profess to speak for the advancement of the Internet and communications. These ads are influencing the U.S. Congress and governments around the World as they write the rules that will shape the future of the Internet and communications.
But, where is the voice and message of the Internet community -- the Internet innovators, entrepreneurs and enthusiasts -- in this world-changing discussion? We are primarily sitting out the battle, or perhaps comfortably blogging and Monday-morning quarterbacking on the sidelines. Sure, we'll be able to point to our blogs and do a big "I-told-you-so" if the rules ultimately prove to undermine the promise of the Internet. But, we will not be justified in our criticism if we don't at least try to affect a positive result.
Rules have to be written to enable us. If we do not participate in the debate, if we do not transform the messaging, the rules will not be written with our best interests at heart. And, frankly, we will have no one to blame but ourselves. We have to take over the messaging, both within the corridors of power and within the public zeitgeist.
We need soundbites of our own, messaging of our own. We are allegedly the revolutionaries of the Internet and communications. Shouldn't we be the ones revolutionizing the way advocacy is done and communicated in the 21st Century? Shouldn't we be the creative forces verifying that the medium is the message? Who better than us to harness the enabling power of the Internet to bring our message to legislators, to policymakers, to the public? Let's throw away the old rulebook and try to think outside the box to send a message to Congress from the global community of Internet innovators and enthusiasts.
We might not have the lobbying muscle, money, resources, or connections of the entrenched players in the communications debate, but we surely have the individual and collective will and creativity to transform the debate.
Here is my pitch:
We need to harness your individual genius and our collective genius (for isn't it the collective power of the Internet that makes it so remarkable?) to save the Internet, and we are willing to pay and give you eternal glory (or at least glory for as long as the Internet lasts).
Send us short, creative ideas -- videos, flash ads, other Internet-based gimmicks -- that you think might effectively communicate to government that they must write rules to enable us the Internet innovators to transform the Internet and communications experience.
I send out this call to arms to all you next-generation Internet-based Scorseses. I even send it out to all you potential Ed Woods of the Internet. (Who knows where genius will strike?)
The prize and glory goes to whoever comes up with the message (viral video ad or other creative marketing tool) that we use to spread the word and save the Internet. In order to be eligible for the prize (and also to ensure maximum impact during the great policy debate, both in DC and around the globe), entries must be submitted by June 6, 2006. Please refer to the Save the Net Contest Rules to enter.
The contest starts today and will run until June 6, 2006.
Let the battle to save the Internet begin!
