THE CABLE PIPELINE

Some of the largest, and oldest telecom companies in the US are feeling the initial impact of an enormous wave of technology-driven customer migration to internet based, or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone service. Verizon, AT&T (incl. BellSouth), and Quest reported a combined loss of 1.7 million landline customers in April/May/June of 2006 alone, mostly due to internet phone competition.

According to Todd Rosenbluth, a telecommunications analyst at Standard & Poor’s, “The threat of competition from cable companies and Internet phone companies was there a year ago, but the reality of it is something we’re seeing in 2006.”

The reasons aren’t complicated; lots more features and functions for about half the price the phone companies charge for unlimited calling plans. Last year, the Harvard Business Review had this to say: “Internet telephone technology, rapidly displacing the traditional kind, isn’t just inexpensive. It’s revolutionizing the way companies coordinate people, connect with customers, and compete with one another.” HBR predicts over 50 million VoIP users by 2008.

The most intriguing VoIP feature is its portability. Your phone # can travel with you; the enabling adapter device, which connects to any regular telephone, needs only a high-speed internet connection and a power source. So, whether in a hotel room, a vacation home, or anywhere you can plug into a broadband network, your phone number can place and receive calls. Whenever I travel now, my VoIP adapter is with me; simply connecting the hotel room’s high-speed internet and telephone to my voip adapter enables me to place calls while avoiding the high per-call tolls charged by hotels.

Yet another threat to the Bell’s core DSL internet service is also emerging. WiMax, a system that promises Internet access at speeds greater than cable broadband connections, operates wirelessly and over long distances. This month, Sprint Nextel, the 3rd largest US cellular operator, said it would spend up to $3 billion to build a new network based on WiMax….to reach over 100 million consumers over the next few years.

Today, consumers mostly rely on wired high-speed internet connections from cable and phone companies. WiMax promises an end to this duopoly with the result for consumers: lower cost and more choices.

For a copy of the Harvard Business Review Article referenced above, please send a request to: 1voipgeorgia@comcast.net or visit www.voipaware.com [http://www.voipaware.com]
About the Author: Martin O’Keeffe is the founder & president of iMEDIA, LLC, a telecommuniations consulting firm based in Atlanta, Ga.

About the Author: Martin O’Keeffe is the founder & president of iMEDIA, LLC, a telecommuniations consulting firm based in Atlanta, Ga.

Author: Martin Okeeffe
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Pressure cooker

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Bandwidth is the basic foundation for Internet traffic as a connector to everything important in our lives. Whether it is basic bandwidth for connecting to family and friends, or a super fast highway for global reach and competitiveness in the business world, bandwidth constitutes the speed at which we connect as a global presence within the expanding sphere of Internet communication.

Bandwidth: “defined as the speed at which data is transferred over an electronic communication device like a server. The units of measurement are based on the maximum transfer rate and measured in either Kbps or Mbps.”

• Kbps: (kilobits per second) – “A measure of 1000 bits of information transferred per second.”
• Mbps: (Megabits per second) – “A measure of approximately one million bits of information transferred per second.”

To understand why bandwidth is important to all Americans, including personal and business uses, we must understand the different types Internet traffic.  We also must understand U.S. bandwidth rankings from a global perspective and how successful infrastructure upgrades can ensure fast, secure and easily accessible information sharing in a globally competitive economy.

Types of Bandwidth

• Dial-up – the lowest speed of bandwidth providing 56 kbps connection normally used for e-mail only as transferring large files are impossible.
• DSL – much faster than dial-up and has plenty of bandwidth to spare. Is good for large file downloads like video, typically provided by a modem and phone line installation.
• Cable – provided by Cable TV companies with a Hybrid-Fiber Coax connection. It provides speeds faster than DSL which typically range from 4Mbps to 8Mbps. Increases speeds of large download and uploads.
• Fiber – The future of the Internet rests with the fiber connection. Fiber must be run to your home or business and provides speeds of 30Mbps download and 5Mbps upload.

US Global Ranking

It can be seen in the accompanying graph, (Courtesy Akamai 2010), that global connection speeds are much higher

in countries like South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and many other countries. In fact, the US is ranked 11^th in the Top 10 Countries – Average Connection Speed –Q4 09.

From an economic standpoint, the US must move to change its bandwidth competitiveness on a global scale. Many conclude that a free and competitive business model of the US has kept us behind the curve in Internet speed, access and adoption. Enter the National Broadband Plan, developed by the FCC, to change our status in all aspects of the Internet. A comprehensive road-map that directs the adoption of Internet standards to take us through the next 10 years to improve speeds, accessibility, and universal adoption for both business and personal use.

Uses

The uses of fast bandwidth can be chronicled in forward thinking experts who realize to inevitable potential  to change the business and personal use of bandwidth can change our lives, from energy conservation through monitoring and applications , remote medical monitoring and diagnosis, B2B applications to strengthen collaboration, and remote educational advances through e-learning. These applications all have the potential to advance the U.S. in job creation and a global competitive advantage.

Infrastructure Upgrades

Unfortunately, due to a lack of wide-spread competition within network provider footprints our Bandwidth does not compare to a more government oversight approach adopted in other developed nations. While the FCC is looking to change the dynamics in competition, while mandating future bandwidth speeds in measureable increments of time; it will be incumbent on Internet Service Providers to upgrade their networks sooner rather than later.

• The Cable Industry has approached Internet upgrades with the advent of Docsis3 (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification), permitting the addition of high-speed data transfer over a Cable TV system.
• Verizon is accomplishing the task by upgrading to FIOS (Fiber-to-the-Home) approach, using the future or (end-game) solution, which most operators will move toward eventually.
• AT&T has adopted the U-Verse solution which uses IP (Internet Protocol) to deliver its high-speed Internet service.

The bottom line remains that without a comprehensive plan by Internet Service Providers to continue an aggressive infrastructure improvement strategy, the US will continue to lag behind globally in bandwidth speeds without proper upgrade incentives, which could put us at a distinct disadvantage in a fast growing global economy.

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The mobile phone market is growing exponentially and will continue to evolve for years to come. Why has the Cable Industry not moved into the lucrative mobile phone market? It could definitely be a revenue bonanza, as it currently is for telecom companies. See (The cable company will likely use WiMax to bring television shows to cell phones and smart phones.)

Verizon and AT&T’s revenues, as a percentage of stock price by division, attributes mobile phone service up to 40-42% of total revenues. This being a logical assumption as landline phone demand has forced incumbent Telco’s to rethink their business models to include cable, broadband, and cell phone. The mobile market has exploded with smart phone technology and related applications for consumers continually on the go while wanting the latest gadgets to keep up with friends, business, and news. Why has this not attracted at least, some interest from the major cable players like a Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox and others? See (TREFIS-Division as a % of Stock Price)

If you look at trending where the future of a Triple Play seems to be relegated to a future 2^nd grade status behind the Quad Play , while seemingly logical that to compete in the telecommunications market for consumer dollars, a one-stop shopping model needs to be in place; one would think some indication of cable companies launching or acquiring mobile service would be on the immediate horizon.

Let’s think this through. The Telecom Industry saw the “writing on the wall” when landline phone service began to decline, and hence forth began to diversify into other markets such as mobile phones, broadband, and cable TV service. It is logical that their upside in both the mobile phone, broadband, and cable TV markets is solid. With cable operators now looking at a possible paradigm shift from traditional cable to other venues, would it not make good economics to put your business on the same playing field with competitors? It would seem logical to me. There is a definite upside in getting into the mobile market for incumbent MSO’s; as in “keeping up with the Joneses’”, or if you prefer, your close competitors. See (From Triple Play to Home Run: Why Your Cable Company Should Offer Cell phone Service)

The Cable Industry has positioned itself to offer a myriad of services within the cell-phone market to other providers, but unfortunately it does not include its own. However having a competitive cell-phone service is more true to a solid success. If businesses fail to see trends that will impact their bottom line, they are doomed to failure. That is why companies must always be looking for a competitive advantage or keep up with existing competitor offerings, while making the best decisions to affect stockholder equity in a positive manner. Yes, revenues and profits may be good in the short term, but a long term strategy is what really matters, and it seems this is too good of an opportunity not to indulge.

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Patents are the largest source of technological information. Patent are given to the inventor as a reward for its innovation in the form of the exclusive right of the monopoly for a period of 20 years from the priority date of the invention. Due to advancement in the IT sector and internet, now these valuable documents are in the reach of the general public. Any person skilled in the art can go through various patent databases and after a search can get the patent document of their need. There are different patent databases viz, USPTO, EPO, JPO, etc freely open for the public access. If we go through the patents related to a specific technological area, we will be able to find the lots of information about the life cycle of the technological innovation viz.,

o evolutionary path of a specific technology,

o technological development,

o technological diversification,

o technology merges,

o major players in specific technological area,

o key points of the specific technology,

“The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) revealed that 90% to 95% of all the world’s inventions can be found in patented documents.”

Patent analysis can reveals very valuable informations, which is not available anywhere. After patent search the crucial part is the patent analysis, and one have to be very concise about their objective of the study. The information in the patent documents can be utilized in different form according to the need and mapped accordingly to get the picture of the entire analysis in snapshots.

Patent data can be used for the preparation of technological landscapes. Logistic mathematics and circle mathematics can be very useful in the plotting of the technological landscape. It can reveal the evolutionary trend of a technology, how it is evolved from a basic technology, along with the period of the technological diversification and its nature. These maps will also give the detailed overview of the merging of the different technologies to give rise to break-through technologies. These types of maps will be very useful for the R&D personals to evaluate the position of their research and technology, and also they will find way to more innovate more advanced and valuable technology.

In the today’s global context firms need to know what technologies can competitors choke easily, and may be attempting to. They also need to know the spaces in technologies where competition is intense, and the areas where competitors are concentrating their IP development and their R&D efforts. They need to be able to track patent acquisition and development strategies and chart out the competitive landscape. To evaluate technology before making any investment decision, firms need to know the pace of patenting activity in the technology, which patents embody fundamental ideas in the technology and how vulnerable the firm’s technologies are to patent infringements. This will give them much needed information in deciding between technology development and technology acquisition.

The ability to extract relevant information from patent literature is a crucial success factor for anyone involved in technological innovation. The technology mapping technique’s that can be used to transform patent information into knowledge that can influence decision-making.

Patents are an important source of technological intelligence that companies can use to gain strategic advantage. Technology Intelligence is a can be used for gathering, analyzing, forecasting, and managing external technology related information, including patent information. Computational patent mapping is a methodology for the development and application of a technology knowledgebase for technology and competitive intelligence. The primary deliverables of patent mapping is in the form of knowledge visualization through landscape and maps. These maps provide valuable intelligence on technology evolution/revolution, nature of various types of pioneering; big; pure; and emerging players, state-of-the-art assessment, etc.

These types of technological maps will prove to be a valuable multiplier in R&D and commercialization activities, in various ways including the following:

o Developing further insights in response to strategic requirements and policy formulation in the organization

o Forecasting and identifying technological activities and trends in the industry

o Aiding in the visualization of alternative development and growth paths available to the organization

o Enabling pre-emptive recognition and action on potential licensing opportunities

o Identifying prospective partners and clients

o Identify technology discontinuities and areas of opportunities in their chosen technologies

o Monitor and evaluate the technological process of competitors and potential competitors

o Support decisions on foray and investment into particular technologies and sub-technologies

o Surveillance of technological progress of competitors as well as to alert oneself to new entrants to the field

o Spotting of white spaces or opportunity areas within a dense technological domain

o Creative tool to simulate new ideas and create new IP

o Complementing corporate IP filing strategies

o Support technology proposals for large scale national and international level projects

o Support investment and technology due diligence on companies

Patent mapping can be an integral part of IP management. It can uncover valuable information hidden in patents and can provide useful indicators for technical trends, market trends, competitors changes and technological profile and innovation potential of a company. Patent maps are visual representations of patent information that has been mined and aggregated or clustered to highlight specific features. There is a high degree of flexibility in visualization, which may be in the form of time-series or as spatial maps. We provide a more market and technology oriented analysis of the complete set of patent portfolio assets via our patent mapping services. Patent mapping can be used to ascertain the quality of patents with respect to prevailing technology and the extent to which patents affect the technology. This is a valuable input in technology sourcing/development and R&D decisions. Patent mapping can be indispensable for both firms that have an under-utilized patent profile and are looking to license/assign it at the most favorable terms, as well as to firms that are looking at developing patent portfolio strength in a particular technological field.

Mere subject specialization is not enough for this, but analytical thinking and innovations are very essential. Today lots of software resources are available for mapping the patent data, but almost all are confined to bibliographic informations. The machine work cannot be compared with that of human intelligence. Patent mapping requires many skills. First and foremost among these is an ability to understand the complex scientific ideas protected by the patents themselves. Although it is possible to create a patent map by analyzing the relationships between patents without understanding the subject matter, such a map is often useless and needs to be refined by someone who understands the intricacies of the particular scientific discipline that is the basis of the invention. Thus, I expect that the need for people with scientific (and engineering) expertise in the field of patent mapping is on the increase. That’s why today lots of KPO firm are looking for the right individual and there is a huge demand today, which will certainly increase in the near future.

Vinod Kumar Singh
Knowledge Scientist
Email-vinod.patent@gmail.com
Mobile-91+9393000913

Author: Vinod Singh
Article Source: EzineArticles.com

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Have you ever incurred an incident where your child has become lost and needed help? How many times has this issue crossed every parents mind as they wait for sons or daughters to come home or receive a phone call to hear; I’m okay?

Amdocs has just this scenario in mind when creating CRM solutions which marry broadband, mobile, GPS, and IPTV technologies which interface in giving real time convergence for service providers in solving real life problems.

Scenario

1. Dad is watching TV and sets caller display to (Do Not Disturb) unless a family member calls.
2. Megan his 16 year old daughter calls from her mobile phone, the TV shows she is calling and gives a prompt to pause live TV
3. Dad uses TV remote to answer call and speaks to Megan via the TV conference service
4. Megan says she is lost and can Dad pick her up
5. Dad uses the TV remote to select the “Find Me” application which use the GPS capability of Megan’s mobile phone to show her location of a Google map

Amdocs has successfully integrated B2B solutions for service providers to offer customers what they want, when they want it. And this is just the “tip of the iceberg” with the kind of solutions Amdocs has in store for companies wanting to capture the (Quad-Play), keeping customers from migrating elsewhere to get that encompassing all-in-one service. This is the challenge going forward and Amdocs offers the solution.

Subscriber Data Management

Marrying CM-RM-OSS solutions in a virtual directory employing synchronized and up to date configuration data serving the jNETX, (Communications and Commerce) system Amdocs provides Tru-2Way, EBIF, and Yahoo Widgets with Voice CMS-Calling name server- Set-Top-Box to offer a true in-home communications experience that is TV enabled. It combines third party configurations through Voice Switch-Presence Server-HLM to complete the external communications.

Use of Multi-Platform Recommendation Engine

• Interconnected TV
  • Yahoo Widgets
• STB based DTV
  • Tru2Way EPG
  • EBIIF EPG
• Smart Phone
• PC Web Browser

Value Proposition

By combining subscriber data management and cross-platform personalization, Amdocs establishes the critical infrastructure to build integrated customer experiences while leverage existing investments, and provide consistent recommendations across multiple platforms.

To realize a better recommendation hit ratio, multi-platform usage improves the accuracy of subscriber preferences resulting in a greater number of impulse purchases while improving the accuracy of addressable advertising subscriber data.

Success in the Connected World

It cannot be denied, there is a march to a connected world where both business and consumers will be interacting together with superior technologies and applications that were little more than a dream ten years ago.

Amdocs wants to increase the speed at which these services reach the market by helping service providers to:

• Expand Faster by connecting emerging devices while penetrating new industry verticals
• Drive Experience so customers will live a truly connected life across devices, networks, screens and services
• Run Leaner by building cost-efficient business and technical environments that can bring change quickly to on-board new partners while remaining manageable and controlled

Message

Amdocs is an Open Systems company which is investing the future of the Pay TV industry while innovating to increase the speed of convergence

The point to be made is that service providers will need to upgrade their legacy systems to compete in the (war of the brands) for the total customer experience. Brand names will outstrip incumbents in the race for an increasingly hungry one-stop shop consumer. A continuing consolidation of markets will result in fewer but larger players who are well funded while an increasingly regulatory environment will begin appear.

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Broadband providers are not taking the recent move by the FCC to reclassify broadband under Title II; i.e., put broadband under its regulation arm along with the likes of telephone companies, very lightly and have come out swinging to stop that effort. See (Obama’s Internet Takeover: Telecom giant challenges FCC role in broadband)

Seemingly at issue; an appeal brought by Comcast with the D.C. Court of Appeals and the subsequent defeat of the FCC’s perceived role as a broadband regulator, ruling the communication had no authority under current legislation to sanction Comcast over a 2008 Internet throttling incident. That defeat prompted the FCC to go back in an attempt to move broadband under its umbrella of regulated services. In a recent YouTube video commissioner Julius Genachowski stated that his intentions in moving to regulate broadband was to foster an environment that would encourage competition, lower prices, increase Internet speeds, and increase access to quality broadband.

Division on Capitol Hill

Regulation of any industry is seen as anti-business and a jobs killer by Republicans, See (Boehner slams FCC for ‘takeover of Internet’) while Democrats, See (FCC’s Democrat members rally behind Genachowski on broadband reform) see the need to regulate big business as more of a tool to reign in prices and create options for consumers. Both sides have points of contention from runaway mergers with resulting job losses, to a (hands off) approach, in letting the market determine competitive outcomes. Each thinks they are right, and while a healthy debate is stamped in our government system, the resulting stalemates can prove too problematic. It’s is time to work on a compromise, a win-win for all concerned, and if not, why not?

Regulatory Ramifications

The thinking of FCC commissioners center on the idea that the Internet has become a necessity for both consumers and businesses, like electricity, telephones, water, sewer which must be cultivated, tended too, and watched over as a “mother hen”, and its authority regarding our communications infrastructure should be regulated to ensure equality for all. It is just too important of an entity not to regulate, and it has the votes to do so. While it has the votes to create regulation without going through congressional approval, it will certainly be challenged in court over this authority again. See (FCC Understating Systemic Risks of “Third Way” — Why It’s a Disaster Waiting to Happen)

Is not regulation after all, a “slippery slope”, which does not distinguish between the inherent ramifications of mandating competition, pricing, access, and Internet speeds? Genachowski made the point that only six of forty-eight current Title II rules would be applied to broadband, See (Who’s more neutral? Republican bill would forestall FCC’s ‘Third Way’), leaving one to think lightness in regulatory oversight, but just the mention of future regulation sent broadband provider stocks tumbling on Wall Street.

Without any legislative update of the Title II rules for many years, the FCC is viewed as being forced to adopt its own rules for broadband which will promote its established agenda for the National Broadband Plan. Once you go down the regulatory path it is hard to pull back on the reins, and the FCC has taken those first steps. Be careful what you as for and what you do with it once obtained. It will be slippery and may turn into mud very quickly.

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Apple (Nasdaq: APPL), led the way with the $.99 download price for your favorite iTunes rather than purchasing a CD with one song you really liked, and eleven others that could be thrown away, in want for a better excuse to use them. It then went on the create iPhone, and with a mind-set to share knowledge, created an Apps Store to build function and connectivity in what customers wanted from their mobile experience.

Cable/Telco and DBS companies have long used the model, more is better, and delivering customers a bundled package of mass channels at, an economy of scale price, is a good model. Depending on what consumers want to watch, one particular channel could cost you the price of many channels. That model worked fine in the past since prices were relatively cheap and channel quantity was high. Today, prices and channel availability are high all supporting high infrastructure and programming costs.

Now Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), is set to introduce a new Android based TV UI software at its upcoming Developer Conference in San Francisco which promises to lead the way in how consumers connect to their favorite TV programs. In addition, Google will be partnering with Sony, Intel, and Logitech to introduce Google TV, a web based platform to offer all the applications consumers want in a TV/Internet marriage.

What does this mean for the Video Industry? It confirms that competition is beginning to emerge from some of the giants in Internet proliferation who understand that a market does exist for Internet based TV. That market differentiates itself from the traditional bundling and mass distribution of linear programming which the Cable TV Industry has developed and distributed so well.  

Google TV will be joining the ranks of Apple TV, Netflix, Roku, and others who have struggled to carve out an alternative niche in Internet TV viewing. And it will all come down to a Set-Top-Box delivery system along with serious applications giving consumers a wide variety of experiences over this venue.  Currently, BluRay, Xbox, Roku, Apple TV and others have STB’s which will need to be upgraded and refined to compete with the formidable Cable Industry which has been developing their unique boxes for years.

This marks the spot where real competition will begin within the marketplace. As Google, Apple and others enter the Set-Top-Box market, only needing a high-speed broadband connection to operate; the game may change in favor of more choice and less mass bundles to offer consumers what they really want from both Internet and video.

Goggle has previously announced its intention to build a one-gigabit enable broadband pipeline in various test markets to indicate a belief that fiber-to-the-home is feasible and economically viable. But there continues to be unanswered questions regarding this initiative, mainly whether the revenue Vs cost models will hold up under their own weight.  Verizon (NYSE: VZ), has also tested these waters with FIOS, and is now halting all new market construction in favor of concentrating build-outs of existing commitments. Sufficed to say, the economics are still yet to be determined over the long haul with such a high build-out cost on the front end of FTTH.

The bright side of the equation is that Set-Top-Box’s and associated applications have potential in creating more of a competitive landscape in traditional video markets, but does not necessarily correlate in the build out of more infrastructure other than in underserved markets, which fall under the Broadband Stimulus Plan. Traditional Telco’s have the best chance of competing with infrastructure based competition with their existing Telco based parallel lines with Cable. However, all companies competing for the video customer realize that applications based competitiveness is a must in this changing arena.

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The FCC is addressing the failure of CableCARD‘s in its National Broadband Plan that takes further steps to encourage development of the Home Gateway, a device in which consumers can easily and seamlessly access video programming from all distributors.

In a proposed Network Gateway-NOI and CableCARD NPRM, the commission is seeking input on how to best rework the CableCARD rules to make Set-Top-Boxes more universal in nature and easier for consumers to connect and network throughout the home to any video provider offerings.  The question remains; is the FCC suited to take on another attempt to create competition within the Set-Top-Box market? Or should it leave this to market forces?

A Universal Provider Gateway Concept could be flawed

Most, if not all video providers want control of the user experience in their Set-Top-boxes, or proposed Gateways, and are not willing give up that control universally. That means each provider wants to create its own Gateway and harkens back to the premise of why CableCards did not work. Companies are not willing to share the proprietary customer relationship with other competitors. This is why only a few set-top boxes are in the market. Cable companies created their own devices to offer video content to customers, while investing billions to do so; but as market forces continually change the demand for a more competitive STB/Gateway continues to emerge. See (FCC to “improve” CableCARD rules this month)

A Sub-Market of Over-The-Top competitors

With the advent of Hulu, and YouTube along with NetFlix, Apple TV, Roku, Blu-Ray, and X-Box the concept of a possible competitive residential gateway, or STB if you prefer, has taken hold. Video programmers have accepted these non-traditional video providers as a new pipeline to distribute their wares. See (Park Associates Blog). But should these companies be looking to themselves to have unique home gateways built for home distribution which will connect consumers with mainstream video, Internet, and phone services? I think so, and this also means contracting with an Internet Service Provider-Video Provider-Telephony-Wireless Provider for a residential service interface to their STB. This may be easier said, than done.

Drive Private Sector competition

Near term competition does not lie in building hard-line infrastructure, although Google is testing those waters; it lies in the sub market of Over-The-Top competitors willing to create their own unique consumer experience, and compete with traditional providers with a superior customer interface that delivers video-wireless-Internet-telephony to the hardware within homes. It will not work to have a mandated universal gateway that all competitors must share. This means that competitors must contract with video programmers, wireless and telephony providers, or build their own networks to compete. Cable-Telecom providers have a huge advantage on that market segment. That is to say they have invested billions in infrastructure, hardware, wireless, and telephony products to offer consumers through their networks and STB’s. This is where potential competitors must look to have a chance at capturing an all-in-one home gateway market share. See (Hot Boxes: The Explosive Potential for Residential Gateway Devices)

Solution

View the Residential Gateway as a unique way for all providers to connect with their customers. It should be specific to the company with all the applications consumers’ demand, one that is easily interchangeable to all home hardware. This requires competitors to take on risk and invest in new ideas and concepts that will capture that market segment. As new markets unfold, the best and the brightest will be there to take advantage of any changing landscape in residential gateways to the consumer.

This again, goes back to whether the FCC should involve itself in manipulating the market to create more competition. It should encourage competition; it should incent competition within the marketplace by tearing down barriers to compete. But it should never mandate private companies to compromise their markets by opening up their STB’s, or consumer gateway.  

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The FCC’s recent release of its long awaited Broadband Plan has hit the streets with a resounding affirmation of what America needs with connectivity, competitiveness, affordability, speed, and social readiness. If the plan is adopted as proposed, America will truly benefit from the economics of a public-private partnership in creating a superior broadband pipeline for global success, see (National Broadband Plan: Connecting America).

The Plan Outline:

• Accessible and Affordable to 100 million homes with speeds of 100 megabits upload and 50 download
• Be (Number One) in Mobility access and speeds compared to any other nation
• Create Universal Access for all Americans including the means, skills, and affordability; if they choose
• Upgrade Community Schools, Hospitals and Government buildings for access to 1 Gbps broadband service
• Create a Public Safety Wireless Network and access for all first responders
• Promote a Clean Energy Economy, and ensure Americans are able to track energy consumptions through broadband

The Road Map:

• Foster robust competition within the broadband sector to drive demand for increased network performance while lowering deployment cost of infrastructure; monitor and benchmark competitive behavior, provide consumers with performance of broadband services, reform access to right-of-ways, review wholesale access policies, and increase spectrum availability

• Reallocate the existing Universal Service Fund to provide all Americans with access to broadband just as the plan was used to fund telephone service to all Americans in the 20^th Century
• Reclaim Broadcast Spectrum in auctions of, (300 MHZ by 2015-500 MHZ by 2020), for the Wireless Industry and other ancillary uses thereby fulfilling a need to expand a burgeoning Mobile demand in connecting consumers, businesses, and the public sector
• Promote E-rate and Rural Health Care Programs, support non-profit and government institutions with affordable and alternative means of connectivity to broadband infrastructures which allows lower investment costs by reforming incentive structures, licensing and data interoperability for all public organizations

Shifting Priorities

• The FCC moved to gather existing spectrum from the Broadcast Industry to help free up space for the Wireless Industry, in much need of new spectrum on its continued growth forecasts. The benefactors will be companies like Cisco, providing network support, and Verizon and AT&T Wireless operators. Broadcasters will benefit from sharing in spectrum auction fees of their unused bandwidth.
• The Universal Service Fund will be used to promote and incent companies to build-out their networks to underserved portions of the markets for wire-line and wireless access. This fund is severely outdated from its original intent of providing access to telephone service for the nation.

The FCC seems to have done its homework. Congratulations to the FCC commissioners, staff, and partners, for their hard work and dedication in creating a viable and workable solution for a National Broadband Plan roll-out for the next decade. While it is not heavy on regulation; the plan sets out a road-map to foster collaboration, innovation, investment opportunities, and transparency within its recommendations. Legislators should look to affirm the plan quickly and move forward with an innovative and economically sound superior broadband gateway for our public and private sectors.

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Now that the broadband experience is reaching a milestone in bridging the gap between digital content and consumers, we all may soon be accessing our Home Gateways to maximize the experience of downloading and viewing relevant content on TV’s, PC’s, Laptop’s, DVR’s, and Mobile Devices. 

The term Residential Gateway is not new and has been used in VoIP, and DSL applications by the Telecoms. Corporations have long been using Gateways for application connections. So, it makes plenty of sense to have one (in-home device) to act as a digital storage system, server, modem, and router to connect consumers with all of the broadband related devices, and content becoming widely available from a multitude of Internet sources.

Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), and Cox Communications are partnering with The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA Certified device), to bring consumers a more integrated home network device to play back premium content HD/digital shows, photo slideshows, and music offerings for their customers. This Home Gateway device would work seamlessly with all consumer devices within the home to connect content to the TV.

NetGear (Nasdaqgm: NTGR), is introducing such devices at the Consumer Electronics Show with its award winning NETGEAR Stora , putting music, video, and photos at your fingertips, and the NETGEAR Wireless-N Router with DSL Modem – Mobile Broadband Edition, to connect wireless devices with content.  

Home Gateways are the next generation of devices to offer universal access and in-home-networking to speed along the delivery of broadband seamlessly within the home. Having a Broadband Pipeline which is Hybrid/Fiber/Docsis3 enabled, or a Fiber-To-the-Home connection, via your ISP to the Home Gateway will be the critical to the adoption process. This all-in-one device would be able to handle all the functions universally which are now separated like modems, Set-Top-Boxes, WIFI, routers, home networking, Blu-Ray Players, gaming, etc…

In essence, the Home Gateway will be the device that will connect families to entertainment, education, healthcare, security, communications, and a global world of information. This scenario may not be quite here yet, but the Consumer Electronics Industry and Cable-Telecom companies are certainly moving in that direction. The bottom line will be consumer costs of these devices and the deciding factor in its proliferation for a near-term broadband solution, rather than a long-term one.

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