If there are a thousand stories in the naked city, how many are there in the country? As we travel the upper Midwest this week, Roger and I are finding many stories from the heartland. A recurring theme from talking to folks in the rural areas is that local presence is the key to meeting their unique needs. Broadband is important, but what you do with it and how you get people to use broadband is as critical. Stay tuned to ViodiTV and our other channels over the next couple of months as we release these videos.
Global Telcos come to Silicon Valley In Search of Innovation and Partnerships by Alan Weissberger
Global mobile app downloads will reach nearly 18 billion this year with sales of $15.1 billion, nearly triple last year’s revenues, according to Gartner Research. How much of that $15.1B went into the pocket of carriers (versus Apple and Google)?
Having missed the first wave of mobile ecosystem value creation, global telcos are coming to Silicon Valley in droves, looking to partner with entrepreneurial companies that are developing innovative technologies that might complement their networks. 15 of those telcos disclosed what they were looking for at the Sept 15, 2011 Telecom Council Carrier Connections (TC3) meeting in Mt. View, CA.
[Click here to read this comprehensive article regarding telecom operators’ efforts to marry their networks with the magic of the Silicon Valley start-up culture.]
An App for the That with Paul Bunyan Telecommunications
A telco as an app developer? Leo Anderson of Paul Bunyan Communications proves that is happening in this interviewed recorded at the 2011 MTA Annual Convention. Appropriately enough, the theme of the show was, “There’s an App for that.” Anderson talks about the motivation behind the iPhone app they developed, how it works with their IPTV system and provides insight as to some of the features they would like to add.
Editor’s note: With one of the first ATM video deployments, Paul Bunyan Communications lives up to the pioneer spirit of its name by clearing a technology path for others to follow.
Sneak Peek of this Year’s Video Peer Group
Speaking of MTA events, Lana Eccles of HickoryTech, who is part of the MTA Video Peer Group, tells me that this year’s Video forum, will be jam-packed with great information, including four middleware vendors, NCTC, and Synacor attending as speakers. She also hints that there will be some very special speakers that she can quite name yet. Look for the agenda on the MNTA.org web site later this week, but be sure to set aside November 17th and 18th for this always informative event.
For a flavor of last year’s event, pleas check out this interview with Matt Polka and the issues going on with retransmission consent (nothing ever seems to change, just the names of the players).
Keeping People Healthy at Home
The video interview above, Kian Saneii of Independa, illustrates a cloud-based system that helps a person stay in their home, even as they age or fight long-term health issues. Through sensors and two-way communications, the health care giver can be remote, but with a 24-hour virtual presence. This approach of substituting technology and communications promises a better quality of life at a lower price than the nursing home alternative.
The Korner – A Krazy Thought
One way I enjoy staying in touch with my friends from independent telco and cable companies is via their newsletters. Like their customers, I love receiving paper copies of their missives, but the email editions are nice as well. These newsletters are as much educational, as promotional, as they provide information on how to choose and use telecom and broadband-related services.
A story that caught my eye the other day explained that young men constituted the first telephone operators. The article pointed out that they were not the most reliable, were often were rude and pulled pranks on their customers. So, 132 years ago this month, the hiring of the first female operator, with her soothing voice, cultured manner and patience with callers, was the spark that turned her profession into one that was female-dominated.
Emma Nutt went on to a 30-year career and was the prototypical telephone operator. Eventually, mechanical and then electronic switching eliminated the need for operators to manually connect telephone circuits.
To show you how distorted my mind is, I thought this article was a joke given the operator’s name. I thought the punch line was that they hired Emma, but not her crazy sister, Ima – drum roll, please.
