Yesterday’s news about the progress Chicago is making in its bid to entice private entities to build out a fiber network, reminded me of an interview we did with Joey Durel, Lafayette, LA City/Parish President, regarding their municipal fiber project. It also took me back to a presentation that Durel gave at the 2005 FTTH Conference where he suggested that one reason for the relative population explosion beginning in the 1850s of Chicago compared to St. Louis was the city of Chicago’s strategic decision to invest in the railroad infrastructure, while St. Louis focused on the older canal transport infrastructure.
Broadband Perseverance – Part 1 & 2
In part 1 of this two-part interview, Durel, sheds light on some of the applications that have grown out of having 1 Gigabit connections to schools and businesses, as we well as the 100 Mb/s to residences. In part 2 of our interview, Durel talks about the politics and economics of the Lafayette, LA municipal FTTH deployment, including the idea of a public entities competing with private entities. His comment might be surprising, given that Lafayette was listed, in a 2005 study, as the 9th most conservative city in the United States. Click here to view.
Is 2013 the Year for a Revolution in Retransmission Consent Rules? Webinar Tomorrow, 1 pm EST
From multi-screen and over-the-top video to media consolidation, the technological and business landscapes have changed significantly since retransmission and must-carry rules were created by Congress almost 20 years ago. Retransmission consent and must-carry rules have remained among the most contentious and challenging for operators offering video services.
It is an honor to be moderating this panel with subject matter experts, Chris Cinnamon of Cinnamon Mueller, John Hane of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP and Matt Polka of the American Cable Association, who will delve into the issues surrounding retransmission consent and makes predictions on what the future holds. This will be an interactive event, so please reply to this email newsletter with any questions on this topic that you want me to ask the esteemed panelists.
As a Viodi View reader, we are pleased to offer you a 20% discount off of the standard registration fee of $54 for the BROADBAND UNLIMITED/TEAM LIGHTBULB webinar.
Click here to register and use the coupon code of Viodi for 20% off the regular price!
Time Warner Cable Media joins Comcast in adding AT&T U-Verse to Ad Platform; U-Verse Survey! by Alan Weissberger
Time Warner Cable Media, the cable operator’s ad sales division, is the second MSO in recent weeks to strike a deal with AT&T to have the latter’s U-Verse TV service linked to the cableco’s fixed scheduling network. Specifically, AT&T’s U-Verse TV service is being incorporated into Time Warner Cable’s “fixed scheduling network grids” in 15 markets via an agreement between TWC and AT&T AdWorks. Click here to read the rest.
Congratulations to ETI for 20 Years
In our previous issue, we mentioned how last month’s TelcoTV marked the 10th anniversary of the Viodi View. Coincidentally, ETI Software was also celebrating an anniversary at TelcoTV; 20 years in business. As part of their commemoration of their special event, it was an honor to help ETI Software put together a video that provides a brief overview of their excellent 20 year adventure.
The story of ETI Software, like any company, is really about the people. It is inspiring to see how one person’s work inspired another person’s vision that led to a team that continues to turn that vision into reality. Hopefully, the video captures the importance of the people and the team in ETI’s success. Another common theme throughout our many interviews with ETI executives is that the customer is what drives their business; good advice for any company, regardless of its age. Click here to view.
Content in the Cloud and All Around
Digital Asset Management may be one of the biggest challenges individuals and businesses face in the “paperless” society, promised so many years ago, but which is now finally becoming a reality. There are many cloud-based storage solutions, Box, DropBox, Google Drive, SugarSync, etc., but challenges remain in providing a solution that protects, prevents duplication, enables search and discovery and automatically synchronizes files and folders and that is easy to use.
Doug Mielke, who spoke for Viodi at a conference 9 years ago regarding the topic of HDTV when he was at Technicolor, is an expert in asset management and has many pertinent thoughts on this topic. His company, Airship, just launched a newsletter discussing how to solve the challenges of asset management. His company and their software solution could present an interesting partnership opportunity for ISPs looking to help their corporate customers that have to securely manage large files and large numbers of files across multiple locations. Click here to subscribe to Airship’s newsletter.
Some Tweets and Short Thoughts:
- Kudos to Home Telecom – It was great to visit them in late August and see why Home Telecom won this award.
- Value of BB in one short sentence, “The little things on that short list are the things we treasure.” Also, BCS, # 25 SJSU is referenced in this excellent post by Josh Seidemann of NTCA.
- AT&T is still not helping rural customers cross the digital divide – Huffington Post article.
The Korner – And the Winner Is – 2012 Viodi Local Content Awards
Creating a differentiated and better service for their respective communities is the reason rural broadband service providers offer local content, according to the results of a Viodi, LLC administered survey of 50+ rural broadband service providers. The survey indicates that the way community-specific programs are created and delivered are as unique as the communities being served.
Inspired by the survey respondents, on October 28th at the Calix User Group, Viodi recognized several entities that are helping to create better communities through the creation and distribution of local content. Thank you Calix for the support of the Viodi Local Content Awards and for its overall support of the industry and Viodi.
Click here to see video highlights of the awards ceremony.
