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Viodi View

Viodi View – 01/02/15

The FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rule Making on modifying the definition of MVPD to include certain type of OTT providers wasn’t exactly the top choice for reading over the break, but it was informative. This document does a good job of raising the right questions and looking at the potential implications of a change of the definition of Multichannel Video Programming Distributor to include Over the Top (OTT) video providers. Still, from the layman’s perspective, it seems like the FCC is having to contort things to fit into laws that were written before anyone dreamed of the changes the Internet would bring (haven’t we heard this before with other regulations).

This may be naive, but perhaps 2015 could be the year for a comprehensive rewrite of telecommunications’ law by Congress. It happened in 1996 with a divided legislative/executive branch, so maybe it can happen again. Even today’s Wall Street Journal is suggesting there might be an opportunity for a pivot in the relations between these two branches of government.


The 2015 ViodiTV Tour – Beyond Fiber & Into the Data Center

An audience of potential customers at an ITS Fiber event.
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Register here for a one-plus day event on how to transform from a central office, telephony-focused operator to one that is a data center, all-fiber, multi-service provider. Hosted by ITS Fiber, an independent operator that has developed a state-of-the-art data center and fiber network, the agenda is geared for the independent operator wanting a competitive edge in this evolving market. This event will be right after NTCA’s TEF event on February 10th and 11th in sunny and warm Florida.
Thanks Calix for your support of the  transition from CO to Data Center tour.Thanks Metaswitch for your support of the  transition from CO to Data Center tour.
Thanks to Calix and Metaswitch for their support of this event!

Security is Biggest Issue for U.S. Infrastructure, Cloud Computing, Open Networking, and the Internet of Things by Alan Weissberger

A security key pad is just an outward view of the importance of having excellent internal controls.
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As is now common knowledge, Sony Pictures Entertainment revealed that it had been hacked by a group calling itself the Guardians of Peace, which the FBI claims was an agent of North Korea. Apparently, that repressive Communist country was using cyber-terrorism in an attempt to repress free speech in the United States. Few remember that between April and May 2011, Sony Computer Entertainment’s online gaming service, PlayStation Network, and its streaming media service (Qriocity), along with Sony Online Entertainment (the company’s in-house game developer and publisher), were hacked by LulzSec – a splinter group of the hacker collective known as Anonymous.

Click here to read more.


Unique Municipal Relationship Brings Business Gig to Idaho

ron mccue and syringa networks
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Gigabit network announcements are fast becoming non-announcements in that they are occurring so regularly and gigabit will soon (2015?) become a must-have for most North American service providers. What makes Silver Star Communications’ recent announcement about expansion of Gigabit service into Idaho Falls unique is how they brought service to this Eastern Idaho Berg of 56,000+. Silver Star is using the fiber network of Idaho Falls Power, Idaho Falls municipally owned power provider, to extend its Gigabiz service offering to Idaho Falls’ businesses.

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From Prune Shed to Silicon Valley Success – The Story of ROLM

Kathie Maxfield and her book cover.
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Part of Silicon Valley’s mystique is the way companies treat their staff. From free to subsidized lunches to on-site daycare to gymnasiums, the Silicon Valley egalitarian and work-play culture is definitely part of the draw that attracts people from around the world and part of the reason for this region’s continual reinvention. Recognizable names such as Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and Yahoo are the face of today’s Silicon Valley, but, if not for the foundation laid by pioneering companies, such as ROLM, Santa Clara Valley might not be known as Silicon Valley.

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Some Tweets and Short Thoughts:


The Korner – A Few Last Things – Internet o’ Things, That Is

The personal highlight of last year’s International CES was a comment that ViodiTV coverage CES 2013 videos was the impetus for one person’s trip to CES2014. With that in mind, here are three videos from CES2014 that point to the Internet of Things theme from last year; a theme that will probably be even more pervasive at CES2015. Please send a note if there is anything in particular that you think we should cover at CES2015.


No Key, No Problem

OKIDOKEY
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The Internet of Things doesn’t always mean new things. In the above video, OKIDOKEYS spokesperson Kristin Berry demonstrates OKIDOKEYS’ smartphone/cellphone or RFID-controlled door lock that fits over most existing door locks enabling electronic locking and unlocking of a door. It will provide notifications that a door has opened (e.g. alert that child is home from school) or an alarm if an unauthorized user is attempting to open the door.

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The Internet-Connected Sump Pump

pentair
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One of the worst surprises for a homeowner is to discover water in her basement. Pentair aims to solve that problem by adding connectivity to the sump pump. Combining battery back-up, an Internet connection and the obligatory app, Pentair’s Brian Alexander explains that the sump pump, shown in the above video, will send messages to its owners, such as when it is operating (indicating that it is pumping out water) or if the back-up battery needs replacing (a good thing to know before the battery is needed).

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Make Your Own Cloud

An image showing Transporter Hard-Drives.
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Business failure, policy changes and security breaches are some of the dark sides of the cloud. At the same time, having one’s data backed up at off-site locations can be convenient and provides the physical diversity that protects data from single points of failure (e.g. hard-drive crash, theft, fire, etc.). Connected Data‘s approach to solving this problem is an on-site storage device that automatically connects to other devices, whether on the same Local Area Network or some other place via a Wide Area Network.

Click here to view.

Author Ken Pyle, Managing Editor

By Ken Pyle, Managing Editor

Ken Pyle is Marketing Director for the Broadband Forum. The mission of this 25+-year-old non-profit “is to unlock the potential for new markets and profitable revenue growth by leveraging new technologies and standards in the home, intelligent small business, and multi-user infrastructure of the broadband network.”

He is also co-founder of Viodi, LLC and Managing Editor of the Viodi View, a publication focused on the rural broadband ecosystem, autonomous vehicles, and electric aviation. He has edited and produced numerous multimedia projects for NTCA, US Telecom and Viodi. Pyle is the producer of Viodi’s Local Content Workshop, the Video Production Crash Course at NAB, as well as ViodiTV. He has been intimately involved in Viodi’s consulting projects and has created processes for clients to use for their PPV and VOD operations, as well authored reports on the independent telco market.

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