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Viodi View – 1/30/15

FCC AWS-3 Auction Ends; Raises Record $44.9 Billion! by Alan Weissberger

A photo of a typical cell tower.
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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has just closed its auction of AWS-3 wireless spectrum licenses, raising a record $44.9 billion in the process. The Wall Street Journal reports that this is the largest amount of money the FCC has ever collected from a spectrum auction, and is more than double what was earned in 2008 during the much publicized 700MHz auction.

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To License or Not to License – the $62 Billion Question

An image of Mike  Bergmann of CEA along with an image of  the CEA unlicensed spectrum report.
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Unlicensed spectrum adds $62 Billion in annual Incremental Retail Sales Value to the U.S. economy according to a study led by CEA Sr. Director, Technology & Standards, Mike Bergman.This $62B annual amount, which FCC Commissioner Rosenworcel suggests could be as high as $140B, is an interesting juxtaposition to the one-time fee of the AWS-3 auction, referenced above. There is also an argument to be made that any money that flows into the government coffers will eventually be paid for by the consumer, as, to paraphrase President Reagan, businesses don’t pay spectrum auction fees, they just pass them on.

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From Wired to Wireless – One Operator’s Story

Lee Chambers of Sandhill Telephone Cooperative is depicted in this image.
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“We didn’t even have towers. We had no idea how to get into the wireless business,” said Lee Chambers, CEO of Sandhill Telephone Cooperative. In the above interview, he explains how this incumbent local exchange carrier built a wireless network within an 18 month period. This LTE data-centric network has allowed Sandhill to reach out beyond their traditional boundaries and serve customers; many who only had access to the Internet through dial-up or satellite.

Click here to read more and view the video.


Defining a New Global Network by Steve Gleave, SVP, Metaswitch Networks

A man holding tablet over an image of a global network.
Image Courtesy of Metaswitch Networks

[Editor’s Note: The following blog post, originally published on the Metaswitch Networks Blog, provides a glimpse of what Mr. Gleave will be discussing at the event Viodi is producing with ITS Fiber. ITS Fiber is an independent operator that made the transition from copper-based rural telco to one that provides business services via an all-underground fiber network that connects to their state-of-the-art data center. Thanks Metaswitch for your support of this upcoming event!]

Communications network infrastructure is on a path to become more software-centric: virtual network functions running on commodity hardware, in the cloud. Intelligent software, separated from hardware, driven by the double-header of both network functions virtualization (NFV) and software defined networking (SDN).

Click here to read more.


 Beyond Fiber and Into the Data Center

An image showing the interior of ITS Fiber's Data Center.
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There is still time to register for this event, hosted by independent operator, ITS Fiber in Florida on February 10th and 11th. In case you can’t make it, three of the sessions will be simulcast, so you can participate from the comfort of your computer or phone. Click the links below to register for the following sessions:

Thanks Calix for your support of the transition from CO to Data Center tour.

Thanks IIS Group for your support of the  transition from CO to Data Center tour.

The Metaswitch Networks logo is what this image represents.

Thanks to Calix, IIS Group and Metaswitch for their support of this event!

REGISTER HERE


Some Tweets and Short Thoughts:

  • Ironic, the same day Google announces they are skipping over San Jose to provide FTTH and a day before the FCC’s redefinition of broadband to 25 Mbs/3 Mbs, the Silicon Valley ILEC that passes by my household lets me know that they can offer me…”High Speed Internet Basic gives you up to 768Kbps download speeds and up to 384Kbps upload speeds.”
  • At the /29/2015 meeting, FCC Chairman Wheeler “Would be great if there were an Uber for 911.”  Hmmm, I wonder what sort of local/state/federal power struggle that would cause?
  •  “Like to see Congress … factor in the value of unlicensed spectrum, thus giving it an incentive to help create more of it.”

The Autonomous Korner –  Ensuring the Insurance of the Autonomous Future

Michael J Scrudata of Munich RE discusses insurance and the autonomous automobile.
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That a representative of an insurance company of insurance companies was at International CES2015 to learn about autonomous vehicles and their impact on the transportation of tomorrow is an indicator that the automation of transport is well on its way. In the above interview, Michael Scrudato of Munich RE, points out that autonomous vehicles offer the potential for significant societal benefits, including the reduction in deaths, injury and associated emotional damage from car crashes.

Scrudato explains that they have looked at this market for the past 12 to 18 months, as auto insurance represents about half the U.S. property and casualty insurance industry. From an insurance standpoint, he suggests that they expect insurance regulation will continue to be on a state-by-state basis. The big question is when will autonomy be practical. Whenever that date is, it sounds like the insurance industry will be ready.

Click here to view.

While we are on the topic….

  • The most interesting thing about this article about driverless car testing in North Dakota is the idea of an autonomous, north-south highway through our nation’s heartland.
  • $2,700 is the potential net benefit per Canadian household (>5% of household consumption) according to a recent report (pdf) co-authored by CAVCOE (The Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence). This report, although focused on Canada, is something that U.S. local, state and federal officials involved in city planning, transportation, economic development – really anyone interested in the impact of automated transport on society – should thoroughly read.

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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