As the business world shifts to an increasingly virtual world, the face-to-face contact that one has at trade show or conference is more valuable than ever; connections are made and remade at conferences and trade shows. This human contact, even if only for a moment, can rekindle dormant memories of days gone by, as well as stir new thoughts that may lead to the next big product. The Parks Associates’ Connections Conference, co-located at last week’s TIA 2012, reflected years of thought leadership, as well as pointed attendees to the future of the connected home and the associated ecosystem.
Taking a Byte out of Mobile Broadband
More efficient use of mobile networks is the problem that Bytemobile solves, as described in this video interview with Mikko Disini of Bytemobile. Carriers are using Bytemobile’s technology to get more of their existing spectrum. As Disini points out, this improves carriers’ cash-flow from their existing networks, which helps fund the build-out of their next generation networks.
The day after this interview, Citrix announced the acquisition of their cloud platform. Bytemobile will bring its relationship with 130 carriers, strengthening Citrix’s relationship with the telecom industry and helping Citrix bring the cloud closer to the network edge. Click here to view.
Highlights of TiECon2012 Mobile Sessions – Part II on Enterprise Mobility (+ monetization & mobile gaming) by Alan Weissberger
This is the second installment of a two-part article on TiECon2012 Mobile sessions. The first article covered mobile operators, emerging trends, applications and opportunities
The focus of this article is mobile enterprise deployment status, directions, critical issues and corporate apps. We’ll also briefly revisit monetization of mobile apps and highlight the significance of social/mobile gaming. Click here to read more.
Verizon Wireless Introduces Shared Usage Data Plan to Collect More $s from Mobile Data Users by Alan Weissberger
Verizon’s new pricing plan takes into account the declining use of voice and increased consumption of mobile data, especially video. The Share Everything plan encourages increased data usage by making it easier to add devices such as tablets. But heavy mobile data users will have to pay a lot more for the data they consume. Click here to read more, as well as the insightful commentary and comments that follow.
3M Connectivity Points in 18 Months in Ohio
Connecting the rest of Ohio with broadband is the goal of Agile Networks. In this interview at the TIA 2012, Agile Networks’ CTO Kyle Quillen explains how they will be using a hybrid network of fiber and wireless to bring broadband to both the unserved and served areas of Ohio. The roots of this project started several years ago with work Agile Networks did in conjunction with Coshocton County’s efforts to further broadband in its region. Click here to view the video and to read more.
Energy 2.0 & Green Button in Spotlight at Connectivity Week 2012 by Alan Weissberger
The rationale, status and applications of Energy 2.0 as well as the Green Button (GB) initiative were key focus areas at the Connectivity Week conference, May 21-24, 2012 in Santa Clara, CA. Smart grid applications and a reality check status report were also quite relevant. Click here to read more.
All Carrot, No Stick – The Peak Time Rebate
Giving people an incentive to voluntarily reduce energy usage during peak demand is what Ted Reguly of San Diego Gas and Electric discusses in this video interview. Reguly discusses the challenges of making customers aware of the program and then giving appropriate incentives to a given customer. Click here to view.
Partnerships will be important part of their long-term approach to give customers the necessary tools to convert the real-time data into something actionable (e.g., automatic control of a thermostat based on peak load). To learn more about how San Diego Gas and Electric launched their Green Button initiative, view this video interview.
Some Tweets and Short Thoughts
- Only 20% of viewing hours, but 50% of programming expenses – Will Richmond nails this article regarding the high cost of sports programming and how it is burdening the non-sports fan with higher cable bills.
- It is somewhat ironic that on the same day Verizon announced their shared data plan, the FCC announces that the new USF contribution rate will be 15.7%. This has to be at an all time high and will further drive people away from voice into data-only packages (e.g. one wouldn’t have to pay the 15.7% on the data-only plan). Granted, the new CAF plan is supposed to address that….more on that later.
- Google Apps making its way into the independent telco market – will Google IPTV middleware be next?
- A123’s announcement regarding the temperature performance of their Nanophosphate EXT™, technology could help telecom providers, “get the lead out”; lead-acid batteries, that is. This new lithium-ion technology reduces the need for cooling and heating and could be good for both remote terminal back-up and off-grid applications.
- Need feet on the street in order to get broadband to everyone, suggested Stu Johnson of Connect Ohio at TIA2012.
The Korner – Connected Home at the Core of Telecom Success
“The connected home is no longer sort of a peripheral interest. It is core to the success and future of telecommunications services in our country and the world as well,” said Stuart Sikes, president of Parks Associates. Sikes was referring to how the co-location of the Parks Associates’ Connections Conference with TIA 2012 symbolizes the importance of the connected home to telecommunications’ providers. He suggests this is in line with the long-term view Parks Associates has espoused that service providers are the gating factor in connected home rollout. Further, he suggests that the marketing power of the telecom companies will be a significant driver for widespread connected home adoption.
He points out that the what used to be a “do it yourself” market is quickly changing into mainstream, as providers of all sizes offer connected home services, such security, energy management and tele-health offerings. Still, the path for telecom providers is not without roadblocks, as there is much uncertainty regarding what consumers, particularly the younger generation, are willing to pay for, particularly in a world where there are so many over-the-top alternatives. View the video interview here.
