The tangible nature of the transportation industry is often used as an analogy to describe the invisible workings of the telecommunications’ infrastructure. At the Parks Associates’ 2012 Connections Conference, Geoff Hollingworth of Ericsson made the transportation analogy when he suggested that telecommunications providers have the opportunity to be the, “Digital logistics suppliers for the world.”
Digital Logistics Suppliers for the World
“Incredible change…more in the last 10 years than the earlier 100 years”, is how Geoff Hollingworth of Ericsson characterizes the impact of technology on society. As an interesting proof-point, Hollingworth’s son makes an appearance in this video talking about the high expectations that the customers of tomorrow have. Companies will need to transform their businesses to meet these expectations. Click here to view this video.
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From Physical to Digital Distribution
Content of all type is moving from physical to digital distribution, so says Pietro Macchiarella, Research Analyst with Parks Associates. Macchiarella adds that content protection and the rich data that digital distribution provides are common discussion points regardless of content type (e.g. video, music, gaming). Click here to view the video interview and read the rest of the post.
In a competitive wireless environment, being able to deliver high quality of service regardless of the type of wireless network is going to be increasingly important for service providers. Further improving their efficiency will be the integration of voice of IP, regardless of the bearer path. Madan Jagernauth, vice president marketing and strategy for venture-backed Mavenir, discusses this as well the importance of off-loading data to WiFi networks, so that service providers can keep up with the growth of Internet traffic to smart phones and tablets. At the same time, the off-loading process and the transition between networks must be invisible to the end-user. Click to view the video.
Infonetics Research: LTE Leadership in Wireless Infrastructure, IMS, VoLTE, and CAPEX by Alan Weissberger
Infonetics Research reports that LTE spending is up 128% from the year-ago first quarter, and the number of mobile operators committing to LTE continues to increase rapidly. The prestigious market research firm forecasts the LTE equipment market to grow to $17.5 billion in 2016. Click here to read Alan Weissberger’s summary of four recent reports from Infonetics Research.
Sonus to acquire Network Equipment Technologies for $41.3M- a fraction of 1987 IPO price! by Alan Weissberger
This news item caught my eye, because NET was a rising star in the late 1980?s datacom world. They were a leader in T1 Multiplexers from 1987 and an innovative provider of ATM and IP network equipment in the 1990s. The company re-invented itself several times, but never regained the momentum it built up over 25 years ago! Click here to read more.
Enabling a TV Cloud strategy, particularly when it comes to the User Interface for the TV and multiple screens, is what TiVo provides service providers. TiVo’s Evan Young briefly talks about the importance and challenges of presenting content in the right way to the right customer at the right time in this video interview.
Young’s comments provide an overview of TiVo’s service provider strategy, as exemplified by the 6/25 announcement with the Swedish telecommunications’ operator, Com Hem. With it’s multi-screen solution, TiVo has positioned itself as an alternative middleware solution for both HFC and IPTV operators. Click here to view the video.
Some Tweets and Other Short Thoughts:
- Google as a gaming platform: With Google’s announcements regarding tablets and cloud computing this week, this announcement about native support of its streaming service in the Chrome browser and OS was somewhat lost in the hoopla. The streaming service from Gaikai, coupled with Google devices, could be a viable alternative to the traditional gaming consoles experience at a lower cost.
- Pass-through of video description for all MVPDs begins this Sunday – for an earlier Viodi View overview of these FCC rules, please see Robert Primosch’s overview.
- Sorry, Marketers, You’re Doing Twitter Wrong – According to this, I can send 2 more tweets today.
- Obscenity on ABC – this story never ends, even though broadcast becomes less relevant with rise of BB TV
The Korner – The Modern Day Train – Telecommunications Creating the Virtual Railcar
Telecommunications and transportation used to be relatively disparate industries. From coordinating logistics to the purchase of tickets by passengers, telecommunications served more as a “signaling” function facilitating the flow of transportation, but not part of the transportation. Over time, however, communications capability has become an integral to many vehicles, such as “fly-by-wire” systems that use a local area communications network to replace heavier mechanical parts, improving efficiency and providing new opportunities.
An example of a potential new opportunity is seen in this video from Volvo, which features a test of a “Road Train”, which was done as part of the SARTRE (Safe Road Trains for the Environment) project. In this test, a convoy of five cars, driven in regular traffic, is assembled on the fly via a communications network (think Bluetooth pairing for cars). Relying on cameras and RADAR, each car is spaced about 20 feet apart at speeds over 50 miles per hour, while one driver literally leads the pack through an invisible communications tether.
Click here to view the video and read more about this electronically connected caravan.
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