Operational and incremental improvements using cable television infrastructure as a wireless network and as an enabler of the Internet of Things were big themes of the recent four-day Cable Show confab in Los Angeles. Although 4K was prominent in multiple booths and displays at the conference, much to my surprise, there were no blockbuster announcements from any of the major TV networks announcing 4K programming. Most likely alternative sources of content will prime the market for Ultra High Definition, as can be seen in the ViodiTV exclusive video in the Korner.
Innovation of Things at the Cable Show 2014
“Everybody’s looking to innovate,” said Matt Polka of the American Cable Association. Polka explains that innovation surrounding the cable broadband ecosystem was one of the themes of the 2014 Cable Show. He stresses that innovation is an important element to giving consumers’ what they want; whether that is new ways of viewing content or apps that help make for a smarter home. The following interview with Polka features video highlights of various demonstrations, exhibits and other highlights of the Cable Show.
Click here to view and read more.
Rural America Needs Advanced Services & Competition by Gene South
It is an honor to publish a two-part article from Gene South, a leader in the independent telco industry for a number of years. In part one, he outlines how the view of the telecom industry changed from one of a regulated monopoly to one where competition is encouraged. In part two, he looks at the post AT&T break-up and the importance of rural citizens at the local level being able to determine their broadband destiny.
Open Video Rules Make BB a Reality for the Unserved
An entity that has its ear to the consumer in rural Minnesota is Paul Bunyan Communications. They have almost tripled in size since the turn of the century by aggressively expanding outside their traditional service area to serve customers where incumbents had not kept up with market needs for broadband and video service. Using a little-employed federal law they have been able to work with Minnesota Townships to expand their service with fewer barriers than traditional regulatory structures.
Click here to view and read more.
Ethernet Tech Summit Reveals Many Paths to “Open SDN” by Alan Weissberger
[Editor’s Note: After giving some thought to Alan Weissberger’s cogent analysis on the state of Software Defined Networking, perhaps the SDN acronym should stand for Still Don’t kNow (apologies to whoever invented the acronym I Still Don’t Know – which many suggested was the answer to the question of the market for ISDN back in the early 1990s). Weissberger makes the case that, despite several efforts to create “open” standards, there is potential for vendor lock-in around SDN and that there are issues of compatibility and single points of failure that point to multiple flavors of SDN.]
Click here to read and to contribute to the discussion on his article.
Some Tweets and Short Thoughts:
- “One of the most effective tools for ensuring Internet openness is competition,” FCC Chairman Thomas Wheeler recently stated. Competition in the last mile is critical to ensuring not only cost-competitive, but innovative broadband offerings. Some other commentary on the upcoming Net Neutrality discussion can be found here.
- Good article point-counter-point about net neutrality in Monday’s WSJ. Local barriers are often the difference between a duopoly and multiple competitors; at least in urban areas.
- Also kudos to Brett Sappington of Parks Associates for his piece in that same WSJ section arguing that it is too early to buy a 4K TV.
- At the cable show, a respected cable operator expressed the same concerns about new LTE-Unlicensed having the potential to relegate WiFi to second-class status. Click here for the Light Reading article on this topic.
- Create, not cover the conversation. Need to provide reason for new generation to come to cable & their goal is for @RevoltTV to help.
- Twitter changed the game – immediate audience feedback. Don’t need to wait for Nielsen @BET@NCTACable@beingmaryjane
- “Cable collectively is already the largest wireless operator” [in terms of bits transmitted over unlicensed WiFi]. Interesting statement made by one of the cable executives; haven’t had a chance to verify.
The Korner – The World’s Biggest Art Museum – In Your Hand
The ephihany from the 2013 Cable Show was that some of the first successful content for 4K will come from sources other than the traditional video networks. One of the things that intrigued me about Artkick when they reached out to me at CES is that they are creating a channel that could easily offer compelling 4K content.+ Artkick’s approach of viewing black screens as something more than TV has a potentially big impact on the way screens are viewed in the home.
Click here to read more and to view.
