Managed Broadband TV – A Decade Old Overnight Success
It’s always fun to see industry friends face-to-face and last week’s NTCA Southeast Regional Meeting in Savannah, GA was the perfect venue for catching up with folks I hadn’t seen in a while. It was an honor to moderate a tech talk panel on the topic of video services. This video summarizes the opening comments I made and set a baseline for the presentations that followed from Mark Chambers of NRTC and Bob Saunders of Skitter.
Click here to watch the video and read more.
Building a Bigger Box
Growth was definitely the vibe of this week’s NTCA’s Southeast Regional meeting in Savannah. Operators and vendors provided examples and ideas for how to generate new revenue through the introduction of new products and services that complement the broadband infrastructure. Although one of the panels referenced the idea of “out-of-the-box” thinking, it is clear that operators want to build a bigger box by complement their broadband offering with services that help their customers and result in new revenue.
Click here to read more.
“Rural America Is a Big Part of America” #Summit21
It’s one thing to talk about or even see pictures of rural America, but it doesn’t compare to experiencing it first hand. Last April at the ACA 2014 Convention, I had a chance to catch up with the lone Representative from the very rural state of Vermont. Interspersed in the above interview with Representative (D-VT) Peter Welch are some images captured from my brief visit to Vermont from a couple weeks ago. The images reinforce Welch’s points about the unique nature of rural America.
Click here to view and read more.
How Cable Began – The Rest of the Story #Summit 21
The following video interview captures the spirit of the folks who built a new industry decades ago. Most people in the telecom industry are probably aware that the cable industry sprung to life in rural areas that were too isolated to receive off-the-air broadcast signals. No doubt, many have heard about the guy with an appliance shop that was attempting to sell TVs and had to figure out a way to bring the signal from an antenna on top of a mountain to display the wonders of television to prospective customers.
Unfortunately, Viodi won’t be able to cover next week’s Independent Show in Kansas City celebrating the NCTC’s 30th anniversary, but the above video is an example of the many stories that could be told by long-time attendees to that event.
Click here to view and read more.
Looking at the Impact of Autonomous Vehicles on How We Live
“It’s time to think about the built environment,” said Shannon McDonald, an architect and Assistant Professor at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL. McDonald was referring to the impact that autonomous vehicles will have on the design of streets, buildings and associated infrastructure. She indicates that this is an important and timely discussion to have, as she compares autonomous mobility to the rapid changes to cities and the explosion in suburbs that resulted from the introduction of the car 100 years ago. She is in an expert in that transition, as she literally wrote the book on one aspect; parking and how it changed cities.
Click here to read more and to view the video.
Some Tweets and Short Thoughts:
- BYOB – Bring Your Own Brain – if this works as shown, it will be an affordable personal #robot
- As follow-up to my interview with Carissa, this just released reel describes her new TV show that helps independent operators teach customers tech.
The Korner – The Solar Window Awning & Shade
Joseph Hui is on a world-changing mission; to help people live a comfortable and renewable lifestyle. This Arizona State University professor wants to help solve big problems, such as access to clean water, climate control, healthy food, information and transportation. Hui’s company, Monarch Power, is his vehicle for tackling these weighty challenges.
At International CES 2014, Monarch demonstrated some relatively low-cost solar power solutions; think less than $1 to $2 per Watt versus $5 per watt for a typical roof-mount system. Monarch takes a system approach to lowering the cost of technology to make it economically practical. As an example, in addition to providing shade, the Monarch window awning, shown in the above video, also generates solar electric power (280W) and heats water.
Click here to view and read more about how to use the hot summer sun to lower energy bills.
Leave a Reply