Is Bill Gates optimistic or pessimistic about the future? That was the question posed yesterday on the airport TV. Rushing to my flight, there wasn’t time to sit and watch the interview, but a few gates later the closed caption on another TV indicated he is optimistic. Gates has credibility in his prognostications as the future he predicted a few decades ago in his book, The Road Ahead, appears today in many forms, such as in the so-called smart home.
One of the themes of this week’s NCTC Winter Educational Conference was the important role broadband providers can play in helping customers create the intelligent domicile envisioned so long ago by Gates. Stay tuned to both the Viodi and NCTC web sites for interviews with speakers and members from this important conference.
Mr. Polka Goes to Washington #WEC2019
Another theme of WEC was the importance of good communications between industry peers as well as across different industries. Matt Polka discusses the insight he gained from his recent testimony in front of the Senate Commerce Committee. Flanked by leaders in other infrastructures such as railways, trucking and ports, and waterways, Polka stressed that broadband is critical infrastructure and that the seemingly disparate infrastructures represented on the Senate panel find ways to work together for the betterment of all. Watch the video for his insight or better yet, join him at the ACA Summit at the end of the month and talk to him in person.
How Can You Make Video Relevant? #TIS18
“How can you make video relevant,” asks Tom Whitaker Senior Vice President of Shentel. He answers his own question by suggesting that operators need to find different ways to add value to the video product, including having features like whole-home Wi-Fi and whole home access to video content. Whitaker brings his take on 5G and what that means to traditional land-line providers.
Satellite Texting Without a Subscription #CES2019
The ability to send an emergency text with GPS location information is what Higher Ground offers with its SatPaq™ and SpaceLinq™ app. By using Geosynchronous satellites and a clever radio design and app, Higher Ground’s solution could literally be a lifesaver for anyone in an emergency where there is no telecommunications network. Best of all, it is an affordable solution with no subscription charges and only 29 cents per message. The hidden gem in this technological marvel is the back-end database technology, which could someday be part of the spectrum management solution for the 6 GHz band.
DSRC vs C-V2X and More – Spectrum Is the Goldmine
“Spectrum, really the airwaves, is the gold mine,” states Rajiv Mathur, Ph.D., Smart Transportation Programs Prospect Silicon Valley. Mathur was referring to an area of agreement between two competing technological approaches that allow vehicles to communicate with each other, with infrastructure and “things” and, conceivably, even pedestrians. The above interview recaps a 1/23/19, ProspectSV forum that featured a spirited discussion between representatives from each of these camps.
Some Tweets and Short Thoughts:
- And factor in the advent of Air Taxis, as we saw at the #CNSV event, and fixed-rail transport will literally be leap-frogged by more efficient and better utilized right-size vehicles. @bradtem is on the right track (pun intended)
- @PineBeltTalk We’re so proud that Gee’s Bend now has the nation’s first electric-powered passenger ferry! Thank you to Alabama Power and the ferry’s engineers.
- @NRECANews With #batterystorage projects, electric co-ops like @unitedpowercoop, @connexusnews, @DairylandPower, @VTElectricCoop and more are innovating to meet their communities’ #energy needs
The Korner – Games Go Digital: The Challenge for Rural Gamers and Their ISPs by Mike Riddile
More Americans are regularly playing video games today than ever before. According to a 2018 Nielsen report, 66% of those 13 years and older are gamers. While the relative footprint of gaming on broadband networks has thus far been small, gaming IP traffic is expected to rise nine fold by 2022. Not only will there be more gamers online, but the ways in which many of them access gaming content are changing as well.
The games industry is quickly making the shift from physical media to digital distribution, which requires huge and frequent downloads to play the latest high-resolution games. This could become a point of growing frustration for rural gamers if their local providers aren’t ready with the services they need.
[Editor’s Note: Thanks Mike Riddile for contributing this article to the Viodi View – we look forward to future posts from Mike on gaming and its relevance to rural broadband providers.]
