Jason Wall’s first rule of marketing, “People don’t read.” Jason’s second rule of marketing. I would tell you if I had read it. Seriously, read the Korner section of this newsletter for some brief insight from Jason and others gleaned from an intense week of Broadband Forum fun in Mainz, Germany.
Jason Walls has the most fun possible in Standards, as seen here.
Thanks again to the Broadband Forum, my employer, for its support of this newsletter. To be clear, the views and opinions expressed herein are not those of the Broadband Forum.
AL/ML to Help Developers Stay Within the Boundaries of Regulations and Standards
The Broadband Forum’s Town Hall Innovation Summit attendees heard multiple speakers speak about Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning and how it fits in the telecom network and beyond. This brief interview with Tim Huber, COO of Certivity, fits that theme of using AI/ML to be more productive. In the case of Certivity, they use AI/ML to translate regulations into design requirements and ensure that developers stay within the bounds of government-imposed rules. Telecom could benefit from their approach.
The Real Reason for Driverless Vehicles – A Brief Book Review
While Certivity’s technology is for the people who design vehicles, Alain Kornhauser and Michael L. Sena’s book is about the market for those cars. Specifically, their focus is on driverless cars and how they can be used to benefit society. This is a must-read for policymakers everywhere. There are many parallels to broadband. Like broadband, some of its earliest success could be in rural communities (see goMARTI in Grand Rapids, MN).
In the Driverless Seat with Dr. Kornhauser
In addition to reading the review, you can hear directly from one of the authors, Dr. Alain Kornhauser. He believes the opportunity is to provide rides to people who need rides. He compares the potential of driverless to be on par with the Industrial Revolution in terms of growth and societal improvements. Of course, he is preaching to the choir as Viodi has advocated a similar approach for almost a decade.
Talking About the Broadband Divide and More
This interview between Jason Walls and Josh Seidemann is well worth the listen. It provides a great overview of NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association – members and how they serve their communities. The 80% FTTH coverage cited by Seidemann complements what Roland Montagne suggested at the Broadband Forum’s BASe on March 7th. He indicated that the U.S. small ISPs & municipalities, collectively, are #5 worldwide for #FTTH subscribers at about 19.5 million.
Read and View Here (LinkedIn)
Some Chirps and Short Thoughts
- There is still time to register for Tuesday’s Broadband Forum webinar on “The Future of the Connected Home”. Speakers will unpack the results of a service provider survey on that topic.
- Congratulations to the BBF award winners. Thanks, Brett Heier for leading the effort to put together this highlight reel.
- Waymo is providing 100k paid rides a week in four major cities, according to this X post from a now-former Waymo engineer. Interestingly, he is going to Tesla to work on their Autopilot team.
- “Enabling the amazing IoT in ag tech to work in remote areas requires always-on connectivity. Like a Smart City without all the people.” @JillKuehny
- Some have suggested that Boise’s Treefort Music Fest could be called North-by-Northwest, as it mixes music (400+ bands), various festivities, and tech. Here is a tech mashup that animates murals in Freak Alley and provides the metadata fans want, while promoting the bands. Steve Norell of Drake Cooper provides an excellent overview of how they created this augmented reality, interactive experience.
The Korner – IRL Rules, Consumer Experience, Digital Divide In Plain Sight, & Palm Trees in Germany
Following up on the January preview, this article reflects on some of the highlights from a week spent in Germany at the Broadband Forum’s various events. One insight is probably obvious to most, but read the full post to learn more about the digital divide hiding in plain sight. Another sight one never expected was that of palm trees in Germany.
The article links to Dean Bubley’s insightful take on the challenges of in-building broadband. It also links to Jason Walls’ summary of the User Services Platform (TR-369) discussion and what it means for service providers.
The most important insight is that nothing can replace in-person events. As Jason would say, the face-to-face interactions, within the meetings and after hours, make the Broadband Forum the most fun in Standards.
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