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Viodi View Menu<\/strong><\/p>\n Current Issue<\/a>Fiber to the Home – Silicon Valley Should Be Ashamed<\/a>Plugged In at Home Plug<\/a><\/p>\n Going Mobile – Wee Hee<\/a><\/p>\n Previous Issue<\/a><\/p>\n Viodi View Subscribe<\/a> <\/p>\n Viodi Forums<\/strong>Club Viodi<\/a>Local Content<\/a><\/p>\n Multimedia Search <\/a><\/p>\n Viodi Workshops<\/strong>Local Content<\/a>Telco Video 101<\/a>Incremona Training<\/a><\/p>\n Industry<\/strong>Industry Calendar<\/a>Favorite Links<\/a><\/p>\n About Viodi<\/a>Contact<\/a>Biographies<\/a><\/p>\n Interested in Sponsoring the Viodi View? Send an email to: sponsor@viodi.com<\/strong><\/p>\n Please forward<\/strong> this free publication to anyone you know who is involved in some way with independent telephone companies. <\/p>\n Mission of the Viodi View:<\/strong><\/p>\n In this on-line publication, we share our analysis, opinions and direction on the interactive television news and views that we believe will be of interest and use to our friends associated directly or indirectly with independent telephone companies. For more information as to the various ways Viodi works with independent telephone companies, please go to http:\/\/www.viodi.com\/alliance\/<\/a><\/p>\n Disclaimer:<\/strong><\/p>\n The Viodi View [Viodi, LLC] and its associates used their best efforts in collecting and preparing the information published herein. However, the Viodi View [Viodi, LLC] does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any and all liability for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions resulted from negligence, accident, or other causes.<\/p>\n All displayed trademarks, logos and service marks are the property of their respective owners. \u00a9 2005Viodi, LLC<\/a>. All Rights Reserved. Viodi View Newsletter – October 12, 2005 <\/strong><\/p>\n By Ken Pyle, ken.pyle@viodi.com, Managing Editor, Viodi View<\/p>\n The telecommunications industry lost<\/strong>\u00a0long-time friend and scribe, Roger Brown<\/strong>, Publisher<\/strong> of CED magazine,<\/strong> last week to the ravages of melanoma cancer. For almost two decades, Roger was a rock of stability in the topsy-turvy telecom world, as he provided common sense wisdom<\/strong> in an industry often rife with techno-babble. I was always impressed with Roger\u2019s ability to quickly grasp technically arcane subjects and translate them into readable prose. Roger always downplayed his own abilities and his humbleness was refreshing. <\/p>\n His lack of arrogance was probably one of the many reasons so many people called him friend. He was the definition of affable<\/strong>. He was always good for a laugh and would be the first to laugh at himself. Tradeshows and conferences will never be the same without Roger. I always looked forward to meeting up with Roger, sharing a beer with him and swapping stories. My condolences<\/strong> go out to his family and to the industry, as we lost a quiet leader. A fund <\/strong>has been set up to raise money to ensure the secondary education of Roger\u2019s four children<\/strong>. Information on that fund can be found by clicking here<\/strong><\/a>. <\/p>\n The Show Must Go On<\/strong><\/p>\n With the tempo of slot machines as background music, I sit here in the Las Vegas McCarran airport reflecting on the four very different tradeshows I have attended in the last two weeks. Despite all of the recent economic news related to the devastating natural disasters and rising oil prices, at these trade shows I saw an energy<\/strong> and optimism<\/strong> in the increasingly related entertainment<\/strong>, telecom<\/strong> and mobile<\/strong> industries. Instead of product substitution, we are beginning to see entirely new products<\/strong>, such as video and audio entertainment dedicated solely to mobile phones and targeted video advertising<\/strong> to FTTH networks. <\/p>\n Fiber to the Home – Silicon Valley Should Be Ashamed<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n After watching presentations from Mayors Richard <\/strong>and Jurel <\/strong>of Fort Wayne, Indiana<\/strong> and Lafayette, Louisiana,<\/strong> respectively, I came away rather a bit ashamed and disgusted regarding my berg, San Jose. Yes, and this is coming from the unofficial ambassador of the capital of Silicon Valley. In San Jose, cable modem service is fairly new and my DSL tops out at 300 kb\/s downstream (yes, kilobits), while Fort Wayne has figured out how to bring fiber to the home<\/strong> to most of their residents<\/strong> by the end of this year <\/strong>and the city of Lafayette, barring any new political roadblocks, is on the path to doing the same in the near future. Click here<\/a><\/strong> to read the two different paths these mayors took to accomplish the same goal of ensuring that their citizens have a telecom infrastructure that will put them on par with any in the world. <\/p>\n It’s All About the Operations<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n As I perused the tradeshow floor, influences of Raynet were everywhere. Watching the presentation from Pete Pifer <\/strong>of ETI Software<\/strong> reminded me of Raynet\u2019s early 1990s product RIDES, which was a $100 million-plus investment to automate provisioning <\/strong>and provide for flow-through processes<\/strong> for RBOC deployments of Fiber In the Loop systems. Raynet was right to worry about operations early in the process<\/strong>, as Pifer<\/strong> pointed out in his presentation with John Smith <\/strong>of Chelan Public Utilities District<\/strong>. Click here<\/a><\/strong> to read more about some of the other Raynet<\/strong> people that I bumped into at this event that was all about Fiber to the Home.<\/p>\n NOTE: FTTH Council Conference Coverage Generously Sponsored<\/strong> by ETI Software<\/a><\/strong>, the leader in converged billing and provisioning systems for triple play deployments.<\/p>\n A conference that was co-located with the FTTH Council was the CABA (<\/strong>Continental Automation Building Association) conference. This was CABA\u2019s first stand-alone tradeshow. CABA is sort of an umbrella association for the various groups involved with home and building communications. As such, participants in their show included MOCA<\/strong> (Multimedia Over Coax Association) and the ZigBee Alliance<\/strong>. Notably absent from the CABA event was the HomePlug Association.<\/p>\n Plugged In at HomePlug<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n I had the chance to visit the HomePlug<\/strong> conference in South San Francisco and was impressed with the progress on improving the ability of electrical wires to carry high-speed data both in the home as well as on Broadband Power Lines<\/strong> (BPL). Based on the demonstrations I saw, HomePlug AV looks like it could be a good option <\/strong>for telcos that are looking to distribute video and Internet around a home, as it has built-in Quality of Service. Based on the panel discussion which included Duke Energy<\/strong> and Current Technologies<\/strong>, BPL also seems like it will be a viable<\/strong> Internet<\/strong> delivery option. Click here<\/a><\/strong> to learn more about this electrifying conference. <\/p>\n Get inside advice on IPTV marketing, deployment and content when you Going Mobile \u2013 Wee Hee<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n As someone at the show suggested, many are envisioning HomePlug as a way to distribute high-speed Internet around the home, with wireless painting<\/strong> each room with mobility. Wireless was the focus of the CTIA show in San Francisco a few weeks ago, but it was also about the applications that provide increased value to the wireless networks. The interesting thing is that many of these applications are about cross-bundling <\/strong>across different media, both physical and virtual<\/strong>. Click here<\/strong><\/a> to see what I mean. <\/p>\n Apple Records \u2013 Say You Want a Revolution<\/strong><\/p>\n I have wanted to toss this thought out ever since I saw that the record studios are pressuring Apple to employ variable pricing on music downloads, instead of the fixed $0.99 per song (songs from more popular artists would cost something like $1.29 per title in the record studios\u2019 scenario). What if Steve Jobs bypassed<\/strong> the studios and started signing up the big bands directly? There is already the U2 IPOD<\/strong> (sells for a $30 premium), so there is precedence for Apple dealing directly with a band. Conventional wisdom is that the Video iPOD <\/strong>will be introduced tomorrow, but I am hoping for something really revolutionary.<\/p>\n Some Amusing Feedback on Google<\/strong><\/p>\n Don McCullough<\/strong> of Entrisphere<\/strong> (formerly with FTTC pioneer and Raynet rival BBT<\/strong>) relayed an interesting story of his experience with the Google<\/strong> video of UPN’s<\/strong> television show, Everybody Hates Chris<\/strong><\/em>. As any loyal Viodi View reader would do, Don clicked on the Google link in the last issue. He was so impressed with what he saw that he decided to show his wife and kids of this amazing new offering. He connected his lap-top to his widescreen television and hit the start button. Everything seemed to be working until about five minutes into the program when everything froze.<\/strong> He could not get it working again and his family was unimpressed \u2013 technology wins again. I have some ideas as to how telcos might be able to exploit this sort of glitch, which I might share in the club viodi site sometime.<\/p>\n Everything You Wanted to Know About Legitimate Peer to Peer & More<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Marty Lafferty, CEO<\/strong> of the DCIA<\/strong> has put together a stellar line-up for the panel, Peer to Peer, Where Do Telcos Fit<\/strong><\/em>? The speakers – Les Ottolenghi, President, INTENT MediaWorks, Frank Chindamo, President & CEO, Fun Little Movies (FLM), Chip Venters, CEO, Digital Containers, Steve Stebbins, EVP, RightsLine, Stan Moyer, Exec. Dir., Telcordia <\/strong>and Marc Freedman, CEO, RazorPop<\/strong> – are among the thought leaders as to how Peer to Peer technology can be used for legitimate purposes. The panel will cover business models, content, security, rights management, infrastructure and Intellectual Property issues. This is a panel that is critical for telcos<\/strong>, as I believe it will give telcos an idea of how P2P will continue to impact their network and how telcos might be able to exploit this alternative content distribution method. <\/p>\n Other speakers who have been added since the last issue of the Viodi View include Douglas Frazier President of Urban Communications<\/strong>, Will Helmly, President of Home Telephone<\/strong>, Dave Davies<\/strong> of Vice President<\/strong> Strategy and Product Management of Subscriber Networks for Scientific Atlanta<\/strong>, Ned Mountain, President<\/strong> of Wegener<\/strong>, and Steve Klein<\/strong> Director<\/strong> of Video Solutions Marketing for Zhone Technologies<\/strong>. UNLIKE PREVIOUS IP VIDEO CONFERENCES, THE IP VIDEO TRACK @ TELECOM05 IS INCLUDED IN THE BASIC TELECOM 05 REGISTRATION<\/strong>. CLICK HERE<\/a><\/strong> TO LEARN MORE.<\/p>\n The Korner: Farmer Appreciation & A Bit of Trivia<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n A few month\u2019s ago, I had a similarly titled<\/a><\/strong> Krazy Ken\u2019s Korner. Jim Farmer teased me by telling me that when he saw this title he thought I was referring to him. Well, I do appreciate Jim and not just for making sure I wasn\u2019t hoteless in Las Vegas earlier this year (a whole another story). I really do appreciate Jim<\/strong> and all of the other speakers<\/strong> who have helped me fill the many panels that I have organized over the past few years. They have all put a great deal of effort into creating original presentations that are great educational resources for our industry. <\/p>\n One thing I admire<\/strong> about Jim and many of the other speakers is that they are accomplished authors. Jim co-authored the premier book on cable television architecture, while Scott Keagy<\/strong>, formerly of Calix<\/strong> and now with WebEx<\/strong>, penned a book on architecting IP networks. But, one speaker wrote a novel, which leads to the first trivia question for the IP Video track at TELECOM 05.<\/p>\n Trivia Question #1<\/strong><\/p>\n Name the former IP Video speaker (from either TELECOM 03, 04, IP Video @ Supercomm 04 or 05 who was the author of an off-beat book about the Vietnam-war era. <\/p>\n Trivia Question #2<\/strong><\/p>\n What is the name of the only independent telco which has exchange boundaries that extend into the county that is the home to Silicon Valley?<\/p>\n Here is the catch – answers must be submitted in person<\/strong> at the TELECOM 05, IP Video panels as listed at www.viodi.tv<\/a><\/strong>. Winners will be determined on a first answer basis. Thanks to the generous support of the companies whose name appear to the right, we will be giving out hundreds of dollars in prizes<\/strong>. <\/p>\n Next Article<\/a> <\/p>\n Back to Top<\/a><\/p>\n Previous Issue<\/a><\/p>\n Viodi View Subscribe<\/strong><\/p>\n Click Here to Learn How to Contribute to the Roger Brown Family Fund<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n
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