Viodi View – The Bridge Between the Heartland and Silicon Valley

  • Has the 700 MHz Auction Been a Failure?

    Abstract Promoted as the most important FCC auction in decades, it appears that the 700 MHz auction has been a failure on several fronts.  We were promised private operator-public safety partnerships (for the D Block) along with a new nationwide wireless broadband network (Frontline Wireless’ initiative), open access for any device and any application (Google’s…

  • Alternative Video Killed the Video Store

    Back in the early days of commercial Video on Demand (circa 1999), when I was with the on-demand, Application Service Provider, DemandVideo, one of the benchmarks for our success was the demise of a video store.   That is, we knew that if a video store went out of business because of what we were…

  • A Market-Based FCC?

    The FCC released three studies regarding on the topic of licensed versus unlicensed spectrum. These could be very critical policy papers that shape the future of spectrum allocation and are important for Congress to read. Interesting timing, as their release comes during the 700 MHz bidding process. Of particular interest, is Working Report #43, which looks at the…

  • Mr. IP Video

    Steve Hawley has the license plate to prove that he is Mr. IP Video. I had a chance to catch up with Steve on the drive from Roslyn to the SeaTac airport last Tuesday (thanks for the ride, Steve). In addition to his role as Editor of IPTV News magazine, published by Junction, Ltd, (a must-read for…

  • Are any telecom companies making money?

    Huge loss by SPRINT caps plethara of disappointing telecom news We do not think SPRINT has the financial resources to complete their WiMAX buildout plans. Instead, the WiMAX unit will likely be spun off, with INTEL, Clearwire, and private equity firms buying it. Even then, the future of WiMAX in the U.S. is in doubt-…

  • IEEE ComSoc SCV Meeting on Telepresence and Cisco’s Emerging Tech Group

    Charles Stucki, VP and GM of Cisco’s TelePresence Business Unit, provided an excellent overview of Cisco’s Emerging Technology Group (ETG), with an emphasis on its first product- the Telepresence video conferencing for enterprise customers (and for Cisco’s internal use). Confirming our earlier supposition about telecom companies concentrating on content, Chuck stated that Cisco was looking…