Broadband Wars: The Telco-Cableco Showdown Continues

NEXT GENERATION NETWORKS — Jan/Feb 2011

Broadband Wars: The Telco-Cableco Showdown Continues

When I started out as a telecom reporter about 20 years ago the most interesting thing going on in the industry was signaling system 7 and Bellcore’s Advanced Intelligent Network architecture. The muted excitement was fueled by the idea that…

Additional Cover Story

Despite Advances in STBs and OTT, Hybrid TV Is Still TBD
Google got a lot of press recently when it finally came out with its Google TV. But, so far, the online search giant’s effort to marry traditional programming with Internet content for delivery via the television has been drawn criticism. According to reports Google TV suffers from spotty video quality and limited content due to efforts by the three major networks and Hulu to block video on their websites from being accessed by Google TV devices.

Feature Articles

CSPs Leverage Cloud Services Inside and Out
This shift in focus, and the ongoing move to cut capital and operational expenditures, is leading more service providers to consider and adopt cloud-based application testing, billing, revenue assurance and other back office solutions. Of course, this is happening at the same that these service providers are delivering cloud-based services to their customers.

Policy Solutions Enable Defensive, Offensive Service Provider Plays
Generally, there are two ways service providers can employ policy management, says Rick Woods, vice president for the Americas at Volubill, which sells policy management, policy enforcement and charging solutions. They can use policy management to protect their networks, or they can use policy management as an offensive weapon to segment their market and create bundles targeting low-, middle- and high-end customers.

Cablecos Put New Emphasis on Back Office Systems
While the telephone companies had a reputation for slowly and meticulously designing and maintaining their networks and back office systems, conventional wisdom was that the cablecos were much less methodical in how they built networks and rolled out services.

ALU Motive's HDM Reaches 50M Device Mark
That's strong adoption, particularly considering that when the company introduced the HDM six years ago it had to evangelize to the industry the benefits of employing this kind of solution, says Ben Geller, senior director of product marketing at Alcatel Lucent's Motive division.

Moving up the Value Chain and Capturing New Revenue Streams with IMS
Interconnect providers occupy a unique position in the service flow between service providers since all interconnect traffic passes through them.

Columns

Publisher’s Outlook

3G and 4G Group Data Plans Needed
This is why I read with interest the news that Best Buy is selling a bundle of an iPad with a free MiFi…

Editor's Notes

What Have We Learned, Really?
Three of the five commissioners voted for the initiative, which is an effort to retain the openness of the Internet…

Eye on the Money

It's a Real-Time World
There was a time when nearly all functions were performed in batches, in non real time. Most OSS/BSS functions were batch, as was most billing. This was partly a technology limitation (real time was complex and expensive), but it also reflected the fact that most services didn't demand real-time handling. Not anymore.

Guest Room

The Broadband Infrastructure Investment Paradox - Deciding When to Move Fiber Forward
Regulatory upheaval, an economy in recovery, line erosion and increasing competition - communications service providers have never faced such a tumultuous environment fraught with uncertainty. Yet, at the same time, the importance of and demand for the services that they provide has never been higher.

Converged Views

Video - Take Two
One thing is certain, use of video in a telecommunications context is growing, as evidenced by the popularity of mobile clients for YouTube, NetFlix, Skype Video and, more recently, Apple FaceTime and Qik, among others. The challenge now for network operators is to monetize successfully video-based services.

Mobile Services – Beyond Voice

Video Communication Services Take Off in 2011?
In my July article I talked about how mobile handsets were starting to support video capabilities. Well six months have gone by, and now we are facing the new year with video devices and communications services once again in the spotlight.

Next Wave Redux

A Real Next-Generation Network
What if an operator took an IT-centric approach to services? Is there a business model that could cut costs dramatically while increasing profits and customer satisfaction. Yes! The proof is the Iliad network, marketed in France under the brand Free. Starting from scratch in 1999, Iliad has built a broadband triple-play business with over 40 percent market share in greater Paris and 25 percent across all of France.

From the Desk of Paula Bernier

Miami is Calling
Next month is ITEXPO, the big show put on by Technology Marketing Corp., the parent company of this magazine. It's consistently been a strong show about which I hear nothing but good reviews. And it's in sunny Miami, which is a pretty attractive spot to many folks, particularly in early February. So we hope to see you there.