Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Broadband delayed again� - News - The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports -

Broadband delayed again� - News - The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports -

This sickening story highlights the pathetic, on the cheap state of today's U.S. telecommunications infrastructure. Providers battle over subsidies that would be better invested in fiber to the premise infrastructure rather than stopgap, obsolescence-prone DSL and terrestrial wireless.

And the DSL provider (Frontier) has the temerity to suggest since it offers its West Virginia customers satellite Internet service -- a national disgrace that should only be serving locales north of the Arctic Circle -- it is therefore providing sufficient service.

Wednesday, November 07, 2012

AT&T forced to invest in wireline plant to stem residential cord cutting

This item from Bloomberg/Businessweek helps explain why AT&T is opting to invest $6 billion in its wireline infrastructure.  The telco has been bleeding residential connections for years as these customers have dropped landline service and migrated to mobile wireless.  This is particularly true for those residential customers not offered wireline Internet service and thus had no reason to keep their landline account active.

AT&T is apparently now hoping to win those customers back and retain those thinking of cutting the cord by providing them Internet service via its proprietary, VDSL-based U-verse IPDSLAM service.  According to an AT&T news release today announcing its 3-year, $14 billion CAPex plan, U-verse IPDSLAM will provide Internet access and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to 24 million customer premises in AT&T's wireline service area by year-end 2013.

Friday, November 02, 2012

California PUC rectifies its mischaracterization of Internet infrastructure subsidy fund


Several months ago, this blog called out the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for incorrectly asserting the public policy goal of its program to subsidize the build out of Internet infrastructure in the Golden State was instead to encourage “the adoption of broadband.”

To its credit, the CPUC has rectified its gross misstatement of the law authorizing its $100 million plus California Advanced Service Fund (CASF). It did so this week, buried 18 pages deep into a proposed order that would loosen eligibility for CASF infrastructure loan and grant funding to include entities not holding a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) or a Wireless Identification Registration (WIR):

“We wish to make clear that although we propose to modify the CASF eligibility requirements to include both for profit and nonprofit broadband infrastructure providers, it is not our intent to change the focus of the CASF program. The CASF was created to fund the deployment of broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas of the state, rather than the adoption of broadband services.” (Emphasis added)

The CPUC should also make it easier for consumer owned, community-based providers such as telecom cooperatives to access CASF funding for last mile (to the premises) Internet infrastructure construction – a critical infrastructure link singled out for attention in the proposed order. A key need of these providers is technical assistance grant funding to retain engineers and expert consultants to develop preliminary network designs and business case analyses. These deliverables would help ensure that the contemplated projects pencil out and would generate sufficient revenues to justify the prudent investment of CASF funds.

The CPUC should also revisit its unworkable, hair splitting exercise in futility of attempting to map out what neighborhoods are considered “unserved” and “underserved” based on throughput speed and census block groups. The inherent variation of legacy telco infrastructure Internet service from one address to the next doesn’t lend itself to these broad brush delineations. Internet service available at a given premise can be entirely different from another one just a quarter mile or a half block away.  Some overlap or "overbuilding" as it is called by incumbent providers will the inevitable consequence of progress.  But it must occur if the United States is to remedy what President Barack Obama decried in his State of the Union speech at the beginning of this year as the nation's "incomplete" Internet telecommunications infrastructure.  A network filled with holes does not a network make.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Increased adoption of telework offers low cost means of alleviating California's transportation congestion

Dan Walters: Study of exodus from California doesn't prove its point - Dan Walters - The Sacramento Bee: [t]here are legitimate doubts about California's ability to attract the job-creating investment capital we need to emerge from recession because of the aforementioned regulatory climate, high taxes and other factors, such as poor-performing schools and congested transportation. (Emphasis added)
California's transportation congestion problem has a low cost means of mitigation: increased adoption of working from a home office -- known as telework -- that eliminates commute trips and peak hour traffic.  A U.S. Census Bureau report issued earlier this month suggests that's the trend.  According to the Survey of Income and Program Participation, the number of people who worked at home at least one day per week increased from 9.5 million in 1999 to 13.4 million in 2010, increasing from 7.0 percent to 9.5 percent of all workers. The largest increase occurred between 2005 and 2010, when the share grew from 7.8 percent to 9.5 percent of all workers, an increase of more than 2 million.

As home to Silicon Valley and companies that have innovated telecommunications and information technologies that make remote work and virtual organizations possible, the Golden State should lead the way on telework adoption. Especially since raising billions to maintain its aging, decades-old system of roads and highways is proving fiscally challenging.

AT&T likely to upgrade only small portion of residential wireline plant, analyst predicts

AT&T is likely to upgrade only a fraction of its residential wireline plant to deliver premises Internet to residences that it doesn't currently provide Internet service, according to an analysis by George Notter of Jefferies & Company discussed in this Telecompetitor article.  The telco's strategy is stated to be unveiled next month.

Notter's analysis predicts AT&T will upgrade only about 15 percent of its wireline plant to support its hybrid fiber/copper U-Verse triple play offering.  Some of the remaining premises may be offered AT&T's version of Verizon's LTE-based HomeFusion product, according to Notter. 

Sunday, October 14, 2012

DSL turbocharging schemes remain just that

DSL Renaissance Underway?: Zero Touch Vectoring
Vectoring technology is a relatively new innovation for DSL which basically is a noise cancelling technology which reduces cross talk in copper pairs, allowing DSL to achieve much faster bandwidth throughput as a result. Some vendors are claiming they can squeeze 100 Mbps out of VDSL2 vectoring, albeit at rather short distances. It’s very much a FTTN technology, where VDSL2 connects to the home from a fiber fed cabinet.
These stories continue to appear year after year as vendors hope telcos will adopt their latest sooper dooper DSL turbocharging scheme.  Problem is while telcos aren't investing FTTH CAPex, they aren't investing CAPex or OPex in their aging legacy copper cable plants either and are instead concentrating on the mobile wireless space where more rapid ROIs are to be had.

And the above reference to "Zero Touch" for many telco customers has an entirely different meaning: DSL won't touch their premises because the DSL signal can't propagate far enough over old copper to reach them. Zero Touch=Zero Service.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Wipro Launches Prepaid Broadband Solution for US Cable Market - Yahoo! Finance

Wipro Launches Prepaid Broadband Solution for US Cable Market - Yahoo! Finance

I'm not so sure that adopting a pre-paid pricing scheme like that of the personal wireless market will provide sufficient incentive and ARPU for cable companies to build out their infrastructures to capture new customers.  But from a consumer perspective, it's far better than the current practice of asking would-be customers to come up with $65,000 per mile (with no equity in return) to build out to their neighborhoods under so-called "self help" provisions of cable franchise agreements.

Tuesday, October 09, 2012

Software solution touted as way to help cable companies ration, monetize bandwidth

Active Broadband Networks Ensures Accuracy of Internet Usage Data in DOCSIS Networks - Yahoo! Finance: FRAMINGHAM, MA--(Marketwire - Oct 9, 2012) - Active Broadband Networks, an innovative supplier of next-generation operation support systems (OSS) for broadband providers, today announced enhancements to its software that improve operator visibility into the integrity of Internet protocol detail record (IPDR) data collected from Cable Modem Termination Systems (CMTSs) in DOCSIS networks. Cable operators rely on IPDR data to compute subscriber Internet usage for usage metering and usage-based pricing as well as a variety of broadband service management applications, so accuracy is a critical requirement as they seek to measure, manage and monetize increasing Internet usage.

When the business model is based on getting more out of existing customers rather than expanding to get new ones, this makes perfect sense.  A key component is commoditizing Internet bandwidth so it can be segmented into discrete unit prices. The company issuing the above news release is selling a tool to cable companies to help them do just that.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Google's Kansas City fiber build doesn't change underlying infrastructure economics

This Kansas City Star article discusses the implications of Google's rollout of fiber to the premise (FTTP) infrastructure in Kansas City.

The newspaper interviewed Josh Olson, a technology industry analyst for Edward Jones & Co.  Olson sees the Google fiber deployment as a template to boost user demand for higher bandwidth and speeds.  If new applications that can run on this gigabit speed capable infrastructure emerge, it would increase pressure for incumbent cable and telephone companies in other markets to upgrade their networks. However, Olson goes on to dismiss that notion, noting incumbent telcos and cablecos can make money off their existing services.  Of course they can when these are the only wireline services available to most U.S. homes and small businesses unless their communities build their own fiber networks operated by local governments or consumer cooperatives.

And as industry analyst Dave Burstein points out, Google's fiber deployment in a single U.S. city cannot change the underlying economics for incumbent providers that must earn a rapid return on investment to keep their shareholders happy -- a business model that directly conflicts with the long term ROI associated with high cost infrastructure projects.  Plus telecommunications company shareholders are accustomed to receiving high dividends -- money that can't be directed toward CAPex.

“The problem is it costs a lot of money to climb all those poles and dig all those trenches to make it happen,” Burstein told the Star. “You don’t make money in three years, but you make money in 10 years."

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/09/24/3832330/google-fibers-gigabit-gamble-has.html#storylink=cpy

Verizon Won’t Expand FiOS Beyond Current Franchise Obligations, CFO Tells Investors | Stop the Cap!

Verizon Won’t Expand FiOS Beyond Current Franchise Obligations, CFO Tells Investors | Stop the Cap!

This development makes it eminently clear that for those communities in Verizon's wireline service area that don't now have its FiOS fiber to the premises service, they will have to build their own community owned infrastructure.  Verizon is getting a better ROI on wireless, but wireless can't provide the bandwidth and headroom homes and businesses require.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

AT&T may invest in rural lines rather than divest, CEO says

AT&T may invest in rural lines rather than divest, CEO says: AT&T has said it would consider selling its rural access line unit, but Mr. Stephenson hinted earlier this year that such a sale could prove complex. The difficulty comes from the lines spanning multiple states and therefore needing several regulatory approvals that would likely take significant time.

On Wednesday, he said finding an internal solution for the business would avoid having to go through that process.
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There is also a simple business fact at play.  Who wants to buy obsolete copper cable plant?

He also noted that AT&T's wireless service could ultimately prove to be a solution for fixed-line broadband connections in less-dense markets as its next-generation LTE network rolls out.

"LTE can become a fixed-line replacement or even better than what you get from fixed line," he said.
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If Mr. Stephenson is talking about first generation ADSL, he would be right.  But wireless cannot equal or exceed wireline fiber to the premise.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Public utility district Internet as alternative to Google fiber

Most rural communities lag in the type of broadband Internet service available in urban areas. But northeast of Spokane, in Newport and the surrounding hills and valleys, around 5,000 homes and businesses have the chance to connect soon to a fiber-optic system with lightning-fast speed.


The network being built by the Pend Oreille Public Utility District will allow users to download and upload data all the way up to 1,000 megabits, or 1 gigabit, per second - far faster than the 10 to 20 megabits that is a popular consumer choice today.


It will rival the Google Fiber system rolling out in the Kansas City area and is fast enough to download a movie in seconds, conduct video conferencing at home, and watch multiple high-definition TV programs simultaneously online.


“We believe it’s kind of the footprint for the future of rural communities,” said Joe Onley, manager of the Community Network System for the Pend Oreille PUD

I expect PUDs like this one and consumer cooperatives will take the lead in building out fiber. The key reason is the time to return on investment is too long for private sector players, whether they be AT&T, Verizon, or Google.  And that applies in all areas -- not just rural locations.

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

The great paradox of Silicon Valley traffic

This item from Silicon Valley's Mercury News reporting on increased traffic congestion as a propitious sign the economy is picking up speed is thick with irony. An excerpt:

Santa Clara County's busiest bottleneck -- where Highway 101 splits Interstates 280 and 680 -- featured more vehicles in 2011 than ever during an average day, according to Caltrans data. The most heavily traveled stretch on the Peninsula, Highway 101 in San Mateo, set a record last year for rush hour vehicle counts after an extra traffic lane was added to meet the demand.
The irony?  Over the past three decades, Silicon Valley companies revolutionized information technology that makes it possible to work and conduct most business remotely from most anywhere and at any time without the need to commute to a central office during set time schedules, feeding the burgeoning "rush hour" traffic.  Yet thousands of people are working as if none of it ever happened and it's still 1975. 

Authors William A. Draves and Julie Coats provide an explanation in their 2004 book Nine Shift.  Silicon Valley invented what they term the Internet Age.  But that invention was produced by Industrial Age companies.  They predict suburbs and commuting -- vestiges of the Industrial Age -- will go into decline during the first two decades of the 21st century, mirroring a two-decade-long shift from a primarily agrarian society to an industrial one during the first 20 years of the 20th century.

Sunday, September 02, 2012

My Turn: A critical look at the state's broadband policy | Burlington Free Press | burlingtonfreepress.com

My Turn: A critical look at the state's broadband policy | Burlington Free Press | burlingtonfreepress.com: What is happening now and why is that a problem? Much federal money has been coming into the state in support of broadband and the state has allocated some of its own. Some of the federal money is going into fiber optic networks to be built by Waitsfield/Champlain Valley and by VTel in its home territory.

But most of the money supports two technologies: DSL and fixed wireless. The problem with this is that neither of these technologies can deliver the broadband service that will soon be required.

Vermonter Henry Swayze couldn't be more correct in his criticism that federal telecom subsidies should not be directed toward stopgap technologies that can't offer adequate reach, throughput and future network demand capacity.  It's an inefficient, wasteful use of public money.  It would be like subsidizing a high speed transcontinental railroad system that's a patchwork of metro streetcar systems that end at the edge of towns, forcing people to walk to the next town to continue their journey. 

Silicon Valley professionals head to the Sierra Nevada foothills

The Sacramento Bee reports Silicon Valley transplants are moving to Loomis in Placer County for a better real state values and an enhanced quality of life outside the bustle of the Bay Area.  A key driver of the shift: staying connected to Silicon Valley by working remotely from home.  

But that raises questions not addressed in the Bee article.  First, is the telecommunications infrastructure sufficient in some of these semi-rural areas to support remote work?  Many Sierra Nevada foothill locales are still on dialup Internet connections or have spotty, slow legacy DSL service.  Second, how does this trend jibe with the predominant Silicon Valley work culture based on collegial beehiving in open office architecture at massive corporate "campuses?"  Or does this workshifting 150 miles away from Silicon Valley campuses represent a counter trend?

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

FCC report finds broadband deployments still too slow | Politics and Law - CNET News

Roughly 19 million Americans still don't have broadband Internet, according to a report released Tuesday by the Federal Communications Commission.

This is the eighth year that the FCC has issued the report, which is a requirement of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. And for the third year in a row, the agency has found that broadband service is not being rolled out in a "reasonable and timely fashion." Still, the report sees an improvement over the year before, when the FCC found that 26 million Americans lacked broadband.

About 14.5 million of the 19 million Americans without broadband live in rural areas, according to the report. The FCC has been working to remedy the issue. Earlier this year, the FCC converted a $4.5 billion fund for rural telephone service into a fund that will subsidize expansion of broadband access.

And this doesn't just apply to rural areas.  There are plenty of people living in metro areas of the U.S. and exurbs lacking fast, dependable wireline Internet connectivity.

After eight years of these reports that basically say the same thing, one might conclude that rural Americans are getting the message that the incumbents aren't going to serve their needs and they'll have to form telecom cooperatives just as their predecessors did several decades ago.  As Christopher Mitchell of the Institute for Local Self Reliance so aptly put it, "Help is NOT on the way."  Not unless you and your neighbors help themselves.


Monday, August 13, 2012

Phone cos. lose broadband subscribers for 1st time - Yahoo! News

Phone cos. lose broadband subscribers for 1st time - Yahoo! News

And the telcos won't be able to catch up to the cablecos either.  Not when replacement of obsolete telco copper cable plant with fiber to the premise doesn't reach ROI fast enough and needed revenues to pay fat dividends are growing on the mobile wireless side of the house.