tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60429622024-02-28T11:50:21.312-05:00Telecommunications as Green TechnologyThis site is dedicated to publishing information that supports how the intelligent use of telecommuting technologies can help us be more energy efficient.Jim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-13241848391083217052011-07-11T09:41:00.000-04:002011-07-11T09:41:53.466-04:0050 Predictions for Social Media in the Next 10 Years<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">A good friend of mine, <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/rtodd">Todd Stephens</a>, posted this set of 50 predictions. I was so intrigued, I wanted to open this up beyond our internal discussion.....</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Todd wrote....</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD8J8hn4b6qtJEmrujnyYHtv7qJyQw9qKzqur5DWZRNDymZozsY8APCd_yHPsMmIAayMS8ck99IBkwskCrHqAAcq-lkfCFObKhBRvXGoSReDvKBBClzYbRE56ZK33NuWZ-JH1y3Q/s1600/2009predictions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD8J8hn4b6qtJEmrujnyYHtv7qJyQw9qKzqur5DWZRNDymZozsY8APCd_yHPsMmIAayMS8ck99IBkwskCrHqAAcq-lkfCFObKhBRvXGoSReDvKBBClzYbRE56ZK33NuWZ-JH1y3Q/s200/2009predictions.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Where will social media be in the next decade? What do you think will happen to our organization around social media that will impact the company? I spent some time during my vacation to ponder this idea and 50 things jumped into my head. Somewhere between Golf, Fishing, and Pina Colada’s the following list emerged. Where do you agree? Where do you Disagree? What would you add?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> </span><br />
<ol type="1"><li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">More mobile device with social input capability emerge as a core communications technology.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Increased and more diverse use of crowd sourcing technology (versus idea ranking today).</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Deeper analysis tools for social information (bi or ai) which allow for a better consumption of information.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Employee profiles will expand and be central in team formation based on talent.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Social communications will replace traditional forms of communications. Rip email and memo traditions.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Social media in recruiting, training, and reviews will be common place.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Business model change will increase, systems will fail to stay current, only social media can adapt to the rapid pace of business. Leadership light bulbs finally turn on.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Social media will integrate into traditional areas of the business such as the training classes, accounting, bi, architecture, product reviews, human resources, etc.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Social media tools extend or integrate outside the organization and blend the enterprise.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Ability to create, upload, integrate, and manage social content will get easier and perhaps seamless.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Mutli-sensing devices emerge to enhance social information (i.e. Presence or function performed).</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Virtual environment advance and become common place within the business environment (training, off-site sessions, stakeholder meetings, team).</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Training and virtual conferencing moves toward a social experience.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Project work and project plans adapt in real time with social media feedback.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Employee reviews will have a social media contribution component. Sharing information versus hoarding it.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Every project or work activity will have a social media component; it’s required.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Employees will learn personal branding, self-reliance, self-actualization, and the ability to define business value from their trademarks. </span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Education, training, gaming, and social media will transform how the employee base enhances their skill portfolio.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Rotational assignments will no longer be the choice of management but reputation capital will be the clear driver.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Elite teams will know how to leverage the crowd in order to deliver value quickly and directly. Much as small military squads leverage technology and information for quick strikes.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Social learning will be a requirement and a life long requirement.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Social media will extend beyond business only areas; financial management, golf, day care, local businesses, etc.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Marketing, communications, social responsibility blur.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Social media will lift the vail of application utility; good enough internal applications will no longer be. Employees want amazon style applications all from the cloud.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Unified communications embraces social media (i.e. Out of office integrates profiles not just outlook).</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Instant messaging and/or status messaging will be common place and not just from the individual perspective.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Video casts will become common place and the primary source of information exchange.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Complete integration of all platforms into an individual workspace: uc, im, social media, collaboration, applications.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Employee models will pre-load these workspaces into integrate employee experience centers.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">The physical and social lines blur (tec vesus virtual tec; digital signage and product placement).</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Mobile social applications become first priority versus the laptop or desktop.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Social media adapts to the employee focus or persona. An employee interesting in a new mobile device will have the social environment dynamically adapt to the situation versus the same interface regardless of need.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Social media replaces middle management as the force of work planning, organizing, and execution.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Promotions will become meaningless as employees look for career experiences that enhance skills. These career navigations and roadmaps will replace promotional ladders.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Job descriptions will be replaced by a social profile work portfolio. Trademarks emerge as the main career measurement structure.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Personal branding and employee profile replace employment history.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">New social skills will be required by managers where they learn to manage diverse, dynamic, temporary highly skilled workers. Real Coaching?</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Generation X moves into leadership positions and the baby boomers will be wondering what went wrong. Retirement? Success? Mindset?</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Gen Y enters the workforce in mass and everything changes at that point from a technology and value creation basis.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">80-90% of the work will be done by mobile, telecommuting, or temporary workers which requires social media to communicate effectively.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Horizontal and vertical value chains will be replaced by circular ones (think apple versus Coca-Cola or Google versus Exxon). All connected with social media.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Teams and organization reduce size by 20-30%. Less overhead needed with full transparency, open communications, advanced technology, etc. </span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Social media gets personalization on steroids. No more searching and scanning; everything adapts to you and your needs.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Peer-to-peer learning and mentoring takes hold and adds to the employee education experience.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">The pervasive approaches to information hoarding and information sharing come to blows and transparency wins</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">The physical world and the social world will be so integrated that only will you be unable to tell the difference, there will be no difference and if separated a void will appear</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Leadership will be tested as many mistakes will happen in the world of social media when it comes to privacy, ip, and business planning. Unlike today, innovation and speed will trump the caution and concern.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Social media will finally have concrete roi measures and enough case studies to model, pattern, and build off of.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Life, work, home, fun, hobbies, research, interests, experience, ideas and people converge into a singularity.</span></li>
<li class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Enterprises finally see large scale adoption, contribution, and creation from more than 50% of the resource base.</span></li>
</ol><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">How many of these do you agree will come to pass. Your comments are welcome.</span></div>Jim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-14194031915557707602011-03-10T11:02:00.000-05:002011-03-10T11:02:27.958-05:00Response to Hotspot Analysis - CNETRecently CNET provided their analysis of the <a href="http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-20041252-233.html?tag=mncol" target="_blank">new Hotspot feature on for the iPhone</a> 4 on the AT&T network. While the article was relatively fair, the speed test may have been unfair.<br />
<hr />My Response….<br />
<br />
Cnet HQs, could they be in the San Francisco area??????<br />
<br />
If so, the complaints about speed of the network may not be entirely AT&T's fault and this issue may be industry wide. California in general and San Francisco in particular is notorious for regulatory restrictions and permit processes that make it extremely difficult for the carriers to perform maintenance or upgrades.<br />
<br />
I mean GET REAL folks! Do you believe for a minute that AT&T would deliberately provide spotty service in the tech capital of the world with the largest concentration of bloggers?<br />
Readers you MUST put pressure on your community leaders to being sanity to the regulatory environment. Oh by the way, is it possible that those who are screaming the loudest at the carriers to improve the performance are the same people who are leading the charge against adding more cell sites????<br />
<br />
If you want improved performance, you will need to direct at least a little of your ire at the community leaders who have constructed a regulatory and permit monster. It may be ok for Verizon right now, but unless something is done, and soon, all of us will be singing the performance blues.<br />
<br />
LetFreedom_RingJim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-11797733880733271952011-02-10T12:03:00.000-05:002011-02-10T12:03:08.003-05:0010 Responses to “Why Verizon iPhone Beats AT&T iPhone”Yesterday, Don Reisinger of eWeek.com published an article entitled “<a href="http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Verizon-iPhone-Beats-the-ATandT-iPhone-10-Reasons-Why-741507/" target="_blank">10 Reasons Why the Verizon iPhone Beat the AT&T iPhone</a>”.<br />
<br />
Let me get something off my chest right away. I was not going to respond to this on my blog, but am forced to respond here because Mr. Reisinger email address got bounced back to me from my email. I was disappointed as I would have preferred to respond to him directly. Since there is no opportunity to comment on the site directly, I am forced to respond here.<br />
<br />
Below is my response to Mr. Reisinger’s article that point by point addresses the so-called” advantages of the VZ iPhone:<br />
<hr />Mr. Reisinger, <br />
<br />
First, let me say up front that I am an employee of AT&T. Today, I am not writing as a company spokesperson, but rather as a person committed to our customers at AT&T. So, official disclaimer, my comments are my own and do not represent AT&T or any of their affiliates. <br />
Please allow me to respond to your “10 Advantages” point by point. <br />
<br />
<h4>1) Verizon has <u>much</u> better coverage.</h4><strong>Answer:</strong> I have put the emphasis here on the “much” word. While the coverage issue may have been a significant issue in the past, the recent transfer of the Alltel assets from Verizon, has led to a dramatic change in our coverage map. I was told as recently as yesterday by a top company operations person that the switchover of the Alltel assets to AT&T has been done with full 3G coverage as each cell site has been brought online. I am told that much of the switchover has already occurred and the anticipated completion of this switchover should occur within the 1st quarter of 2011. In addition, those remaining “2G” sites on our network are being given priority for LTE conversion. So, our <u>geographic</u> coverage, for all intents and purposes matches nicely with VZ. <br />
<br />
<h4>2) Hotspot</h4><strong>Answer</strong>: AT&T has recently announced support for hotspots. Also note change in tethering plan which gives more data included with tethering. See USAToday article: <br />
<a href="http://content.usatoday.com/communities/technologylive/post/2011/02/at38t-to-launch-mobile-hotspot-app-for-smartphone/1">http://content.usatoday.com/communities/technologylive/post/2011/02/at38t-to-launch-mobile-hotspot-app-for-smartphone/1</a> <br />
<br />
<h4>3) Antennagate</h4><strong>Answer:</strong> According to PCWorld, Antennagate is not solved by “redesign” of VZ iPhone Antenna: <br />
<a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/219133/iphone_antennagate_now_on_the_verizon_model.html/">http://www.pcworld.com/article/219133/iphone_antennagate_now_on_the_verizon_model.html/</a> <br />
In addition, while the antennagate issue has created headlines, I am told that AT&T internal testing shows overall improvement of Voice Calls with iPhone 4 from previous versions of the iPhone. <br />
<br />
<h4>4) Customer Service</h4><strong>Answer:</strong> While customer service is something that is a top priority with AT&T, there may be other explanations to this disparity. As you not doubt know, AT&T has a significantly higher proportion of our users who own smartphones (primarily iPhone) than other carriers. People who own smartphones in general and iPhones in particular are amongst the most tech savvy, demanding customers in the business. Providing customer care for a computer is a bigger challenge than simply caring for a phone that texts and carries voice calls. So, while scores by the other carriers may be higher (for now), I am curious what will happen to the other carriers scores as they add more and more smartphone users. I am not excusing AT&T on this, just offering a different way at looking at the scores, (it is not an apples to apples, pardon the pun, comparison). Finally, AT&T has one of the lowest turnover rates in the industry. <br />
<br />
<h4>5) Unlimited Data</h4><strong>Answer:</strong> Well that is true, they are offering unlimited data. However, you fail to mention that AT&T provides options. We have plans that allow people who are just beginning to use a smartphone a nice plan that for $15 per month gets them access to 200 mb and saves them $15 monthly over Verizon. Internal studies I have seen note that over 50% of our customers would benefit from such a plan were they to take advantage of it. What you say is the equivalent of paying a higher price for a buffet, when all I really want and need is soup and salad. Everything else would make me fatter. Furthermore, the “all you can eat” buffet as my only option encourages “overeating” and could lead to “long lines” waiting to get to the buffet. Not always a good thing. <br />
Pont 2, AT&T has the largest number of wifi hotspots included with its service in the industry. This means that many will be able to use public wifi without additional charges. This is a significant advantage of the AT&T network. <br />
<br />
<h4>6) Future 4G</h4><strong>Answer:</strong> First, why is this an advantage for the VZ iPhone? The iPhone 4 will not operate on this network and it is debatable whether the iPhone 5 will be LTE compatible either. So this is a real non-issue for the iPhone. Further, AT&T has an <a href="http://gizmodo.com/#!5640857/att-claims-lte-rollout-by-mid+2011">announced</a> aggressive 4G plan (and I am talking about LTE not simply HSPA+) LTE is in trial now and first sites will be available beginning in the May-June 2011 timeframe. In the meantime, I am told that all of our 3G cell sites have been upgraded to HSPA+ which has a theoretical speed of 21mb/s download. Our first phones to take advantage of this are being deployed this month and next. Further, this means that when people “drop down” from LTE, it will be a much closer to 4G experience than those who drop down from the VZ LTE. <br />
<br />
<h4>7) Capacity</h4><strong>Answer</strong>: Capacity and Voice Quality have been noted by AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson as the number one priority of AT&T in 2011. I was told on an internal call yesterday that challenges that AT&T faced in 2010 were unprecedented. Many have speculated that Verizon is in a better position to handle capacity. I don’t know anything about how VZ manages their network, so I can not comment on that. However, what I can say, is that the iPhone brings demand to a network that is often beyond predication. For example, on a graph I saw yesterday our internal performance tracking data showed acceptable voice quality in most of our markets up through the July timeframe. At that point, the full effect of the iPhone 4 began to hit and may have contributed to capacity issues that were complicated by supplier issues. So, I hear that VZ THINKS they know what to expect, but I have witnessed this first hand, the introduction of this device to the network will likely lead to stressing it in a way that may tax even the best VZ engineers. BTW, our internal tracking data show significant improvement in voice quality performance beginning in the November/December timeframe. <br />
Finally, note that capacity issues in Los Angeles and San Francisco are complicated by regulatory issues that often delay approval for permits to work on our own cell sites. It is difficult for me to believe that Verizon will not face similar permit processing delays as they work to keep up with demand. <br />
<br />
<h4>8) Not a replica</h4><strong>Answer</strong>: Well yes. But I would argue that it is not necessarily a VZ advantage. For example, the ability to talk and surf the web is HUGE and will become even more dramatic over time. Just this morning, I was on a phone call and had to look up an address on Google Maps to locate where a place was that a speaker was referring me to. Not having to end the call to do this lookup was definitely advantageous. Further, SPEED, the iPhone 4 consistently runs faster on the AT&T network in report after report. Here is my challenge to you. Once you have the iPhone 4 from VZ, take it to several locations use the <a href="http://www.speedtest.net/" target="_blank">speedtest.net</a> app to measure performance. If you have a similar experience to many others, you will quickly discover that there is a noticeable and consistent download speed advantage (in most locations) for the AT&T iPhone. <br />
<br />
<h4>9) Other phones superior</h4><strong>Answer</strong>: if you mean lack of Android Phones, that may have been true in the past. However, consider this. AT&T is the only carrier to offer phones featuring all of the major Operating systems, HP/Palm WebOS, Windows 7, Blackberry Torch and Android. Further, the new “4G” Android phones coming out this month will make for significant advantages. Finally, the Motorola Atrix must be seen to be believed. (Check out this video.) <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWIe8wQBqS0">Motorola Atrix 4G Hands-On</a> <br />
<br />
<h4>10) Verizon Needs to Try Harder</h4><strong>Answer</strong>: Yes they do. Based on the points I am suggesting here, they still need to try harder. In a similar way, AT&T needs to try harder also. The challenges to address the voice network have felt like a “trial by fire” to me personally. It appears to me that our brand image has been challenged and I hear it from many of my colleagues that we are more committed than ever to do everything we know how to do to earn back the trust of those customers who have been disappointed with either our voice quality or our customer service. So, Verizon is not alone as a company that must try harder. <br />
Thank you for taking the time to read through this. I hope that I have done this in a respectful way. I ask that you reconsider your evaluation and point out some of these AT&T points in future articles. <br />
Respectfully,Jim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-72366858081385132192011-01-12T07:18:00.002-05:002011-03-17T11:45:25.491-04:00New Skype Certified HD Camera AnnouncedThe days of videoconferencing in your pajamas are over. <a href="http://www.facevsionusa.com/n1.html">FaceVsion's TouchCam N1</a> is one of the first webcams that takes advantage of Skype's ability to make HD video calls, delivering video so crisp and smooth that it's almost as good as being there. You also get built-in noise cancellation. But is $119 too much to ask for a device that can stream yourself to co-workers and loved ones at 720p? <br />
From Buy.com: Video explaining what makes this camera different. <a href="http://www.facevsionusa.com/n1.html">http://www.facevsionusa.com/n1.html</a><br />
<br />
<h2>Quick Specs:</h2>• <strong>Skype Certification</strong> – The TouchCam N1 is the first HD webcam certified by Skype for true HD Video calls<br />
• <strong>Full 720p HD Resolutio</strong>n – The TouchCam N1 is the only HD webcam that can transmit 720p HD video over the Internet (competition can do it “locally” only) <br />
• <strong>Built-in Hardware H.264 Encoding</strong> – high quality hardware encoding of the H.264 video stream delivers exceptional video quality without taxing the PC’s CPU<br />
• <strong>WIDE 78 Degree Lens</strong> – Industry leading 78 degree Field Of View auto focus lens sees more than just the subject’s head and shoulders. 78 degrees will get several feet to either side of the subject and what’s behind too. Great for video calls where multiple family members want to participate.<br />
• <strong>Incredible Sound</strong> – Dual built-in microphones utilize beam-forming technology to deliver outstanding sound quality and audio sensitivity, even from several feet away!<br />
• <strong>Exceptionally Easy to Use</strong> – Simply mount the sleek-looking N1 camera to your laptop’s lid or flat screen PC display, plug the USB cable to an available Hi-Speed USB 2.0 connection, and launch Skype 4.2 for Windows or higher. <br />
Let Freedom Ring<span id="goog_356254274"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_356254275"></span>Jim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-36842314538757475952011-01-11T19:43:00.003-05:002011-01-11T22:35:21.372-05:00FAQ’s Verizon iPhone vs AT&T iPhone<p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>With today's announcement from Verizon, you may be asking yourself, "Now that Verizon has the iPhone, should I purchase one?" To offer some assistance, below are some thoughts to consider before making a decision to purchase an iPhone from Verizon or AT&T.<br />
<p$1><h4><strong>Is the iPhone from Verizon the exact same phone as the current one from AT&T?</strong></h4><p$1><p$1>No, while the iPhones offered from both AT&T and VZ will be iPhone 4, they will be running on two different underlying technologies. VZ uses CDMA and AT&T uses UMTS. <br />
<p$1><h3><strong>What are the differences?</strong></h3><p$1><h3><strong>In one word – Speed!</strong></h3><p$1><p$1>Perhaps the biggest difference comes with the speed of the network. I believe that AT&T currently has the fastest mobile broadband network. Independent tests in real life situations confirm that AT&T’s network is anywhere from 35% to 65% faster. Just this morning, on my iPhone 3GS, I was able to get download speeds of 2.3 Mbps and upload speeds of 1.1 Mbps. This is pretty fast. My wife, who has an iPhone 4, has clocked speeds, using <a href="http://www.speedtest.com/" target="_blank">Speedtest.com</a>, of over 3 Mbps download and over 2 Mbps upload. <br />
<p$1><p$1>This speed differential will be most noticeable when you are watching videos and other intense applications such as YouTube.<br />
<p$1><h3><strong>AT&T customers can Talk and Surf</strong></h3><p$1><p$1>Verizon customers aren't able to surf the Web or exchange email while they're talking on their phone. That sort of on-the-go multitasking—which AT&T and iPhone maker <a href="http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=aapl">Apple</a> Inc. have touted in advertising—might seem a little much to some people, but you may be surprised at how often it comes into play. I especially appreciate it when using a bluetooth device to talk with someone. Think of it like talking on the phone while looking something up on your computer. If you are like me, you probably do that more often than you think. <br />
<p$1><p$1>AT&T's network lets users continue a voice call while updating their Facebook pages or checking Google Maps. <br />
<p$1><p$1><img src="http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BF-AA051_CDMA_NS_20101008220705.jpg" /><br />
<p$1><h3> <strong>AT&T offer the most Wi-Fi Options</strong></h3><p$1><p$1>AT&T offers access to its entire, national Wi-Fi network of nearly 23,000 U.S. Hotspots, <strong>at no additional charge. </strong>This is one of the most under-reported, best kept “secret” advantage of AT&T. As we move to more and more data intense uses of our mobile devices, having access to the fastest most ubiquitous network becomes critical. Think of it this way, if you are attracted to the iPhone because of the Facetime application (ability to have a face to face chat with another user) you will be able to do that in any Starbucks or McDonald’s almost everywhere in the US at no additional charge, not necessarily the same with a VZ iPhone.<br />
<p$1><h3><strong>What About LTE? Doesn’t Verizon have a Very Fast LTE Data Network?</strong></h3><p$1><p$1>Yes they do, but it won’t make a difference with the initial VZ iPhone 4, since it has already been announced, the iPhone 4 will not come with the technology to enable LTE. So it will always run on VZ’s 3G CDMA network. According to reports, there are no announced plans to improve the speed of their CDMA network.<br />
<p$1><h3><strong>Are they any VZ advantages?</strong></h3><p$1><p$1>Well, I have heard people joke, “besides the ability to make an actual phone call with it?” That may have been true in the past. I am not so sure that this is a continuing advantage. While AT&T admits that there still is work to be done in San Francisco and perhaps a little more work in New York City, independent tests show that AT&T has nearly the same dropped call rate as VZ.<br />
<p$1><h4><strong>How Can That Be? I Heard Consumer Reports Gave AT&T very Low Marks and VZ the Highest Marks.</strong></h4><p$1><p$1>Smartphone customers, especially iPhone customers are amongst the most demanding in all of wireless. AT&T has more smartphone customers than anyone by nearly double. The Consumer Reports survey relied heavily on iPhone owners. The demographics of this group of customers are younger, significantly more tech savvy, and sophisticated than users of most mobile devices. <br />
<p$1><p$1>In addition to being younger, hipper and more tech savvy, they have a much different standards and expectation of network performance than the average mobile device user. It is no surprise that this very demanding, tech savvy group would be more critical of anything less than perfect. <br />
<p$1><p$1>It will be interesting to see how the perception of the VZ network performance holds up as the percentage of smartphone users of their network rises. <br />
<p$1><h3><strong>So, is there any advantage?</strong></h3><p$1><p$1>Well, from my perspective, VZ does have one. The VZ iPhone4 will come with the VZ mobile hotspot enabled. This means that, unlike the AT&T iPhone, which requires a tethering cable, you will be able to connect laptops and other devices to the VZ CDMA 3G network via Wi-Fi with up to 5 devices. This is an advantage since it means that you may not have to purchase a separate device to run a laptop or connect an iPad. If this feature proves to be a big draw, I wouldn’t be surprised if AT&T does not enable it or provide some alternative.<br />
<p$1><p$1>So, there you have it, my quick comparison of how the iPhone 4 will perform on the two networks with their respective advantages/disadvantages.<br />
<p$1><p$1>Let me know what you think.<br />
<p$1><p$1>Let Freedom Ring<br />
<p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1>Jim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-43476631995420395452011-01-09T09:26:00.001-05:002011-01-09T09:29:48.737-05:004G fog thickens as AT&T upgrades vocabulary–A Response<p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>In Saturday’s Washington Post posting entitled “<a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/2011/01/4g_confusion_continues_with_at.html" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="4G fog thickens as AT&T upgrades vocabulary"><strong>4G fog thickens as AT&T upgrades vocabulary”</strong></a><strong>, </strong><a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/" target="_blank">Rob Pegoraro</a> speaks about marketplace confusion with the term “4G”.<br />
<p$1><hr /><p$1><p$1>In a comment posted with that article, I offered my own thoughts…..<br />
<p$1><p$1>Rob, <br />
<br />
</p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>From my point of view, AT&T’s “4g” announcement is really a capitulation of the marketplace. The “deal was sealed” when tMobile began to call its HSPA+ network “4G”and few in the media called them on it. <br />
<br />
What is getting lost in all of this is a fundamental question. 4G, 3G what does it matter what it is called. The real question is, “What network provides the best environment to accomplish a persons goals?” <br />
<br />
</p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>It seems to me that AT&T has embarked on a pathway that is focused on an ecosystem of networks, devices and support that are enablers of people doing what they need to do. Something that often gets lost in the shuffle is the wifi network that AT&T has deployed and continues to deploy. They maintain the largest wifi service included in the cost of their data plans and this is available right now with many at&t devices including all of the iPhones, android, windows7 and many Blackberry models. <br />
<br />
</p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>This means that more people with more devices have access to a network that allows them the ability to get more done faster and without a need to upgrade or change their device. </p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>As the deployment of HSPA+ AND LTE continues, the device mix will continue to evolve. However, if you are with AT&T many of your present devices will be able to take advantage of faster access speed and unlike Verizon (or tMobile, Sprint, etc.) can be accessed with many, many devices currently available like the existing 3G iPad. <br />
<br />
</p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>So all in all, I say AT&T has the best and most consumer friendly strategy. They may be a bit slower in rolling out a specific technology, but they are in the active midst of creating the best overall network experience that will become clearer and clearer as time goes on. <br />
<br />
</p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1>#attemp #4G<br />
<p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1>Jim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-63720273155654327242010-12-15T17:22:00.001-05:002010-12-15T17:23:46.546-05:00Could AT&T Be the BMW of Telecommunications?<strong>Is it possible that at&t is actually the BMW of Wireless Carriers?</strong><br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID55827/images/IMG_0138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" n4="true" src="http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID55827/images/IMG_0138.JPG" width="200" /></a>Last night I had the great pleasure to have dinner with a good friend of mine who is a respected best selling, published author and professor of market research at the University of California, San Diego. We talked about many things, but became facscinated as I shared with him a frustration I suspect that many share at AT&T. I told him (as an employee) of our puzzlement with the fact that we have consumer surveys such as the recent one from Consumer Reports where our customers rate us lower than our competitors yet independent testing shows our network performs as good as our best competitors regarding dropped call rates and is superior when it comes to data downloads.</div></div><br />
<strong>I looked at him and said how can that be? </strong><br />
<br />
He replied, its quite simple actually and it makes perfect sense. He held up his iPhone and said, "clearly this <a href="http://buzzintechnology.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/iphone4side-300x196.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" n4="true" src="http://buzzintechnology.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/iphone4side-300x196.jpg" width="200" /></a>has changed everything, but not necessarily in the way that you might expect." I asked him what he meant? He replied, "You have demanding customers. They simply expect and demand more than what the other carrier's customers expect and demand." He went on to explain that the kind of person who is attracted to an iPhone is purchasing something quite different than other mobile phones. Different than even users of Blackberrys, 90% of whom only buy them for the phone and email service. An iPhone user has a completely different expectation than users of any other phone with the possible exception of Droid users.<br />
<br />
My friend continued, you have "BMW" customers in a moblity world of Nissans, Toyotas and Fords. BMW markets their automobiles as "the Ultimate Driving Machine". A BMW owner expects more, in terms of performance, than any other owner in the industry. You may be surpised to know that owner ratings for the BMW are somewhat middle of the road. Is this because the BMW is an "average" performing vehicle? No, it is because the BMW owner has a much higher benchmarking standard that he/she is grading against than the average car owner.<br />
<br />
The Consumer Reports survey relied heavily on iPhone owners. The demographics of this group of customers are younger, significantly more tech savvy, and sophisticated than users of most mobile devices. (It is no wonder that Droid targets these demographics with their advertising. They are looking to blunt the penetration of the iPhone (and AT&T) with this very core group of users). <br />
In addition to being younger, hipper and more tech savvy, they have a much different standards and expectation of network performance than the average mobile device user. It is no surprise that this very demanding, tech savvy group would give us poorer marks than other mobile operators.<br />
<br />
"So, what would be the best way for AT&T to communicate?", I asked. My friend suggested AT&T focus on the user rather than the brand. For example, rather than say the network is the fastest network with a dropped call rate equal to the best in the industry, AT&T should say something like, "<em><strong>Our customers are the most tech savvy, demanding users of mobile devices on the planet and we engineer our network for these customers. Our customers rate us tougher than any other carrier because they buy the most sophisticated devices on the planet and demand a network to match!</strong></em>" If someone brings up surveys such as Consumer Reports, my friend suggested the following response, "It is no wonder that surveys, such as Consumer Reports rate us tough, we have the most tech savvy, demanding customers on the planet and they expect nothing less than the very best in network performance."<br />
<br />
An interesting perspective indeed. While I am well aware that there are pockets of performance where AT&T has some distance to go, this certainly helped me to understand the apparent disconnect between the very good results of the unbiased testing and customer surveys such as Consumer Reports. I walked away from this discussion with a different perspective and an enhanced respect for the AT&T customer.<br />
<br />
Is it possible that instead of #attfail, bloggers should be saying AT&T "<em>the ultimate <strong>communication </strong>experience</em>"?<br />
What do you think? Could AT&T be the BMW of the mobility world? <br />
<br />
PS, I fully expect many to disagree with this whole perspective. I too have read many posts by people who do not have the service they demand and this post does not focus on customer care challenges, still, I think this way of looking at the Consumer Reports (and other) surveys makes a great deal of sense.Jim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-87034939782413364352010-12-07T22:14:00.000-05:002010-12-07T22:14:45.556-05:00What would you do if you were AT&TAs an employee of AT&T, I woke up this morning and was deeply disappointed with this<a href="http://content.usatoday.com/communities/technologylive/post/2010/12/consumer-reports-att-the-worst-carrier/1"> report from Consumer Reports</a>. I felt a little sad and very frustrated. It puzzles me. When I see people post comments about how we should spend more on the network instead of advertising, I feel hurt because I know that as a company we invested over $18 Billion this year AND $18 billion last year to improve the network. I see our internal data and the unbiased, scientific data shows our network performance on par with the best in the industry, both voice and in the case of data, there is nothing faster or more reliable. With the exception of San Francisco (and to a degree LA and NYC) I am told that our performance has improved a lot. These areas (San Fran, LA and NYC) should see improvement within the next few months as the equipment needed to complete those areas upgrades have finally come in. So it is difficult to fully understand the CR results. <br />
<br />
It is clear that at&t has not fully met the expectations of our customers but with independent, scientific studies showing parity of performance, I am led to conclude that our customers expect more from the user experience. As an iPhone user personally, I can say that the way I use my phone now is very different than when I had a Blackberry. I am on it all day long using it in ways that I NEVER used my Blackberry. So I am wondering if using the iPhone shifts the demands and expectations of the user. (BTW, I have been having an excellent experience, very few dropped calls and excellent download performance, with my iPhone both here in San Diego and my home area near Washington DC.)<br />
<br />
So readers, I have a challenge for you. Assume you were me (or at&t) and you accepted as true that the independent studies are accurate, that our network actually performs at least as well as our rivals, what could you tell us that would help to explain the CR results.<br />
<br />
PS, insulting us and just repeating "fix the network" is not very helpful. Again, I ask you to assume that independent studies tell us that our dropped call rate is on par with the best and our data performance is actually faster and more reliable is true. Then help us to understand why the CR results are what they are.<br />
<br />
Thank you in advance.Jim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-86352325399661612382010-10-26T06:57:00.001-04:002010-10-26T06:58:49.164-04:00Verizon/AT&T Who Has Best Prepared for the Coming World of Data?<p$1><p$1><p$1>Much has been written recently about the implications of the iPhone showing up on the Verizon network. Some have made outrageous predictions of the number of people who will defect from AT&T. I believe, on the other hand, that AT&T will do just fine and may, in fact, do better than fine. I wouldn’t be surprised if they continue to grow faster than Verizon. <br />
<p$1><p$1>Here’s why…. <br />
<p$1><p$1>A couple of points to bear in mind. AT&T has been working with the iPhone now for three years and has first hand knowledge of what this does to the network. It’s been reported that 2% of iPhone users account for 40% of all (not just iPhone) data traffic. So, Verizon may THINK they know what is coming, but they have yet to truly experience the stress to the network that the iPhone brings. Meanwhile, AT&T continues to build it's network capacity. <br />
<p$1><p$1>The wifi strategy is continuously downplayed. The significance of this reveals a very sophisticated approach to data management that AT&T has embarked. What people, bloggers, writers have missed is the significance of data. We are fast moving to a (wireless) data centric world. THE reason why Verizon appears to perform better is based almost exclusively on their voice performance (lack of dropped calls, etc.) While, aside from San Francisco and New York, it is debatable whether the dropped calls issue is a true one or red herring, when people complain, they complain because of dropped calls. (Take a look at tweets, 90% of the time you see #attfail, it is due to either dropped calls or customer service.) <br />
<p$1><p$1>So what you might ask. Especially since the point of a mobile phone is to make phone calls correct? Ah, but here is what is happening in the real world. The moment that people get their hands on an iPhone (or another smart phone), they begin to use data like crazy. In fact, there have been stories that voice is just another “app” on the iPhone and people are using voice less and less. So data is the new king and this is where AT&T rocks. <br />
<p$1><p$1>AT&T has, hands down, the largest wifi footprint (think every Starbucks, McDonalds, Borders, etc.) With the seamless wifi strategy, where a user can float easily between the 3g and wifi (and soon lte) networks, at&t users have much more capacity to work with. They have the infrastructure to handle the data demands. Finally, consider this. As the lte of both networks gets built out, there will be swaths of the country where 3g will continue to be the primary data conduit. Because at&t has focused on a technology (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSDPA" target="_blank">hsdpa</a>) with its capacity to handle speeds up to 14.4 on 3g, when people move out of lte foot print, the drop off in speed won’t as severe as the 3g drop off from Verizon (3.4). <br />
<p$1><p$1>So, say what you want about Verizon, AT&T has completely rethought “the network” and has built it for a world of data. <br />
<p$1><p$1>#attemp<br />
<p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1>Jim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-22264531067364298392010-09-10T09:32:00.000-04:002010-09-10T09:32:12.410-04:00JD Powers Report Shows Gap in Call Performance Between CarriersYesterday, it was<a href="http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/wireless-call-quality-matters-and-thats-bad-news-for-at-t-good-for-verizon-sprint/39006"> reported by JD Powers</a> that there is a difference in dropped calls amongst the carriers with Verizon and Sprint doing much better than tMobile and AT&T. This is not new news. However, in reports by AT&T, their internal testing shows a signal quality that is on par with the best carriers. So I am beginning to wonder what is really going on.<br />
<br />
Below is my comment posted in association with the article. <br />
-------------------------------------------------------------<br />
Here is the question I am beginning to have. This call quality issue for AT&T has been around for some time now. It is well documented that AT&T is spending like "drunken sailors" to improve the performance of the network, yet the dropped call issue continues. It can not be that it is simply that AT&T is stupid or don't care or are trying to save money. I mean, why would they spend $19 Billion to improve the network performance and yet have dropped call results like these? Further, you have got to be kidding me, do you really think that AT&T specifically targeted New York and San Francisco to have really crummy service. Do you really believe that AT&T would not kill themselves trying to deliver the best network performance in these trend setting areas? <br />
<br />
I was born at night, but not last night.<br />
<br />
There has to be another factor here. The engineers at Verizon can't be that much better. Something else is going on. Could it be spectrum? Could it be cdma technology vs gsm?<br />
What do you think it is?Jim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-1662347773350921832010-09-02T16:35:00.004-04:002010-09-02T16:56:04.983-04:00Do You Remember ‘You Will’?<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>You Will</strong></span> <br />
<br />
I don't know how many of you will remember this set of commercials from the early 1990's, but if you do, you may come away as amazed as I was at how many of these predictions have come true.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.att.com/rethinkpossible/img/logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="http://www.att.com/rethinkpossible/img/logo.jpg" /></a></div>From time to time I am very proud of many of our accomplishments here at AT&T. Below you will find a montage of ‘You Will’ commercials from 1993. They were great back then but kinda spooky in their accuracy of the future. <br />
<br />
I had forgotten about them but once I saw the commercials and heard the famous voice (Tom Selleck) that narrated them, I quickly remembered seeing them. If you search the term ‘You Will’, you’ll come up with many blog entries about them and even a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Will">Wikipedia entry</a> about how they were the early 1990’s marketing slogan for AT&T.<br />
<br />
<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5MnQ8EkwXJ0?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5MnQ8EkwXJ0?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
<br />
They are interesting because when I see them, I realize that AT&T might change it's slogan from 'We Will" to ‘We Have’ accomplished all those things and so much more. Many of the ideas from those commercials not only stood the test of time but they have surpassed them. The guy faxing from the beach- - ‘We Have’ and can now use an iPad (or iPhone) to email from the beach. The woman calling from a pay phone with video capabilities - -‘We Have’ and can now do that with iPhones or other smart phones all thanks to the AT&T network. The guy that is telecommuting via a computer with video from a beach house - - ‘We Have’ done that for sometime now and can do it wirelessly. The car shooting down a toll way and the guy pays with a credit card in a machine that is in his car - -‘We Have’ surpassed this with EZ-pass or I-Pass or whatever your state has named the idea of using a transponder to pay without stopping or slowing down in some cases.<br />
<br />
The point I’m trying to make is- AT&T could easily go from <a href="http://www.att.com/rethinkpossible/">"Rethink Possible</a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_414684392"></span><span id="goog_414684393"></span>" to ‘We Have’…’And More To Come’ - - Wouldn't it be interesting if they were to rerun these commercials except put a different spin on them using ‘We Have’ instead of ‘You Will’. The point of these would be to remind people of these commercials and allow them to realize just like we did that ‘We Have’ and, in many cases, surpassed the look into the future.<br />
<br />
What will another 14 years into the future be like? In 2024, what will ‘We’ be able to do? Imagine commercials that would be basically the same as the older ones in which we ask ‘Have you ever……’ and end each with ‘You Will’. It would be a whole new way to <i>Rethink Possible. </i><br />
<br />
I know that at times it looks like AT&T can't do anything right. If you were to believe every tweet and blog out there, you would be convinced that AT&T was the most inept company on the planet. Still, when I reflect on the fact that my company nailed it the first time around and to <i>Rethink Possible</i> once again with AT&T perhaps there is life in old "ma bell" after all. I am told that people are adding devices to the AT&T network faster than any other network. Further, I am told that more people choose to stay with AT&T than any other carrier. Perhaps it is this knack of innovation and execution that leads people here.<br />
<br />
For those of you who choose to have AT&T as your access to a world of possibilities, as an employee who is proud to serve you, I thank you.<br />
<br />
Just imagine what will be possible in the future. <br />
<br />
You Will!<br />
<br />
<em>Rethink Possible</em>Jim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-50361485673933935312010-08-31T08:39:00.000-04:002010-08-31T08:39:55.831-04:00Why the FCC can’t protect Internet UsersA response to a<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/30/AR2010083004858.html"> letter to the editor</a> by Michael J Copps<br />
In today’s Washington Post Michael J Copps, a member of the Federal Communications Commission, lays out his argument about why the FCC does not but should have jurisdiction with “protecting” the internet.<br />
Below is my respectful response:<br />
<br />
Mr. Copps, <br />
<br />
In your letter in the post this morning your state, “Now is the time to put broadband back under Title II, where it belongs -- and under which many smaller companies continue to offer Internet access to the public.” You further state that the Verizon-Google plan that the Post endorses, “creates a two-tiered Internet at the expense of the open Internet we now have…”<br />
<br />
The internet, as it exists right now, already has in place a number of offerings that provide advantage to some providers that others may find it difficult to replicate. I will only use one example. Google (and others such as Hulu, Netflix, etc.) have begun to deploy massive replicator servers that they are placing throughout the internet in order to provide their content at a closer physical location to the user. This creates an advantage for them as it means that users have fewer routers to flow through in order to deliver their content to the end user. <br />
<br />
To many, this is a good thing because it means that the the user experience delivered by those content providers who can afford to replicate their server content on a massive scale will have a better user experience. This means that the little guy you are trying to protect, will have a tougher time competing against those who can afford this type of replication. This has nothing to do with the way that traffic gets delivered, it simply takes advantage of the laws of physics and the fact that the fewer routers a stream of data must flow through to be delivered to the user, the more likely it will be delivered in a manner that is acceptable to the end user.<br />
<br />
Google (and others) are doing this because they can afford it. However, smaller content providers may be squeezed out in the process because if they can not afford the same level of replication, their content will have to travel a much longer route and “bang up” against a higher number of routers, any which of them could be a potential “choke” point. What is fair about that?<br />
<br />
What if an internet service provider were to offer a service that would allow a content provider to affordably deliver their traffic with a higher priority? This would provide smaller content providers with another means of competing with the big content providers without having to purchase server space all over geographically. <br />
<br />
Your present position on so called net neutrality would deny smaller content providers with that option. They would be forced to compete with the only weapon presently available, content replication.<br />
<br />
Here is my point. The present system is already unfair and tilted to the existing content providers in a way that has nothing to do with so called net neutrality. Traffic such as video, on the internet is growing at a geometric pace. This traffic is very sensitive to delays and packet loss. Your proposed policy provides only one way to manage this dilemma which the large content providers are already exploiting. Denying internet service providers with a different means of managing the traffic may jeopardize the very thing you are trying to protect. Because providing smaller content providers a way to expedite their traffic across the internet could be a less expensive and more powerful way of leveling the playing field with the large content providers.<br />
<br />
Please reconsider your position. As it stands right now, your present stand, protects the content providers already in place and denies smaller, less well financed providers, with a more cost effective mechanism with which they might complete.<br />
<br />
Let Freedom RingJim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-80312824169497558042010-08-26T17:14:00.001-04:002010-08-26T17:21:46.508-04:00Walt Mossberg Claims AT&T Microcell can Improve Cellular Reception and ReliabilityWall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg in his <a href="http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20100825/cell-towers-for-the-home-work-best-in-worst-sites/">recent Personal Technology</a> column had mostly positive comments about AT&T’s Microcell as well as several other offerings from Sprint and Verizon. <br />
<br />
His bottom line: <em>“Overall, I can only firmly recommend the MircoCell for situations where coverage is virtually nil, you are willing to spend an extra $150, and you can locate it in a way that works. If you just want to improve a spotty signal, or a few weak areas in your house, you might be disappointed.”</em> W. Mossberg<br />
<br />
<object height="363" id="wsj_fp" width="512"><param name="movie" value="http://s.wsj.net/media/swf/main.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><param name="flashvars" value="videoGUID={055B884D-0551-4E24-83B7-50D5446F31BB}&playerid=1000&plyMediaEnabled=1&configURL=http://wsj.vo.llnwd.net/o28/players/&autoStart=false" base="http://s.wsj.net/media/swf/"name="flashPlayer"></param><embed src="http://s.wsj.net/media/swf/main.swf" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"flashVars="videoGUID={055B884D-0551-4E24-83B7-50D5446F31BB}&playerid=1000&plyMediaEnabled=1&configURL=http://wsj.vo.llnwd.net/o28/players/&autoStart=false" base="http://s.wsj.net/media/swf/" name="flashPlayer" width="512" height="363" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object><br />
<br />
<br />
In a review of the comments posted with this article, many users pointed to a mostly positive experience both in setup and use. A few had frustrating experiences, but many reported that this has helped them to obtain good coverage in their homes where little or none had existed before.<br />
<br />
There were a few misconceptions. First, it does not need to be located next to a window. This is only for the initial setup so that it can obtain a gps location signal or to triangulate with existing cell towers. Once that has happened, it can be moved to a more convenient location. Secondly, it will work with dsl provided you have more than 384 kb/s downstream and 128 kb/s upstream.<br />
<br />
I offered one comment to a business owner who was frustrated with the charges for the AT&T Microcell for his business. My response was: I am empathetic to your challenge. Believe me, as an AT&T employee who has worked in the business enterprise division, I have heard your request on more than one occasion. I had a customer who was desperate for a solution within their data center that could not get a signal from any carrier due to the shielding in the data center. Having a reliable signal in their center was important for security and disaster recovery.<br />
<br />
What we would have given for a business grade solution like this. I can tell you that in meetings with our Microcell product managers I have heard them state that having a business grade solution is a priority. However, there are challenges in deploying these solutions due to spectrum license and capacity issues. <br />
<br />
Meeting the demands of a business with multiple users and the need for simnplicity in deployment make a Microcell solution challenging. <br />
Still, I am told this is a priority. i suggest you follow up with your AT&T account manager, let them know of your interest. Hopefully, when a solution is finally released, you can take advantage of it.Jim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-62770730861274551512010-08-17T09:43:00.002-04:002010-08-17T10:10:45.376-04:00Is it time to Completely Deregulate the Local Phone Service?<h3>Headlines from the past year…</h3><ul><li>“<a href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/183489955_2.html"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Cutting the cord: households dropping land lines for cell phones</strong></span></a>” Entrepreneuer</li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">“<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/technology/companies/28phone.html?_r=1"><strong>As Profit Falls 21%, Verizon Plans to Slash 8,000 Jobs</strong></a>” New York Times</span></li>
<ul><li><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">“All of Verizon’s job cuts, which will hit employees and contractors, will be made in its landline unit, the part of Verizon’s business that offers traditional communications services over copper or fiber cables to businesses and home users.<span style="color: red;"> Verizon lost nearly two million home phone customers in the last year</span>, leaving it with 17.2 million residential voice customers.”</span></em></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>“</strong></span><a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09270/1000871-467.stm"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Are phone land lines fading</strong></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>?”</strong></span> Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</li>
<li><strong>“<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17491-2005Feb11.html">Colleges' Land Lines Nearing Silent End:Cells Force Review Of Dorm Options</a>”</strong> Washington Post</li>
<li>“<a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2308511,00.asp"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Exodus from Landlines to Cell Phones Continues</strong></span></a>” PC Magazine</li>
<li><a href="http://dev.www.wauwatosanow.com/blogs/communityblogs/52526007.html"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">“Lamenting the Loss of Land Lines</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: small;">”</span></strong> Wawatosa Now</li>
</ul>Almost all of us take for granted much of the services and features that are being incorporated into mobile phone devices at a pace that is dizzying. Whether you are a iPhone fanatic or Droid disciple, you appreciate the dizzying introduction of apps and other services to your hand held device. We take for granted features like call forwarding and voice mail as “of course” services.<br />
<br />
Have you ever wondered why more is not done with a mainstay of the twentieth century the home phone? Why is it, for example that our mobile phones become increasingly powerful and sophisticated but at the same time the traditional phone is little different than it was 25 years ago?<br />
<br />
This was brought home to me in a personal way recently when I tried to add something as simple as call forwarding to my Verizon home phone. Currently I subscribe to a Verizon FIOS triple play with phone, internet, and tv in the bundle. When I inquired about adding call forwarding to my service, I was told, that will be $5.99 extra per month. $5.99 extra??????? Isn’t there a bundle that offers that I politely inquired. No was the response. This is not part of the “package”. This got me thinking, why in heavens name doesn’t Verizon offer this as a package?<br />
<br />
<h3>Welcome to the world of regulation.</h3>Let’s compare and contrast what a service provider must do to turn on a feature like “call forwarding” on a mobile device and a traditional land phone.<br />
<br />
<strong>Traditional Land Line</strong><br />
Because land phones are regulated at both the federal and more completely at the state level, they must prepare and deliver to regulatory boards filings that describe services offered and the list prices that will be charged. If they want to reduce the price, they must file paperwork. If they want to offer a discount, they must set forth the specific circumstances in which those discounts would apply. So a phone company must:<br />
<ul><li>prepare documents (not a trivial task), </li>
<li>file them with several different state regulators, </li>
<li>get approval from each of them </li>
</ul>before making any changes to an offer. All of this must be done within the existing (and outdated) definition of what the phone service is. That definition makes any significant change to what is offered, including handsets and how the service is delivered, costly and difficult. Even adding something as simple as “call-forwarding” is something of a sisyphus task.<br />
<br />
<strong>Mobile Line</strong><br />
Compare that with what must be done to introduce call forwarding in the mobile world.<br />
<ul><li>The company builds call forwarding into the network</li>
<li>Turns on the capability in the devices</li>
<li>Announces it to its customers.</li>
</ul>Now you tell me, if you were a phone company. Where would you invest your resources and concentrate your innovation? The ultra-regulated world of traditional phone services, where it takes an act of the gods to offer something as simple as call forwarding or mobility where competition drives innovation and services are deployed with minimal regulatory regard?<br />
<br />
Our legislators are going regulation crazy! You know, train wrecks may be fascinating to watch, but ultimately destructive and hurt a bunch of people. If we don’t change, a train wreck is where we are headed. We must slow this train down before it goes off the rails or we may end up like Harrison Ford in “the Fugitive” running for our lives to avoid a runaway locomotive.<br />
<br />
Not only should we <strong>not</strong> regulate the internet, we should tear down the regulations that hold the traditional land line phones stuck in the twentieth century while the rest of the world zips by.<br />
<br />
Let Freedom RingJim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-58336073604421349402010-08-11T10:36:00.004-04:002010-08-11T10:56:08.738-04:00How AT&T Saved My PresentationI have noted in my profile that I work for AT&T, so that I am proud of my company should come as no surprise. However, now and then something happens that makes me especially proud and this past week, I had one of those experiences.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.washtimes.com/media/image/2010/08/05/Washington_Weather_Star_s640x426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" ox="true" src="http://media.washtimes.com/media/image/2010/08/05/Washington_Weather_Star_s640x426.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Last Thursday, I was working from my home office when we experienced a <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/aug/5/storm-causes-trees-topple-gw-parkway/">particularly nasty storm</a> here in my home town near Alexandria, Virginia. The storm tied up traffic with my wife and daughter taking hours to get home when it usually takes about 45 minutes, even with crazy beltway traffic.<br />
<br />
As I was sitting here, I saw the lights flicker and eventually go out. Yes, I had lost power. The problem was, I was getting ready to present a live webinar to managers all across the world. Without power, I would have had to rely on someone else or cancel the presentation. At that moment, the fact that I not only worked for AT&T, but had AT&T service came in very handy.<br />
<br />
I popped in my wireless card into my laptop, fired it up, got connected to our fastest in the industry 3G network, fired up my iPhone to connect to the call, and connected to our<a href="http://www.business.att.com/enterprise/Service/unified-communications-enterprise/conferencing-services-enterprise/web-conferencing-enterprise/"> AT&T Connect</a> web meeting platform. My Dell computer had plenty of juice, so I was good to go.<br />
<br />
Connecting to the network was simple and easy. I had good speed and latency. Download was 3.9mb/s Upload was 1.78 mb/s and latency was an acceptable 167 ms. So the connection was fast, reliable and steady. I then uploaded my 2mb file to the AT&T Connect platform and at 4PM welcomed my participants to the webmeeting. All went well, even when the<a href="http://www.business.att.com/enterprise/Service/unified-communications-enterprise/conferencing-services-enterprise/web-conferencing-enterprise/"> AT&T Connect</a> had a bit of a hiccup. One of the participants became the presenter momentarily and since I had given the presentation before, we kept on rolling without missing a beat. I then reentered, took back control and finished the meeting on-time.<br />
<br />
Without this, my group would have been clueless as to what happened to me and we would have had to cancel, then re-schedule the presentation. This kept everyone up, running and productive.<br />
<br />
<br />
Once again, this incident reaffirmed for me why I am so proud of our terrific network. <br />
<br />
I LOVE THIS NETWORK!!!!!!Jim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-54845868208853557062010-08-09T15:22:00.001-04:002010-08-09T15:23:50.652-04:00Results Oriented or Time Oriented. What Type of Manager Are You?One of my colleagues at AT&T, Susan D Rodgers, had a very thought provoking entry she shared with her community. I thought this to contain many great idea for consideration so am offering a condensed version here with a link to her original source material.<br />
<br />
Susan writes....<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Over the weekend, I found a blog piece on The App Gap site, written by Celine Roque back in 2008, which talks about results-oriented versus time-oriented workplaces. Time-oriented workplaces have their roots in the Industrial Era, when it was important to put in your 8 hour day at a specific factory location so you could punch out a pre-defined number of widgets. You were a cog in a bigger wheel and everyone had to be present and working on the line in order for the wheel to turn. But managing the work by “time spent” is not as effective for managing knowledge work, which is really better suited to a “results-oriented” approach. Some of her observations on the differences between time-oriented and results-oriented workplaces are: </span><br />
<div></div><ul><li><span style="background-color: cyan;">Time-Oriented You are seen as diligent if you are the first one in the office and the last one out of the office. </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: cyan;">Results-Oriented: It’s not about when you arrive and when you leave, it’s about what you accomplish during your stay – no matter how long or short it is. </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: cyan;">Time-Oriented: Let’s have long, regular meetings so we know we’re discussing things in depth. </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: cyan;">Results-Oriented: Let’s have meetings only when necessary, and make them as short as possible. </span></li>
</ul><span style="background-color: cyan;">View the full article here: </span><a href="http://www.theappgap.com/is-your-workplace-results-oriented-or-time-oriented.html"><span style="background-color: cyan;">http://www.theappgap.com/is-your-workplace-results-oriented-or-time-oriented.html</span></a><span style="background-color: cyan;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">Another dimension to this discussion is whether the work is “place-oriented”, e.g. how important is the location of the work to accomplishing the job? In a “results-oriented” workplace, location can often be irrelevant; it’s about how you work and the results you achieve that are important. Here are some of those differences: </span><br />
<br />
<ul><li><span style="background-color: cyan;">Place-Oriented: It’s important for the supervisor to “see” the work as its being done in order to effectively manage it. </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: cyan;">Results-Oriented: Managing by results means the supervisor and the employee don’t have to be in the same room, or even in the same city. </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: cyan;">Place-Oriented: The tools and equipment used in the job are only available at the specific company location; therefore, your presence at that location is required. </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: cyan;">Results-Oriented: Since knowledge work is all about the handling and creating of information, the tools and resources required for the job are available through Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), meaning, you can do your job from nearly anywhere. </span></li>
</ul><span style="background-color: cyan;"></span><br />
<div></div><span style="background-color: cyan;">Thanks to AT&T’s enabling technologies and our results-oriented management practices, I could argue that most of AT&T’s knowledge work is location independent – meaning, work that can be effectively accomplished from a variety of different locations. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: cyan;">So, how would you describe your job? Place-Centric or Location Independent?</span><br />
<br />
<div></div>My own commentary back was:<br />
Susan, <br />
<br />
<br />
Thanks for this thought provoking piece on how we best consider the work environment. I have met and worked for sales managers who were both. Those that were place oriented often insisted that their sales staff be in their cubes at a specified time, then schedule meetings to "kick-off" the day. At times, they would have wrap up meetings at the end of the day, some would insist that the rep come back to check in with the office. <br />
<br />
Other managers basically take a 'I don't care how you work your day as long as you deliver results on time'. Each of these extremes have their proponents and detractors. <br />
<br />
Personally I have been both over my career and have adopted an "It depends" attitude of which works best. When things are working with a team that is generally delivering results, I tend toward the Results Oriented approach, while when people are not delivering results, I tend to be more prescriptive in my approach with boundaries, face time and timetables. <br />
<br />
This is what has worked for me. I would be interested to see what other (sales) managers are doing and what works for them. Any thoughts out there?Jim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-56093489308370988692010-07-28T22:53:00.001-04:002010-07-28T22:56:04.555-04:00AT&T Verizon and Smartphone Data UsageHeadlines can be deceiving. Recently, ChannelWeb published an article entitled:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.crn.com/mobile/226300173?queryText=verizon+data">Verizon Smartphone Users Overtake AT&T iPhone Users In Wireless Data Use</a><br />
<br />
In this article ChannelWeb notes that <em>a study, to be released by Validas, a Missouri City, Texas-based provider of technology to help users analyze their wireless bills to find the best plans, shows that the amount of data accessed by the Verizon Wireless user grew the fastest of any smartphone users. </em><br />
<em></em><br />
<br />
<em>As a result, Verizon smartphone users will likely overtake iPhone users in terms of wireless data access, <a href="http://blog.myvalidas.com/index.php/2010/07/verizon-wireless-smartphones-consume-more-data-than-iphones//">according to Validas in a blog post</a> earlier this week.</em> <br />
<br />
This article could be misleading. I posted a response to it as follows:<br />
<br />
There are a couple of items to note about this piece. <br />
<br />
First, while the usage per device may be higher with phones and devices from Verizon, this may be a result of the heavier reliance that Verizon has on their network vs AT&T devices which can seamlessly access wifi hotspots. Verizon does not have access to as many wifi hotspots as AT&T users. <br />
<br />
In my own circumstance, my iPhone uses between 5 and 6 GB of data monthly, but only uses about 230 mb on the 3G network. The reason for this disparity is that most of the time, my iPhone automatically connects to available wifi networks. So when I am at home or at a Starbucks, McDonald's, many hotels, etc. my phone automatically connects to the wifi network. Since AT&T operates the largest footprint of wifi hotspots, this means that my phone's data does not travel on the 3G network as much.<br />
<br />
This benefits me in several ways. First my overall speed is generally faster in wifi hotspots than anyone's 3G or 4G network. Secondly, because I am leveraging the wifi, I can better take advantage of AT&T's lower cost data plans.<br />
<br />
As was pointed out, but buried in the story is the fact that AT&T support the largest number of smartphone devices, by far. So even though the usage may be smaller per device, the overwhelming larger number of devices on AT&T means that they carry the largest amount of mobile data, by far.<br />
<br />
Finally, I am very satisfied with the performance of the network with my iPhone and would not consider switching, even if Verizon ever gets the iPhone.Jim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-56131301826883161122010-07-20T22:24:00.003-04:002010-07-20T22:48:39.158-04:00Are there really Bad Connections with the iPhone?In response to <a href="http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/07/ff_att_fail/">Bad Connection: Inside the iPhone Network Meltdown</a> posted on Wired Magazine, I offer the following comment:<br />
<br />
• Posted by: snow53 07/20/10 10:09 pm <br />
<br />
One item that continuously gets overlooked and underappreciated is the wifi network that AT&T has put in place. They have, hands down, the largest number of wifi hotspots in the country. This means that at many hotels, starbucks and mcdonalds all over the country, you can use your iPhone or iPad on a better performing network than anybody’s 3G or even 4G network and at no additional cost beyond your AT&T data plan. Verizon and Sprint have nothing comparable.<br />
<br />
I live in the nation’s capitol and love my iPhone and am delighted with AT&T’s service. When we experienced a huge power blackout. I fired up my laptop and conducted a web presentation using my AT&T card and my iPhone. As rated by speedtest.net, my download speed was > 5mb/s. Astonishing! I was able to deliver my presentation to my client without missing a beat or experiencing a dropped call.<br />
<br />
One final thought, it would be interesting to put a Samsung Captivate on AT&T up against a Droid X on Verizon and see how they perform side by side. Then we might have more of an (non)-apples to (non)-apples comparison.<br />
<br />
#att_empJim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-51633961664343319902009-10-24T16:10:00.000-04:002009-10-24T16:12:49.839-04:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Green telepresence to save Dimension Data time and travel costs</strong></span><br /><br />Datacraft, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dimension Data, has extended the Group’s telepresence footprint with the newly installed systems in its New York, London, Johannesburg, Singapore, Tokyo, Brisbane and Canberra offices.<br />The move is in line with the Dimension Data Group’s Green strategy to reduce employee travel globally, and increase accessibility of TelePresence to a broader audience in order to communicate and collaborate globally in real time.<br />Andy Cocks, Solutions and Strategic Alliance Director at Datacraft said: “We expect to cut travel costs among the Group’s senior management alone to between 15% and 20% – and that’s without comprising crucial, real-time, face-to-face contact which makes for successful leadership.”<br />Cocks said Datacraft has been successfully using telepresence to communicate between their Singapore and Tokyo offices. “In fact, we have even conducted job interviews as well as internal review meetings via telepresence.”<br /><br /><a href="http://www.searchsecurityasia.com/content/green-telepresence-save-dimension-data-time-and-travel-costs">Click Here for the original and complete article</a>Jim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-44084039718083621062009-10-23T15:49:00.001-04:002009-10-23T15:50:35.877-04:00<p class="MsoNormal">I have a few questions for those who favor so called net-neutrality.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">First, is it possible that this is not about protecting the internet for the little guy, but rather a high stakes game between very large corporations, each with their own agenda?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In this corner... the telecom and cable companies and in that corner.... The Content providers, Google, Facebook, and others.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Why do you think Google and others are lobbying so hard for net neutrality?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Because, they want to flood the Internet with mega-files without constriction.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They do this without paying a nickle for HOW the content gets delivered.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is like flooding the freeway traffic in LA with thousands of semi-trucks and trailers without regard for the impact they have on the traffic or damage to the freeway itself.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Is it possible that the telecom companies want the opportunity to do their job which is to insure that the networks get managed so that the largest number of users have the best possible experience?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Aside from the ham handed way that comcast slowed traffic, what other evidence is there that any network provider has deliberately slowed or blocked traffic?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Does it make sense to treat ALL traffic equally?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I mean, why in heavens name would you treat an email data packet exactly the same as a video stream?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Wouldn't it make sense to allow the network providers to offer the ability to prioritze the traffic based on traffic type and the willingness of users/providers to pay for a higher quality experience.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">If net-neutrailty as proposed is enacted as policy, it will preclude the opportunity to develop high quality consumer applications such as high performance telepresence like you see on shows like 24 and others because to deliver applications like that demandes that the data traffic be actively managed and higher priority given across the network for the video transmission.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Are you really satisfied with the quality of your experience on websites like hulu and youtube?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>What is the likelihood that your experience of these sites will significantly improve without active management of the network?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>All the bandwidth in the world will not solve this problem, just ask Cisco who tied in vain to deliver telepresence in an unmanaged environment only to have the performance be so poor that they recommend their video equipment be used over a managed network?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, before you buy into the idea that net neutrality is simply a way to stop the "evil, profit hungry" network providers from imposing their way on halpless and innocent users, stop and think, who is really behind net neutrality.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">If you think Google (and Facebook) is on your side and they are only doing this to protect you, then you probably believe in Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny and I have bridge in Brooklyn I would like to sell you.</p>Jim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-90609603921585632172009-08-26T11:37:00.000-04:002009-08-26T11:40:54.220-04:00<strong>An Open Letter to the Chairman Genachoski of the FCC</strong><br /><br />Honorable Chairman Genachoski,<br /><br />I must say that your recent statement regarding net neutrality is disappointing to me. I understand the need to make our Internet open and accessable to all who seek it, however your statement recently quoted as "One thing I would say so that there is no confusion out there is that this FCC will support net neutrality and will enforce any violation of net neutrality principles." may not be as consumer friendly as you would suppose.<br /><br />First, a disclaimer here, I have worked in data networking for over 15 years, so I have a certain perspective and knowledge about the situation. When the internet began, much of what was transferred was static and text. One of the beauties of the data transfer is the ability to break a computer file into many parts and transmit them in pieces to be reassembled at the destination. When a photo, email, or document is transmitted, it matters little in what order the items arrive or even if a portion is missing since the receiving computer can wait patiently for all the pieces to arrive before re-assembling it.<br /><br />As long as it is a traditional file, no problem. In human terms, it will happen in a perfectly reasonable amount of time. Things get trickier with higher value applications. For example, in order for real time applications such as a voice call or a video call (especialy high definition/high quality ones) it matters greatly that the file "packets" be delivered, in order, without delay and without any pieces missing. Otherwise, the transmission becomes gibberish and leads to a poor user experience. Fortunately, there are technologies avaialable that can help distinguish a video transmission from say an email transmission and this could lead to a better overall consumer experience.<br /><br />However, in order for the technology to be workable, it requires that the network distinguish between types of data flowing across it and give priority to the data that needs it. Therefore, in order for providers to deliver high quality, high value applications, they must distinguish and prioritze the data. Unfortunately, Net Neutrality would take away this option.<br /><br />By demanding so called "net-neutrality" you are condemning users to an internet experience not unlike the Washington DC beltway during rush hour. Yes, people will get to their destination, but not in a way that is very satisfactory. I say, you should allow for the creation of alternative networks that people can choose to obtain that would allow for better management of the data. Yes this would mean that some data would be "delayed" but not typically in a way that is disatisfaying nor would it mean that it would be permanantly blocked. This management of the data flow would lead to a better overall consumer experience by making those who place excessive demands on the network pay for that demand and allow those who do not need high demand applications not have to pay for it. Finally, if a provider, cay Comcast abuses their responsibility to deliver the internet in a way that is balanced, then a user can choose to move their service to a provider that is more fair, for example Verizon or T-mobile. (By the way, I am not making an accusation about either of these companies, just saying that people have choices.)<br /><br />In summary, net neutrality, on the surface appears to make everything fair. However, by legislating fairness, we will likely endup with an equally bad experience (like the DC Belway at rush hour). Please do not force us to all have a poor experience because a few place high demands on the network.<br /><br />Respectfully,<br /><br />-- James W SnowdenJim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-27054739722028250742009-03-03T11:11:00.000-05:002009-03-03T11:16:04.669-05:00The Boardroom ReInvented<br /><br />AT&T has teamed up with Cisco to take telepresence to the next level. They are re-introducing Telepresence as "The Boardroom Reinvented". Here is what was recently said by Cisco and AT&T TelePresence Live at NRF 2009 with Coach, Planet Retail, Polo Ralph Lauren, & United Rentals.<br /><br /><object height="295" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jCdHy5Q76LQ&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jCdHy5Q76LQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object>Jim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-46586422686381767212009-02-25T14:08:00.001-05:002009-02-25T14:21:44.974-05:00Gartner’s Top Predictions for 2009 Include Telepresence<span xmlns=''><p><span style='color:#bfbfbf; font-family:Arial'>Gartner Predicts Video Telepresence Will Replace 2.1 Million Airline Seats Per Year by 2012, Losing the Travel Industry $3.5 billion annually<br /></span></p><p><span style='color:#bfbfbf'><span style='font-family:Arial; font-size:9pt'>Analysts detail Gartner's Top Ten Predictions for 2009 and beyond at 'Gartner Predicts 2009' in Sydney <br/><br/></span><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'><em>"Telepresence is not the answer in every circumstance and there will always be strong cultural and other reasons for face to face encounters, particularly in Asia. But not every meeting needs to be face to face..." -- Gartner's Steve Prentice</em><br /> </span></span></p><p><span style='color:#bfbfbf; font-family:Arial; font-size:9pt'>Sydney, Australia, The challenge of current world economic conditions is set to drive uptake of video telepresence in the next three years, with the travel industry losing out, according to Gartner Inc. Gartner analysts predict that high-definition based video meeting solutions will replace 2.1 million airline seats annually, costing the travel and hospitality industry US$3.5 billion per year. <br/><br/>Speaking at the annual Gartner Predicts 2009 briefing in Sydney this morning, Gartner Fellow Steve Prentice said companies must educate themselves on the scope and capabilities of telepresence systems.<br /></span></p><p><span style='color:#bfbfbf; font-family:Arial; font-size:9pt'>"The challenge of the current economic conditions demands that every organization revisit the need for face-to-face meetings" said Mr Prentice. "Telepresence is not the answer in every circumstance and there will always be strong cultural and other reasons for face to face encounters, particularly in Asia. But not every meeting needs to be face to face and there is no doubt that telepresence and other approaches to virtual collaboration such as Immersive Workspace, which is built on top of Second Life, or yet to be released solutions will provide a real alternative for many businesses. Companies should put aside previous prejudices and bad memories of older video-conferencing services and seriously investigate these new technologies"<br /></span></p><p><a href='http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=86544'><span style='font-family:Arial; font-size:9pt'>Original Article….</span></a><span style='color:black; font-family:Arial; font-size:18pt'><br /> </span></p></span>Jim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-49805851682023982762009-02-24T12:13:00.000-05:002009-02-24T12:15:26.321-05:00<strong>AT&T Makes $1 Billion Network Infrasructure Investment</strong><br /><br />AT&T is upgrading network applications such as its VPN, telepresence, unified communications and hosting offerings. The company will expand its network offerings into Asia by offering telepresence in China for the first time and managed IP telephony and LAN services for the first time in China, India, the Philippines and Thailand. AT&T will also increase its data center hosting capacity in three of its U.S. data centers, as well as data centers in Tokyo, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/022309-att-network-investment.html">Complete Article: </a>Jim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042962.post-27081116057465035742009-02-17T06:54:00.001-05:002009-02-17T07:04:23.330-05:00<a href="http://www.telepresenceoptions.com/assets_c/2008/09/cisco_cts3000-thumb-350x231.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 290px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 185px" alt="" src="http://www.telepresenceoptions.com/assets_c/2008/09/cisco_cts3000-thumb-350x231.jpg" border="0" /></a> <strong>Telepresence to replace 2.1 million airline seats, says Gartner</strong><br />February 11, 2009 <a href="http://www.humanproductivitylab.com/">Chris Payatagool</a><br />Written by Vera Alves <a href="http://www.gartner.com/">Gartner</a> expects video telepresence to replace 2.1 million airline seats per year, by 2012, losing the travel industry $ US 3.5 billion.This was one of the top ten predictions that Gartner announced this week in Auckland, during a local briefing where researchers discussed emerging trends and technologies.According to Stephen Prentice, VP and Gartner Fellow, "videoconferencing has changed and telepresence does manage to fool the brain."Both because of environmental and cost-cutting reasons, Gartner expects the adoption of telepresence to be one of the major trends for the near future. "People will be travelling for leisure, not for business," added Prentice.Cisco and HP were the first major companies to launch telepresence suites but the business is still evolving, with Nortel, Tandberg and LifeSize also adding telepresence to their lists of products. <div><div><div><br /><br /><div>The economic downturn can even be seen as an opportunity for technologies such as this to experience further growth, thanks to the need to cut back on costs.The Cisco offices in Auckland were recently the stage for young players to audition for the Southbank Sinfonia, in the UK, when a panel of judges listened and watched the aspiring New Zealand musicians' 15- minute auditions from the other side of the world."This process represents a world first for the professional music scene and promises to change the way orchestras recruit new players now and in the future," commented Justin Lee, Southbank Sinfonia's Chief Executive. </div></div></div></div>Jim Snowdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658289023087915759noreply@blogger.com0