Tuesday, June 21, 2011
If you're a global thinker or a world traveler, you have already taken objection to the title.  Just like our World Series of baseball, the World Champions of the Superbowl, and all our other national titles that we over-inflate as world titles, the same is true for this title.  The world didn't go wired.  America did.  In fact, other parts of the world totally skipped the wired revolution.  So, why then did America go wired?

In parts of the world where the communication boom came post-wireless revolution, nobody even thought to go through the trouble of laying cable or fiber.  Why even waste the time.  Just build transmitters and antennas.  But in the U.S., arguably the more advanced and faster-growing technology markets on the planet, we exist today in a state of dependency on wired local connections.

Local connections -- key point here, we all know that wires support wireless.  But what I'm calling into question is our dependence on wires for local loop.  From the hub to the handheld.  From dbox to d-link router.  Why?

My theory: it started with consumer, not business, demand.  Namely, telephone and television.  In the 60's and 70's, as such luxuries were becoming more necessity than nicety, the efficiencies of airwaves was still quite low.  Digital broadcast was only developed in the last decade and mandated just last year.  Analog signal on the spectrum simply couldn't deliver the hundreds of channels and multiple phone lines that we were all demanding. 

The result: by the 80's copper cable traversed most of the developed areas.  As cellular and other wireless technology matured in the 90's there existed a sense in which the cable was there, why not use it.  Aside from that, 3G and 4G speeds still hadn't arrived yet and wires still severely out-performed wireless. 

So, why this history lesson now? Why think about it today?  Two reasons: (1) wireless is catching up, and (2) wires aren't everywhere that people are anymore. 

Development has out-paced the grid.  Neighborhoods pop up in corn fields every day, and with neighborhoods come stores.  More and more, new development (both commercial and residential) is realizing the costs to keep the grid up with the demand.

Meanwhile, the alternative local loop, wireless signal, is catching up. The wireless "pipe" is getting bigger through optimization of signal (i.e. digital) and the release of more spectrum (a la FCC auctions). 

Will TV antennas once again be a regular scene on the rooftops?  Will T-Com super-giants like Time Warner Cable change with the times and begin delivering on the air once again?  Or, will we (unlike the rest of the world) keep up the illusion that every terminal, house, c-store, and business needs to be tethered with copper strands no matter the cost?

Labels: 3G, 4G, Broadband, Cell Towers, FCC, Time Warner, Wireless

posted by Unknown at 6:20 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments

Friday, May 27, 2011
This Monday, I couldn't believe the news.  Joplin, MO was hit hard by a devastating tornado, and severe weather was still on the horizon.  But, as the week has gone by, there's more to this story than just devastation.  I've been encouraged, as usual in this great nation, by the charity of others who have traveled across the country to come lend aid.

Among the corporate responders, Verizon Wireless pitched in to help in a less obvious way: cell towers.  On Monday, Verizon reported that they would be sending 3 temporary cell towers to Joplin and coordinating with emergency management to determine the best sites.  Why?  To meet one of the most basic human needs that this tornado stripped from so many: community.

Communication between emergency responders is almost always 2-way radio.  Cell towers may offer some benefit to the recovery effort, but more importantly, Verizon says it is for the families affected "so that they can contact family, friends and loved ones."  No news yet as to the data capacity of these temporary towers, nor whether they'll support 3G broadband access in addition to voice coverage.  If they do, then this would open up the possibility for even deeper connectivity via Facebook, Twitter, MMS messaging, and the like. 

In addition, Verizon has also committed a slew of mobile charging stations.  These generator-powered stations supply the second vital component to wireless connectivity: power.  Phones need recharging and these stations will afford residents in the area the ability to do just that in a time when utilities may be weeks from being restored.

We'd like to thank Verizon for this gesture that reminds us not only how charitable people can be, but just how important connectivity has become to our society.

Labels: Cell Towers, Joplin, Verizon

posted by Unknown at 9:56 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments

Wednesday, October 6, 2010
I had coffee yesterday with a friend and mentor, Tom Barnes. As I entered the meeting, I beleived that Tom was just what he appeared on the surface: a franchisee with a business coaching organization called the Growth Coach. And he is that, but I soon learned that Tom takes his own advice. He owns 4 businesses, in fact. His brief coaching moment for me was this: "follow the money train."

Tom said, "succeeding in business is simpler than people think. You don't necessarily have to have an original idea." He continued, "Find a money train and get on it."

"What's your money train?" I asked.

"Cell phones."

"So, you own a cell phone company?" I was a bit surprised.

"No," he said, "but I'm in the cell phone business." Tom went on to let me know some very interesting statistics. There's over 30,000 towers in the U.S. today. Estimates are that within 3 years, that figure will more than double. However, there are only 6,500 people licensed and certified to service those towers--the majority of which are employed in-house with the big telecom companies.

However, the interesting "money train" that Tom found in this scenario is this: even though the service providers employ the service technicians, they don't want the liability of sending them up a 1500 ft tower. So, instead, they sit at a desk in project management roles.

This left a great need that Tom decided to fill. He found an insurance company that would underwrite his business. He used the best in safety equipment, training, and practices. And then, he went to work getting contracts to service the towers that nobody else wanted to climb.

But, Tom is a business owner, not a technician. He's never climbed a tower in his life. He created systems and processes to fill a need in the market. He created systems and processes that sustain jobs. He created systems and processes that generate profit.

The telecom industry is a money train. More private capital, government grants, and lending equity are being invested in the broadband infrastructure in the U.S. in the next 5 years than in the past 15 combined. So, which car are you going to ride? How are you going to hitch onto the money train?

Labels: Broadband, Business, Cell Towers, Profit, Telecommunication

posted by Unknown at 6:07 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments