Global Survey Confirms Telcos Embracing VDSL2 Vectoring

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Teresa Mastrangelo

Broadbandtrends recently conducted a global service provider survey of Telco operators regarding their plans to deploy VDSL2 Vectoring.  VDSL2 Vectoring is a noise-cancellation technology that enables operators to significantly increase the speeds offered over their existing copper infrastructure.

Key findings of the survey include the following:

  •  Nearly 70 percent of respondents are either in trial or actively deploying VDSL2 vectoring technology
  • The overwhelming driver for deployment of VDSL2 Vectoring is to offer faster speeds, with most operators planning to offer speeds between 50Mbps and 100 Mbps
  •  Although CPE compatibility was the most cited challenge to the deployment of VDSL2 Vectoring, responses varied by region, with regulatory concerns ranking high in EMEA, loop lengths in North America, while cost was a concern in CALA and Asia Pacific. 
  •  Alcatel-Lucent is perceived as the top VDSL2 DSLAM vendor by respondents and is the most recognized, followed by Huawei.

Vectoring_Timing

“Although nearly every fixed line Telco would like to deploy fiber to every end point in their network - there are financial realities that will not allow this to happen in a timely fashion”, notes Teresa Mastrangelo, principal analyst with Broadbandtrends.  “VDSL2 Vectoring provides operators with an interim solution that will enable significantly faster speeds over their existing copper network in a matter of months, rather than years.”

Broadbandtrends VDSL2 Vectoring Deployment Strategies and Vendor Leadership survey analyzes results from interviews with incumbent and competitive operators in North America, EMEA, Asia Pacific, and CALA about plans for VDSL2 Vectoring.  In addition, the survey features operator ratings of 11 vendors (Alcatel-Lucent, ADTRAN, Calix, ECI, Ericsson, Huawei, Iskratel, KEYMILE, NEC, Zhone, and ZTE) on 4 criteria.

Broadbandtrends interviewed via telephone, in-person and on-line, service providers during March and April 2013, regarding their plans for VDSL2 Vectoring deployment.  The respondents, from all major regions, represent 50 percent of all deployed DSL lines at the end of 2012.

Participants provided input on a range of areas including timing of deployments; key drivers for deployment; key challenges; expected speed offerings; average loop lengths for deployment; average node size; as well as co-existence with other technologies.

For additional information or to purchase the report, please visit http://www.broadbandtrends.com/2013_reports

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Let the Gigabit Wars Begin (at least in Austin, TX)

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Teresa Mastrangelo

Google announced today (April 9, 2013) that Austin, TX would be the next Google Fiber city, with service expected by mid-2014.

Google Fiber will utilize a similar build-out strategy in Austin (that was used in Kansas City), by dividing the city into Fiberhoods and requiring pre-registration.  The areas that meet the pre-registration goals and have the highest levels of participation will be built out first.

It is expected they will also offer similar pricing and packages within Austin, including a free 5Mbps/1Mbps service.

According to Google, Austin, TX  is a “mecca for creativity and entrepreneurialism, with thriving artistic and  tech communities, as well as the University of Texas and its new medical  research hospital.”

Not to mention that Austin is home to the highly respected South by Southwest SXSW festival which focuses on the convergence of original music, independent films, and emerging technologies. And has been an innovator in Smart Grid programs.

A Little Competition Never Hurt Anybody

Unlike Kansas City - Austin, TX is AT&T’s turf and not to be outdone – AT&T quickly issued a press release today stating “ it is prepared to build an advanced fiber optic infrastructure in Austin, Texas, capable of delivering speeds up to 1 gigabit per second.”

The caveat is, of course, that AT&T “be granted the same terms and conditions as Google on issues such as geographic scope of offerings, rights of way, permitting, state licenses and any investment incentives”.

All’s Fair in Love and War and Gigabit Broadband?

That caveat is, of course, the sticking point.  According to many incumbent operators – particularly those competiting against Google Fiber in Kansas City and Austin – they simply want to be given the same incentives and concessions granted to Google Fiber.

As part of its bid to be the 1st Gigabit City, Kansas City (City) offered some very attractive incentives in exchange for Google’s build-out of its fiber network:

In general, the City is providing Google with complete access to its facilities, assets and infrastructure and will not  impose any charges for access to or use of any City facilities; nor will it impose any permit and inspection fees. Infrastructure includes, but will not be limited to, conduit, fiber, poles, rack space, nodes, buildings, facilities, CO locations, available land, and others (TBD). The City will allow Google to have access to necessary rights-of-way on property owned by City and includes a commitment to review and respond to any documents that require approval by City within five (5) working days of submission by Google.

According to the agreement,  the City regularly enters into public/private agreements with third parties for the development of improvements to the quality of life in City.

What’s in it for us?

One could argue that this provides Google with a competitive advantage.  However, I would argue that if the incumbent operator made a commitment to build this type of network and connect all anchor institutions, including schools, libraries and community centers at no chage – they would likely receive the same incentives.

On the other hand – haven’t these very operators already been afforded nearly every regulatory holiday the Federal government can offer?

Cities are getting smarter – only offering incentives when companies commit to improving their community services to be on par with Google’s efforts.  In Kansas City – this has resulted in free internet connections in hundreds of locations chosen by the government.

While the residents of Austin are lucky enough to know that Google Fiber is on its way – they may also find they will have their choice of two gigabit providers – if in fact, AT&T makes good on its threat.

Time will tell.

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Dear FCC: Stop Talking and Start Doing – Its Time to Put A PSTN Transition Plan in Place

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Teresa Mastrangelo

The FCC held its first Technology Transition workshop on Monday March 18, 2013.  The purpose of the workshop was to solicit input on three critical ongoing transitions: 1) TDM to IP; 2) copper to fiber and 3) wireline to wireless.

Per the FCC Chairman (Genachowski) - ”while technological advances can change markets, they don’t change the FCC’s mission” and any policy decisions will be driven by four guiding principles: 1. Competition; 2. Consumer Protection; 3. Universal Service and 4.  Public Safety.

Interestingly enough, AT&T – who has been quite vocal about the need for the FCC to accelerate the transition to All-IP was not a participant in this first workshop.  Otherwise, participants were a mix of ILEC, CLEC, IOC, and Cable MSOs, along with assorted technology equipment vendors.

Transition to IP is Occurring On its Own

It is clear that the IP transition is occurring – all you have to do is look at the latest U.S. Access Lines data that multiple FCC commissioners highlighted in their remarks.  Whether it is cord cutters completely eliminating a fixed line or consumers taking a VoIP option – this transition is occurring without any policy decisions.

AccessLinesSource:  FCC, broadbandtrends

But despite this naturally occurring phenomenon, the FCC continues to simply investigate this issue which has been debated since 2010.  While the FCC claims it has made progress in this area – most notably by switching the focus of USF (now called CAF) from voice to data – there has been no action on the regulatory side to change the regulation associated with the PSTN to reflect this transition to IP.

To date, only Commission Pai has been bold enough to state that “we (FCC) should conduct an All-IP Pilot Program that will allow forward-looking companies to choose a discrete set of wire centers where they could turn off their old TDM electronics and migrate consumers to an all-IP platform”.   In his opening remarks he stated that “he hoped our panelists today will share their views on how we should structure the Pilot Program” – there was never any discussion on this particular issue.

In fact, outside of Pai’s remarks, I do not believe ANYONE even mentioned the Pilot Program.

Instead, we learned that  operators would love to deploy fiber to every home and business, but no operator can justify the return on investment – but in the places it has been deployed – it has met all ROI objectives.

We learned that wireless could be a suitable alternative for fixed line broadband in rural markets – give the right deployment scenarios and implementation of techniques like Mega-MIMO (aka distributed MIMO) as well as better utilization of spectrum.

We learned that equipment obsolescence, cost to maintain, physical space (power, cooling, etc.) lack of skill sets. as well as an increasing cost per customer were all challenges that multiple operators face with the current circuit switched network.

In short, there wasn’t anything new that was discussed, disclosed or debated.

FCC Ignoring Recommendations from the TAC?

What is unclear, is why the FCC seems to be ignoring the recommendations of its Technological Advisory Council – which included a PSTN Working group.  Many of the issues discussed in this recent workshop have already been highly debated and documented by the TAC which issued the following recommendations in December 2011:

1. Develop a detailed plan for an orderly transition from the current PSTN system of record to a service rich network for achieving key national goals. The plan should include:

a. A public-private partnership with industry, providers, and relevant organizations and stakeholders.

b. Coordination mechanisms for the ongoing evolution of the network to rapidly incorporate new technologies and capabilities.

2.Establish a task force to conduct a thorough policy and regulatory analysis and review as it relates to the PSTN which results in policies for the new communication environment (Interoperability, Interconnect, E.164, numbering, reliability,…).

3.Identify mechanisms and a migration plan for critical services currently provided by the PSTN. Therefore, ensuring that critical services that need to be carried forward are met by well understood solutions. (E911, Disability access,…)

4.Commit to ensuring ongoing universal access to evolving communication services to enable all Americans to participate in the nation’s economy

5.Investigate the need for the use of incentives to accelerate the transition to new services.

6.Create a communications and outreach program to educate the public about the transition.

a. Provide the public with the vision of what we are transitioning to: New services and capabilities which can greatly exceed the current services of the PSTN

b. Provide a roadmap and communicate the urgency to take action to avoid the loss of capability to support critical services.

These recommendations make sense.  If the FCC wants to hold more workshops – let’s start using these recommendations as the foundation for any future discussions.  But at this stage it is really time to stop talking and start doing.

[Full disclosure:  I continue to use (and prefer) a wireline voice service - although I do use Skype for international long-distance.]

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The Fixed versus Mobile Condundrum – Part II

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Teresa Mastrangelo

I wrote about this topic back in January 2012 , but felt it was worth a revisit given this opinion piece that appeared in Forbes today titled “Why High Speed Broadband Fibre Is Becoming Irrelevant”

In this article, the author essentially states that fibre based broadband is an old technology and that through the evolution of mobile technology consumers won’t want or need fixed broadband – but more importantly – it would simply be wasteful for both governments and operators to spend valuable capital on fibre.

Yes, mobile broadband speeds are improving, but it is doubtful that end users will be receiving 1Gbps of symmetrical broadband from a wireless service anytime soon – if ever.

Secondly, the author seems to make no mention of applications requiring secure, reliable high-speed connectivity.  Video streaming services work best over a fixed broadband connection and while many of the devices accessing content do so via WiFi – it is a fixed broadband connection that enables WiFi.

Does every home on this planet need a fibre broadband connection?  Probably not, but in markets like the U.S. with strong cable competition – Telcos better start thinking more seriously about this – as the bandwidth gap continues to widen as I discussed in this post.

Additionally, there is enough evidence to show that having strong fixed broadband connectivity for both homes and businesses provides an economic advantage to many communities – just ask Chattanooga, TN and Kansas City.

So here are a few reminders (re-posted from my previous blog) as to why Fixed Broadband can (and will) remain relevant over the longer term:

  • It is that fixed broadband network that enable mobile connectivity to begin with – how do you think bandwidth gets to cell towers
  • It is that fixed broadband connected to a Wi-Fi device that enables Multi-Screen TV services and whole-home DVR
  • It is that fixed broadband connected to your Wi-Fi router that enables Apple iCloud and iTunes Match
  • It is that fixed broadband connected directly (or via Wi-Fi) to your Smart TV, Blu Ray Player, Gaming Console and OTT box that allows streaming video services
  • It is that fixed broadband connection that allows multi-player gaming and XBox Live services
  • It is that fixed broadband network that allows one person to take an on-line class, another to stream video and another to download music – simultaneously
  • It is that fixed broadband network that has electronically transferred a critical medical document, x-Ray or Cat scan for evaluation and consultation
  • It is that fixed broadband network that enables you to have a lower cost VoIP telephone service
  • It is that fixed broadband network that allows you to use your Skype service
  • It is that fixed broadband network that enables you to have that Facetime conversation with you grandmother, you parents, your children, your friends
  • It is that fixed broadband network that connects your Wi-Fi device to everything else in your home and your community

Feel free to add your comments and arguments.

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North America Telcos Facing Uphill Broadband Struggle

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Teresa Mastrangelo

North American telcos had a tough year in fixed broadband during 2012 – as net additions dropped 60% from the previous year, while cable net additions held steady.  Telcos continue to be challenged by cable operators that are – on average- offering significantly faster speeds over their networks.

For 2012, net DSL subscribers declined by nearly 140k – the first decline in annual DSL subscriptions – but unfortunately not likely to be the last.  Although a portion of these subs have transitioned to FTTH and FTTH subscriber additions have more than compensated for this loss ; growth in FTTH was slower in 2012 than 2011 – as Verizon’s FTTH annual net additions continue to decline.

NABB_2012

The Speed Gap Continues to Grow Wider

The most recent FCC data supports this widening gap between DSL  and Cable speeds.  According to data published for 2011, 69% of cable subscribers are receiving speeds above 10Mbps compared to only 19% of Telco (DSL + FTTH).  It gets worse when you remove FTTH and realize only 6% of DSL subs get above 10Mbps.

FCC_BB_2011

Telcos Moving in the Right Direction – But is it Too Little Too Late?

On the plus side Telcos are actively upgrading their networks to support faster speeds by upgrading to VDSL as well as implementing vectoring and bonding.  Here are a few recent examples:

AT&T stated back in November that it would be expanding its U-verse (voice, video and data) footprint to 33 million homes by the end of 2015, while an additional 24 million homes are now served by IP-DSLAM.  In addition, AT&T stated the following speeds would be enabled:

For U-verse customers, AT&T plans to implement pair bonding, 17MHz, Vectoring and Small Form electronics to achieve the following speeds by 2015:

    • 90 percent of U-verse customers up to 75Mbps
    • 75 percent of U-verse customers up to 100Mbps

For IP-DSLAM customers, AT&T plans to implement pair bonding along with rate adaptive technologies to achieve the following speeds by 2015:

    • 80 percent of IP-DSLAM customers up to 45Mbps
    • 50 percent of IP-DSLAM up to 75Mbps

Frontier Communications has stated by the end of 2013 that through the deployment of Ethernet, ADSL2+ Bonding and VDSL2 technology that 50% of its footprint could receive speeds of 20+Mbps.

CenturyLink, through implementation of FTTN architectures, stated that at the end of 2012, 13% of its access lines could get 40+Mbps; 31% could get 20+Mbps; 59% at 10+Mbps and 72% at 6+Mbps.

The question is whether this will be enough. And while many operators are choosing to skip the DSL upgrades and move directly to FTTH -  none of these FTTH deployment are big enough to have a significant impact on cable – even Google Fiber.

At the end of 2011, the FCC stated there were 5.884 million FTTH subscribers – and based on data from 2012 – we believe this number be 6.8 million (despite what the FTTH council states) – representing just 16% of all Telco broadband subscriptions.

“Mind the Gap”

Broadband speeds are important – I am not sure that it means we all need 100Mbps or even 1Gbps - but certainly fast enough so that consumers can take advantage of applications and services such as video, gaming, e-health, e-education, e-business, etc. and have a positive experience- and for this, Telco services need to get better and faster.

Telcos must mind the speed gap – not only with cable but also LTE – as these services become widespread and offer potentially faster speeds than most DSL service.

And while I would be thrilled if FTTH services were available everywhere – the reality is that this will not happen – at least, not quickly.

Until that time, Telcos need to look at making these incremental investments in broadband upgrades and quickly – otherwise they are going to find  that despite the fact that consumers might have a choice in broadband operators – there is really no choice at all.  And unfortunately, this is going to include the loss of other services – including voice and video.

 

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FCC’s Gigabit Challenge – A Missed Opportunity 4 Years Too Late

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Teresa Mastrangelo

On Friday, January 18, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski issued his Gigabit Challenge – calling for at least one gigabit testbed community in all 50 states by 2015.    It should be noted that this is simply a verbal challenge – not based on any type of regulatory policy or driven by any type of broadband stimulus funding.  The FCC did state that it would  actively engage with broadband providers and community leaders to help achieve this goal with plans to create a new online clearinghouse of best practices to collect and disseminate information about how to lower the costs and increase the speed of broadband deployment nationwide.

When I read this announcement, my first reaction was why didn’t the FCC do this as part of broadband stimulus?  It seemed like the perfect opportunity to fund projects that could demonstrate the value of ultra-high speed networks.

In fact, Google as part of its reply comments to the FCC Notice of Inquiry “In the Matter of A National Broadband Plan for Our Future”, GN Docket No. 09-51 (Apr. 8, 2009),  made the following recommendation:

“As one example, the Commission should select several U.S. communities as test beds for installing a minimum of 1 Gbps fiber connection to every residential household. By creating these test beds now, the agency can learn valuable lessons about the various technological and market challenges associated with such private sector deployments. These learnings in particular can foster greater understanding about where to place the appropriate dividing line between private sector and public sector support for build-outs of broadband plant. The test beds also can pave the way to establish loftier benchmarks for future fiber build-outs.”

This was nearly 4 years ago.  Imagine what could have been.

Google was on the right track with its recommendation that the FCC should consider investing in test beds.  The Department of Energy, as part of its Recovery Act funding, set aside $600M in grants for Smart Grid Demonstration projects.

The goals of the demonstration projects was to verify smart grid technology viability, quantify smart grid costs and benefits, and validate new smart grid business models, at a scale that can be readily adapted and replicated around the country. Additional, the demonstration projects would serve as models for other entities to readily adapt and replicate across the country and will serve a diverse cross section of regions, in order to be duplicated across the whole of the nation.

Again, imagine what could have been.

Regulatory Roadblocks

Another potential roadblock to this challenge is regulatory.  As it stands, we have 19 states, in which assorted state laws prevent smaller communities – namely municipalities and/or local governments from offering telecommunication services or severely limiting their ability to do so.

Map

While Chairmen Genachowski likes to highlight Chattanooga, Bristol and Lafayette, Louisiana as progressive markets – he failed to acknowledge the difficulties and challenges these markets faced from the incumbent operators – who tried everything to stop these networks.  Not to mention the changes in state legislature that have been put in place in some of markets to make sure no other entity does the same.  Does UTOPIA ring a bell?

Fix this issue alone and you will likely see more communities choose to build out their own networks – and gigabit networks at that.

Undoubtedly there are many communities that crave better broadband infrastructure – given the 1,100 that applied to become a Google Fiber test bed – but what made Google Fiber so attractive was the fact that someone else was footing the bill.

In reality, even without regulatory roadblocks,  many of these municipalities simply cannot afford to build out there own infrastructure  – not even as a test bed.

And while I agree with his statement  that “the US needs a critical mass of gigabit communities nationwide so that innovators can develop next-generation applications and services that will drive economic growth and global competitiveness.”  My concern is that these gigabit communities will be the same ones already enjoying advanced broadband services, leaving smaller markets further behind.

If the FCC really wants to issue a challenge – then I would like to see loftier goals – such as 50,000 1Gbps subscribers per state by 20xx and I would like to see the FCC continue to help the smaller communities become a part of this challenge.

Perhaps the FCC should take some of that unused Broadband Stimulus Funding and put together a program that lets communities bid for the opportunity to become a  Gigabit test bed and hopefully these communities will have picked up a few tips from Google on how to generate demand to guarantee success.

 

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Put a (HAPI)Fork in it…And other Health & Fitness Trends from CES

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Teresa Mastrangelo

New Year, New You! CES provides the perfect venue for companies to introduce new products aimed at Health and Fitness.  As someone who has been a certified fitness professional for over a decade – I tend to pay extra attention to these trends – regardless of how ridiculous the claims.

Smart Utinsels

HAPILabs is introducing its HAPIFork and spoon that measures your eating habits — how long you eat for, how long between each mouthful and how many of them yoforkviewGREENu take.  If you are eating too fast (less than 10 seconds after the last mouthful) – the fork will vibrate.

When you are finished eating, data is transmitted from the fork to your HAPIfork account, either via Bluetooth (2014) or by connecting the fork to your computer via USB.  Information about your meal can be shared with friends or kept private – because we all know that people will actually care about this!

HAPIfork_dashboardAvailable in 2Q, each fork or spoon will cost $99 – about the same cost for a decent flatware service for 12!  Additionally, it also comes with the HAPILABS app plus a 21-day coaching program to help you eat better and change your eating behavior.

The real kicker is the fact that – according to its inventor – they haven’t proven effective at helping people lose weight.. yet.

Undoubtedly, there will be plenty of people that will indulge in this device.  Personally, I don’t want to carry around my utensils when I dine out or travel and it is a bit heavy and too square to fit comfortably in a smaller hand.

Activity Monitors

Activity monitors are nothing new to the fitness industry.  Pedometers and heart rate monitors have been around for years.  What is changing is how we can view this information in a meaningful way.HAPItrack pink

-HAPILabs – the company responsible for the aforementioned smart fork – has also introduced its HAPITrack device which measures steps, distance, workout time, and calories burned in real time.  (http://www.hapilabs.com)

-Withings announced the Smart Activity Tracker which  adds pulse measurement to the number of steps taken, strides run, distances covered, calories burned, and quality of sleep.  The device syncs via Bluetooth Smart with the Withings Health Mate App where all the data is collected and stored in real time.

The device can be inWSAT_01serted into a pocket, clipped to a belt or used in an arm band. The front of the device features a touch surface that allows users to navigate from screen to screen and the back houses the heart rate sensor where users simply place their finger to take their readings. The device has a two week battery life and has an on-board micro USB port for recharging.

This device certainly has potential, but they need to build this device into a wristband or some other wearable form – particularly for sleep. (http://www.withings.com)

-Fitbit, debuted the Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity + Sleep Wristband, similar to the Nike+ FuelBand.  It tracks steps taken, distance, and calories burned. It also tracks how long and how well you sleep, allowing you to learn how to sleep better.  Flex uses Bluetooth 4.0 to sync data automatically to the Fitbit dashboard using smart phones or via a computer, with no buttons to push and nothing to plug in – a big improvement over Nike.FitBit

The device has indicator lights that will illuminate when a user hits 20% increments of reaching a goal (such as walking 10K steps).   Additionally,  the tracker itself is removable, allowing users to switch  the color of the band.  Available in Spring 2013 for $99.95 (http://www.fitbit.com/flex).

-Spree Sports is introducing its Spree headband (yes, you read that right – just like the 80s) that measures body temperature, distance traveled, speed, time, heart rate and
calories burned.  Spree uses Bluetooth technology to relay real-time information from the
headband device to the smartphone app.

Clearly aimed at serious athletes – this one is pricey – at $599. (www.spreesports.com)

“Cruise Control”

There are thousands of apps associated with Health and Fitness, but this one caught my eye.  Called “Cruise Control”  – this app adjusts the tempo of your music in real-time and uses songs from your playlists to control your running pace and heart rate.  A user just plugs in their target pace or rate and off they go.

Now I can speak from experience from teaching fitness classes that pitching the tempo up or down can have a dramatic effect on the music – making some songs sound like the chipmunks are singing it and others like the cassette tape is breaking.

While the concept is great – its applicability is probably limited – I think I am going to have a hard time running at a decent pace to Stairway to Heaven, regardless.

Bottom Line

Smart Phones and Apps have certainly made a major impact on helping consumers monitor and track their activity and diet.  While I think it is great that SusieQ ran 4.24 miles in 38 minutes – do I really need to know this?

I use a heart-rate monitor periodically when I exercise – mostly to understand my heart rate and to see what impact specific training such as HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) has on my fitness level.  However,  I almost never use it on a daily basis.

Same with tracking exercise – particularly weight lifting.  I continue to find that a simple log book works best – allowing me to write down my exercise as it is occurring – I have never actually seen anyone use their phone in the gym to track their lifting…

On the other hand – I find food logging apps to be particularly useful – assuming one is diligent enough to log their food daily.

In my opinion, the best device would be one that measure my heart rate and activity;  automatically logs it into a program and sends me a message on a daily, weekly or monthly basis to notify me of my progress/accomplishment.  I don’t need you to tell me how I am sleeping or how fast I am eating. Oh, and make it as non-obtrusive as possible – maybe some type of arm band and perhaps it can take my blood pressure, occasionally?

More news to come as both the Digital Health Summit and FitnessTech kick off tomorrow!

 

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Cox Communications’ 60+ Hour Email Outage Highlights Much Needed Improvements to Customer Service

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Teresa Mastrangelo

My name is Teresa and I am a Cox Communications customer.

Sadly, myself and a few million others,  experienced a 60+ hour email outage that started on Friday 12/14 around 5pm and gradually came back on line in the early morning hours of Monday 12/17.  This was the 2nd time in the same week and the 3rd time over the past 2 weeks – so clearly there were some signs that the system was stressed.

The outage affected 13 states, and although they claimed it was only residential service that was unavailable, there were numerous complaints that it had affected some business services as well.

The first acknowledgement from Cox that there was even a problem came around 10pm on Friday – more than 5 hours after outages were being reported.

However, it was not until 4pm on Sunday that Cox finally posted anything related to the outage to its Facebook page or its twitter site.

Instead, Cox took to injecting html code into web browsers to notify customers of the outage – which outrage Cox customers that do no even use their mail services, but also anyone with concerns about privacy and other invasive tactics over the Internet.

There were literally thousands of post to the the Cox Communications Facebook page with customers venting their frustration at the lack of information from Cox, although they did start posting info to their home page – which apparently few customers actually visit (opportunity?).

Secondly, customer complained about the long hold times (hours) to speak with customer service representatives that seemed to have no information themselves.  It seems to be they could have significantly reduced call center volume by simply putting a recorded message on the customer service line to let customers know they were aware of the issue.  I believe this follows the Keep It Simple, Stupid principal – a step that Cox painfully chose not to take.

At 11am on Sunday, Cox finally provided some info on the issue “we  have isolated the cause of the failure to the email system platform which  ultimately affected both the primary and secondary failover (back-up) systems”

By 2:30 pm they provided additional information and addressed many of the concerns related to cyber attacks, security breaches, safety of private information.

By 6pm, the system was finally coming back online (more than 48 hours after first reports) by 10pm,  55% of the service was restored and 100% was restored by 9am on 12/17.

Hopefully Cox Communications has learned some lessons on how they can and should improve their customer service, including using social media as a means to communicate. If they can inject code into our browsers to provide a pop-up message – couldn’t they do the same with TV or even send their phone customers a message?

This was an unfortunate event – particularly when customers are already frustrated with rising rates and poor service, but thankfully it was only email and not Internet.

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What the Big Deal about Big Data?

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Teresa Mastrangelo

Broadbandtrends is guest blogging over at ADVA Optical’s blog “Technically Speaking”  – here is what we have to say on a topic that we will be covering in much more detail in 2013. Check it out: http://blog.advaoptical.com/the-big-deal-about-big-data/

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Is LTE’s Growth Bad News for Fixed Broadband?

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Teresa Mastrangelo

News this past week that growth in LTE is impacting FTTH demand in fiber-rich Japan has definitely raised some red flags as to the future of fixed broadband.  During 3Q12, Japan experienced its lowest quarterly demand for FTTH services since they became widely available in 2004.  Averaging between 500-600,000 net additions per quarter, Japanese operators added only 322,000 in 3Q12.

It should be noted that the bulk of the decline in FTTH net additions was associated with NTT – the one operator that is not allowed to bundle its fixed and mobile services together.  Additionally, the decline was most notable in the same quarter that both KDDI and Softbank officially launched their LTE services.

NTT and others are offering LTE services with FTTH like speeds – currently at 75Mbps and expected to increase to 112.5Mbps in 2013.  Granted, not everyone is going to consistently get these speeds; however, they are fast enough that many consumers believe it is sufficient to meet their broadband needs – particularly if it means saving money by not having two separate broadband services.

Is this the beginning of a trend?

The question is whether this “shift in subscriptions” constitutes the beginning of a trend or if it is simply an anomaly.  If it is a trend, then a number of projects – such as Australia’s highly controversial NBN project – become questionable investments.

More importantly, it feeds into the argument of many operators, regarding whether it makes sense to make huge investments in FTTH – or simply make incremental investments into the existing infrastructure (VDSL2 Vectoring) and put the bulk of the spending into the mobile network.

For instance, in the EU, the most quoted reason for lack of NGA commitments was “there are not many applications which would require NGA bandwidths in the foreseeable future”.  These same operators also point to low take-rates in areas where ultra-fast connections are already available – such as France where FTTH penetration is at 13.5 percent and KPN which has penetration of 12.5 percent.

No Denying the Appeal of Mobility

According to the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA),  113 LTE operators have now launched commercial services in 51 countries as of November 2012.  A further 195 commercial network deployments are in progress.  In total 360 operators in 105 countries have committed to commercial LTE network.  Based on the rate of deployment GSA affirms LTE as the fastest developing mobile system technology ever.  And all of this is in addition to the 482 HSPA commercial networks.

Clearly, with the proliferation of smart phones and tablets, demand for mobile broadband has soared.  According to latest industry figures, mobile broadband subscriptions have reached 1.4 billion and are expected to grow to 6.5 billion by the end of 2018 (source:  Ericsson Mobility Report, November 2012) - representing approximately 70% of all mobile subscriptions.  This is in contrast to fixed broadband, which is expected to reach 800 million by 2017 – representing 43% of total households (Source: Broadbandtrends).

Moreover, this rapid adoption has also indicated shifts in how consumers access the Internet.  According to IBM, Cyber Monday statistics showed more than 18% of consumers used a mobile device to visit a retailer’s site, up 70%  over 2011; while sales via a mobile device reached close to 13%, up 96% over 2011.

Additionally, according to reports coming out of Japan, consumers appear to be consuming more short form video rather than long-form video in order to remain within their monthly data caps.

In short, consumers appear to be changing their behavior to meet the boundaries of their service.

What strategy should an operator adopt?

That depends on  the regulatory, economic and competitive environment, as well as they types of services being consumed in each market (streaming video, for instance) and they types of services the operator wants to offer.

Operators can provide free services so that consumers keep their fixed broadband – such as Swisscom, which is offering free IPTV services to its DSL subscribers.

Or it can combine its fixed and mobile offerings.  Again, Swisscom provides a worthy example with its recently launched Quing Home building automation system, which combines building automation, security and energy management in one package.   The only requirement is a DSL connection and a mobile subscription for remote application as well as a backup communications link.

In most cases, a fixed broadband operator needs to ensure its fixed broadband speeds match and/or exceed mobile broadband competition, and that applications and services (video, gaming, e-health, e-education, e-business, bandwidth guarantees, quality of service, etc.) remain unique to fixed broadband. And that is where technologies such as DSL vectoring, DOCSIS 3.0 and architectures such as FTTx come into play.

Finally, an operator needs to remember that it is typically serving a household – not an individual – so 100Mbps or higher is not an unreasonable speed offering.

Data Analytics Can Drive Decision Making

Finally, the use of data analytics can provide not only powerful insight into network utilization and customer behavior, but it can also be a key tool in the development of new service offerings that will drive new revenue streams.

Fixed operators can use analytics to better understand how consumers are using their network and for which applications and services – particularly with respect to over-the-top services.  By anonymising and aggregating the data – customer privacy is maintained, but the ability to extrapolate trends remains.

This will allow operators to determine, where it makes sense to invest and potentially what services and applications are missing from their portfolio.

Final thoughts

We have long held the belief that LTE (and really, mobile broadband in general) will make more sense in many emerging markets than fixed broadband and it can used as a suitable solution for some rural markets.  Further, there is not a “broadband for all” mantra that does not take into consideration mobile broadband.

Does this mean the impending end for fixed broadband?  Doubtful.  Fixed broadband plays a key role in support of mobile – such as WiFi and backhaul.  And it will always be capable of delivering faster speeds that mobile services.  But in the end, it will be pricing, packaging (bundles), services and applications that will continue to make fixed broadband relevant.

 

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