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November 26, 2005
Still Swamped
If you've noticed the paucity of posts on this blog lately, all I can say is, be patient. I'm completely swamped this semester with various overlapping responsibilities, and things don't appear likely to ease up until mid-February. This is the busiest I've been in my life. Unfortunately, some things have to give, and blogging is one of them.
Posted by Kevin Werbach at 11:54 AM | Comments (0)
November 15, 2005
London dinner Thursday night
My wife and I will be spending a few days in London at the end of this week for our 10th (!) anniverary. Although it's mostly a vacation, we're organizing one group dinner for tech industry and other friends, this Thursday night (the 17th).
If you're a reader of this blog, and interested in coming, please email me. We've got room for a few more folks.
Posted by Kevin Werbach at 9:36 AM | Comments (0)
November 4, 2005
Not the Internet
In the Washington Post, an SBC spokesman attempts to clarify CEO Ed Whitacre's remarks suggesting the phone giant will seek payments from Internet-based applications:
"Mr. Whitacre's comments are being misinterpreted. They were not made in the context of the Internet, but rather SBC's $4 billion investment in its new fiber network to provide Internet-based video services," Balmoris said.
Ahh, so broadband over fiber isn't going to be "the Internet." It's going to be a private, tolled garden controlled by the phone companies. The network operators are building the network, so they believe they can control what applications and content appear on the network, at what price. Tell me again how this is different from the narrowband Internet of yesteryear, and the DSL/cable modem broadband Internet of today?
The clarification only makes me more worried about the broadband future.
Posted by Kevin Werbach at 11:03 AM | Comments (1)
November 1, 2005
Wireless to the Rescue?
Where I see the broadband glass as half empty, Steve Stroh sees it as half full. He's convinced license-exempt wireless networks will route around whatever damage the telcos and cablecos impose by blocking and metering applications.
Steve is right that wireless, in particular unlicensed wireless, is the last, best, hope for a truly competitive broadband Internet. And he's right that technology is no longer the critical gating factor.
I'm still worried, though, because I don't see anyone in a position to deploy unlicensed wireless broadband at a large enough scale to dent the incumbents' efforts to bend the Net to their will.
Who is going to deploy unlicensed wireless broadband in a big way?
The independent WISPs concentrate, as they should, on the low-hanging fruit of smaller markets and business services. Earthlink will make a valiant effort, but it doesn't have the resources to go toe-to-toe with the incumbents across the country. Clearwire is blocking VOIP ports itself. Sprint/Nextel, which has a huge block of 2.5 GHz spectrum, is partnering with cable operators to be their wireless play. As of Monday, AT&T and MCI are gone. That leaves AOL, running away from the access business as fast as a dysfunctional conglomerate can, and some intriguing yet orthoganal players (Google, Current Technologies, Level 3). Intel is throwing money into the wireless broadband space (at least, the WiMax part of it) with reckless abandon, but it has no interest in becoming a service provider.
I hope Steve is right. I fear that he's right about the technology but wrong about the market.
Posted by Kevin Werbach at 9:02 PM | Comments (1)
Users v. Service Providers
Tom Evslin explains the inherent conflict between users and network operators:
"You, the user, almost always benefit by having a network you are participating in be open. The leading service providers whose networks you use almost always benefit by keeping networks closed."
We take for granted that basic Internet transport is open, but that's now being challenged in several ways.
Posted by Kevin Werbach at 8:10 AM