Corporate Blog

Mobile Video Conferencing and IT Expo

2012-02-07T17:45:00Z

IT Expo East was held last week in Miami. One thing I like to do at shows is to figure out if there is a clear theme or not. Sometimes there is, and sometimes there isn’t. I would say this year, one of the themes at IT Expo East was mobile video. The Dialogic booth had a mobile video conferencing demo (video conference tablets, smartphones, laptops – any broadband endpoint) that was busy much of time, and others at the show were also demonstrating aspects of mobile video. Additionally...(read more)

Mobile World Congress – What will 2012 have to offer?

2012-02-06T14:35:00Z

I’ll be attending MWC 2012 in Barcelona at the end of February. This will be my second time, as I was there in 2010. I’ll be attending the conference sessions, a very good way to get a snapshot of the thoughts and planned innovations going on in this space. Along with the exhibition and app world, which is a trek in and of itself through the halls, if you don’t come back thinking mobile in your sleep, then you were not engaging fully. My expectations include: Cloud - (to continue...(read more)

Mobile Video Quality of Experience, Part I

2012-01-31T19:54:00Z

Device manufacturers and carriers are touting the quality and speed of their offerings. You've probably noticed that they're always advertising how fast movies and videos can be downloaded, the quality of video streaming, and the sharpness of video quality. Meanwhile, television networks and other content providers are promoting the convenience of video on demand. Together, this provides an expectation among consumers that not only will they be able to view everything from football games...(read more)

Real Time Video Streaming Goes Big Time – Superbowl Sunday

2012-01-27T18:55:00Z

Recently NBC announced that for the first time, the largest event in American sports, the Superbowl, would be streamed over its network and through a variety of other channels such as mobile. This is big news. Lots of television is available via streaming today. For example, my youngest son watches streamed versions of programs like South Park. Users have also become very accustomed to clicking on You Tube videos. But streaming of the Superbowl? This promises to be a landmark of sorts both for the...(read more)

Mighty Morphing of the Network Border Element, Part 2

2012-01-24T16:35:00Z

In last week’s blog, I introduced this graph showing the history and expected trends for network border elements - the Media Gateway and the SBC. Graph derived from Infonetics data, November 2011 There are two interesting things going on in this graph. First of all, you see the gateways declining and the SBCs growing as time goes on. This makes sense since as more and more IP networks are deployed, SBCs are required to connect them to each other. Wireline IP voice-based networks, such as cable...(read more)

Mighty Morphing of the Network Border Element, Part I

2012-01-17T16:54:00Z

Network Border Elements connect two types of networks to each other, sitting at the edge, or border, of each network. Looking at the data below from Infonetics, you can see a trend developing from back in 2007, which we will explore in more detail in next week’s blog. The wireline service provider border element of choice back in 2007 was a gateway. Gateways are required to connect IP networks to TDM networks and deal with the media and signaling conversion between the two networks. When voice...(read more)

Skyping Along

2012-01-10T15:57:00Z

Two years ago, Skype was doing about 13% of all International minutes . One year ago, Skype was doing about 20% of all International minutes . We should find out soon what the research analysts think Skype's percent of 2011 International minutes is, but I'm guessing it will be over 25%, perhaps even approaching 30% for 2011. People are even using it as a verb - i.e. "When did you talk to him?" "Well, I Skyped him just now." And it's becoming a well known brand. (I...(read more)

The Premise Network, Part 3

2012-01-03T16:02:00Z

A few weeks ago, I explored how fast networks and cloud computing are impacting the Premise Network. This week, the final blog of this series, let me explore some of the apps that could attach themselves to this kind of “new CPE” network. First of all, we see some movement of so-called “non-essential” apps to the cloud. A typical one falling into this area is fax. Fax is still utilized today, but maybe not in the same volume as 10 years ago. Nonetheless, it’s still important...(read more)

2012 Predictions! Oh No!

2011-12-20T17:17:00Z

It's the time of year to make some predictions. 2012 will be year of interactivity. What does that mean? The increased penetration of smartphones worldwide, with worldwide 3G network buildout, will enable more mobile interactivity via social networking tools like Facebook and Skype instant messaging. Additionally, in the enterprise, more people will use the collaboration tools such as "sharing." As such, more interactivity in communications will occur, as opposed to one way communications...(read more)

Scoring Last Year's Predictions! Oh No!

2011-12-13T15:30:00Z

Last year, I made 5 predictions for 2011 . Let’s be honest and see how I did? 1. It will become more of an everyday occurrence that people find the benefit and joys of using WiFi offload instead of utilizing the 3G data path. Score: Probably right, though not to the extent I had envisioned since even if you are in WiFi range, if you have to pay extra for it, it’s not going to happen. People will continue to use the 3G data path. However, I do see people with iPads and iPhones going right...(read more)

Some Predictions for Cloud in 2012

2011-12-08T09:39:00Z

I have an aversion to the end of year ‘top things that have happened this year’ or ‘will happen next.’ This blog is not a 2 hour TV program counting down the 100 must see TV moments or even the top predictions for Cloud in 2012, which the title may suggest – it’s simply my thoughts being put together in terms of where I may need to pay some focus in 2012 when I’ve got my cloud hat on: Africa – very interesting place to do business and with broadband...(read more)

Just in Time for the Holidays...Fast, Fast , Fast , FAST!!

2011-12-07T15:21:00Z

Yesterday, I experienced my first LTE interaction by using an LTE phone that belonged to a colleague. I am not usually easily wowed, but Wow, that was an unexpected experience. I knew it would be fast but I was floored by just how fast it was! I mean like it says on the commercials, going out to websites and grabbing videos was faster than using my laptop from work, not to mention from home. Now, maybe I was the only person in the cell vicinity to be on that LTE network so there was no bandwidth...(read more)

The Future Premise Network, Part 2

2011-12-06T16:20:00Z

Last week, I level-set on what a typical Premise Network might look like today. Advanced networks, including mobile networks, are impacting the definition of the premise though and so this “typical” concept is evolving rapidly. More and more people are connecting to the enterprise network via mobile devices, even on mobile devices the IT people wish they wouldn’t connect with. But customer desire is overwhelming the IT people and these devices are coming to the enterprise networks...(read more)

The Future Premise Network, Part 1

2011-11-29T17:34:00Z

Two weeks ago, I presented at the US Telecom Voice Innovation 2011 Conference on the topic "The Premise Network." While it might not sound so interesting, the Premise Network is undergoing much change because work is not just a place to go anymore , it's a state of mind . The talk was mostly about the future of the premises network, but before I got to that, I needed to level set on what a typical premise enterprise network might look like. In my estimation, "typical" means...(read more)

My iPad, One Year Later

2011-11-22T15:36:00Z

About a year ago, I got an iPad to use at work. About a month after I got it, I predicted I wouldn’t use it too much since I found the iPad great at consuming content but not creating content. And I create a lot of content, for instance this blog (yes, this is content to some folks ). Now that the holiday season is upon us and many people out there will be finding iPads in their stockings, I figured I’d tell you how in fact I used mine. Well, I tried, I really tried, to use it to create...(read more)