June, 2009

Could Iran’s censorship be net neutrality’s back door?

A coalition of Net Neutrality backers are hoping to use Iran’s censorship as a rally for net neutrality, as DSLReports picked up. Generally, I’ve been hearing less from neutrality advocates as former champions like Google work closer with telecoms, but with a pro-Net Neutrality President Obama, nothing’s off the table.

I don’t see this time around as getting much farther than previous attempts, but it’s interesting to see that the agitators are singling out deep packet inspection (DPI). After noting a Wall Street Journal article on Western technology used in Iran, a letter from the coalition that includes the ACLU and Open Internet Coalition questions why similar technology goes largely unregulated domestically:

It has been reported that a bill will be introduced in the Senate that will sanction any company that sells technology aiding the Iranian regime in monitoring or blocking Internet connections or cell phone conversations.

Yet the deployment of deep packet inspection technology is occurring in the United States without full disclosure and government oversight.

We ask that Congress conduct hearings on this issue as soon as possible. The unfortunate situation in Iran provides chilling examples of the dangers of these new technologies. Policymakers must fully understand the implications of wide deployment of deep packet inspection technology so we can make the decisions to prevent its misuse in the United States.

The overall tone of the two-page release isn’t exactly alarmist and notes that service providers probably aren’t interested in directly meddling with political communications. Regardless, now might be a time for service providers to step forward and embrace the dialog: What exactly is DPI being used for, and what checks are in place? In discussion after discussion, I can’t help but think it’s the complete lack of transparency that gets service providers in trouble rather than the policies themselves, and this might be a great chance to educate and differentiate between what they’re doing to make sure your streaming videos arrive lag-free and what Iran is doing to crack down on dissent.

RIM dissenters: Venezuelan & Chinese telecoms may break away

RIM has caught heat from national telecom companies before, with India demanding that BlackBerry servers be moved locally, but now, as Venezuelan Telecom Timeout reader e-mailed, Venezuela and China are trying to build their own BlackBerry competitor that doesn’t go through RIM’s Canada-based NOC.

We haven’t found any English-based news sources on the move yet, but Google Translate provides a passable rendition which I’ve tried to clean up:

The new device will be manufactured by Vetalcain, a joint venture of Venezeala and China’s ZTE State …

“There are two models being completed to access Movilnet: a mid-range model a [higher-end] model similar to a BlackBerry, but with the NOC in Venezuela,” Venezuelan Minister Jesse Chacon told reporters. The launch date has not yet been finalized, he said.

BlackBerry’s always seen the strongest adoption in the North American market, but if it’s unable to address concerns about privacy (and presumably communications control) from service providers in countries like Venezuela and China, RIM could face a new competitor that’s more friendly to state-run telecommunication operators. With the overwhelming “data leakage” seen in Iran, such a device might already have whole new markets opening.

Nortel wireless fire sale delivers North American footprint to NSN

Nortel’s wireless carrier network infrastructure division may bring in a paltry $650 million if the Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) deal goes through. By all accounts, NSN — the joint venture of Nokia Corp and Siemens AG — will be getting a really good deal out of Nortel’s bankruptcy. The deal sets a low bar, according to The Wall Street Journal, which is pretty clear, considering Nortel was once valued at $250 billion.

NSN stands to gain Nortel’s CDMA and LTE assets. Nortel’s CDMA unit earned $700 million a year – and that was while it was in decline, according to WSJ. The big 4G LTE migration is supposed to start next year, and NSN is gathering firepower for that.

Continued »

When the going gets tough, Ciena gets going

How do you find your customers when trade shows start drying up? Take the show booth to the customer. That’s Ciena’s idea, anyway, and while we know they’re not alone, they were the only ones to invite us aboard their 16-wheel demonstration booth when it recently stopped near SearchTelecom.com’s Needham, Mass. offices.

Inside, potential customers (as well as SearchTelecom.com’s Editorial Director Susan Fogarty and I) were presented with fairly standard racks to inspect Ciena’s latest (and classic) offerings, like the CN 3920 (pictured far right bottom on rack) and the CN 4200.

The truck roll gave Ray Patalano, Ciena’s senior manager of field marketing, a chance to showcase various features of Ciena’s hardware, but beyond walking us through a spec-sheet presentation, Ray shared some of his thoughts on telecom growth opportunities.

And where are these early green shoots to be found? No place other than the financial services industry, according to Ray.

“We lost some orders, no question about it,” he admitted, saying that even now sales are not near the heady pre-recession days. But he said Ciena is seeing an uptick again, particularly as the remaining finance players seek every possible advantage to stay afloat in tough times.

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BT wants content providers to pay to play. Well, duh!

BT wants content providers to share the cost of providing their content, which makes total sense from BT’s point of view and doesn’t much interest content providers. As my mother always said: Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free? (a handy metaphorical construct for so many occasions).

In the last few weeks, BT faced accusations that it was limiting download speeds for the BBC’s video content player, the iPlayer. After some stalling, a BT spokesman came clean to silicon.com: Yes, BT was limiting video-steaming content on its basic service package. In truth, the truth makes a better point on BT’s behalf than keeping it quiet.

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Dear gadget hounds: Wireless networks more than their phones

I know, I know, it’s just the natural tides of media coverage chasing after the latest buzz, but really: AT&T, Verizon and Sprint are more than their headline-grabbing devices.

As I blogged previously, the Palm Pre and Sprint aren’t fated together. Now we’re being told that AT&T’s iPhone fumbles are killing the carrier. Please.

The Apple iPhone and Palm Pre are amazing devices, even “game changing,” as long as we’re delving into marketing buzzwords. But they aren’t going to single-handedly decide the fate of a $155 billion dollar industry.

Just look at Verizon: The BlackBerry Storm has received the worst reviews of the three headlining devices (even T-Mobile’s G1 has gotten much more favorable coverage!) yet the company’s still in great shape. Point made.

Sprint’s femtocell wholesale move – hoping for wireless for all takers

For an interesting spin on who sells services to whom, Sprint will begin wholesaling femtocell solutions to wireless resale partners that include mobile virtual network operators (MNVOs), as well as its wireline brethren, which means landline telecom service providers and particularly cable companies that want to offer quadruple-play services and provide wireless coverage inside customer’s homes.

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Green Cisco recycles ASR 9000 advertising campaign

If I weren’t such a fan of kitschy 50’s send-ups and if the economy weren’t so tough I might be less forgiving, but Cisco’s special Father’s Day ASR 9000 advert is still good for a geeky telecom equipment chuckle, even if it is a little too reminiscent of the Valentine’s Day ASR 9000 ad. At least it beats the bizarre flash game-vertisements network administrators get. For your viewing pleasure:

And just for comparison’s sake, here’s the original Valentine’s Day spot:

Further Reading:

• The original Cisco Aggregation Services Router 9000 (ASR 9000) announcement
• The Cisco ASR 9000 Valentine’s Day video
• Networking equipment ad games: Who’s even playing them?

Qwest’s LD network: Flat-lining on the selling block

Last week Qwest’s long-distance business was for sale. This week it’s not. Such is the way of plummeting long-distance values and another chapter in the saga of the number-three U.S. phone company.

There was a time long ago and far away that Qwest’s nationwide IP network was the envy of the industry. But when Qwest then bought regional Bell company US West to create a full-service traditional-ish carrier, it never regained its former glory.

Qwest put the long-distance piece on the block last week for $3 billion and got tepid interest at half that amount. So off the block it came. There was some discount-level interest from Level 3 Communications, as well as XO Communications and TW Telecom, but none of those companies is looking for a full-price investment. It’s bargain basement or nothing.

“The bids were so far below the level they wanted. Their problem is that they may not be able to monetize the long-distance network (which serves enterprise and government customers) even to the level of competing with a bid of half their goal,” according to CIMI President Tom Nolle.
According to the Wall Street Journal:

Qwest’s long-distance business has struggled as an excess of capacity of long-haul networks has led to a collapse in pricing. Meanwhile, in its 14-state local access territory, Qwest is facing increasing competition from cable providers.

When US West was new and full of itself, it’s slogan was “If you don’t make dust, you eat dust.” Guess it’s time to eat dust.

As the Palm Pre goes, so goes Sprint?

How closely tied are Sprint’s fortunes to the success of the Palm Pre? Look around and it would seem the two are indistinguishable. The device has been appearing (unnamed but unmistakable) at the end of all Sprint’s Now Network commercials, in a full page ad Sprint bought in the Wall Street Journal, and in almost all blog chatter about Sprint’s future. SeekingAlpha.com has a post entitled Why Sprint Needs the Palm Pre to Succeed which outlines the case succinctly:

During the quarter, Sprint lost another 1.3 million subscribers with the vast majority being the highly sought after “postpaid” variety. This brings the total number of subscribers down to 49.3 million an 8.4% decline over fiscal 2007’s year end. With Sprint’s main competitor’s AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) gaining subscribers through the downturn, the gap between the “have’s” and the “have not’s” continues to expand. The wireline (mostly internet) business was not much better as revenues in that area dropped 6%.

It is clear that Sprint needs something to make customers stick around, and they believe that they have that silver bullet with their exclusive deal with Palm (PALM) to provide the new Pre handset. Continued »