Telecom Ramblings

contributed by the_highwayman,

Some techs are techs, and some need to find a desk job real fast.

One night at the NOC [ed. Network Operations Center], I was working with my team on routine network maintenance.  One of the items on our list was to install two PHY [ed. Physical Layer Device] boards into a router. A basic job, although we all knew this particular card was a tricky one to install: the cards were thin and the guide levers had to be turned 180 degrees and then snapped into place before you could put the board in the slot.   If you don’t know how to do it, you realize it very quickly.   [Read more →]

Yesterday, news reports surfaced about Infinera’s new product line that will be released at NXTComm next week.  It turns out, that the company that rejuvenated OEO (Optical-Electrical-Optical) switching with the photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is now incorporating all-optical features into it.  Included are Raman amplification for reach up to 2500km (at 10Gbps) and an ‘optical express’ capability to allow some traffic to avoid the very OEO transition they have made cheap.  What gives? [Read more →]

Qwest’s CEO Edward Mueller said on Monday that he expects more consolidation and that he is open to participating in it.  Of course, this begs the question: just what is Qwest’s strategy here?  For years now it has been plain that their current path cannot be sustained.  They still have many options, but once you choose [Read more →]

One of the challenges out there that interests me the most is just how to harness online video.  It is at such an early stage that what we are seeing is mostly old business models with a new tool they don’t yet fully understand how to use.  For instance we see various efforts by content owners and distributors to put together a distribution site for their existing libraries, e.g. Netflix and Apple streaming video, and even [Read more →]

Andy Abramson over at VoIPWatch says that there is a new rumor of KKR heading up a roll-up of various telecoms that will rival AT&T in size and geographical scope. That will take some doing, in fact it is hard to think who might be combined into such a beast. Perhaps someone like C&W would need to be part of it, and of course GLBC is available, but there would have to be much more than that. [Read more →]

The other day Ike Elliott over on Telecosm called for business VoIP providers to help him create a public central information listing for the sector.  I think Ike is right, the entire sector is moving so quickly that even people within it don’t know what is going on.  New business models are springing up, as are old ones in new clothes.  Some are [Read more →]

A few weeks ago, I looked at Infinera’s amazing success penetrating the next generation fiber networks.  What I’m thinking about today is why they have had success amongst these networks but not with the larger more established networks so far – AT&T, VZ, BT, DT, etc.  When I read about this phenomenon in various industry news sources, the difference is attributed to the difficulty any startup faces in breaking into the Tier-1 market, because they are just not [Read more →]

Dan Rayburn posted today on the likelihood (or lack thereof) of substantial consolidation in the CDN space, and I have to say that I think he has the situation exactly right.

The only thing that might happen is a carrier without a CDN might buy one, but that’s not actually [Read more →]

It’s not often lately that Level 3 shareholders get to celebrate, but as Spring draws to a close this month it is becoming increasingly clear that springtime is just getting started at Level 3.  Just 7.5 weeks ago on April 15, LVLT was trading at $1.96, today it hit $4.48. The last time we saw this price was October 15, 2007 – just days prior to the October Massacre.

What’s changed is apparently the fundamentals, or at least the street’s current [Read more →]

Now that’s a POP…  Jubany Antarctic Base Communicates Via Global Crossing! I wish I could get the story from the guy from that truck-roll for Tales from the Field…

You can just hear the other carriers yelling from their nice warm offices in the USA and Europe: “Way to go!  Yes of COURSE we’re right *cough* behind you!”  [Read more →]

Items actually were closer than they appeared. That is the message Cogent got in the first quarter, when they saw slowing traffic growth and reduced sales productivity and I remarked on the change at the time. For years, Cogent’s $10/Mbps offer on 100Mbps of IP Transit was by far the lowest bar in the industry – when introduced the pricing norm was $50 or so. In essence, Cogent forward priced the market in order to [Read more →]

Verizon just deployed ULH in Japan.  Is it just me, or does this not seem silly:

The company will deploy 155 kilometers (96.3 miles) of ULH network in Japan between Tokyo and Maruyama. The latest ULH expansion, part of Verizon Business’ planned 2008 investment to advance the company’s [Read more →]

BearOnBusiness and Telecosm are discussing whether content is king of the network, so let me put my two cents in. Most content is like most people and like most things in this world, it follows rather than leads.  It flows downhill via the path of least resistance – in fact it is a watery analogy I will rely on here.  Is water king?  Or are the pipes king?  Neither, it is the valves that rule them both.

[Read more →]

Just when you think that Zayo can’t possibly keep buying stuff, they go out and buy assets I’ve never even heard of before (and that does take some doing).  Today they announced the purchase of Northwest Telephone, which apparently owns a network built out of IRUs in the Pacific Northwest connecting places most competitive network operators would never dare tread like Walla Walla and Wenatchee Washington.  So many W’s, it makes the head spin.

[Read more →]

If everyone were like me then standalone VoIP would have killed the RBOCs by now.  I have used Packet8 plus a cell phone full time since 2004, I cut my landline at that time and have never missed it.  Verizon and I no longer speak, and I like it that way.  In terms of reliability my solution annihilates the RBOCs.  Wait, in terms of reliability?

[Read more →]

Following my initial forays into compiling comparative on-net building data for competitive telecoms, more data started coming in.  Some from several very helpful readers, some from a little more elbow grease on my part.

[Read more →]

My earlier posts on whether the entrance of network operators Level3 and AT&T into the CDN space constitutes a threat caused a pretty hefty pile of comments, more offline emails, and even a couple of blog responses by Dan Caruso.  Some points were agreeing, some disagreeing, but all were helpful to me in furthering my understanding of the subject, thank you.

Let me clarify a few points:

[Read more →]

Yesterday I gathered on-net building data. Now, size isn’t everything, it matters a great deal what buildings you connect and how you connect them.  So let’s see what we can get out of those numbers.  In terms of on-net buildings per market served:

[Read more →]

A friend of mine, currently the CEO of Syringa Networks, is retiring and helping the board of directors recruit a replacement.  The readership of this board includes more than a few folks from the industry, some might be interested and more might know someone who is.  So here you go:

Syringa Advertisement for President/CEO

Syringa Networks, a regional fiber optic telecommunications carrier, is accepting applications for the position of President/CEO.

[Read more →]

For a couple years now I have been keeping track of on-net buildings, but I have done so haphazardly.  With this forum in place, I think I will try to keep it more regulary and in a public format.  When I speak of an on-net building I mean that it has a fiber connection to someone other than the local ILEC.  Of course, different companies disclose this number differently, and some don’t give it at all, but we can get a general idea if we try:

[Read more →]

Finally, after a process that was much more difficult than it should have been, this blog has a new home!  The forwarding from itaoran is propagating around the internet, I hope I didn’t lose too many readers.  Regardless, if you have this site bookmarked you should edit it if needed.  If you use a reader, I hope this went ok already but since I’ve never done this before we’ll just have to wait and see.  Of course, there may still be bugs, so if anyone finds links that don’t work or anything else broken, please please do send me a note.

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}

How can one company (Level 3) state that broad patent coverage is necessary to even enter the business, and another to all the way through an IPO (Limelight) with almost none? The whole patent situation amongst CDNs makes it virtually impossible to pinpoint value, and it is a symptom of the breakdown in our patent system, especially as applied to software and the internet. Here’s a quick summary of some of the players in the CDN patent soap opera:

[Read more →]

Yesterday I discussed the benefits of owning the network in the CDN business.  I do realize that the issue is a disputed one, but for the sake of argument just suppose that owning the network does change the cost structure of the CDN business substantially.  What happens next?  Surely the pure CDN providers won’t just sit there, waiting for annihilation, so let’s look at some possible responses:

[Read more →]