Results tagged “telecommunications” from IP Communications and Technology

In yesterday's pre-budget Throne Speech, the government announced that it will allow greater foreign investment into Canada's regulated telecom sector.

The Harper Government had already signaled its intentions when it allowed Globalive to launch its WIND wireless service despite the fact that most of the investment behind the product came from an Israeli company.

The move will likely increase competition and may result in mergers and acquisitions. Perhaps we'll even see another attempt to merge Telus and Bell.

Personally, I think its positive new for the industry and Canadian consumers.
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BCE shares closed down almost 4% yesterday at $34.95 as some investors begin to have doubts whether the Ontario Teacher's Pension $52B takeover of Bell Canada will be completed.

Contributing to the uncertainty, was Blackstone Group LP's suggestion that a $6.4B deal to buy credit-card payment processor Alliance Data Systems Corp. might fall through.

In addition, amid the global credit crunch, due in large part to the US sub-prime mortgage fiasco - a wonderful example of greed and corruption - investors are concerned the $32B in debt funding necessary for the Teacher's to complete the deal, could evaporate.

In my view, the sooner the deal falls apart, the better for everyone involved. At a time, when Bell should be cannibalizing their own commoditized services with innovative offerings and expanding into their competitors' territories, they are nearly paralyzed as they focus on strict cost controls while employees wonder about their future.

Even if the deal closes successfully, there will likely be a lengthy period of adjustment as the new owners take control. Bell Canada needs to invest and innovate and I doubt that the new owners will be in an investing mood given that they are going in with a $32B debt obligation.

On the positive side, it's a great opportunity for TELUS, Rogers and Allstream.

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The Toronto Star is reporting that TELUS is considering switching their mobility network from CDMA to GSM.

I don't know about the ROI of such a change, the cost of which is speculated to be in the area of $500 million, but the motivation makes sense. TELUS' ability to lead innovation (a critical requirement with the trend towards openness and increasing competition) is likely to be limited by its existing CDMA network.

I don't have any inside information but I think there is a high probability that they will make the technology switch.

Rick McCharles
Telecommunications Consultant
Toronto, Canada
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I came across a thoughtful article this morning by Art Rosenberg, The Unified-View. In a post named  Rosenberg's "Third Law" To Impact UC, Art suggests that the most significant change in business communications is a shift towards Unified Communications over mobility, enabled by device and media independence. Art suggests that this change is being driven by innovative devices and the trend towards open systems.

UC and Mobility

I agree, and I have posted previously on how innovation and the move towards openness, exemplified by Apple's iPhone, Google's Android, Verizon's intention to open their network to non-Verizon devices, and new spectrum allocation, are key indicators of a trend towards a richer communications experience. Unified Communications technology is poised to exploit these changes and its effect will be significant to the mobility industry and to employee productivity.

Telecommunications Service Providers will have no alternative but to embrace the change and to develop innovative new business models and technology. It's not an easy transition for them to make. However, I'm convinced that defensive strategies designed to protect traditional high-margin revenue sources and legacy investments are doomed to failure.

Intelligent Presence Services and associated functional attributes such as, filtering, availability, accessibility, willingness, capabilities, directory services, federation and awareness, are all critical elements to maximizing the benefits of Unified Communications. Persistence and message acknowledgment are also necessary elements of a UC system to effectively address communications between business applications / processes  and humans.

By leveraging capabilities enabled by, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) for example, a carrier could offer a Federated Presence and Directory service that would enhance enterprise UC applications. As an example, a service provider's Presence service could be leveraged to compliment a city's Crisis Management Plan.

Upon declaration of the crisis event, the service is invoked. Based on presence status and availability, the system locates and sends real-time notifications to City officials. Notification is expedited since notifications are only sent to officials based on known availability and capability status. If an official is not available on any device during the initial notification, the service continually monitors the person’s status and sends the notification the moment that the availability of the individual has been detected. The service persists until all officials have been notified and all critical notifications have been acknowledged and recorded.

Communications Enabled Business Processes (CEBP)

Art also discusses the UC aspects of integrating business applications and processes with human communications. This is an area of UC that Avaya began promoting heavily in 2007. We are in the very early stages of CEBP, but many are predicting that it is the area from which business will gain the most benefit from Unified Communications. As Art mentions, "business process analysis and consulting are key to using such technologies".

Understanding a company's business processes and identifying areas in the business flows that can benefit from the integration of UC applications is not trivial. For the past year, I have dedicated a large proportion of my time and effort in acquiring a better understanding of the value chain elements and business process flows and how UC should be integrated. As I have stated previously, the CEBP element of Unified Communications presents a tremendous challenge to industry vendors, consultants and analysts who have to date, been focused on the infrastructure elements of UC. Those who are not able to adapt will be relegated to the commoditized and low-margin plumbing aspects of UC.

Rick McCharles
Unified Communications Consultant
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Moments ago, Industry Minister Jim Prentice announced that a portion of the spectrum up for auction next spring will be reserved for industry newcomers.

The move, along with other factors such as the impact of the iPhone and yesterday's announcement by Verizon will lead to increased competition and lower prices for consumers. To date, Canadians wireless rates have been higher than similar services in the United States and Europe.

The Canadian telecom market is currently led by Rogers, Telus and Bell.

Rick McCharles
Telecom Consultant, Toronto
RIC Services
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Yesterday, Verizon announced that it will be opening up its network to non-Verizon supplied devices. I believe the decision is of great significance and marks the beginning of a shift towards openness that will ultimately spread to all major wireless providers in North America.

“This is a transformation point in the 20-year history of mass market wireless devices – one which we believe will set the table for the next level of innovation and growth,” said Lowell McAdam, Verizon Wireless president and chief executive officer. “Verizon Wireless is not changing our successful retail model, but rather adding an additional retail option for customers looking for a different wireless experience.”

In my view, the trend towards toward openness is unstoppable. Verizon realizes that, if it does meet consumer demand, someone else will. As I mentioned in my TiVo post on Monday, consumer demand will prevail and defensive strategies are doomed to failure. The entrenched incumbents affected by the latest wave of technology-enabled innovation must embrace the change with new business models. Apparently, Verizon has seen the light.  Hello MPAA and RIAA, are you paying attention?

Ultimately the move to open systems will lead to lower prices, innovative products and services, productivity improvements and improved competition for North American business in the global economy.

The next few years will be very interesting, bring it on!

Rick McCharles
Telecom Consultant, Toronto
RIC Services

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The CTCA, of which I'm a member, has announced that its Spring Conference 2008 will be hosted by IT360. The press release follows:


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