De profundus : Connectivity as imagined by the youth of America.
Recently a writer for a competing telecommunications trade publication composed a column in which he attempted to draw inferences from his own experience as a firm but loving father that would apply to the telephone industry (a difficult task inasmuch as our industry is arguably an orphan today). While...

ITU faces grim financial future: the world's peak telecom body may have to cut 25% of its staff as it faces a funding shortfall and a loss of relevance. (Telecom Planet).
The 135-year old International Telecommunications Union should be more important than ever. Telecom is becoming truly globalized, especially with the rise of Korean and Chinese manufacturers and the gains in developing sizable and competitive international telecom markets. And with real solutions to the so-called digital divide now in sight--for...

A layered approach to Internet legal analysis.
Introduction I. A Layered Conceptual Model of Internet Architecture A. Monolithic vs. Layered Network Architectures B. Layers and Law C. A Four-Layer Conceptual Model of internet Architecture 1. Physical Layer a. Equipment Sublayer b. Networks Sublayer 2. Operational Layer a. Centralized Resources and Functions Sublayer b. Standards and Protocols...

Local loop unbundling in Europe: experience, prospects and policy challenges (*).
Abstracts: This paper discusses the development of local loop unbundling in telecommunications markets throughout the European Union. It elaborates on the regulatory framework in Europe and provides an overview of recent experiences in Europe. Different types of unbundling, allowing for different types of entry and services provided by entrants,...

Harvard's Christensen to telcos: hang onto network assets: he coined the phrases "disruptive technology" and "skating toward the puck." Now he advocates value chain integration. (markets).
ONE OF TELECOM'S most influential big thinkers is Clayton Christensen, Harvard Business School professor and author of "The Innovator's Dilemma." In a jointly published paper by Deloitte Research (www.dc.com) "Integrate to Innovate," Christensen and co-author Michael E. Raynor apply contemporary thinking to solve an escalating problem: how service providers...

Supporting the triple threat : Cable operators continue to experiment with softswitches to support a voice/video/data triple play. What will it take for widespread deployment?
It's a bit of a story of the zealots vs. the doubters. Voice over IP is what service providers need to provide to compete. However, for those just getting their feet wet in the voice market, it may take some getting used to. Enter the cable multiple systems operators...

VoIP summit: industry experts foresee trouble on the horizon--as rules change and competition erupts.
What is the current state of VoIP technology? Where is it headed? Who will emerge as winners and losers? What role will regulators play? These were among the questions a distinguished panel of telecom executives examined several weeks ago when America's Network sponsored its first VoIP industry...

Third-tier overbuilders go deep; here's a group of competitive carriers that might have a shot at being the next hot startups. (Competition).
Overbuilders as a group are probably the least publicized of competitive access providers. Two in particular, RCN and Utilicom, made a splash a couple of years ago when they initiated rapid network buildouts in several large metropolitan markets. Since then, however, the pace of expansion has slowed for both...

Cable finally finds its voice: PacketCable technology provides MSOs a competitive edge over ILECs.
For years now, industry pundits have cried wolf about cable's ever-impending assault on the Bells local voice business. Yes, U.S. cable operators have connected more than 2.5 million local telephone customers to date using legacy circuit-switched technology. But virtually all the ground gained in this category over the last...

Sum of all fears: will peer-to-peer disintermediate telecom?
Will peer-to-peer have a lasting impact on telecom? "I knew it was over when I downloaded Skype," says FCC Chairman Michael Powell. "The world will change now inevitably." The impact of peer-to-peer (P2P) technology on telecom may be all-encompassing, direct and inevitable. If it lives up to the hype--and,...