Broadband incumbents and local leaders see similar broadband challenge in California

20 October 2013 by Steve Blum
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You have to bury the lie before you can bury fiber.

Hundreds of thousands of Californian homes do not have access to modern broadband service. Building infrastructure to reach them is a priority for industry, and local and state government. There was wide agreement on both points at a conference held in Sacramento that brought together elected officials and broadband professionals from every corner of California.

The event was organised by the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF), with the assistance of Valley Vision, the lead organisation in the Connected Capital Area Broadband Consortium.… More

Old guard chipmakers emphasise the old at Pepcom

19 October 2013 by Steve Blum
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Plenty of leg, but no ARM at Pepcom.

If you were wondering why Intel and AMD released downbeat quarterly reports this week, you only had to look at their products. The difference, though, is that AMD has control of its own destiny, while Intel will have to rely on the kindness of strangers to survive.

The two chipmakers showcased the hottest products rocking their silicon at Pepcom’s Holiday Spectacular in San Francisco on Wednesday. That’s not the same, though, as saying they were showing the hottest products on the market.… More

Two big projects awarded construction subsidies by CPUC

18 October 2013 by Steve Blum
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Meeting in Redding yesterday, the California Public Utilities Commission approved requests for a total of $19 million in grants from the California Advanced Services Fund for two projects, one on the far northern coast and the other in the Tehachapi mountains of southern California.
Race Telecommunications received $12.6 million to build a fiber-to-the-home system in the Tehachapi pass area of Kern County. The Karuk and Yurok tribes received $6.6 million for a combination middle and last mile project in Humboldt County.… More

California broadband map opened to comments from customers

17 October 2013 by Steve Blum
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Not a lot of choice, but there’s room for a brief comment at the end.

If you don’t think your broadband provider is telling the truth, or if just want to say how happy you are with the service you’re getting, you can now add your comments to the California Broadband Availability map, published by the California Public Utilities Commission.

Initially restricted to regional broadband consortia, the public comment feature of the CPUC’s map is now open to anyone.… More

New mobile payment push by Verizon takes centerstage at MobileCon

16 October 2013 by Steve Blum
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As easy as looking in your wallet to see how much cash you have.

Credit cards are simple to use, easy to carry and accepted everywhere. That’s a tough combination to beat, which explains why mobile payment platforms are stalled in the U.S.

“You’ve got to make it incredibly simple,” said Michael Abbott, the CEO of Isis, a mobile payment platform that’s pulled together support from Verizon, American Express and Chase. “The competition is plastic, we’ve got to make plastic obsolete.”… More

MobileCon draws more people than purpose in San Jose

16 October 2013 by Steve Blum
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Same booths, less booze, more schmooze than San Diego.

MobileCon’s last gasp is respectably windy, thanks to the decision to move it to San Jose. For the past few years, it’s bounced between San Francisco and San Diego as attendance, conference quality and buzz steadily spiraled downward. Following a dismal showing in San Diego last year, CTIA decided to combine MobileCon with its spring flagship show into a single event in Las Vegas next September, modestly called Super Mobility Week.… More

Sony sees but doesn't raise the mobile game

15 October 2013 by Steve Blum
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Coincidentally, it costs $200.

As the last MobileCon opens in San Jose, Sony announced today that it’s launching three mobile products in the US: the Xperia Z1 and Z Ultra smartphones and its new Smartwatch 2.

I don’t see any Wow! factor. The smart phones are standard, high-end Android devices and the smart watch seems more or less in line with Samsung’s Gear, although the fact that it can be used with any late model Android device (or so they say) and is a hundred bucks cheaper is a competitive advantage.… More

Verizon throws three more broadband subsidy tantrums


Can you hear me now?

To get a broadband construction subsidy from the California Advanced Services Fund (CPUC), you have to show that the area where you want to build is at least underserved, as defined by the California Public Utilities Commission speed standard of 6 Mbps down and 1.5 Mbps up. Incumbent carriers are then given a chance to prove you wrong.

In the current round of CASF grant and loan applications, submitted last February, some projects – particularly Golden Bear in north California and ViaSat all over the map – drew protests from a wide range of providers.… More

Gigabuzz without the bits in Austin and Vegas

13 October 2013 by Steve Blum
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Not the first time the marketing department has promised the moon.

AT&T and CenturyLink are pumping up the gigabit marketing machine, without much in the way of network infrastructure to back it up.

CenturyLink says it’ll deliver a gigabit to select locations in Las Vegas this fall, without specifics on price or location. The press release does say that its previously announced fiber-to-the-premise service in Omaha will be offering service by the end of the month, but only to “targeted homes and business” customers.… More

Fitness for Christmas is a mobile game

12 October 2013 by Steve Blum
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Old school only gets you so far.

About half of the annual sales of consumer electronics products will come between now and the end of the year, so manufacturers are feverishly trying to get their new products in front of consumers. Fitness applications, particularly ones built around smart phones, are getting an increasing amount of attention as the holiday selling season builds.

There’s no question that mobile phones are part of the standard kit for athletes (although hopefully not during races).… More