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	<title></title>
	<link>http://thirdpipe.com</link>
	<description>defiantly reclaiming our internet!</description>
	<pubDate>Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:27:42 +0000</pubDate>
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	<language>en</language>
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		<managingEditor>thirdpipe@gmail.com ()</managingEditor>
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		<category>technology</category>
		<ttl>1440</ttl>
		<itunes:keywords></itunes:keywords>
		<itunes:subtitle></itunes:subtitle>
		<itunes:summary>the future of broadband</itunes:summary>
		<itunes:author></itunes:author>
		<itunes:category text="Technology"/>
<itunes:category text="Technology">
  <itunes:category text="Tech News"/>
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<itunes:category text="Business">
  <itunes:category text="Business News"/>
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		<itunes:owner>
			<itunes:name></itunes:name>
			<itunes:email>thirdpipe@gmail.com</itunes:email>
		</itunes:owner>
		<itunes:block>No</itunes:block>
		<itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit>
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		<item>
		<title>The reborn, online WB Network comes out of Beta</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/27/the-reborn-online-wb-network-comes-out-of-beta/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/27/the-reborn-online-wb-network-comes-out-of-beta/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:30:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Content]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/27/the-reborn-online-wb-network-comes-out-of-beta/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ They don&#8217;t need to stinking network of broadcast stations! Now open for business, the defunct WB network lives again online in an on demand format. Content is limited, but they promise more is to come. WB&#8217;s got a good shot at monetizing an existing library of programs as well as the opportunity to find [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[ They don&#8217;t need to stinking network of broadcast stations! Now open for business, the defunct WB network lives again online in an on demand format. Content is limited, but they promise more is to come. WB&#8217;s got a good shot at monetizing an existing library of programs as well as the opportunity to find audiences for new without a single transmitter tower.
From the WB press release:
     TheWB.com will debut original series from such creative talent as director/producer McG (the upcoming Terminator Salvation, Supernatural, the Charlies Angels films) and writer/producer Josh Schwartz (Gossip Girl, Chuck, The O.C.), among many others.  A selection of both fan-favorite and original series will be available at launch today, and others will roll out in coming weeks and months.
&nbsp;
            Two previously announced original series " Downers Grove and High Drama: Against All Oz " now have premiere dates. Downers Grove will debut on September 29, and High Drama will bow on October 6.
&nbsp;
            TheWB.com will also feature full episodes of fan-favorite series that have shaped popular culture and inspired devoted followings over the past decade, including Angel,  Babylon 5, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Everwood, Firefly, Friends, Gilmore Girls, In Living Color, The Loop MADtv, The O.C., One Tree Hill, Roswell, Smallville and Veronica Mars.
&nbsp;
            TheWB.com is a new digital destination built from the ground up for the same 16"34 year-old audience that embraced The WB when it was a television phenomenon, said Brent Poer, GM, TheWB.com. We have loaded the site with their favorite classic series like Friends and The O.C., high-quality original programming and a wide array of sharing features, mash-up tools, and interactivity options to fit their lifestyle.

]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Clearwire has cash for 12 months. AT&#038;T, Verizon will try to delay regulatory approval.</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/27/clearwire-has-cash-for-12-months-att-verizon-will-try-to-delay-regulatory-approval/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/27/clearwire-has-cash-for-12-months-att-verizon-will-try-to-delay-regulatory-approval/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:08:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Clearwire]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[competition]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/27/clearwire-has-cash-for-12-months-att-verizon-will-try-to-delay-regulatory-approval/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ With the Sprint / Clearwire WiMax merger still pending approval, Clearwire has announced they have 12 months operating cash on hand. Public companies&#8217; full disclosure requirements gives the anti competitive, predatory telcos a time line to delay approval of the merger and potentially kill Clearwire. Such ambulance chasing gamesmanship is not new for the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[ With the Sprint / Clearwire WiMax merger still pending approval, Clearwire has announced they have 12 months operating cash on hand. Public companies&#8217; full disclosure requirements gives the anti competitive, predatory telcos a time line to delay approval of the merger and potentially kill Clearwire. Such ambulance chasing gamesmanship is not new for the telcos. They&#8217;ve used this tactic to crush competition repeatedly, using the very deep pockets only a monopoly can provide.
Clearwire has already said it will require an additional $2 billion to $2.3 billion to roll out a nationwide mobile WiMax network through 2010 and beyond, although some analysts have questioned that total. (See Can Clearwire Do It? and CLWR: Where It&#8217;s at With WiMax.)
Clearwire&#8217;s SEC filing notes that it expects &#8220;to require substantial additional capital in the long-term to fund our business, including further operating losses, network expansion plans and spectrum acquisitions.&#8221;
Of course, there&#8217;s the question of how the company will raise that extra money in trying economic times.
&#8220;We may not be able to secure adequate additional financing when needed on acceptable terms or at all,&#8221; the operator writes. Clearwire is considering the possibility of additional public or private offerings and &#8220;will likely seek significant additional debt financing, in the short-term and the long-term.&#8221; The company already has $1.25 billion under a senior term loan facility in 2007. (Unstrung)
A national open wireless network will break a big hole in the telcos walled garden. I strongly encourage our readers contact their elected representatives to ask that BellZilla not be allowed to crush a worthy competitor by lawyering regulators.
]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Backgrouner</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/26/backgrouner/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/26/backgrouner/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:47:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Big Media]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[competition]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/26/backgrouner/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
A consistent reader of ThirdPipe is aware of the animosity that exists between bloggers and the J-school grads. There is of course a history to this that goes beyond just the last few years. ValleyWag has the history of various consortium of news groups attempting to go electronic. All of which went to naught. Attitudes [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
A consistent reader of ThirdPipe is aware of the animosity that exists between bloggers and the J-school grads. There is of course a history to this that goes beyond just the last few years. ValleyWag has the history of various consortium of news groups attempting to go electronic. All of which went to naught. Attitudes trickle down you know. 
Read it all here.
]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Bill, Look Again</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/26/bill-look-again/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/26/bill-look-again/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:52:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Wimax]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Wireless]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Wireless Cartel]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[carriers]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[new technology]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/26/bill-look-again/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Bill Stone is CEO and president of Handango has a reality check article on RCR . He has an article that in the main I totally agree with, as far as OS&#8217;s go on the handset. But that is as far as I agree with him. &#8211;
It feels like every day we are seeing articles [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
Bill Stone is CEO and president of Handango has a reality check article on RCR . He has an article that in the main I totally agree with, as far as OS&#8217;s go on the handset. But that is as far as I agree with him. &#8211;
It feels like every day we are seeing articles about the operating system wars and who the winners and losers will be. The questions and analysis seem endless. What about Nokias purchase of Symbian? Will Googles Android gain traction? What is the impact of Apples proprietary OS on the marketplace? Is Palm going to survive? Is Windows Mobile 7 going to allow Microsoft to finally break out in mobile? What about LiMo? Will Adobe be able to do for mobile what Flash did for the Web? RIM: mainstream or destined to be only 10% of the market? Then there are the Mobile 2.0 widget/browser technologies. How many widget containers (AXcess, Plusmo, Widsets, Opera, Plaza, etc.) will make it? Theres lots of confusion out there when it comes to finding answers to these questions.
And this of a 5 point observation &#8211;
1) Fragmentation is here and we better get use to it.
The winners will have to support multiple OSs. We all know applications run best in a native environment. Developers are going to have to build their applications across multiple environments in the future (vs. primarily Java or BREW today for feature phones). Prioritization of which environments to support and near ubiquitous coverage of the OS will be key to success.
I agree with the what of his observations. We diverge however when it comes to why which is the crux of the issue. The failing in my view is in his first point. Fragmentation maybe here but the carriers aren&#8217;t going to like that for the simple reason of &#8212; portals. For three iterations now Apple has convenietly (iTune, iPhone, iPhone2.0) utilized a portal with considerable success. The Verizon&#8217;s, AT&#038;T&#8217;s and other carriers will do the same. But wait! Can one really expect the carriers to write portal code for a dozen OS systems? Perish the thought. 
The second one comes right out of the Desktop environment &#8212; thin clients. The desktop world has realized for at least a decade that one of the largest cost centers is the ongoing support required to keep a discrete compute system running. The usual approach to deflect this support has been thin client developments &#8212; Citrix, RDP, etc. Those same costs are evident in the handsets to a greater or lesser degree. It would be beyond comprehension for a Verizon who has visions of portals in their heads to face the daunting task of managing this for four handset suppliers. 
The final realization is that if one has a reliable high speed connection why not use it? Not only that but a great deal of the carriers game plan is to assure lock in. Hence the reason the ETF has long outlived its financial need. So how would this play out? &#8211;


A very small layer to provide boot code and lock on to the network. 

A minimalist IO layer is downloaded to handle the various ports. 

Finally a X-like layer is downloaded followed by the desktop presentation. But the desktop is not downloaded it is handled as session layer traffic and the actual compute is done on back end servers.

The benefits? You code to a single IO/UDP layer on the handset. You don&#8217;t care about the OS! A whole cost layer is removed so the handset could be considerably cheaper. The support goes to the datacenter where it is the cheapest it can be. Bottom line, the handset is nothing but a fancy terminal. 
Dog what about my data when not on the network? I still want my data! That&#8217;s actually already resolved as well. The carriers use a AJAX based, ala Google Gears layer to provide persistence at the handset. When you get back to the network a sync occurs. The IO sublayer handles making sure that the data in RAM stays that way even when the handset is turned off. 
Benefits to the customer? Well there is a big one. You can sit at your desktop or laptop thru a remote access connection work on that data that is on the server just like it is on the desktop. Syncing becomes somewhat easier as well. If done right one could have this as a data store like gSpace. 
The bottom line is, done correctly the OS is toast. The irony is Google with or without Android is better positioned to pull this off than anyone. Though to be honest the technologies to be used are company agnostic. 
Bill, the fact is in a high density wireless world the need for a permanent discrete OS on the handset is superfluous. Its better for the carriers. The carriers can deliver a cheaper handset. It has features the users would like. Its where we are headed. 
Linky
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>AllTel Axe Falleth</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/25/alltel-axe-falleth/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/25/alltel-axe-falleth/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:03:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Alcatel]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Telecom]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Verizon]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/25/alltel-axe-falleth/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Well it looks like the merger of VZW and AllTel is nearing its conclusion. Yep with full scale body losses. RIFF. You&#8217;re Fired!, Asta la Vista baby. &#8211;
According to an Associated Press report, when Verizon Wireless&#8217; purchase of Alltel finalizes, the carrier plans to keep a regional headquarters in Alltel&#8217;s base city of Little Rock. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
Well it looks like the merger of VZW and AllTel is nearing its conclusion. Yep with full scale body losses. RIFF. You&#8217;re Fired!, Asta la Vista baby. &#8211;
According to an Associated Press report, when Verizon Wireless&#8217; purchase of Alltel finalizes, the carrier plans to keep a regional headquarters in Alltel&#8217;s base city of Little Rock. However, the existing Alltel headquarters in Little Rock has 3,000 employees. Verizon Wireless will cut that number down to 100, likely getting rid of top executive positions and midlevel positions.
Unemployment scares aren&#8217;t in the too-near future though. According to the report, Verizon Wireless President and CEO Lowell McAdam said he hopes for the merger to close by the year&#8217;s end, and that staffing decisions wouldn&#8217;t be finalized until after that date.
Down to a 100! Lets see what they will keep is the regional regulatory manager, the building maintenance crew, the landscape contractor and the security guards. The last three they keep because they are required to by either union, contract or insurance requirements. Oh the regulatory guy? Well somebody has to smooze with the pols. The rest?&#8211; gone. Which is a crying shame. AllTel was a well run company. 
Linky.
]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>If the DoD Can Do It, Certainly the NAB Can!</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/25/if-the-dod-can-do-it-certainly-the-nab-can/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/25/if-the-dod-can-do-it-certainly-the-nab-can/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:08:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[700 mHz]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[FCC]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[carriers]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[new technology]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/25/if-the-dod-can-do-it-certainly-the-nab-can/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
There is an old saying &#8212; &#8220;If what you needed is massive amounts of destruction and mayhem then Uncle Sam&#8217;s your man. Anything else call the private sector.&#8221; Well it looks like there is an exception to this one and the National Association of Broadcasters is it. &#8211;
The military&#8217;s spectrum is allocated to different purposes [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
There is an old saying &#8212; &#8220;If what you needed is massive amounts of destruction and mayhem then Uncle Sam&#8217;s your man. Anything else call the private sector.&#8221; Well it looks like there is an exception to this one and the National Association of Broadcasters is it. &#8211;
The military&#8217;s spectrum is allocated to different purposes in advance, such as satellite signals or video feedback from unmanned aerial vehicles. If particular spectrum is not in use at a particular point, it is wasted. &#8220;What our next-generation communications program is looking at is developing the technologies that could dynamically redistribute the allocated spectrum, where the radios and equipment would listen to see if the spectrum is being used and if not, use it,&#8221; said Jan Walker, a DARPA spokeswoman.
McHenry said he is happy that Shared Spectrum stuck with government contracting. He is not part of the debate over taking advantage of white spaces for other commercial uses, a dispute that flared last week when Google launched a campaign to urge the public to support an FCC proposal that would authorize the use of unlicensed airwaves between television signals to create a nationwide wireless network.
I will grant that the DoD can apply military discipline to spectrum allocation in its various theaters of operation. Sure they have to since they are using a broad series of bands for different purposes. But in the case of the &#8216;white spaces&#8217; battle that is going on the bits of spectrum are fixed so allocation can be predetermined. If eveybody plays by the rules there is no conflict. 
NAB its time to get off the dime. You&#8217;re looking like fools. 
Linky.
HT: saschameinrath.com 
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		<item>
		<title>Amazon&#8217;s utility computing continues to advance</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/21/amazons-utility-computing-continues-to-advance/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/21/amazons-utility-computing-continues-to-advance/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:10:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Cloud Computing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/21/amazons-utility-computing-continues-to-advance/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Still in it&#8217;s embryonic stage, cloud computing continues to advance. In enabling persistent storage to work in conjunction with it&#8217;s elastic cloud computing, Amazon is moving in on data center turf.
A few months ago I talked about our plans to offer a persistent storage feature for Amazon EC2. At that time I indicated that [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Still in it&#8217;s embryonic stage, cloud computing continues to advance. In enabling persistent storage to work in conjunction with it&#8217;s elastic cloud computing, Amazon is moving in on data center turf.
A few months ago I talked about our plans to offer a persistent storage feature for Amazon EC2. At that time I indicated that the service was in a limited alpha release with a small number of customers. Since then the alpha testers have been putting the service to good use and have provided us with a lot of very helpful feedback.
As of today, the Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) is now open and available to all EC2 users.
EBS gives you persistent, high-performance, high-availability block-level storage which you can attach to a running instance of EC2. You can format it and mount it as a file system, or you can access the raw storage directly. You can, of course, host a database on an EBS volume. In fact, Eric Hammond has already written an article, Running MySQL on Amazon EC2 with Elastic Block Store.
EBS volumes can range in size from 1 GB to 1 TB. You can mount many of them on the same instance, and even stripe (aka RAID 0) your data across them to increase performance.
The volumes can be attached to any single instance within a single EC2 availability zone. They are also automatically replicated within the zone.
During the beta you can create up to 20 EBS volumes consuming a maximum of 20 TB of space. Before too long we&#8217;ll have a form to allow you to request more. (GigaOM)
Much of the future will be in the cloud, and it&#8217;s not all about hosted apps. Imagine an open source stack that will enable the cloud to be a data center, a web host, a server, a backup device, or ??? - all instantly scalable on demand and dirt cheap. The basic pieces are falling into place. Competition in the space is coming, along with more robust capabilities.
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Off With Their Head!</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/20/off-with-their-head/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/20/off-with-their-head/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:34:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Courts]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[competition]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/20/off-with-their-head/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Being a reasonably intelligent fella I recognize there are few absolutes other than certain death. That is especially true with rolling the dice in the American Judical system. That is something that Universal should have kept in mind &#8211;
In what Fogel said was a &#8220;case of first impression,&#8221; Universal attorney Kelly Klaus said Universal or [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
Being a reasonably intelligent fella I recognize there are few absolutes other than certain death. That is especially true with rolling the dice in the American Judical system. That is something that Universal should have kept in mind &#8211;
In what Fogel said was a &#8220;case of first impression,&#8221; Universal attorney Kelly Klaus said Universal or other copyright holders are not liable for damages when somebody asserts fair use to reverse a takedown notice.
Klaus and the judge agreed that damages have been awarded when a sender of a takedown notice falsely represents copyright ownership. But in this case, Universal owns the rights to Prince&#8217;s song.
&#8220;Are you saying there cannot be a misuse of a takedown notice if the material is copyrighted?&#8221; Fogel asked Klaus.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t think &#8216;fair use&#8217; qualifies,&#8221; Klaus answered.

In the preliminary the judge rules &#8211;

&#8220;Even if Universal is correct that fair use only excuses infringement, the fact remains that fair use is a lawful use of a copyright,&#8221; U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel ruled. &#8220;Accordingly, in order for a copyright owner to proceed under the DMCA with &#8216;a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law,&#8217; the owner must evaluate whether the material makes fair use of the copyright.&#8221;
Another words the judge handed the Universal lawyers their heads in their hands. The trial still has to be wound out to conclusion but the judge has suppressed the basis of Universal&#8217;s primary defense against civil penalities. 
But the impact of the preliminary ready by the judge will have impacts. If upheld on appeal the landscape will change radically. No longer can a copyright holder issue roboC&#038;D&#8217;s. They will have to consider if the use falls under the umbrella  of Fiar Use. Endgame? If Universal loses, then unless it can be proven that money changed hands copyright holders will have to give any use that is Fair Use a wide berth. They will also have to spend $$ to determine if it is Fair Use not the user. [Though users would be dumb not to so structure their use to meet Fair Use provisions.]
Linky
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>NBA to stream local games live?</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/18/nba-will-stream-local-games-live/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/18/nba-will-stream-local-games-live/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:03:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Content]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[TVoIP]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/18/nba-will-stream-local-games-live/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The NBA is joining the growing list of content providers going direct to the consumer. This is no different that any other content owner who has found a new audience via IP instead of broadcast or cable. NBC&#8217;s experience with the Olympics has shown that offering content on the net is an audience builder. That [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[The NBA is joining the growing list of content providers going direct to the consumer. This is no different that any other content owner who has found a new audience via IP instead of broadcast or cable. NBC&#8217;s experience with the Olympics has shown that offering content on the net is an audience builder. That goes against the grain of the broadcasters (and most of the old media&#8217;s) official line on net content.
Local Sports bars may soon be operating media PC&#8217;s on broadband connections to stay competitive. Conventional Third Pipe wisdom states that the zero sum game does not apply to audience building. Ears and eyeballs found on the net are also broadcast viewers, often never found in the ever accelerating ratings driven turnover of broadcast programming.
The National Basketball Association plans to break a new barrier for U.S. sports leagues by streaming live games to local markets on the Web.
According to a story published Monday by the Sports Business Journal, the NBA plans to negotiate contracts for its member teams so they can stream live games to targeted local online audiences this fall. Bill Koenig, executive vice president of business affairs, told the industry publication: &#8220;We hope to have a model in place this season. Our opening up of the rights will certainly be done.&#8221;
The rights Koenig referred to have been a sticky issue since the advent of streaming video and the rush of sports fans to the Internet. Cable operators and regional sports networks hold various exclusive rights to broadcast live games via network TV, cable, radio, and satellite; and they haven&#8217;t wanted to see the Internet cannibalize their prime-time business by allowing anyone to access games on demand. (Cnet)
I&#8217;m eager to see the usually outspoken Mark Cuban chime in on this. He owns both one of the teams and a cable channel and has not been a big fan of net content &#8220;sucking up&#8221; his precious bandwidth. Time for some Third Pipe thinking Mr. Mark!
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		<title>Airband begins offering wholesale Wimax pipes in several cities</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/18/airband-begins-wholesaling-big-wimax-pipes-in-several-cities/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/18/airband-begins-wholesaling-big-wimax-pipes-in-several-cities/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:56:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Wimax]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[competition]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/18/airband-begins-wholesaling-big-wimax-pipes-in-several-cities/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The road ahead is getting dicier for the big telcos in the business access arena. Fixed wireless carrier Airband has opened their network to resellers, creating a new pipe for competitive services. Many who rent facilities and loop access from the bells now have an alternative. Sure, Wimax can&#8217;t compete with fiber, but in most [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[The road ahead is getting dicier for the big telcos in the business access arena. Fixed wireless carrier Airband has opened their network to resellers, creating a new pipe for competitive services. Many who rent facilities and loop access from the bells now have an alternative. Sure, Wimax can&#8217;t compete with fiber, but in most cases the last mile loops are copper. In fact, the hesitance to invest in that last mile of fiber is now exposing the telcos and MSO&#8217;s to a price war that would have never been if they had just kept their fiber to premises promises made so long ago.
 Airbands wholesale program targets carriers, resellers and enhanced service providers with the following products and services:
* Wireless Point-to-Point Service leverages WiMAX fixed-wireless technology to deliver private line services quickly, even in densely populated metropolitan areas. This service supports opportunities from 45 Mbps up to GigE speeds, and provides network connections up to 20 miles with clear line of sight;
* Fixed-Wireless Last-Mile Access bypasses the legacy wired network for faster installation and service delivery. Unlike traditional wireline providers, this service is not bound by T1 or DS3 increments, so end-user customers can have just the bandwidth they need and without waiting weeks;
* Fixed-Wireless Internet Access provides an Internet access service that is uniquely suited to a wide range of customers and their ever-changing needs, whether they are a small business or a Fortune 1000 company.(Telephony World)
Airband Communincations 
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		<title>Android(s) Hit the Street in September?</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/18/androids-hit-the-street-in-september/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/18/androids-hit-the-street-in-september/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 18 Aug 2008 18:51:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Android]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[T-Mobile]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Telecom]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[tech tips]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/18/androids-hit-the-street-in-september/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Well it looks like Google Androids will be in the public venue come September. T-Mobile is rumored to be the first carrier to carry an Android enabled phoneset. &#8211;
Were hearing rumor after rumor that Android has been delayed, and pushed back to 2009. Well TmoNews is jumping into the pool or rumors, calling BS on [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
Well it looks like Google Androids will be in the public venue come September. T-Mobile is rumored to be the first carrier to carry an Android enabled phoneset. &#8211;
Were hearing rumor after rumor that Android has been delayed, and pushed back to 2009. Well TmoNews is jumping into the pool or rumors, calling BS on those other rumors, and putting in our vote of confidence on a presale of the Android phone on September 16th, 2008. This information, coming from a trusted source, prices the Android phone, also known as the G1 (Codename or real name, were not sure) at $399.
Full invoice that is.
Scare you? Good, well during the presale of the G1, T-mobile customers can pick up the phone for $150. This is where it gets interesting, were not seeing any prices for new activations during the presale, so this could mean that only current T-mobile customers can pick up the G1 during the presale. Other customers interested in the G1 may have to wait until beginning/mid October before a national public launch.
$400 for an advanced phone. Scary? Not one bit in my view. This is the price we should be paying for an advanced phone of this type SO LONG as the carrier is reducing their usage rate on the backend. What is this years $400 wonder is next years $100 commodity. That is the way it is in tech. The early adopters always pay the R&#038;D. The price you pay is dependent on patience. I am fine with that. You should be too. 
What is most surprising is that T-Mobile has in a very short period of time gone from a follower to a leader. They dumped ETF&#8217;s . They are now going to be the first to introduce Andoid. I wonder what else they have up their sleeves?
Linky.
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		<item>
		<title>Regulators &#038; Consumerist Get it Wrong</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/18/regulators-consumerist-get-it-wrong/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/18/regulators-consumerist-get-it-wrong/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 18 Aug 2008 18:19:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Legislation / Regulation]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[carriers]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[competition]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/18/regulators-consumerist-get-it-wrong/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
In what has to be the craziest article I have read over there at Consumerist I must say this is in the top 10. Here is a bit of the piece &#8211;
So much for all that competition between Verizon, AT&#038;T, Frontier, SureWest, Vonage, Skype, and others.
The telecoms have repeatedly proven that their version of the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
In what has to be the craziest article I have read over there at Consumerist I must say this is in the top 10. Here is a bit of the piece &#8211;
So much for all that competition between Verizon, AT&#038;T, Frontier, SureWest, Vonage, Skype, and others.
The telecoms have repeatedly proven that their version of the &#8220;free market&#8221; is a scam that harms consumers and enriches shareholders. California&#8217;s Public Utilities Commission has recommended the only reasonable measure: reinstating price controls.
Authored by &#8216;Carey&#8217;, they miss a few points &#8211;
* Landline phone service was carved up into LATA&#8217;s by regulators long ago. It is not permitted for a AT&#038;T to encroach on a Verizon LATA. That pretty much precludes LATA-to-LATA competition. Blame the regulators for that one.
* Earth to Carey! Haven&#8217;t you noticed that EVERYTHING has gone u in price over the last 2 years? Especially the cost of electricty and labor.
* There is competition. There is competiton between wireless and wireline. There is competition between landline carriers and VoIP providers. 
What I find really interesting is reading the comments. You see a deep disparity between those commenters who are taking advantages of those new service providers and those that just stick their head in the sand and cry wolf. It is a sad state of affairs when a significant component of the American public can&#8217;t think. 
Consumerist.  
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		<item>
		<title>Death of the IVR Draws Near</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/18/death-of-the-ivr-draws-near/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/18/death-of-the-ivr-draws-near/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:19:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[carriers]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[new technology]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/18/death-of-the-ivr-draws-near/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
We have all experienced that telephony hell called the IVR [Interactive Voice Response]. That menu driven, narrisictic (&#8221;Sorry I did not catch that&#8230;&#8221;), droning piece of garbage that so many of the Fortune 1000 like to hide behind.  Well its better has arrived. Consumerist readers pay particular note to this undertaking!! To quote &#8211;
 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
We have all experienced that telephony hell called the IVR [Interactive Voice Response]. That menu driven, narrisictic (&#8221;Sorry I did not catch that&#8230;&#8221;), droning piece of garbage that so many of the Fortune 1000 like to hide behind.  Well its better has arrived. Consumerist readers pay particular note to this undertaking!! To quote &#8211;
 Pick the company you need, scan through their phone menu visually, then just click the spot you need to call. fonolo will automatically dial, navigate their menu and then dial your phone. When you answer, you will be connected to the right spot in the menu. We call that Deep Dialing. Youll call it smart.
You probably call the same set of companies all the time. At fonolo.com, you can bookmark any point in a phone menu and access that bookmark as a simple URL through your browser or smart phone. 
The core of this development is the idea that you have a spider traverse the IVR menu tree of say AT&#038;T&#8217;s consumer advocate IVR. The spider turns those into graphical menu options on a web page. Want to get to a live operator at AT&#038;T? Select that the spider burps out all the DTMF tones to the massively expensive Tandem Galaxy system to take you right to them. Thats a David, little money, knocking down a Goliath, big money tech system. And I don&#8217;t know a defensive measure that the big guys can take either other than changing their menus almost daily which costs even more money. 
The system is called fonolo. They just suspended accepting beta testers so a good chance that they might be into release sometime by the end of the year. If this comes to fruition it could very well be the end of IVR&#8217;s as they are currently used by the Fortune 1000. Call volume will flood to the direct connect to operator entry. The sole defensive move at that point is to turn the option off. But that is self defeating of course. Without an ability to resolve issues, customers will leave companies in droves. The end game is that the IVR as a defensive shield crumbles and ends up being just a call director. 
Hope they bring this up soon. I want to sign up. fonolo.
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		<title>Parasite killing its host. Pandora is on it&#8217;s last legs.</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/17/parasite-to-kill-the-host-pandora-is-on-its-last-legs/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/17/parasite-to-kill-the-host-pandora-is-on-its-last-legs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:05:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Content]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Legislation / Regulation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/17/parasite-to-kill-the-host-pandora-is-on-its-last-legs/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In the words of one outspoken musician who broke free from the big labels and found a loyal audience before the internet was a public platform:
The United States is a nation of laws: badly written and randomly enforced. - Frank Zappa 
Anyone who is paying attention knows that the onslaught of intellectual property laws coming [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[In the words of one outspoken musician who broke free from the big labels and found a loyal audience before the internet was a public platform:
The United States is a nation of laws: badly written and randomly enforced. - Frank Zappa 
Anyone who is paying attention knows that the onslaught of intellectual property laws coming out of our Luddite Congress are being written and paid for by old media, the big labels and failed business model purveyors like Microsoft.
While the big labels rarely pay artists, they have managed have a number of pay for play tiers put into place with the highest leveled against new media. Most recently is an extremely punitive per play royalty imposed on Internet play. The law&#8217;s effect silenced thousands of independent Internet broadcasters and now threatens the 2000 pound Gorilla of the business - Pandora. Never mind the fact Pandora freely promotes big label artists as well as independents better than old fashioned radio that pays no royalties.
Radio stations pay different rates depending on how they broadcast music. Terrestrial stations (normal FM/AM stations) pay nothing, a tribute to their powerful corporate parents with limitless lobbying budgets. Satellite stations pay approximately 1.6 cents per hour per listener. By 2010, Pandora and other Internet radio stations, which have few lobbying resources, must pay 2.91 cents.
Pandora says theyre alread paying 70% of their $25 million in yearly revenues in royalty fees, and it is driving them out of business. Other Internet radio stations are even worse off.
For their part, the music industry says Internet radio stations have no one but themselves to blame, and suggest they find more innovative revenue models.
The blatant discrimination between terrestrial, satellite and Internet radio stations is ridiculous. But little is likely to change - large scale protests last year over royalty increases were mostly ignored. (Tech Crunch)
Dear Congress. Quit staring at those RIAA and big label checks and perks for a while and see to the light. They, along with of you are the parasites in this society.
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		<title>Why The Cloud Will Be Services Only</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/16/why-the-cloud-will-be-services-only/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/16/why-the-cloud-will-be-services-only/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 16 Aug 2008 16:23:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Cloud Computing]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[competition]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[new technology]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/16/why-the-cloud-will-be-services-only/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
The blog Dawningvalley has a very probing article up on the site on certain aspects of cloud computing and virtual computing in the cloud. For example &#8211;
Internet pricing is extremely expensive. For example, look at Amazon S3, one of the most popular cloud hosts around. I looked at how much 160GB was worth, as 160GB [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
The blog Dawningvalley has a very probing article up on the site on certain aspects of cloud computing and virtual computing in the cloud. For example &#8211;
Internet pricing is extremely expensive. For example, look at Amazon S3, one of the most popular cloud hosts around. I looked at how much 160GB was worth, as 160GB should be enough for the average user (of course, its far too little for users who do lots of multimedia or graphics editing). It was $24/month, plus $0.10/GB for data transfer. Not bad. But then I looked at NewEgg, a popular online computer store. I found a 160GB Western Digital hard drive with a 7200 RPM, 8MB of cache, and a 3.0GB/s speed. Price? $43.99. In less than two months, the WD hard drive was cheaper than Amazon S3. Just to make sure it wasnt just Amazon, I looked at Apples MobileMe. It only offers 20GB by default, but you can add more storage. Its not really worth it, though: 160GB of storage is $445/year, or about $37/month. And of course, its only compatible with Windows and OS X, leaving Linux users out of the picture.
And this &#8211;
But even if those users could be persuaded to switch to broadband or DSL, theres still the problem that neither are really that fast. Ever tried downloading a gigabyte file? Its slow. And then, how about uploading the dang thing? Cloud supporters would argue that youd create everything online so that you wouldnt have to worry about uploading, but thats just not true. What about digital pictures? Are you really going to want to wait half an hour for a gigabyte of photos to be uploaded to your cloud? And upload speeds arent th only problem. You cant play Call of Duty 4 via the cloud. It would be way too slow. The only way it could possibly work is if you keep the client and all the graphics on your machine. The problem? Besides the fact that this completely defeats portability, youll still need a big hard drive. If thats the case, whats the real advantage of cloud computing?
It very well could be that services like S3 will reign supreme for a very long time over those of say Xercerion a cloud based browser based OS. For as long as broadband remains expensive in the US that will be the case. To make a cloud based computer viable it must be capable of booting in less than a minute. Well to do that would require a 50mbs pipe which in our current technological development means FIOS. 
The other factor that has to be considered is how democratic IT technology is in pricing. The price one pays for a 1Tb hard drive at Frys is only marginally higher than what Amazon pays for them by the box load. So the fundamental price points are relatively flat for all comers. Amazon&#8217;s sole price advantage is in labor per service over the entire compute farm. Fact my current situation with one client is why S3 is so popular. They have a nice new sever but they don&#8217;t have the capitalization for a backup box to go with it. So for about $30/month using S3 is a viable alternative. It turns the capitalization issue into an expense stream which they can afford till they can afford the backup solution in-house. 
Fact boil this down and this whole discussion is one that major corporations face all the time &#8212; in-house departmental development and services vs the corporate IT deptartment doing the same thing. The rub is generally the lone department work effort looks cheaper vs the IT delivered solutions. Well substitute cloud for IT and you have the same set of arguments. 
So where does this leave us for the future? Probably right where we are right now. 
You will go to the cloud if &#8211;


Scaling is a big issue for your service platform. Think Twitter or YouTube.
Capitalization of assets is an issue for you.
Having an offsite backup is mission critical and S3 is cheaper than Iron Mountain.
Certain infrequently needed services are available thru the cloud which you pay by the drink.

You won&#8217;t go to the cloud if &#8211;


The cost of tech remains fairly democratic and flat.
The cost of transport remains high or not accessible.
Where immediate access is a must have.
FOSS makes the cost of software acquisition more favorable than renting the same off the cloud. 

Its a new world, but we probably are where we will be in the near term future right now till costs of either high speed transport drop or cloud prices drop thru the floor.
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		<title>Here&#8217;s proof that online content can coexist with broadcast</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/15/heres-proof-that-online-content-can-coexist-with-broadcast/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/15/heres-proof-that-online-content-can-coexist-with-broadcast/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:10:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[TVoIP]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/15/heres-proof-that-online-content-can-coexist-with-broadcast/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ When NBC announced plans to serve up massive amounts of video from the Olympics online, US broadcasters could be heard screaming as far away as Bejing. Could it be that broadcasters believe that their business is a zero sum game. It turns out ratings for Olympics boradcasts are exceptional along with a huge online [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[ When NBC announced plans to serve up massive amounts of video from the Olympics online, US broadcasters could be heard screaming as far away as Bejing. Could it be that broadcasters believe that their business is a zero sum game. It turns out ratings for Olympics boradcasts are exceptional along with a huge online audience. Maybe braodcasters will soon grasp that offering content online is a great way to build an audience for the broadcast.
  After paying $900 million for broadcast rights to this  year&#8217;s Summer Games, NBC Universal executives are determined to  protect the television business by drawing viewers to NBC and  cable networks like USA.
At the same time, they are also resolved to build an online  audience through the NBCOlympics.com website, with the aim of  drawing in more Internet advertising revenue for future events  based on the success of this one.
It&#8217;s a delicate balancing act: Concentrate too much on TV  broadcasting, and risk missing the boat on the next generation  of Olympic fans online. Or put too much content on the Web, and  there&#8217;s a chance some viewers will ignore coverage on TV, where  advertisers have paid NBC top dollar for commercial time.
&#8220;I think this is really about tapping into both online and  offline,&#8221; said Bob Jeffrey, chief executive of advertising  agency JWT, a unit of WPP Group Plc. &#8220;I think that&#8217;s also a big  part of what marketers want to do.&#8221;
NBC Universal has posted strong numbers so far for both its  TV broadcasts and online coverage. Nearly 25 million people  have visited NBCOlympics.com, viewing 456 million pages and  watching close to 22 million video clips, NBC said on Thursday,  recording more page views than for the entire 2004 Games in  Athens. Meanwhile, U.S. TV ratings are running second only to  the 2000 Games in Atlanta. (Yahoo)
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		<title>Helio on Its Last Legs?</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/14/helio-on-its-last-legs/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/14/helio-on-its-last-legs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:38:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Wireless]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[competition]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/14/helio-on-its-last-legs/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Helio, the high flyer of 5 years ago looks to be on life support now. A soft economy has taken the glitz out of high priced bling. 
Just a month and a half after Virgin Mobile USA Inc.s announcement to acquire Helio L.L.C., all but one of Helios five retail stores have already closed. The [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
Helio, the high flyer of 5 years ago looks to be on life support now. A soft economy has taken the glitz out of high priced bling. 
Just a month and a half after Virgin Mobile USA Inc.s announcement to acquire Helio L.L.C., all but one of Helios five retail stores have already closed. The New York location remains open, for now, while stores in San Diego, Santa Monica and Palo Alto, Calif., and Denver have closed, confirmed Helio spokesperson Rick Heineman.
The stores closed within the past month or so. As for the New York store, Heineman said nothing is definite.
We do not have a time table other than for it to be open right now, Heineman said. When the deal closes, [its] up to Virgin Mobile.
As for the employees at the shuttered stores, Heineman said some were let go and some stayed on to work with Virgin Mobile USA. The move aligns with Virgin Mobile USAs plan to cut down Helios staff from 570 to 200 employees.
Bling is out, return on investment is in.
Linky.
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		<title>You Might Want to Look in the Mirror!</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/14/you-might-want-to-look-in-the-mirror/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/14/you-might-want-to-look-in-the-mirror/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:20:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[CPE]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Legislation / Regulation]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[carriers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/14/you-might-want-to-look-in-the-mirror/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Why? Because according to this Wired article, 46% of all under 24yo drivers text at the wheel with thier cell phone/pda. So if the kid in the mirror has peach fuzz on his face you can figure that you have a 50/50 chance he is a distracted driver. 
And that can result in a suspended [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
Why? Because according to this Wired article, 46% of all under 24yo drivers text at the wheel with thier cell phone/pda. So if the kid in the mirror has peach fuzz on his face you can figure that you have a 50/50 chance he is a distracted driver. 
And that can result in a suspended license and prob8n. OMG.
Even if you&#8217;re in one of four states that ban texting while driving (or one of the 33 trying to), drivers who were distracted by phone messaging when they plowed into the back of the car in front of them can be nailed for negligent or reckless conduct, and that can be enough to get your license pulled.
The demographic breakdown of the survey isn&#8217;t particularly surprising, considering it mirrors the adoption of texting in general. A study last year by the Automobile Association of America found 46 percent of kids aged 16 and 17 text behind the wheel. Combine those stats with the invincibility complex every kid has and it&#8217;s a wonder more states haven&#8217;t taken action. Luckily, texting while driving in the AARP crowd is nearly nonexistent: We&#8217;d be terrified to get a text from grandma asking, &#8220;whch 1 iz D br8k?&#8221;
FindLaw&#8217;s stats probably understate the scope of the problem because any survey that tracks socially undesirable behavior will suffer from some bias. We can&#8217;t imagine a teenager answering a telephone survey with his mom in the next room is going to say, &#8220;Yeah, I text all the time when I&#8217;m driving &#8212; especially when I&#8217;ve got a Bud Light in the cup holder and I&#8217;m watching a DVD on my hacked AVIC-N3.&#8221; Let&#8217;s just hope that Barack Obama isn&#8217;t behind the wheel when he texts supporters the name of his running m8.
Personally I still don&#8217;t understand the fascination with textng. It takes longer to do than doing a speed dial. But hey every generation has its set of cultural markers to live by. Texting is just one of them. But mixing that with driving? Suspending license is too good. The authorities ought to go for revocation. Texting is a certain distraction. More so than just talking on the cell. 
But hey you have been warned! Watch that mirror!
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		<title>The unbundling of Pay TV and access begins.</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/13/the-unbundling-of-pay-tv-and-access-begins/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/13/the-unbundling-of-pay-tv-and-access-begins/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:31:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Content]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/13/the-unbundling-of-pay-tv-and-access-begins/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ As Starz networks shutters it&#8217;s online Vongo service, a new era opens. Did you miss the roll out of Vongo? I sure did. It was appearently not marketed well. Users had access to the Starz library for $9.95 a month. Starz will now offer an net only Starz Play for $5.99 a month, with [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[ As Starz networks shutters it&#8217;s online Vongo service, a new era opens. Did you miss the roll out of Vongo? I sure did. It was appearently not marketed well. Users had access to the Starz library for $9.95 a month. Starz will now offer an net only Starz Play for $5.99 a month, with Verizon as it&#8217;s only distributor.
Instead Starz will offer the re-branded Starz Play service to operators to distribute on their Web-based platforms.Paidcontent.org reported the move today and noted that Vongo itself was a rebranding of an earlier, $12.95 service called Starz Ticket.
Verizon is currently the only distributor offeringthe Starz Play online movie service, which provides more than 1,000 movies &#8212; including Ratatouille, Spider-Man 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World&#8217;s End &#8212; and 1,500 other video titles for viewing from anywhere in the United States, although Starz says it is in talks with numerous potential cable affiliates. To use the service, a subscriber downloads special software and can access the downloadable titles from up to three different devices, including Windows-based computers and personal video players.
Starz executive director of corporate communications Eric Becker said Verizon will also make the Starz Play service available to non-Verizonbroadband customers for $5.99 a month.
I signed up for a 14 day free trial tonight. I&#8217;ll report again after giving the service a fair evaluation. I am not a Verizon customer, so it will be interesting to see how well this works on AT&amp;T and Time Warner&#8217;s networks. If promoted properly, this could be a real game changer in the Pay TV marketplace.This one is a download vs the streaming format with a 3 device limit. More later&#8230;.
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		<item>
		<title>Qwest: the union&#8217;s next target</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/13/qwest-is-next-on-the-unions-radar/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/13/qwest-is-next-on-the-unions-radar/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:15:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Qwest]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Verizon]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/13/qwest-is-next-on-the-unions-radar/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ After playing chicken with Verizon and winning, the unions are feeling confident as they take on Qwest. Qwest has little to gain from a strike and with it&#8217;s very old infrastructure is more reliant on big labor than the other two big telcos. Union bosses are easily smart enough to know this and are [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[ After playing chicken with Verizon and winning, the unions are feeling confident as they take on Qwest. Qwest has little to gain from a strike and with it&#8217;s very old infrastructure is more reliant on big labor than the other two big telcos. Union bosses are easily smart enough to know this and are likely to demand more.
While Verizon avoided a strike by making the labor unions happy, Qwest may not be so lucky. Verizon agreed to pay 100% of health insurance premiums and dole out more FiOS installation work to unions, but Qwest is on a tighter budget with no wireless revenues and a far less aggressive next-generation broadband deployment plan. Qwest says they have a contingency plan in place where managers will step in to do work should there be a strike, but the company remains &#8220;hopeful we&#8217;ll reach an agreement in a timely fashion.&#8221; (DSL Reports)
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		<item>
		<title>Open Source is the New Shark in the Water?</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/13/open-source-is-the-new-shark-in-the-water/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/13/open-source-is-the-new-shark-in-the-water/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Aug 2008 23:48:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Litigation]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Open Source]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/13/open-source-is-the-new-shark-in-the-water/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
One of the big question marks about Open Source licensing has been &#8212; &#8220;Will it hold up in Court&#8221;. Well a small piece of that has been laid in place. &#8212; 
 The US District Court originally agreed with the defendants, and held there was no liability for copyright infringement. But the Court of Appeals [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
One of the big question marks about Open Source licensing has been &#8212; &#8220;Will it hold up in Court&#8221;. Well a small piece of that has been laid in place. &#8212; 
 The US District Court originally agreed with the defendants, and held there was no liability for copyright infringement. But the Court of Appeals emphatically disagreed:
  Copyright holders who engage in open source licensing have the right to control the
    modification and distribution of copyrighted material.
Now, this still doesn&#8217;t amount to a full-blown test of the GPL.  But it does mean that the theory underlying the GPL (and its descendants) has received an endorsement from one of the highest courts in the land - another move in favor of the cleverness of the folks who came up with it in the first place. 
This decision by arguably the second highest court in the land sets the stake in the ground that the developer/owner of a piece of FOSS software does have the right to control the distribution if pieces of the license has been violated. The SFLC will have another arrow in their quiver when they go to court. For if a company violates provisions they can not only stop the violator from distribution but also go after the end users in a cease and desist fashion to bring them in compliance. 
Linky.
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		<item>
		<title>Verizon - CWA/IBEW Reach an Accord</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/12/verizon-cwaibew-reach-an-accord/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/12/verizon-cwaibew-reach-an-accord/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Aug 2008 03:15:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Verizon]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/12/verizon-cwaibew-reach-an-accord/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Well Verizon seems to have averted a strike  with their most contentious unions in the NE. The accord as current drafted has concessions on both sides. But with a down economy this is probably the best that can be expected. However the Unions still did not take any pay cuts.  Which is a [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
Well Verizon seems to have averted a strike  with their most contentious unions in the NE. The accord as current drafted has concessions on both sides. But with a down economy this is probably the best that can be expected. However the Unions still did not take any pay cuts.  Which is a sting to middle management as they were whacked finacially 2 years ago. 
Nor will the whacking of management cease. Verizon is already preparing a large RIF before the close of this year. It would have been done sooner but the threat of a strike tied upper management&#8217;s hand. The folks over at former MCI, now VZB better be sharpening their resumes. That 52week severance deal you received was for one purpose. Make it more digestible for losing your jobs. Upper managements manta for 4 years has been to reach commonality of pay, services, etc. So offering an enhanced severance bucks that trend and can be explained for only one purpose. Be mindful.
I have many good friends over at Verizon. My hope is they survive the whirlwind to come.
Linky.
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		<item>
		<title>Yo! We&#8217;ve Been Saying This for Over a Year.</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/12/yo-weve-been-saying-this-for-over-a-year/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/12/yo-weve-been-saying-this-for-over-a-year/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Aug 2008 02:53:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Duopoly Follies]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[FCC]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[carriers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/12/yo-weve-been-saying-this-for-over-a-year/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Anyone who has been a consistent reader or our blog knows full well we have been knocking left and right on the sorry state of the US infrastructure. Sometimes we feel like a lone tree falling in the forest. So when we finally see this it warms our hearts &#8211;
The bad news: Broadband adoption slipped [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
Anyone who has been a consistent reader or our blog knows full well we have been knocking left and right on the sorry state of the US infrastructure. Sometimes we feel like a lone tree falling in the forest. So when we finally see this it warms our hearts &#8211;
The bad news: Broadband adoption slipped to a seven-year low last quarter. The worse news: It could take a century for the United States to catch up to broadband speeds in Japan, given the rate at which services are improving here.
Those are the findings of two separate studies &#8212; both independently released this week &#8212; that point to a grim state of affairs in the broadband market.
One key holdup for broadband adoption last quarter, according to a Leichtman Research Group report, is that the telcos&#8217; pushed higher-speed, premium services (such as Verizon&#8217;s FiOS and AT&#038;T&#8217;s U-verse) at a time when basic DSL was a financial stretch for many Americans.
&#8220;Net broadband additions in the quarter were the fewest of any quarter in the seven years [Leichtman Research Group] has been tracking the industry,&#8221; said Bruce Leichtman, LRG president and principal analyst, in a prepared statement. &#8220;The decline in additions this quarter compared to the same period last year was exacerbated by Verizon and AT&#038;T&#8217;s emphasis on selling higher speed FiOS and U-verse bundled services, often at the expense of traditional DSL service.&#8221;
Leichtman, is only half right of course. Verizon converted 130k of DSL customers last quarter to FIOS. Mostly cannibalized their own DSL base to the higher service. But what is striking is that even Verizon is admitting slower growth across the board. 
The problem folks is the &#8216;System&#8217;. I sound like a Ruby Ridge telcom conspiracy theorist. But the fact is FIOS level speeds should be the MINIMUM level of service transport in the top 100 metro markets. Those same markets should at this point have about 25% penetration in 1Gbs level services to the SMB market. Instead we have a duopoly malaise that is not solving anything for this country. 
[soapbox on] Both of the current Presidential candidates are saying we need to solve our energy problem. I agree with that. The problem is both sides have their blinders on. They think in terms of transport fuel useage and its reduction only in terms of transport modification, smaller lighter cars, etc. Another words their solutions are siloed. 
Obama&#8217;s great idea is a $3.99 tire guage. I have a better one &#8212; a $300 100mbs external link router and $30/month 100mbs service to go with it. Don&#8217;t just marginalize usage in the transport sector, motivate to obliterate the demand at the commuter level. Tax breaks to businesses that develop transport plans that foster a 50% reduction in commuting. Same for the employee. Till the leadership of this country things in those terms change will be slow. [soapbox off]
Wired, glad to finally have you on board!
linky
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		<title>Fairness doctorine push could end blogs as we know them</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/12/fairness-doctorine-push-could-end-blogs-as-we-know-them/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/12/fairness-doctorine-push-could-end-blogs-as-we-know-them/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 12 Aug 2008 23:01:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Garry King</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Garry's Rants]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Legislation / Regulation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/12/fairness-doctorine-push-could-end-blogs-as-we-know-them/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A very big part of what makes Third Pipe different from most of the net centric blogs in the ether is the Jeffersonian viewpoint of our team. We one of the few in the blogosphere that openly reports from this viewpoint while those who report from a left leaning elite viewpoint deny their slant. Put [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[A very big part of what makes Third Pipe different from most of the net centric blogs in the ether is the Jeffersonian viewpoint of our team. We one of the few in the blogosphere that openly reports from this viewpoint while those who report from a left leaning elite viewpoint deny their slant. Put simply, we believe in a free and open net without any government &#8220;management&#8221;, and a market that is open to many competing access providers as opposed the the regulated few we have today. Our tiny but important platform would be shuttered if we were forced to seek out and pay for content that provides an opposing view simply because we really don&#8217;t make any money here to begin with. The reinstatement of the incorrectly named &#8220;fairness doctorine&#8221; could very easily silence us and many more like us.

 The commissioner, a 2006 President Bush appointee, told the Business &amp; Media Institute the Fairness Doctrine could be intertwined with the net neutrality battle. The result might end with the government regulating content on the Web, he warned. McDowell, who was against reprimanding Comcast, said the net neutrality effort could win the support of a few isolated conservatives who may not fully realize the long-term effects of government regulation.

 I think the fear is that somehow large corporations will censor their content, their points of view, right, McDowell said. I think the bigger concern for them should be if you have government dictating content policy, which by the way would have a big First Amendment problem. 

 Then, whoever is in charge of government is going to determine what is fair, under a so-called Fairness Doctrine, which wont be called that " itll be called something else, McDowell said. So, will Web sites, will bloggers have to give equal time or equal space on their Web site to opposing views rather than letting the marketplace of ideas determine that? (Business &amp; Media Institute)


Before you convince yourself that Speaker Pelosi and her gang of elitists are only targeting bid media types like talk radio, consider this: Elites have never been interested in freedom of speech when it involves an agenda and viewpoint that is different from their own. Those who beleive that a reinstated &#8220;fairness doctorine&#8221; will not effect the internet may very well find their own voices permanently silenced as well. Please consider this before you vote in November.
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		<title>Towerstream keeps on kicking telco butt!</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/12/towerstream-keeps-on-kicking-telco-butt/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/12/towerstream-keeps-on-kicking-telco-butt/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:52:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Telecom]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Wimax]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Wireless]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[competition]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/12/towerstream-keeps-on-kicking-telco-butt/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Using WiMax to offer competitive T-1 and up service levels to business, virtually on demand and at a big discount, Towerstream&#8217;s revenues grew by 53% in the last quarter. WiMax enables Towerstream to bypass the telco last mile infrastructure (and the need to lease access), giving the firm a ultimate pricing flexibility and instant [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Using WiMax to offer competitive T-1 and up service levels to business, virtually on demand and at a big discount, Towerstream&#8217;s revenues grew by 53% in the last quarter. WiMax enables Towerstream to bypass the telco last mile infrastructure (and the need to lease access), giving the firm a ultimate pricing flexibility and instant deliverability.
CEO Jeff Thompson said: &#8220;These strong results reflect the continued maturation of both our newer markets and our sales force. Over the past 12 months, we have significantly increased the number of account executives and the customer pipelines developed by our expanded sales force is beginning to yield results. Our Internet-based marketing initiatives, and the success of our mid-range product offering of 8 mbps at $999 per month, are also driving sales growth.&#8221; (Firece Broadband Wireless)
Commercial access is one of the telecom guy&#8217;s biggest profit makers, with operating margins in excess og 90%. If Towerstream and others like them continue to make inroads into the commercial access business, the T-1 jackpot will be over.
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		<title>Big trouble ahead for the telcos</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/11/big-trouble-ahead-for-the-telcos/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/11/big-trouble-ahead-for-the-telcos/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:59:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[AT&#038;T]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Qwest]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Vonage]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[competition]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/11/big-trouble-ahead-for-the-telcos/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ The telcos have been very slow to upgrade broadband networks. The few enhanced speed offerings have been in very limited areas or as an adjunct to a pay TV system. Consumers are now leaving for higher speeds where they have a choice. Verizon and Qwest are facing potentiual strikes, and AT&#38;T&#8217;s pay TV take [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[ The telcos have been very slow to upgrade broadband networks. The few enhanced speed offerings have been in very limited areas or as an adjunct to a pay TV system. Consumers are now leaving for higher speeds where they have a choice. Verizon and Qwest are facing potentiual strikes, and AT&amp;T&#8217;s pay TV take rates has been abyssmal. Does this sound bad? There&#8217;s more:
The second-quarter 2008 financial reports are in "- and the tea leaves arent showing a sunny future for phone companies. While their financials today look bearable, economic and demographic trends are acting as gale-force headwinds for the future. Here are some of the major issues theyre facing: 

A slowing economy means people are choosing wireless phones over landlines, resulting in increased access line losses. That, in turn, is reducing the number of people the phone companies can convince to switch to their higher-speed networks and video services.
Cables triple-play bundles, which include higher speeds and voice, are starting to resonate with the residential customers, leading to further landline losses.
Phone companies own higher-speed services are starting to cannibalize their installed base instead of luring customers away from cable companies. (GigaOM)


To the Telco suits: we told you this was coming, time and time again. The world wants a big dumb pipe. Time to invest in that. It will require fewer resources and fewer people to operate. Flat rate billing will provide dramatic decreases in both cost of billing and customer service. Your high gross margin with lower operating costs, and growth of market share will reverse the negatives. If you get a clue and get with the program, and your companies still have a chance to survive.
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		<title>FCC considering wireless microphone license freeze</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/10/fcc-considering-wireless-microphone-license-freeze/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/10/fcc-considering-wireless-microphone-license-freeze/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:48:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[700 mHz]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[FCC]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Legislation / Regulation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/10/fcc-considering-wireless-microphone-license-freeze/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Beware when protesting loudly to government. It could also bring you a little unwanted attention. Wireless mic makers have been getting rubber stamp FCC licenses to operate low power devices in the 700MHz range for decades without much fanfare. Only when they began protesting proposed use of vacant channels or white spaces did the number [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
Beware when protesting loudly to government. It could also bring you a little unwanted attention. Wireless mic makers have been getting rubber stamp FCC licenses to operate low power devices in the 700MHz range for decades without much fanfare. Only when they began protesting proposed use of vacant channels or white spaces did the number of their devices in use on those same frequencies come into focus. Now the FCC is considering a freeze on new microphone licenses until their impact in the DTV transition can be studied.
In addition to the freeze, Martin is asking how the rules should be changed given the number of unlicensed mike users in that band, as well.
David Donovan of the Association for Maximum Service Television said the microphone issue raises some &#8220;very important questions,&#8221; adding that reclaiming that band will reduce the spectrum available for wireless mikes used by news reporters and newsrooms.
&#8220;This would appear to make it more difficult to place unlicensed devices on channels 21-51 since the demand for wireless-mike spectrum will increase on those channels,&#8221; he added. (Broadcasting and Cable)
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		<title>T-Mobile Adds to its Fold</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/07/t-mobile-adds-to-its-fold/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/07/t-mobile-adds-to-its-fold/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:05:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[T-Mobile]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/07/t-mobile-adds-to-its-fold/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
T-Mobile added almost 670k additional users to their 30M user base for 2Q. Probably a little too early to see the results of the &#8216;no contract&#8217; efforts yet. We&#8217;ll have to see what the 3Q results will be. &#8211;
T-Mobile USA Inc.s second-quarter results showed increases in the two Cs, customers and churn. The nations No. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
T-Mobile added almost 670k additional users to their 30M user base for 2Q. Probably a little too early to see the results of the &#8216;no contract&#8217; efforts yet. We&#8217;ll have to see what the 3Q results will be. &#8211;
T-Mobile USA Inc.s second-quarter results showed increases in the two Cs, customers and churn. The nations No. 4 carrier added 668,000 customers, pushing its customer base to 31.5 million at the end of the quarter, but T-Mobile USAs churn reached 2.7%, up from 2.6% in the first quarter of this year. The carriers Q2 growth, which was well short of the 857,000 customers it added during the second quarter of 2007, did not include the roughly 1.1 million customers T-Mobile USA added to its network following the acquisition of SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc.
Linky
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		<title>AT&#038;T&#8217;s WiMax delaying ploy finally gets Sprint&#8217;s pushback</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/06/atts-wimax-delaying-ploy-finally-gets-sprints-pushback/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/06/atts-wimax-delaying-ploy-finally-gets-sprints-pushback/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:54:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[AT&#038;T]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Clearwire]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Legislation / Regulation]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Sprint]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Wimax]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/06/atts-wimax-delaying-ploy-finally-gets-sprints-pushback/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Hey Sprint, what took you so long?
FCC should have summarily dismissed AT&#38;T&#8217;s ploy to use te FCC to block or delay the merger of Sprint and Clearwire&#8217;s Wimax operations to create national network. AT&#38;T has been very effective in using the FCC to eradicate competition for over a century. The FCC has typically recognized [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Hey Sprint, what took you so long?
FCC should have summarily dismissed AT&amp;T&#8217;s ploy to use te FCC to block or delay the merger of Sprint and Clearwire&#8217;s Wimax operations to create national network. AT&amp;T has been very effective in using the FCC to eradicate competition for over a century. The FCC has typically recognized interests at odds with the telcos only when presented with intense pressure to do so. It&#8217;s good to see speint is not completely ignorant of this.
From Sprint&#8217;s response:
&#8220;The New Clearwire transaction presents an unparalleled opportunity to accelerate broadband deployment in the UNited States,&#8221; Sprint declared.
&#8220;Only three parties opposed the transaction or proposed conditions. Their claims lack merit and provide no basis for denying, delaying, or imposing conditions on the approval of the New Clearwire license transfers,&#8221; Sprint stated. (KansasCity.com)
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		<title>And Now There are Five</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/06/and-now-there-are-five/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/06/and-now-there-are-five/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:23:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/06/and-now-there-are-five/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Time Warner posts less than stellar 2Q results on the dismal results of its AOL internet unit. TW really needs to just fold the AOL unit and scribble the writeoff in a footnote in the annual report. 

AOL remained a burden on the company&#8217;s results. Subscription revenue fell 29 percent, pushing operating income down 36 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
Time Warner posts less than stellar 2Q results on the dismal results of its AOL internet unit. TW really needs to just fold the AOL unit and scribble the writeoff in a footnote in the annual report. 

AOL remained a burden on the company&#8217;s results. Subscription revenue fell 29 percent, pushing operating income down 36 percent. AOL scrapped fees for its e-mail service in favor of an ad-supported revenue model, but ad revenue rose only 2 percent in the quarter. The service still has 8.1 million subscribers.
The company has made no secret of its plans to sell the ailing business to focus on content production. Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes said Time Warner has &#8220;made the key decisions that will enable us to run AOL&#8217;s access and audience businesses separately beginning in 2009.&#8221;
Internet service provider EarthLink Inc. has been named as a potential bidder for the dial-up access business. Both Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are considered to be interested in AOL&#8217;s Web sites, which would boost either company&#8217;s viewer traffic and ad revenue.
Time Warner previously announced it would sell the 84 percent of its cable operations that it still owns to shareholders later this year. That unit delivered 7 percent higher revenue on increases in cable, Internet phone and video-on-demand fees. Basic cable subscribers were flat during a quarter that traditionally sees a drop-off.
TW issue is that nobody wants dial up. Expanding AOL to broadband would have a competitor to the cable operations that is doing well even in the current slump. Everybody who would be a buyer knows this. AOL has no value, even to Microsoft!
Linky.
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		<title>This Consumer is What Caps Gets You</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/04/this-consumer-is-what-caps-gets-you/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/04/this-consumer-is-what-caps-gets-you/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:09:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[carriers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/04/this-consumer-is-what-caps-gets-you/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Consider this entry a warning and it&#8217;s just the nose of the camel with all the carriers. You need to read this and realize what is going on Dear Reader &#8211;

Your Money = Their Money
Your Money = Their Money
With the imposition of a 5GB monthly cap across their nationwide service area, consumers might find it [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
Consider this entry a warning and it&#8217;s just the nose of the camel with all the carriers. You need to read this and realize what is going on Dear Reader &#8211;

Your Money = Their Money
Your Money = Their Money
With the imposition of a 5GB monthly cap across their nationwide service area, consumers might find it useful to break down the cost of what different broadband services charge for service per gigabyte, and what kinds of profits companies can expect to receive from those charges.  The average cost of traffic for most national broadband providers amounts to pennies per gigabyte transferred.  But what will you pay?
Frontier offers different pricing across several promotions, ranging from $19.99-$49.99.  The lower priced tiers correspond with service contracts that require multi-year commitments, with a substantial penalty for early cancellation.  They also charge a monthly modem rental fee (MRF) of $3.99.  In some areas this fee is levied even if you wish to use your own DSL modem.  Since this fee is universally imposed in many areas, its cost has been included in the price breakdown.  Excluded from the review are additional taxes, surcharges, and fees which are imposed by various taxing authorities but are outside of Frontiers control.
If this arrangement is applied and there is not much push back or desertions by the customer base then you can be assured that the rest of the carriers will do the same. So keep your eyes out. You may get a little fine printed notice of change from your carrier that does the same thing. 
Also read the whole article here.
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		<title>Is the Cable Guy having his way the the Telcos?</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/04/is-the-cable-guy-having-his-way-the-the-telcos/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/04/is-the-cable-guy-having-his-way-the-the-telcos/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:01:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Duopoly Follies]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[competition]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/04/is-the-cable-guy-having-his-way-the-the-telcos/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here&#8217;s a very clear indication that the US broadband market is so dysfunctional that it&#8217;s time to go back to the drawing board. The telcos, who with the single exception of Verizon&#8217;s FIOS, have allowed their service levels to stagnate while investing in the flat lining pay TV business. At the same time, their subscribers [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Here&#8217;s a very clear indication that the US broadband market is so dysfunctional that it&#8217;s time to go back to the drawing board. The telcos, who with the single exception of Verizon&#8217;s FIOS, have allowed their service levels to stagnate while investing in the flat lining pay TV business. At the same time, their subscribers are leaving. In a flat market, it&#8217;s a battle for market share, and the cable guy is currently winning by taking the telco&#8217;s broadband subscribers. How can a Comcast steal subscribers with customer care that is something akin to resident care in Stalin&#8217;s gulags ? In most cases, it&#8217;s all about speed. While the cable guys haven&#8217;t done much upgrading either, in most markets they still are the speed leader. Yes, that&#8217;s the very same speed that AT&amp;T&#8217;s Randall Stevenson has repeatedly told us we don&#8217;t need. Admin to Randall: we can get our reruns of The A Team online any time we want them. We don&#8217;t need no stinkin&#8217; Pay TV. We want more speed in a big dumb pipe!

Contrast the second-quarter results at Verizon and AT&amp;T with the numbers reported last week by  Comcast  (CMCSA) and  Cablevision (CVC). Comcast had a remarkably solid quarter, given both economic headwinds and the aggressive push by the telcos into the video business. In the quarter, Comcast added a net 499,000 new phone customers, 278,000 high-speed Internet accounts and 320,000 digital cable lines. (It did lose 138,000 basic cable subs.) It provides broadband to 29% of homes in its area and phone service to 12.5%; it is putting up big numbers in both categories, and they will get even bigger.
Cablevision, meanwhile, showed a similar pattern: growth in every category. It added 120,000 digital video subs, 52,000 broadband lines and 81,000 voice lines; it even added 7,000 basic video subscribers. That&#8217;s particularly impressive, given that Verizon offers video service on more than 30% of Cablevision&#8217;s turf. (Barron&#8217;s)

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		<title>75% Off the ETF, Good But Not the Play Now</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/03/75-off-the-etf-good-but-not-the-play-now/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/03/75-off-the-etf-good-but-not-the-play-now/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Aug 2008 04:43:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Wireless]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Wireless Cartel]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[carriers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/03/75-off-the-etf-good-but-not-the-play-now/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Consumerist, a fine publication by the way, covers a piece here on how one reader negotiated with AT&#038;T. They got the ETF reduced to 75%. I say that is a very good deal on the reader&#8217;s part. But that is not the play now. 
Here&#8217;s what you do. The California ETF decision has destroyed ETF [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
Consumerist, a fine publication by the way, covers a piece here on how one reader negotiated with AT&#038;T. They got the ETF reduced to 75%. I say that is a very good deal on the reader&#8217;s part. But that is not the play now. 
Here&#8217;s what you do. The California ETF decision has destroyed ETF in the largest market in the nation. That means over the long haul its toast. How? You buy from a Calif. based supplier for contract and phone. then have it shipped to your home. Then you just move your service to your home LATA. That&#8217;s how ETF&#8217;s are toast. But that is not actually how I expect you to play it. There is another way, but do keep this Calif idea in mind.
When your current contract expires you walk into Sprint/AT&#038;T/Verizon store and tell them you want to buy a new phone. Once you have your phone picked out and they get ready to do the contract you state you want them to waive the ETF 100% and go month to month. Otherwise you will go to T-Mobile. That ladies and gentlemen IS the play to make. If they go for it be sure you get it in writing of course.
As a consumer its time to use that T-Mobile offer against the other cell vendors. Get enough people walking out of the store empty handed and the word trickles back. Corporations do hear you &#8212; at the cash register. All it takes is a drop in contract renewals and they react. They track renewals monthly, its a sensitive metric for all of them. 
Linky.
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		<title>Nortel Takes a Plunge</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/03/nortel-takes-a-plunge/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/03/nortel-takes-a-plunge/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Aug 2008 04:15:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Cisco]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Nortel]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Telecom]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/03/nortel-takes-a-plunge/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
The plunge is not some new venture but Nortel&#8217;s stock price. Friday&#8217;s close has their stock down by 15% on a flat 2Q earnings report. The importance of this I will get to in a minute. But first here is the 5 day action last week. &#8211;

The consideration? Cisco and Nortel are infrastructure vendors. They [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
The plunge is not some new venture but Nortel&#8217;s stock price. Friday&#8217;s close has their stock down by 15% on a flat 2Q earnings report. The importance of this I will get to in a minute. But first here is the 5 day action last week. &#8211;

The consideration? Cisco and Nortel are infrastructure vendors. They have retail presence of course, but the main body of their income streams is selling to corporations. When corporations stop investing due to lessened consumer demand companies like Cisco and Nortel feel the draft. It will be interesting to compare Cisco&#8217;s 2Q results. 
Now were I a smart Muni looking for a Wifi/Wimax supplier I would be tapping both these firms. They&#8217;re going to be hungry and will sweeten the pot and lower their prices. Just like the housing market now is the time to buy network infrastructure. 
Linky
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		<title>Ottawa tries DIY FTTP</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/03/diy-fttp-to-be-done-in-ottawa/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/03/diy-fttp-to-be-done-in-ottawa/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 03 Aug 2008 17:59:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Duopoly Follies]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[FTTH]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[competition]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/03/diy-fttp-to-be-done-in-ottawa/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Ottawa, Canada may be the new model for breaking the last mile bottleneck. We&#8217;ve heard endlessly about how the telcos who were paid to run fiber to every home by the year 2000 just can&#8217;t manage it because it will cost too much. It may be time to take the matter into our own [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Ottawa, Canada may be the new model for breaking the last mile bottleneck. We&#8217;ve heard endlessly about how the telcos who were paid to run fiber to every home by the year 2000 just can&#8217;t manage it because it will cost too much. It may be time to take the matter into our own hands.
This may all sound rather abstract, but a trial experiment in Ottawa, Canada is trying out the consumer-owned model for a downtown neighborhood of about 400 homes. A specialized construction company is already rolling out fiber to every home, and it will recoup its investment from individual homeowners who will pay to own fiber strands outright, as well as to maintain the fiber over time. The fiber terminates at a service provider neutral facility, meaning that any ISP can pay a fee to put its networking equipment there and offer to provide users with Internet access. Notably, the project is entirely privately funded. (Although some schools and government departments are lined up to buy their own strands of fiber, just like homeowners.)
The main challenges with this model are economic, rather than technical. Most importantly, ownership has to be made appealing and affordable to consumers. The construction company is using conservative estimates that only 10% of homeowners will sign up and there will be a per-customer cost of $2700. If you assume 50% take-up, then the per-customer cost drops to $1100. Both figures might seem like a lot, but people pay for a variety of improvements to their home &#8212; like remodeled kitchens, or a deck &#8212; that also cost large sums. (Google)
Here&#8217;s what I find most interesting: On the scale of 400 potential connections, deployment cost is $1100 per at a 50% take rate. I&#8217;d be willing to bet AT&amp;T has just about that level of investment in deploying Uverse. Simple math shows that even with the outrageous overhead the telcos carry, they&#8217;ll fully recapture a similar investment in less than 5 years even at this tiny scale. Bottom line. We&#8217;ve been had by the telcos and a government that has insured their monopoly status. They are not interested in improving service.
I think it&#8217;s time for all of us to work locally and build our own. The little 400 home project in Ottawa could be the beginning of a new revolution.
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		<title>Femtocell Now on the Market</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/02/femtocell-now-on-the-market/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/02/femtocell-now-on-the-market/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 02 Aug 2008 21:11:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Sprint]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[VoIP]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[carriers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/02/femtocell-now-on-the-market/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
And folks I still have a problem with it! Sprint has released its AIRRAVE femtocell device for purchase. This device essentially operates as a mini cell tower with a back link to the Sprint backbone via your broadband connection. Here are some of the features:


Works with any Sprint phone " up to three users at [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
And folks I still have a problem with it! Sprint has released its AIRRAVE femtocell device for purchase. This device essentially operates as a mini cell tower with a back link to the Sprint backbone via your broadband connection. Here are some of the features:


Works with any Sprint phone " up to three users at the same time.
Installs in minutes with your existing broadband Internet access, such as DSL, cable or T1.
Unlimited incoming and outgoing calls, including nationwide long distance, when using your Sprint phone and initiating your call on the device (requires an AIRAVE unlimited calling plan)
.
Automatically transfers calls to the Sprint Nationwide Network once you leave your home or office.
Limit access to your AIRAVE by creating a list of up to 50 approved Sprint phone numbers.

Now I think it is kind of nice for Sprint to provide the enduser the ability to lock the unit down. Very nice. But me? I think Sprint&#8217;s marketing department out to be fired. Think about it.
Sprint wants you to spend money to expand THEIR network. Yes this is supposed to provide convenience to the enduser, I&#8217;ll get to that in a minute.
Sprint then want to use YOUR broadband connection to connect this device to their network. For anybody if you don&#8217;t lock it down. Excuse me but are you going to get a rebate for this? 
Who will use it? Oh yeah, people who don&#8217;t have good wireless connections. Uh, but you need at least DSL to make this useful. The problem is realistically there is a greater chance that those type of broadband connections will not be available before you begin to lose wireless signal. You might need this is you happen to be in a tower shadow. Thats a pretty small crowd. 
Bottom line, the customer is getting ripped in my view. Its usefulness is limited. You don&#8217;t get any sort of rebate off of your bill for providing Sprint additional coverage. If you lock it down it becomes a private pop. If you don&#8217;t then up to 3 devices can steal your broadband connection to Sprint&#8217;s benefit. 
But being a tech guy I am excited!! I fully expect to see these going to $50-60 on eBay in a year or so. By then I fully expect that the DD-WRT and Asterisk guys to have written modules for the device. Then we can have a cellular based private pop that connects my cell to anyone VoIP provider of my choice. Sprint won&#8217;t be able to do a thing about it either. We live in great times!!
Linky.
PS: I am not ragging on Sprint. I enjoy their ingenuity. But Femtocell with this business model does not make sense. The carriers themselves should be using this in liew of full towers in areas that have shadows. 
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		<title>Is Viacom S$%#@ed?</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/02/is-viacom-sed/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/02/is-viacom-sed/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 02 Aug 2008 20:30:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Content]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Intellectual Property]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[competition]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/02/is-viacom-sed/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Wired has an interesting article How American Youth Will Screw Viacom. Now in my wildest dreams do I think that teenagers are doing this? Nope. Far from it, they are a viewer after all. There is a reason that the remote can select 500 channels. &#8211;
&#8220;The primary question we have received in recent weeks is, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
Wired has an interesting article How American Youth Will Screw Viacom. Now in my wildest dreams do I think that teenagers are doing this? Nope. Far from it, they are a viewer after all. There is a reason that the remote can select 500 channels. &#8211;
&#8220;The primary question we have received in recent weeks is, &#8216;What happened in the ad market?&#8217;,&#8221; said Dauman during yesterday&#8217;s conference call. &#8220;Advertisers in a few categories . . . pulled back their on-air spending as they adjusted their own operating plans and product launches. Low ratings at a few of our networks also contributed to the softness.&#8221;
The culprits, according to the Wall Street Journal , were MTV and VH1. And although the company expects the ratings to return soon, thanks to the season premiere of &#8220;The Hills&#8221; and the MTV Video Music Awards in September &#8212; we suspect it&#8217;s not just the economy or a short-term ratings dip that ails Viacom.
The fundamental problem could be that the &#8220;youth demo&#8221; that Viacom has hotly chased after for the last couple decades is a bust. Teens and twenty-somethings don&#8217;t watch TV anymore; they don&#8217;t read newspapers; and they&#8217;re technologically promiscuous &#8212; how can big media sell advertising against them if you can&#8217;t corner them in front of any single device?
30 years ago my partner and I here were in that &#8216;youth demo&#8217; that Viacom was chasing. But like Mark Steyn&#8217;s quip, &#8220;demographics are futures&#8221; the same applies to TV viewing. Yep I am a little heavier, a little balder and have a touch of grey now. I never was however a MTV viewer. I just did not find the gyrations that entertaining. Not to say there weren&#8217;t some vids I liked. Just life demands more than just being a couch potato. 
Viacom&#8217;s problem isn&#8217;t the viewer, it the product they are offering. So Ms. Schiffman, don&#8217;t fall for the corporate press kit. What your piece is really saying without saying it is that it is the viewers fault that Viacom is not riding high. Sorry doesn&#8217;t work that way. Never has.
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		<title>New AT&#038;T CTO embraces WiMax</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/01/new-att-cto-embraces-wimax/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/01/new-att-cto-embraces-wimax/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 01 Aug 2008 19:12:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[AT&#038;T]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Wimax]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/01/new-att-cto-embraces-wimax/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
AT&#38;T&#8217;s new CTO, John Donovan doesn&#8217;t seem to mind being at odds with his new employer&#8217;s existing initiatives. While the company and its wireless suppliers have been working overtime to FUD Sprint / Clearwire&#8217;s Wimax network out of existence, Donovan is suggesting that AT&#38;T deploy it. I&#8217;m predicting AT&#38;T WiMax will be limited to fixed [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
AT&amp;T&#8217;s new CTO, John Donovan doesn&#8217;t seem to mind being at odds with his new employer&#8217;s existing initiatives. While the company and its wireless suppliers have been working overtime to FUD Sprint / Clearwire&#8217;s Wimax network out of existence, Donovan is suggesting that AT&amp;T deploy it. I&#8217;m predicting AT&amp;T WiMax will be limited to fixed applications, but it&#8217;s ready, it works and LTE is still on the drawing board. It will be interesting to see how AT&amp;T&#8217;s marketing whiz kids spin this one.

One of Donovan&#8217;s biggest headaches: the copper network. Used for decades to provide traditional land-line phone service, the network is creaky and expensive to maintain.
As more people cut the cord and go wireless, there are fewer people to spread those &#8220;fixed&#8221; costs among. (Verizon and other carriers have the same problem.)
AT&amp;T is considering a range of technology solutions. At the top of the list: &#8220;WiMax,&#8221; an advanced wireless technology that can handle voice, data and video. WiMax is also cheap to install and maintain.
Donovan says WiMax could come in handy in some U.S. markets, particularly rural areas where it&#8217;s becoming prohibitively expensive to maintain copper.
Also under consideration: femtocells. The technology, which relies on miniature wireless receivers, can significantly boost the performance of in-home broadband connections. (USA Today)

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		<title>Earthlink wants AOL&#8217;s dial up business?</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/01/earthlink-wants-aols-dial-up/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/01/earthlink-wants-aols-dial-up/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 01 Aug 2008 18:38:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Earthlink]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/01/earthlink-wants-aols-dial-up/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[What&#8217;s worse than not having a plan? Having a bad one. Since neither Earthlink or AOL have been able to make much money with dial up lately, why not combine the two losers into one great big one. Makes almost as much sense as paying millions for a franchise to give away wireless service. Yeah, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[What&#8217;s worse than not having a plan? Having a bad one. Since neither Earthlink or AOL have been able to make much money with dial up lately, why not combine the two losers into one great big one. Makes almost as much sense as paying millions for a franchise to give away wireless service. Yeah, that&#8217;ll work!
EarthLink CEO Rolla Huff first brought up the idea of EarthLink buying AOL and other dial-up providers during the company&#8217;s quarterly conference call Tuesday.
&#8220;We believe we&#8217;re best-positioned to be the consolidator in this industry,&#8221; Huff said during a conference call with analysts.
The news has spurred a flurry of speculation that EarthLink is looking to buy Time Warner&#8217;s AOL. Huff wouldn&#8217;t comment specifically on whether his company has had talks with Time Warner. But in an interview he told The Wall Street Journal that merging AOL&#8217;s dial-up business with EarthLink&#8217;s would create cost savings for the company and better service for customers.
&#8220;We think it&#8217;s worth aggressively pursuing,&#8221; he told the newspaper. (Cnet)
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		<item>
		<title>Akamai sees growth slowing. Last mile bottleneck to blame.</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/01/akamai-sees-growth-slowing-last-mile-bottleneck-to-blame/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/01/akamai-sees-growth-slowing-last-mile-bottleneck-to-blame/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 01 Aug 2008 18:04:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Duopoly Follies]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Editorial]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/08/01/akamai-sees-growth-slowing-last-mile-bottleneck-to-blame/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Akamai and other content delivery networks have been enjoying rocket like growth thanks to the explosion of rich media content. The company recently predicted growth would slow due to the hard lst mile limits being imposed by broadband access providers.
&#8230;&#8230;the big news was Akamais outlook (statement), which indicated that the company would land on [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Akamai and other content delivery networks have been enjoying rocket like growth thanks to the explosion of rich media content. The company recently predicted growth would slow due to the hard lst mile limits being imposed by broadband access providers.
&#8230;&#8230;the big news was Akamais outlook (statement), which indicated that the company would land on the low end of its earnings and revenue target. The company said it expects 2008 revenue to be at the low end of its $785 million to $800 million range. Earnings will also fall at the low end or below the previous 2008 outlook calling for earnings of $1.63 a share to $1.69 a share. The third quarter will also be seasonally slow with revenue between $193 million or $198 million with earnings between 39 cents a share and 40 cents a share.
CEO Paul Sagan cited a challenging environment in the companys statement, but there are also worries about the amount of content that U.S. users can realistically consume. Sagan noted that Internet traffic wasnt slowing, but growth rates are being affected by broadband speeds. Sagans message: Unless broadband speeds perk up the ability of consumers to watch content (the type that Akamai delivers) will see slower growth. Sagan would like to see the day where you can get high-def video over IP. (ZDnet)
The duopoly has seen a recent slowing in subscriber growth, as the easiest to reach customers have been connected. Continual lack of investment in infrastructure has brought growth in available bandwidth for most to a standstill (with a few notable exceptions like FIOS that are avaiable in very limited areas). No investment will come as long as speculative investors are fascinated with quarterly results and pay TV.Customers and long tern shareholders be damned as long as fund managers favor quick stock flips over sustained growth.
If nothing changes, broadband stagnation will become every bit as big of a drag on the economy as high gas prices. The same cast of characters are to blame for both. Another cartel, speculators, and a parliament of whores bought and paid for by the first two.
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		<item>
		<title>Jeepers, Creepers Check These Rates!</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/07/31/jeepers-creepers-check-these-rates/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/07/31/jeepers-creepers-check-these-rates/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 01 Aug 2008 03:45:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[carriers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/07/31/jeepers-creepers-check-these-rates/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Found this on HotAir and thought it would be of interest to our readers. Ed Morrisary formerly Blogged at Captain&#8217;s Quarters is now part of the Hot Air team. He is tagged to go to the RNC Convention. His press packet included some interesting data from QWest who is providing the data transport for the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
Found this on HotAir and thought it would be of interest to our readers. Ed Morrisary formerly Blogged at Captain&#8217;s Quarters is now part of the Hot Air team. He is tagged to go to the RNC Convention. His press packet included some interesting data from QWest who is providing the data transport for the whole affair. &#8211;
Qwest will provide the customer with a RJ45 plug for each 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps service and a fiber optic SC/PC connector for each 1 Gbps service. The service does not provide any hardware or cabling beyond the plug. The RJ45 cabling provided will be approximately 6ft in length.
    * 10 Mbps (Dedicated) - $850.00
    * 100 Mbps (Dedicated) - $7,650.00
    * 1 Gbps (Dedicated) - $53,550.00

That rate plan is for FOUR DAYS! Now granted QWest is treating this as a single point cost structure. So they have to cover all the costs up front. But still, something is very wrong if in this century we can&#8217;t assemble a DS3 or better cheaper and better for these types of events something is wrong. This convention center is not a field called Woodstock. 
Ed, do yourself a favor. Buy two EVDO cards and pocket about $500. 
Linky.
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		<item>
		<title>We Have Said It Before, Get a Clue Verizon</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/07/31/we-have-said-it-before-get-a-clue-verizon/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/07/31/we-have-said-it-before-get-a-clue-verizon/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 01 Aug 2008 03:21:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Verizon]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/07/31/we-have-said-it-before-get-a-clue-verizon/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Well we have heistated to report this story both because of its sexual content and it just follows a pattern with Verizon. But Verizon has acted so it now makes it a legitimate story. So &#8211;
Verizon is aware of this incident involving one of its vendors. We have zero tolerance for violations of the law [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
Well we have heistated to report this story both because of its sexual content and it just follows a pattern with Verizon. But Verizon has acted so it now makes it a legitimate story. So &#8211;
Verizon is aware of this incident involving one of its vendors. We have zero tolerance for violations of the law and hold our vendor responsible for the actions of its employees. Out of respect and concern for our customers, Verizon has suspended D2D in DE until further investigation is complete.&#8221;

That is a contracted employee was caught committing a male sexual act in the open. In itself that is pretty disgusting. But actually that is not the point I am trying to bring to the fore here. We have noted here before that the more you let others represent the brand the more likely it is to be tarnished. If you are not vetting the people that represent you with the same as if they are employees then hey that&#8217;s your loss. 
So now you have to suspend door to door solicitation till this is over. How long will that be? At the sametime how is the public supposed to react anytime that a person in a verizon shirt shows up at there door. Or for that matter how should people react to that &#8216;verizon crowd&#8217; now? 
Need to think guys and gals. Your brand is being trashed by people you have not vetted. Keep it up and you will be headed for Comcast territory. An observation from a concerned stockholder.
linky
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		<item>
		<title>Cablevison rolls out DOCSIS 3.0 at $100 per user</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/07/31/cablevison-rolls-out-docsis-30-at-100-per-user/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/07/31/cablevison-rolls-out-docsis-30-at-100-per-user/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 31 Jul 2008 23:39:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Cablevision]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[DOCSIS]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/07/31/cablevison-rolls-out-docsis-30-at-100-per-user/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Touting a $315 million investment in DOCSIS 3 sounds huge, except it works out to a measly $100 per subscriber. With the anticipated high cost of the Cablevision&#8217;s 30MBPS uncapped tier, that investment should be recouped in the first quarter or two. Very few businesses enjoy such handsome ROI&#8217;s. Having said that, I wish [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Touting a $315 million investment in DOCSIS 3 sounds huge, except it works out to a measly $100 per subscriber. With the anticipated high cost of the Cablevision&#8217;s 30MBPS uncapped tier, that investment should be recouped in the first quarter or two. Very few businesses enjoy such handsome ROI&#8217;s. Having said that, I wish I could get it here at whatever price.
Today, Cablevision&#8217;s fastest tier runs at 30Mbps over DOCSIS 2.0, and is truly uncapped &#8212; allowing users to get as much speed as the network will allow. Rutledge says the company spent nearly $20 million on both DOCSIS 3.0 deployment and their plan to offer Cablevision customers free Wi-Fi during the second quarter. &#8220;The total capital for that [combined project] over a three-year budget cycle is about $100 per customer or in the range of $315 million,&#8221; says the COO. (DSL Reports)
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		<item>
		<title>TMobile Must be Reading This Blog</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/07/30/tmobile-must-be-reading-this-blog/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/07/30/tmobile-must-be-reading-this-blog/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:37:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[T-Mobile]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[carriers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/07/30/tmobile-must-be-reading-this-blog/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Yep, we mentioned that the first vendor to provide a no ETF plan would have a leg up on the conpetition, here. That company is TMobile. Are they scared of the California ruling? I don&#8217;t know. For the consumer however this is very good news. &#8211;
Starting August 6th, T-mobile will be the first national carrier [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
Yep, we mentioned that the first vendor to provide a no ETF plan would have a leg up on the conpetition, here. That company is TMobile. Are they scared of the California ruling? I don&#8217;t know. For the consumer however this is very good news. &#8211;
Starting August 6th, T-mobile will be the first national carrier to offer month to month postpaid plans. It sounds like these plans will be very similar, if not the same, to T-mobiles current offerings of individual, or family time plans, with or without MyFaves. Upfront costs will include an activation fee, and the full retail price of any phone purchased*. To us, this sounds like an extreamely customer friendly step by T-mobile, that we greatly appreciate. Credit checks will be required for this plan, however they will be the same as any 1 or 2 year contract credit checks. Unfortunately T-mobile@Home will not be avalible to customers that sign up for month to month contracts.
We hope this is a trend. 
Linky
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		<item>
		<title>Comcast 2Q Results Buck the Industry Trend.</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/07/30/comcast-2q-results-buck-the-industry-trend/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/07/30/comcast-2q-results-buck-the-industry-trend/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:19:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Comcast]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/07/30/comcast-2q-results-buck-the-industry-trend/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Comcast&#8217;s 2Q profits rose but was below expected results. They gained digital subscribers overall but are reporting that they have had a 50% drop in new residential installs due to the housing slump. But all was not rosy &#8211;
High-speed Internet added 278,000 new subscribers, down 18 percent from 2007. Revenue was up, however, by 10 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
Comcast&#8217;s 2Q profits rose but was below expected results. They gained digital subscribers overall but are reporting that they have had a 50% drop in new residential installs due to the housing slump. But all was not rosy &#8211;
High-speed Internet added 278,000 new subscribers, down 18 percent from 2007. Revenue was up, however, by 10 percent to $1.8 billion. Customers on average paid $42.01 a month, down 3 percent.
Digital voice added 555,000 net new customers, down 20 percent from a year ago, but revenue also was up 77 percent to $636 million. Customers paid $39.48 a month on average, down 7 percent.
New growth yes. But even for Comcast the rate of that growth is down in comparison to the same time last year, 2Q. 
Linky.
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		<item>
		<title>Awww, Libshitz!! Why Exactly!</title>
		<link>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/07/30/awww-libshitz-why-exactly/</link>
		<comments>http://thirdpipe.com/2008/07/30/awww-libshitz-why-exactly/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:34:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dr. Dog</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Duopoly Follies]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[carriers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thirdpipe.com/2008/07/30/awww-libshitz-why-exactly/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Yes ladies and gentlemen the Telcos have made being brain dead a true artform. Now I will grant you that it is of great import that Verizon is maintaining a canon of morals beyond reproach [cough, cough]. But guys if the former doctor has no problem with using this as his sir name then you [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[
Yes ladies and gentlemen the Telcos have made being brain dead a true artform. Now I will grant you that it is of great import that Verizon is maintaining a canon of morals beyond reproach [cough, cough]. But guys if the former doctor has no problem with using this as his sir name then you should not either. If you kept this up you would lose every Jewish Russian immigrant on the lower east side of NYC.  &#8211;
 And Dr. Herman I. Libshitz, retired radiologist, is no pushover.
Verizon is learning this the hard way.
This spring, the 69-year-old physician and his wife, Alison, were trying to upgrade the Internet service in their summer place in Rehoboth Beach, Del. They had dial-up. They wanted DSL.
When it was time to enter their user name and create an e-mail address, Verizon wouldn&#8217;t let them complete the job.
This is how the doctor remembers it:
&#8220;We called their help line, and got a wonderful young man in the Philippines who told us:
&#8221; &#8216;We can&#8217;t install it because your name has - in it.&#8217; &#8221;
I asked the doctor how I was going to print that. He said, &#8220;Just say it&#8217;s a word contained in Libshitz.&#8221;
He&#8217;d defended his family name with his fists as a boy at 58th and Pine. He wore it proudly on his Air Force uniform during the Vietnam era when he was defending his country.
He&#8217;d displayed it on white coats at Hahnemann and Jefferson, then at Duke and Texas, where he spent most of his distinguished career, before retiring to Chestertown, Md. He&#8217;d signed it to 200 academic papers and six texts.
The doctor asked t