Reports that AT&T wants to shed DirecTV are not new, but now is an excellent time for AT&T to simplify and clean up its stable of video distribution services.
Seven companies, with six offerings – AT&T and Colt Technology Services; Cisco, Ericsson, Infinera, Microchip and RtBrick – made the cut in a highly competitive category.
Six companies – Altiostar Networks, Arrcus, Cohere Technologies, DriveNets, World Wide Technology and ZenFi Networks – made the cut in the Company of the Year (Private) category.
Telcos can provide the networks and services that businesses need to re-invent themselves and adapt to life in a pandemic. But can they be socially responsible too?
US Ignite's Mari Silbey joins Light Reading's Kelsey Ziser and Phil Harvey for a discussion about what changes are ahead in how cities and companies can provide broadband to residents in underserved areas.
You've got to give Verizon credit for one thing -- calling the bluff of those who would say they're not open. The reality is -- how many people or companies are actually in a position to manufacture a device to take advantage of Verizon's new openness in a way that could compete with the subsidized models?
If you're a major phone manufacturer, chances are you already have some kind of deal with Verizon so the argument is moot. If you're some device startup, given the costs (and time) to bring a new device to market, why would you even consider launching something new without some guaranteed buy-in from one major service provider? How could you price it without a subsidy to compete with a $49 BlackBerry?
And even if a new device or application made it past the Verizon testing, there is the whole question of pricing and service plans to consider, like data caps that might effectively "block" the use of say, streaming video, by making it too expensive to be competitive. I would say any measurement of open has to look at the plans, pricing and data limits and not just whether the device or app is allowed on the network. Because the latter part is easy, and it's what Verizon will tout as "open" until someone calls their bluff.