telcos

In-Stat: Fall in pay TV subscribers due to economy

The number of pay TV subscribers in the U.S. declined slightly during the second quarter, but it's the economy and high unemployment--not so-called cord-cutters--that are to blame, according to a new report from In-Stat.

The number of "cord-cutters," or people who go cold turkey on their cable TV in favor of online programming, is actually low and is having a minimal effect on the industry, according to In-Stat's data released yesterday. The report also found that satellite TV and so-called telco TV (such as Verizon's Fios and AT&T's U-verse) both continue … Read more

Combining cloud and open source for phone calls

A new service called OpenVBX from cloud-communication provider Twilio hopes to change the way we think about and deploy phone services for businesses large and small.

Twilio provides a programmatic approach to phone calls much in the same way that we apply business logic through HTTP or XML for complex applications.

OpenVBX is a Web-based phone system that provides for virtual phone numbers as well as a wide range of other functions that are programmable through the OpenVBX plug-in API in PHP OpenVBX lets you take advantage of all of Twilio's integrated services, like text to speech, voice transcription, … Read more

Come on, Google, subsidize me

$529. That's the price of Google's new Nexus One and admittedly a small price to pay for the eternal bliss promised by its backers.

For $179, you can get the same device through T-Mobile, because the wireless carrier expects to charge you $79.99 per month for at least two years. (For those who think AT&T's wireless service couldn't get worse, you're wrong. Try T-Mobile.)

If T-Mobile is willing to subsidize the cost of the Nexus One in return for a services contract, why isn't Google subsidizing the device, given that it'… Read more

Telco tool

Managing telecommunications and data services to reduce costs is critical to any business, but small- and medium-size businesses frequently find themselves at a disadvantage when it comes to tracking and analyzing telco expenses. Access Business Communications' Telco Manager, or TelcoMgr, can cut business costs by monitoring and recording telecommunications and data services for reporting and analysis. It includes extensive and powerful database and reporting features that not only help a company track telco expenses but also use the data to maximize returns on services.

TelcoMgr's main interface and other windows are a bit busy in appearance, thanks to copious … Read more

The Real Deal 184: Who should own the Internet

Chris Mitchell from Muninetworks.org joins us to discuss Net Neutrality and who should own the pipes.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video)… Read more

Telcos said testing plan to offer PCs to businesses

Telecommunications providers on four continents are testing a plan to provide so-called virtual desktop computing to their business customers.

People familiar with the outlines of the pilot program say the idea is to offer Internet access to companies via dumb terminals connected through the so-called cloud. The tests are said to involve companies in the United States, Europe, Australia, and China.

The testing period is slated to run through the middle of the year. If it works out to participants' satisfaction, the pitch to customers will be why it makes more sense in an economic recession to outsource their computing … Read more

Is bandwidth the new water?

In the 1980s, New York City undertook a huge project to begin metering residential water service and charging for individual apartment and condo water use rather than simply assessing a flat fee as had been the norm. It was as huge and contentious a project as one would imagine. Why go to all this trouble and expense?

Well, you hardly have to be a radical free market economic thinker to accept that there's generally a connection between how much something costs and how much people consume. The higher the price, the less you use. In this case, the incentives … Read more