Telecommunications

Tag Archive for Telecommunications

RB | September 6, 2012

5 Tips To Make Meetings Less Painful

SalesCrunch has created a guide to “meetings that don’t suck.” The firm collected data from its management software, which tracks things like if people are really paying attention (looking at the screen or not), and if follow-up materials are opened. The BusinessInsider says the Web conferencing company crunched the numbers and came up with 5 good tips for the next time you call a meeting.

1. The 15-minute meeting. No meeting should last more than 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, they are giving one-quarter of their attention to something else.

2. Everyone needs to talk. If all participants talk, people will give the meeting 92% of their attention. If someone is yammering on, it gets only 78% of their attention.

3. Send follow-up materials within 5 minutes. Nearly two-thirds of attendees will read them within one day. A few more will be read the next day, but not many.

4. Shorter follow-up materials are better read. People will spend 52 seconds with a short follow-up. But they will spend only 10 seconds on a mega 100-slide deck.

5. Reach out via LinkedIn immediately. Nearly three-quarters of meeting attendees will accept a new LinkedIn connection after an online meeting.

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Some of these I do better than others. I like to keep my meeting simple while trying to engage everybody in the conversation. My follow-ups tend to be more formal meeting notes so they take longer to get them out. So my meetings are less painful than others.

Study finds web conferencing popular but underutilized (shoretel.com)

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Project Management | Tags: 2012, Conferencing, LinkedIn, LNKD, Meetings, Project management, SalesCrunch, Telecommunications, Web conferencing

RB | August 30, 2011

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Verizon Upgrades Michigan Service to 4G – Almost

I was going to let this press release from Verizon Wireless slide without comment until I got to the end and then I had to jump right out of my Bach Seat and crank out this post. Verizon Wireless (VZ) told MiTechNews they are investing $850,000 in Michigan to upgrade 450 antennas on all of its cell sites between the Saginaw Bay north to the Mackinaw Bridge and east of Interstate 75 to Lake Huron. The company reports the new antenna equipment has resulted in incremental network coverage gains of up to one mile, improving overall reliability for customers.

The project will be complete when the company can swap equipment on one last tower in Roscommon where a nest of osprey chicks has called home since March.

“Our customers in eastern northern Michigan are able to use their devices in more places, especially in buildings,” explained David MacBeth, executive director–Network, Michigan/Indiana/Kentucky region, Verizon Wireless. “We’re constantly refining our network to ensure our customers have the best experience every time they pick up their wireless device.”

The company’s ongoing network investment in Michigan now totals more than $1.6 billion to increase the coverage and capacity of its network and to add new services.

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Despite what Mr. MacBeth claims, I’ve heard about an organization that moved to VZW from another wireless provider and VZW could not provide the 4G or any G service in the building. When the customer pushed on VZW to provide any G or basic voice service in their building, the sales rep. came back and said, “we won’t help you because we spent all of our money.”

Apparently, that was the wrong answer, the organization reportedly moved 20 smartphones accounts from VZW back to the previous provider. But hey it is a good press release at least because VZW cares about baby birdies.

What do you think?

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Verizon Wireless Expanding Its 4G LTE Market On Thursday, August 18th – Adding 15 More Cities To The Mix (androidpolice.com)

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: 2011, Lake Huron, Michigan, Saginaw Bay, Sprint Nextel, Telecommunications, Verizon, VZ, Wireless

RB | January 29, 2009

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Multi-Gigabit Wireless by 2012

A January 26, 2009, ScienceDaily article describes a new CMOS chip capable of transmitting 60 GHz digital RF signals. The new chip enables rapid wireless transfer of a high-definition movie from a PC to a cell phone. It was developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology‘s Georgia Electronic Design Center (GEDC).

There are many potential 60 GHz applications. Some applications are virtually wireless desktop computers, data centers, and wireless home DVD systems. The 60 GHz application would allow in-store kiosks that transfer movies to handheld devices in seconds. It also has the potential to move gigabytes of photos or video from a camera to a PC almost instantly.

Experts believe that this technology could yield high-speed, short-range wireless applications by 2012. According to Joy Laskar, director of the GEDC, “Consumers could see products capable of ultra-fast short-range data transfer within two or three years.” Ann Revell-Pechar, chair of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Atlanta Chapter says “Multi-gigabit wireless technology is widely perceived to bring important new wireless applications to both consumer and IT markets.” Darko Kirovski, senior researcher at Microsoft Research says “Multi-gigabit technology definitely has major promise for new consumer and IT applications.”

Unprecedented short-range wireless speeds

Researchers have already achieved very high data transfer rates that promise unprecedented short-range wireless speeds-15 Gbps at a distance of 1 meter, 10 Gbps at 2 meters, and 5 Gbps at 5 meters.

The GEDC-developed chip is the first 60GHz embedded chip for multimedia multi-gigabit wireless use. According to Ms. Laskar, this new technology “represents the highest level of integration for 60GHz wireless single-chip solutions. It offers the lowest energy per bit transmitted wirelessly at multi-gigabit data rates reported to date.”

Industry group Ecma International recently announced a worldwide standard for radio frequency (RF) technology that makes 60 GHz “multi-gigabit” data transfer possible. The specifications for this technology are expected to be published as an ISO standard in 2009.

Category: wi-fi | Tags: 2009, 60 GHz, Networking, Telecommunications, Wi-Fi, Wireless

RB | July 14, 2005

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Broadband’s Power-Line Push

Broadband's Power-Line Push From TechRepublic – People have experimented with building communication networks over power lines since the 1950s. But the broadband over powerline (BPL) technology has never seriously caught on due to its low speed, low functionality, and high development cost.

In recent years, new modulation techniques supported by other technological advances have helped BPL evolve. Most services today are capable of delivering between 512 Kbps and 3 Mbps of throughput, which is comparable to most DSL offerings.

But policy disputes and expensive failures largely have been the hallmark of BPL. In 1999, for example, Nortel Networks, a telecommunications equipment maker, and the British energy company United Utilities abandoned a two-year BPL project.

Because BPL uses the radio frequency signals sent over medium and low-voltage AC power lines to connect customers to the Internet, it can cause interference with HAM radios and emergency radios. Power lines, it seems, are great and often overpowering antennas because of their length and height off the ground.

In 2004, the FCC released a set of rules governing the use of BPL to prevent interference. Most BPL equipment deployed today keeps to these limits. “I think the issue of interference has been a little overblown,” said Bob Gerardi, manager of power line communications for Duke Power, based in Charlotte, N.C. “Some of the first-generation equipment had some problems, but the latest technology adjusts the power levels to avoid any interference.”

With many of the technical issues ironed out, BPL is slowly getting deployed. More than 50 utilities across the country are looking into it. Duke Power, along with Progress Energy in Raleigh, N.C, and Consolidated Edison in New York, is one of three power companies in trials with EarthLink.

Duke began its trial with 500 homes and plans to launch a commercial service to 10,000 to 15,000 homes by the end of this year, said Gerardi. The company, which will rent access to its network to ISPs such as EarthLink, said it will be able to handle high-speed data services at 512 Kbps to 5 Mbps, along with voice-over IP services. The cost of the service will likely be about $30 a month. “The feedback we have gotten from customers is that they want choice,” said Gerardi. “They are happy that Duke Power is pursuing this technology, and we feel an obligation to our customers to vet the opportunity because of the potential benefits.”

But some analysts say it will be difficult for BPL to make any significant gains against the cable and phone companies, which have a big lead both in terms of subscribers and mind share. Jim Penhune, an analyst with Strategy Analytics said, “The big problem for power companies is not the technology, but the timing … The more mature the market, the harder it is for new entrants to break in.”

The power companies are also not in a great position to bundle their services. Cable operators and phone companies are going after the “triple play” market, which includes a package of telephony, television, and high-speed data services. While it’s not inconceivable that power companies will try to bundle other services with their broadband access, critics say it’ll be a stretch.

“Power companies make the Bells look like fast-paced innovators when it comes to launching into new businesses,” said Penhune. “I don’t see them as particularly nimble.”

Eshoo Pushes Bill to Prevent Protectionist State Broadband Laws – (dslreports.com)

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: 2005, BPL, Broadband, Consolidated Edison, Duke Energy, EarthLink, Internet service provider, Nortel, Telecommunications

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