Words are great, pictures are better, video is best, but none of these can compare to being there.
Experiencing the rural roads of this great country – the ones off the beaten path of the Interstate – and meeting the people who are finding creative ways to keep their communities vibrant has been one of the most rewarding aspects to the videos we produce. The videos in our Stories of the Heartland category on ViodiTV tell the story of broadband in rural communities, but, even in this world of Google travel, being there is beyond compare.
Tell Us Your Local Content Story
To help us tell the story of local content, we are asking rural operators to tell us what they are doing or not doing regarding local content. This will be the most comprehensive survey yet on this important topic and, if nothing else, the questions are thought-provoking. We will be presenting the results of the survey at an exclusive session of the Calix User’s Group on October 28th.
Please email us for the link to the survey. The survey will also have information on how to participate in the Viodi Content Awards for Local Content.
Does Broadband Lead to a Broad Waist
In late August, the Milken Institute issued a provocative study, Waistlines of the World – The Effect of Information and Communications Technology on Obesity. The report suggests that, “For every 10 percentage point increase in the share of ICT spending, obesity rates will significantly rise by 1 percentage point directly and 0.4 percentage point indirectly based on the impact of additional consumption of leisure ‘screen’ time.” Click here to read a summary of the report, the report’s prescriptions for what to do, as well as pointers to what a couple of independent operators are doing to counter the negative effects of a knowledge-based economy.
“It’s a competitive issue. They [Operators] want to be offering these solutions on their platforms so that their customers don’t go somewhere else,” said David Adams VP Corporate Development for Accedo. Adams was referring to the idea that operators are beginning to offer app stores to stay relevant in a world where over-the-top is causing a shift in the way people search, discover and view content. The recent announcement from Accedo and Nagra about their partnership to, “deliver an ‘off-the-shelf’ application store and a set of applications to pay-TV service providers,” reinforces Adams point that Operators’ see the need to stay current with competitive pressures. Click here to read more.
More Confusion or More Simplicity
More confusion or more simplicity, that is the question asked by Paul Woidke of Nagra OpenTV in the above interview. He was referring to the idea that what started as touch-screen simplicity could end up with customer confusion as the number of apps on a particular device multiplies. Similarly, he discusses the opportunities and challenges for advertisers as they deal with the fragmentation of viewership across devices and location. Click here to view
Some Tweets and Short Thoughts:
- Catherine Moyer… “We need the FCC to set clear rules & provide sufficient support for the investments needed to continue to roll out advanced services”
- Mini documentary from Bike the Barns ride. Check out Roger’s videography. It is amazing that he didn’t fall off the bike.
- Interesting stats from ACA/NCTC on demise of small CATV systems- what are the implications for BB in those areas?
- Google TiSP … reminds me of a top-secret network we once exposed, Internet Protocol Over Optical Paths
The Korner – The NHL Lockout Related to Instant POTS
One of the most depressing recent developments from the sports world, at least for hockey fans, is the NHL lockout. Perhaps a beneficiary of the lockout will be college hockey. In the upper Midwest, college hockey is already a popular entertainment option for sports fans. Last spring, Viodi got a flavor for the popularity of this winter collegiate sport with our visit to the state-of-the-art hockey rink at Bemidji State University’s Sanford Center.
The Sanford Center features many of the same accoutrements one would find in any modern-day NHL arena. Arena-wide WiFi allows connectivity via the Fiber to the Building connection supplied by the local communications provider, Paul Bunyan Communications. The facility also serves a dual purpose as a conference center for non-sporting events. And even though the world is going all-IP, there are still demands for legacy POTS circuits, as the manager of the arena found out one Friday evening.
Click here to hear his story of how he met a conference client’s last minute request for Plain Old Telephone Services and how this happened only because a local provider was there to help with feet on the street and ears to the phone.
