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January 31, 2007
Jon Arnold / Mark Whaley - City of Waterloo and Global Tech Leadership
On this week's podcast, Jon spoke with Mark Whaley, who is a Councillor with the City of Waterloo. Jon saw Mark present at a conference earlier this month in Hawaii, and liked the Waterloo story enough to do a podcast about it, now that both of them are much closer to home. Waterloo is a bit more than an hour west of Toronto, and in tech circles is best known for local hero RIM. As Mark explains, there is much more to the Waterloo tech story, and he does a great job talking about the role the University of Waterloo plays here, and its close relationship with the prviate sector.
On a more timely basis, is the recognition Waterloo just received from the Intelligent Community Forum, where for the second year running, Waterloo placed in the top 7 of global communities utilizing broadband for the betterment of their community. Mark talked about what the ICF is all about, and the characteristics of what makes for a leading community. He's a big part of how Waterloo is doing this via their Intelligent Waterloo Committee, and he provides a lot of insight about their thinking.
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Mark Whaley is a lifetime resident of Waterloo, Ontario. He was one of the first ever recipients of the Waterloo Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to his community over the past 25 years as environmental leader and social activist.
As Councillor, Mark is the Councillor Liaison to the Recreation and Leisure Services Department that encompasses approximately 395 City employees and provides services to tens of thousands of Waterloo residents annually.
On the economic development front, he was the originator of Waterloo’s bid to become one of the world’s top 7 Intelligent Communities, and was a pioneer in working for WiFi coverage for the entire city, being one of the first municipalities anywhere to do so.
Before he was elected, Mark promoted Waterloo on the world stage as the Chairman of its three bids in the International Awards for Liveable Communities, where Waterloo received two silvers and a gold award as one of the world’s most liveable communities. The LivCom Awards were launched in 1997 and are endorsed by the United Nations Environment Programme. LivCom is the world’s only Awards Competition focusing on Best Practice regarding the management of the local environment.
Posted at 04:12 PM • Comments (0)
January 30, 2007
Carl's Corner 1/24/07
Welcome back, ladies and gents. Please, everybody, take your seats. We have a lot to get through.
0:00 - Catharine Trebnik, analyst with FTN Midwest Securities. Catharine will be moderating a session on Purple Apps at VON.
10:57 - Carl and Mikey on EMC, Vonage and the rapidly expanding local calling plan,
18:35 - The Market with Rich Erb
24:00 - Gordon Cook, from gordoncook.net and The Cook Report.
We'd love your feedback on this show. Too long? Too short? Too wonderful? Comments are always welcome on this blog, and on Carl's blog.
Posted at 03:08 PM • Comments (0)
January 29, 2007
VON Spring 2007: Looking for New Revenue Producing Services
Looking for New Revenue Producing Services
Thursday, March 22, 2007, 1:00pm - 2:15pm
Too often people say that VoIP is just cheap voice technology. The truth is that many of the applications that VoIP is bringing to the market are revenue producing, even on the PSTN. Reverse 911, personalized dial tones and other recognition services are producing new revenue and not just cannibalizing the old. Think you’ve got a good idea? You’re sure to hear another one in this session.
-Does the world need to know you’re using VoIP?
-Is VoIP and CTI interchangeable?
Posted at 02:04 PM • Comments (0)
VON Spring 2007: Service Providers' Fixed Mobile Implementations
Service Providers' Fixed Mobile Implementations
Tuesday, March 20, 2007, 5:45pm - 6:45pm
Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) implies different things to different people. Landline, wireless and cable companies all have their plans to deliver applications via FMC. For these service providers the issue is not what network you come from, but how to deliver services on a variety of networks.
- What is the compelling story that makes FMC a strategy for the service provider?
- Is the motivation reduction in costs or increased revenue?
- Are there specific applications that are the sweet spot for FMC?
Posted at 02:00 PM • Comments (0)
Quality Concerns: Jon Darley, Dataflex, with Bob Emmerson
Jon Darley is the CTO at Dataflex, which is a UK company that markets a Multi Services Integrated Access Device - an IAD that functions as a demarkation point between the service provider's network and the customer's premises, the customers in this case being residential as well as small or medium sized businesses.
Jon starts by briefly covering the company's track record in traditional telecoms which involved POTs and ISDN least-cost routers, of which over 8 million were sold to telcos worldwide. This experience and know-how was subsequently used to develop a range of multi-function IADs that have also been deployed worldwide in a single-box solution for carriers to deliver converged services, interfacing legacy POTs and ISDN as well as IP telephony equipment to their next generation networks.
The QoS mechanisms that are employed in the products are then described. Using an RFC 2475 Differential Services Architecture coupled with a mix of resource and admission control Jon outlines the stages applied to ensure the requisite QoS on incoming traffic and outgoing traffic. He then details the use of the IADs built in broadband connectivity to provide additional ATM QOS when the outgoing traffic traverses the broadband link in preference to IADs Ethernet connections.
(To hear other podcasts in Bob Emmerson's Quality Concerns series click here.)
Posted at 01:09 PM • Comments (0)
January 23, 2007
Jon Arnold / Gianni Creta - OneConnect and SMB VoIP in Canada
On this week's podcast, Jon spoke with Gianni Creta, the CTO for Toronto-based OneConnect. They are Canada's first independent hosted VoIP provider, and they're specifically focused on the SMB market. There are few such providers in Canada, and Gianni talked about the opportunity OneConnect sees in serving this market.
SMB VoIP is hot now, although adoption in Canada has lagged the U.S. Gianni addressed the realities of bringing IP to SMBs, not just in terms of market awareness and perceptions, but also the challenges faced by providers who do not own the last mile, particularly in Canada, where the incumbents are so dominant.
Gianni Creta, Chief Technology Officer, OneConnect
As Chief Technology Officer and one of the partners at OneConnect, Gianni oversees the network and technology teams responsible for the deployment of OneConnect’s Hosted IP Multimedia platform. Since inception, Gianni has managed the growth of OneConnect’s network to include over 500 customers using the service across Canada and the US.
Gianni maintains a close relationship with customers and suppliers to ensure that OneConnect’s service offering continues to be at the forefront of the market. Gianni brings to OneConnect computer telephony integration experience from Nortel Networks, where he received an Award of Merit for his outstanding achievement.
Previous to OneConnect he served as the Chief Technology Officer at Globalive Communications – the leading provider of next generation IP-based telecommunications solutions globally. At Globalive, Gianni developed the proprietary softswitching and application technologies, architectured new applications for the Globalive business units, and innovated their technology roadmap and strategy. Gianni is an Honors graduate from the University of Toronto’s Computer Engineering Program.
Posted at 12:07 PM • Comments (0)
January 22, 2007
Jon Arnold / Jim Harris - CES Recap and Disruptive Highlights
On this week's podcast, Jon spoke with Toronto-based Jim Harris about the Consumer Electronics Show, which he recently attended. Jim is a highly regarded management consultant and best-selling author, most recently for his book, Blindsided, which looks at the impact of how technology is forcing businesses to adapt in unprecedented ways. Jon has known Jim for some time, and contributed his insights about VoIP to Blindsided.
On the podcast, Jon and Jim initially spoke about disruptive technology, including Apple's iPhone, which had its debut the same week as CES. Jim then put Jon on the spot, asking him who the largest producer of digital cameras is. The answer may surprise you.
Regarding CES, Jim commented on two companies he saw there whom he felt could be truly disruptive - SanDisk and SpeechGear. He talked about how SanDisk has come out with a 32 Gigabyte solid state hard drive, which could revolutionize the design and portability of laptop computers. SpeechGear is set to be disruptive in a very different way, by enabling real time, bi-directional speech translation. They can do this now for 12 different languages, which opens up tremendous opportunities for global business, and effectively eliminating language barriers.
Jim Harris joined Cleantech in November 2006 as a Partner. He has extensive experience in the fields of management consulting, media, organizational development and politics.
Management Consulting Experience
Jim Harris is a one of North America’s foremost management consultants, authors and thinkers on change and leadership. As a management consultant Jim has worked internationally with leading businesses, Fortune 500 companies, and organizations aspiring to join these ranks. He has led strategic planning sessions with executive teams, focusing on the most pressing issues: leadership, change, customer relationship management, innovation & creativity. His clients include Canon, IEEE, MasterCard, Munich Re, NEC, Nortel Networks, Novartis, and Sun Microsystems.
His most recent book, Blindsided! is published in 80 countries worldwide and is a #1 international bestseller having hit the top position for business books on The Financial Times of London’s European edition. Soundview Executive Summaries, selected it as one of the best business books sending a summary to 80,000 executives worldwide.
Posted at 12:52 PM • Comments (0)
January 19, 2007
Carl's Corner 1/17/07
The 2nd episode of the Carl's Corner podcast. Heaping helpings of rampant speculation, some measured irreverence, and a dash of useful information. You know, the norm. See the syllabus below:
0:00 - Is Google evil? (cont'd)
- Mobile social networking
- The future of advertising?
- Verizon selling off VT, NH, and ME
- iPhone?
15:29 - The Market with Rich Erb
21:18 - Alec Saunders (saunderslog.com, Iotum) on the iPhone and Talk-Now.
We'd love your feedback on this show. Too long? Too short? Too wonderful? Comments are always welcome on this blog, and on Carl's blog.
Posted at 03:22 PM • Comments (0)
January 17, 2007
Carl's Corner 1/10/07
Welcome to the first of what will be a weekly series of podcasts from our own Carl Ford. What makes this different than the podcasts we've been doing with Carl in the past is that it's produced in a slightly more show-ish way. Segments and everything. Believe it.
So the whole deal will usually clock in (we hope) between 30 and 45 minutes, and will regularly feature PulverMedia's own Rich Erb with a look at the market in our space, conversations between Carl and myself, and interviews with guests from all over the community.
The entire show is available for download by clicking the "podcast" button above, and the segments are available individually by clicking the times in the rough syllabus provided below. (There's a more detailed description of the content on Carl's blog.)
0:00 - Intro, Xbox360 IPTV, iPhone, Samsung and Qualcomm MediaFLO
15:13 - Who's on the move?
20:27 - Rich Erb on the market
26:28 - Link Hoewig from Verizon (poliblog.verizon.com)
38:07 - Wrap-up (Google is evil???)
Stay tuned...
Posted at 04:50 PM • Comments (0)
January 16, 2007
Foreword Financial Expo, September 5-7, Chicago
Foreword Financial, a leading developer of conventions, trade shows, conferences, seminars and client meetings for financial service professionals, is merging a robust roster of conferences and trade shows this year in Chicago to form the Foreword Financial Expo.
Each of the Foreword Financial events will run independently and concomittantly, all the while benefitting from the increased total audience that results from putting all these great programs under one roof.
For more information, visit fwfinancial.org.
Posted at 12:14 PM • Comments (0)
January 08, 2007
Quality Concerns: Peter Thompson, U4EA Technologies Ltd, with Bob Emmerson
Peter Thompson explains how, starting from a fundamental belief in multi-service packet networks, U4EA Technologies came to develop a new mechanism for delivering QoS, called ‘GoS™’ for ‘Guarantee of Service’. He describes how an early licensing deal with Ericsson developed into a product development partnership and eventually an OEM channel relationship.
The QoS mechanisms are based on unique algorithms that ensure optimal priority, shaping and management of multiple priority traffic classes, giving carrier-class service quality to voice and other real-time multimedia services over broadband connections. Moreover, they do so efficiently, making maximum use of available bandwidth.
Starting from this technology, U4EA has created a new product category: single-box solutions that combine all the key on-site functionality needed for carriers to deliver converged services to SMBs. The company’s VoIP Business Gateways are multi-functional products that provide a demarcation point between a carrier’s network and their customer’s network. They provide a way to measure Service Level Agreements (SLAs), enable service creation (VPNs, VoIP endpoints) and last but by no means least, they provide a guaranteed QoS.
Peter Thompson is Chief Scientist and one of the founders of U4EA Technologies Ltd, a company established to commercialize advanced research into network QoS, undertaken during the four years that he was a Senior Research Fellow at the Partnership in Advanced Computing Technology in Bristol, England. Previously he spent eleven years at STMicroelectronics, where one of his numerous patents received a corporate World-wide Technical Achievement Award. For five years he was the Subject Editor for VLSI and Architectures of the journal Microprocessors and Microsystems, published by Elsevier, and he has been a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Bristol, England since 1996. He was educated at the University of Warwick, England, where he obtained a First Class Honours degree in Mathematics and Physics, and at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, England, where his postgraduate studies included quantum field theory and general relativity.
(To hear other podcasts in Bob Emmerson's Quality Concerns series click here.)
Posted at 03:32 PM • Comments (0)
