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@ianb: Enjoying the @SarrahPalinU5A twitter stream. Hilariously parodical or chillingly accurate? 1 day ago

Should Canada bail out Nortel?

February 5, 2009

Om has a piece today written by Venture Capitalist Allan Leinwand asking whether Canada should bail out Nortel.  He asks:  “But is preserving the country’s technological heritage reason enough to spend millions in taxpayers dollars?” I think that the answer to the question is contained within the question.  There is no such thing as technological [...]

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There’s no real innovation in telecom

October 25, 2007

Telecom has, generally speaking, become a zero-sum game. In fact it probably always was, despite numerous attempts by governments at deregulation. The fact of the matter is that even today, full-duplex voice conversations between two parties is almost entirely controlled by a cabal of international telecom companies, both wireless and wireline, who manipulate and milk [...]

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Cingular’s FastPitch Sessions: How not to build an ecosystem

June 1, 2007

I’m frequently amused and bewildered by the naivety and arrogance displayed by the folks who, early in their careers, find themselves in mid-level positions nestled within the comfortable fold of a large Telecom company, and begin to, as they say, believe their own press. I know what of I speak, since if you check my [...]

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VoIP Taking Off in Africa…

July 6, 2003

The New York Times: Searching for a Dial Tone in Africa By G. PASCAL ZACHARY http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/05/business/worldbusiness/ 05VOIC.html?pagewanted=all CCRA, Ghana, July 3 — The Internet bubble has long since popped in the United States, Europe and Asia. But in parts of Africa the Internet is serving as a powerful force for change, primarily by allowing companies [...]

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Wireless Carriers Fighting LNP

April 16, 2003

A running theme on FOIB: Wireless Carriers are arrogant, stupid thieves who are squandering unprecedented opportunity to deliver services people want to use which are deeply influential to society, and to reap the financial rewards therein. Instead, they’re hedgehogs, rolling up into a spiky ball every time anyone “threatens” the crutches they use to sustain [...]

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NYTimes On IP Telephony..

December 17, 2002

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/16/technology/16TELE.html Web Calling Roils the Telecom World By SIMON ROMERO Will the price of international telephone calls continue to decline? And will more people choose wireless technology over land lines? The answers lie in whether new technologies continue to rival existing ones in the coming year. A glance across the humbled telecommunications industry might suggest [...]

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Some execs scored big as company values plunged

December 9, 2002

Duh! But LOOK at how much wealth converged on so few people… what was the economic purpose of the bubble? -Ian. Begin forwarded message: > ———- Forwarded message ———- > Date: Mon, 09 Dec 2002 10:44:23 -0500 > From: Dave Farber > To: ip > Subject: [IP] VERY INTERESTING — Some execs scored big as [...]

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The $19,450 Phone

December 2, 2002

Begin forwarded message:> http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/01/magazine/ > 01CELLPHONE.html?tntemail0=&pagewanted=print&position=top > > The New York Times > December 1, 2002 > The $19,450 Phone > By MARK LEVINE > > Although the Beverly Hills retail outlet of a newly christened company > called Vertu is situated on a stretch of Rodeo Drive whose storefronts > are > occupied by [...]

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Cellular Telephony A Victim Of Its Own Success..

November 22, 2002

Worth it for the chart (sorry about the attachment).. -Ian. —— http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/18/technology/18CELL.html November 18, 2002 Success of Cellphone Industry Hurts Service By SIMON ROMERO Americans’ use of cellphones has increased so quickly that wireless networks are becoming overloaded, causing a growing number of customers to complain about calls that are inaudible or are cut off [...]

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Who’s Afraid of WorldCom?

November 13, 2002

As I’ve been saying for months, when these long-haul telecom companies emerge from bankruptcy, free from servicing their huge capital debts, they will be dangerous. WorldCom, with its huge network assets, will be hugely dangerous and will cause massive disruption in the IP Communications industry. And they’ll be doing it as a dumb pipe vendor. [...]

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