Thursday, February 22, 2007

DTP 2007 Future of Communications

This picture was taken at the annual Denver Telecom Professionals' Future of Communications panel.  Too bad my phone case obstructed the edges of the picture.  There were the predicted discussion of FTTx, net neutrality, VoIP, and competition.  The panelists were very entertaining and informative, but predictably stated their companies' positions on these topics. Often the discussion centered on residential services that do not drive the industry, but Michael Rouleau, Senior V.P. Business Development and Strategy from Time Warner Telecom, always jumped in to provide a welcomed the enterprise perspective.  Qwest, along with AT&T, still contend that 20 to 30 Mbit/s to each residential subscriber is enough to meet their triple-play needs.  This approach is short-sighted and will leave them at a competitive disadvantage to Verizon and the cable companies.  Cable companies like Comcast are actively charging ahead with DOCSIS 3.0 that can deliver 100 Mbit/s symmetrically just for Internet access. 

I agree with Donna Jaegers' of Janco Partners assessment that Time Warner Telecom has a bright outlook along with the cable companies.  These companies are pursuing business' desire to communicate more effectively with VoIP, Ethernet, and IP solutions.  Level 3 Communications has deferred their debt but added to it greatly in its recent acquisition spree.  Time will tell if they can execute on this sound strategy.

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