Information and Communications Technology

Why I chose iPhone over Android

rmccharles — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 23:57:32 +0000

After two years of use and dropping it on concrete floors on several occasions my iPhone 3GS was experiencing problems so I recently upgraded to the iPhone 4S.

I considered an Android based phone however there were several factors that convinced me that sticking with Apple was the best choice for my situation.

Like most iPhone owners I have quite a few apps. Some of which (like my navigational and nautical) are not cheap. While I could have likely replaced them, it would have added substantially to my upgrade cost.
While I’ve resisted up until now, I’m seriously considering buying an iPad2. The ability to have the same apps on both devices is attractive.
Hardware interfaces into my audio system on my bike and in my car will only work with the Apple devices. While I could have just used an audio jack, I would have lost my remote display and control capabilities.

These factors were so compelling that I didn’t give much serious consideration to the Android option.

So far I like the phone. While it has a faster processor, I haven’t really noticed much difference in performance. The SIRI functionality has potential. While it’s the best speech recognition interface I’ve encountered it still needs work.

The developers’ of SIRI do have a sense of humour. After several failed attempts at dictating an email, I told SIRI that it was really f’ing stupid. It responded with “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that”.

Intellectual Property rights run amok

rmccharles — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 23:28:21 +0000

It seems that litigation related to intellectual property (IP) is increasing at an accelerating pace. Patent and copyrights are of course vital for companies to innovate and to succeed but it seems that the systems and regulations meant to protect content creators and innovators are being manipulated.

This article by Bloomberg cites several examples of what has been an obvious trend:

Patents awarded for general concepts (especially in software and genomics)
Weak IP being bought, traded and leveraged to impede competitors
Opportunists using the system to profit from others’ innovation
Rights being granted for things that no individual or company should be allowed to own
Exploitation and manipulation to stifle innovation and protect dying business models (MPAA & RIAA come to mind)

I wrote this satirical post on this same topic several years ago. Seems that these issues are not going away any time soon!

Softchoice Acquires Unis Lumin

rmccharles — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 22:27:02 +0000

I’ve been hearing rumours of an pending acquisition for months but it’s finally official. Softchoice has acquired Unis Lumin for $17M in cash. I’ve known both founders since before they started the company and I’m pleased that after more than 20 years of hard work, they get to cash out.

It will be interesting to see what the new owners do with the company.

Congratulations Mauro and John!

Internet Traffic to Quadruple by 2015

rmccharles — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 19:20:38 +0000

Today Cisco predicted that Internet traffic will quadruple by 2015. The implications are huge for service providers, network equipment manufacturers and regulators.

The prediction is confirmation that there is a major transformation happening in the way that we access information and entertainment. The trend will lead to even more innovation. Canadians must ensure that our Government does not allow Canadian service providers take advantage of our limited competitive environment to stifle innovation, limit competition and protect dying business models.

Cisco Closing Flip – Shrewd?

rmccharles — Mon, 02 May 2011 19:43:11 +0000

In this widely quoted article by Electronic Products and Technology it is being said that Cisco’s decision to close its Flip camcorder group was a shrewd decision. Other posts have called the decision courageous. Was it really? I don’t think so. In my view it was simply time to come to terms with a bad investment decision and to cut their losses.

Cisco is convinced (and I agree) that video is an increasingly important aspect of communications technology and human interaction. Cisco’s TelePresence and its acquisition of Tanberg are prime examples of Cisco’s innovation and vision relative to the market impact of video.

However, Cisco seemed to overlook the fact that video capabilities are integrated into many multi-function consumer devices. My camcorder has been in the closet for at least a couple of years. The video capabilities built into smartphones, point and shoot cameras, SLRs and tablets have made single-purpose consumer video recording devices obsolete.

While Cisco’s insight, product development and marketing of products for enterprise is second to none, products like the Flip and ūmi suggest that the company can do a better job at gauging trends and demands in the consumer space.

Rick McCharles

RIC Services

Usage Based Billing (UBB) coming to Western Canada

rmccharles — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 21:33:50 +0000

It appears that TELUS and Shaw have decided to implement UBB later this year. Once again the justification is being spun as fairness. The average user should not have to subsidize the very small minority of Internet usage hogs. It’s the same excuse that Bell used to convince the CRTC to allow UBB to be forced on to Bell’s Internet wholesale customers (currently under review).

The problem with that spin is that its just not true. The fact is that the majority of Internet users are morphing into heavy users. It’s not because we’ve all suddenly decided to download copyrighted movies and music. Rather our Internet consumption is going up because of the rich content that is now available. It has nothing to do with being greedy Internet pigs. Business and consumers are simply making the most of the resource and we are all (as individuals and society as a whole) benefiting as a result.

In my view the reason Canada’s large ISPs want UBB is to maximize profits and to protect dying business models. However, UBB threatens to stifle innovation and to leave Canadians at a competitive disadvantage.

There’s no stopping the evolution of the Internet and its countless benefits. It will continue to create and change business models with or without Canadians’ participation.

If you’re concerned about this issue, stay informed and get involved.

Rick McCharles

RIC Services

SIP Trunking Update

rmccharles — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 18:09:00 +0000

IP Trunking, SIP

One of the most popular posts in my blog was an article I wrote on SIP Trunking in November of 2007. In the post, I listed the differences and advantages of SIP Trunking over PRI. I also indicated that there would be “very few, if any, new PRI circuit deployments in Canadian urban locations, within five years”.

Well, it appears that at least in Canada, I may have to add another five years before my prediction becomes reality (even that may be too optimistic). In the US, there has been healthy market growth and there are many service providers. In Canada, the adoption of SIP Trunking has been minimal. Why? For the same reason that Canadians pay among the highest rates for mobile phone and broadband Internet services: a lack of competition.

The Incumbents have been reluctant to roll out SIP Trunking since these services would cannibalize their highly profitable traditional PRI revenues. More SIP Trunking service providers are beginning to emerge and by the end of 2011, all of the Incumbents will be offering some form of the services. However, I don’t expect to see aggressive pricing any time soon which will further limit Canadian market growth.

While the immediate recurring cost savings may not be dramatic when compared to traditional PSTN circuits, Canadian enterprises should still consider the benefits associated with SIP Trunking. Here is the comparison from my original article with some updates:

	PRI	IP Trunks
Circuits & Hardware	Physical connections: Each circuit requires physical connection and costly termination hardware.	Connections are virtual: Number of available trunks is a function of available bandwidth, not physical termination hardware or circuits. Depending on your requirements and the type of service offering, Session Border Controllers (SBC) may be required for security. SBCs can be a significant cost consideration.
Scale / Growth	Scaling up requires the installation of new circuits and additional termination hardware at specific increments. In the case of PRI the increment is 23 voice channels.	Scales up or down easily and quickly (a software configuration change) and can offer automatic and on-demand burst capabilities. While the technology accommodates these advantages not all service offerings will provide them.
Backup / Redundancy	Providing sufficient backup circuits to remote sites in an IPT-distributed architecture can negatively impact the ROI. Only way to accommodate loss of hardware or facility where PRI’s terminate is to build-in excess capacity with associated cost impact.	Automatic IP re-routing capabilities allow practical geographic distribution of PSTN connectivity to sites with limited or network redundancy. Can be designed to retain PSTN reachability and capacity in the event of the loss of terminating hardware (or even an entire office location) without the need to build in excess capacity.
Cost	Cost is usually per circuit per month. If you require one, or a few, more voice channels than the fixed increment, the cost model for PRI is inefficient.	A variety of pricing models (i.e. usage based) are likely to emerge, including on-demand capacity. Relative to PRI circuits and the associated supporting hardware, IP Trunking costs are likely to be significantly lower. Unfortunately, in Canada the pricing models have not been compelling to date. However, competition is increasing so hopefully that will begin to change soon.
Capacity Planning	Additional capacity must be planned well in advance since considerable lead time may be required for the ordering and installation of new circuits and termination hardware.	While capacity planning is still important, adding additional capacity can be as simple as a software change. Additionally, providers are likely to offer burst capabilities to accommodate brief periods of higher than anticipated utilization.
Disaster Recovery / Business Continuity	While possible, diverting calls to alternate locations can be complex and expensive. Diversity across service providers is usually cost prohibitive.	The technology allows for automatic call rerouting to pre-defined locations should the location go offline (a huge business continuity benefit). Can accommodate diversity across service providers much like is done today with Internet access via BGP.

Canada will ease restrictions on telecom foreign ownership

rmccharles — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:37:47 +0000

In yesterday’s pre-budget Throne Speech, the government announced that it will allow greater foreign investment into Canada’s regulated telecom sector.

The Harper Government had already signaled its intentions when it allowed Globalive to launch its WIND wireless service despite the fact that most of the investment behind the product came from an Israeli company.

The move will likely increase competition and may result in mergers and acquisitions. Perhaps we’ll even see another attempt to merge Telus and Bell.

Personally, I think its positive new for the industry and Canadian consumers.

Bell and Telus Upgrading Network to 3G

rmccharles — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:05:41 +0000

According to an article published by the Financial Post this morning, Bell and Telus are about to announce that they will be jointly upgrading their cellular networks to 3G.

The Post states that multiple telecom industry sources have said that Bell Canada and Telus intend to share the cost to upgrade to the next-generation wireless network and that the announcement will be made next week. It is estimated that the cost of the upgrade will be approximately $1 Billion and that it will take one year to complete.

If true, the Nokia Siemens Networks’ provided upgrade will allow both companies to compete with Rogers by offering popular mobile devices such as Apple’s iPhone 3G and Research In Motion’s Black-Berry Bold.

When combined with the recent spectrum auction and the entry of new wireless competitors such as Quebecor, Shaw, DAVE Wireless and Globalive, the 3G announcement will contribute to significant change in the Canadian Wireless marketplace over the next couple of years.

Great news for Canadian consumers in my view.

BroadSoft Acquires M6 Product from Genband

rmccharles — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:39:36 +0000

BroadSoft announced today that it has acquired the M6 Communications Application Server from Genband. The M6 was originally developed by VocalData which was acquired by Tekelec.

The acquisition could be good news for Hosted IP Telephony service providers who questioned Genband’s commitment to further development of the M6 platform. BroadSoft will gain access to new customers; especially in Canada where most Hosted IP Telephony services for business are based on the M6 application server.

http://www.broadsoft.com/Newsroom/Press2008/broadsoft-acquires-genband-m6-communication-applications-server.htm