If you're looking for where telecom carriers need to go to stay competitive, SaskTel offers plenty of insight. The government-owned carrier in Western Canada is upgrading its residential broadband network to between 40Mbps and 50 Mbps by the end of this year in 10 large centres, and it plans to upgrade the system to 100Mbps by 2016. SaskTel CEO Robert Watson said the need for a bigger pipe is simple: consumers are going to demand an always-on network that can provide super-fast Web surfing, video-on-demand, pay-per-view and high-definition television. What's particularly interesting is Watson's admission that 100Mbps will be attained by rolling out fiber to the home – a strategy being pursued currently by Verizon. Bell Canada insists it can eventually get to 50Mbps by using the less expensive fiber to the node route but it's counting on new compression technology to get the job done. For SaskTel, its decision to move aggressively is based on the need to be ready when competition from cablecos starts to appears. It's a strategy many, if not all, carriers, should examine given the inroads being made by the cablecos in telephony.
Update: It's interesting to read a post today by Om Malik on how BellSouth is winning new DSL business with its higher price 3Mbps and 6Mbps broadband services. It puts some perspective on SaskTel's plans.
Rick Segal's Cryptic Plans
There are changes afoot in the venture capital industry, and my friend Rick Segal
seems to have a plan or at least some ideas to adjust with the times.
In a cryptic post today, he quasi-explains the problem: “This
world (editor's note: I assume he's
talking about the VC business) has some issues that need to get fixed.
Everything from being nice (no referrals) to defining the customer
(you, the start up), we have lots of issues. Add this to the changes
happening on the Web, the big guys using the HR department to handle
buying small companies (hire em and ‘buy the company’ via
big sign-on bonus), we’ve got trouble brewing.” He then talks
about creating news and the application of cluetrain and hughtrain
“to the art of getting good ideas into sustainable forms that create
the because of effect”. To be honest, I have no clue what Rick's
talking about but given he has consulted with Robert Scoble, Doc
Searls, Chris Pirillo and Hugh Macleod, I assume there it's a big idea
that needs some time to evolve and emerge. One thought – and it's one
that came from a recent discussion – is whether the VC is even needed
within the Web 2.0 environment. If you can develop and distribute a new
application/service with little capital, what roles do VCs get to play
if they can't bring money to the table? Maybe this is what Rick is
working on. In any event, he suggests we read this post by Doc Searls and wait for more details. Very, very interesting…..
Update: The New York Times has a story today on VCs who blog, and how their need keep quiet about potential deals and interesting start-ups means they tend to write a lot about things other than venture capital. I wonder what Segal has to say about the article given he's probably one of the most frank – and focused – VC bloggers out there. This isn't to suggest I don't enjoy Fred Wilson's music selections but you never know what you're going to get.
Can Google's Q4 Results Bring Sanity to Web 2.0?
In four days, Google will release its much-anticipated Q4 results. I have no doubt many people within the high-tech world will take a deep breath breath just before 4 p.m. when the Q4 numbers will be unveiled. In my mind, the key question is whether Google results that fail to meet expectations and/or a disappointing forecast for 2006 would necessarily be a bad thing. Maybe it would be a positive development given the enthusiasm about Google and Web 2.0 is bordering on irrational exurberance. You have investors willing to pay a huge premium for Google shares, analysts postulating about the stock hitting $2000, and VCs pouring millions of dollars into start-ups with no business models other than maybe selling out to Google, Microsoft or Yahoo (Yahoo may be acquiring Digg.com for $35-million). Maybe what the high-tech world may need is some less-than-stellar Google results to give people a much-needed slap in the face. The conditions today are eerily similar to the dot-com boom, and I believe ripe for a crash. Henry Blodget has some intriguing thoughts about Google in an aptly-titled post: “Hey Google Gamblers! Belly Up to the Q4 Craps Table”. While I wouldn't call Blodget a bear on Google, he's certainly pragmatic about its valuation and metrics at a time when most investors are throwing fundamentals to the wind. (I agree with a comment that Blodget is also being opportunistic because he'll look like a genius if Google shares tank.) There is simply too much riding on Google's continued financial and stock momentum so any disappointment next week will likely cause the market to go into a tailspin. But this, in fact, may be a good thing to recalibrate investor and analysts (other than Gomez & Co.'s Philip Remek), as well as Web 2.0 entrepreneurs looking for a buy-out rather than focusing on building a viable business.
Update: News.com has an interesting story looking at how Sergey Brin and Larry Page each sold $160-million of stock last month. As well, the company is apparently testing with the interface of its search engine page. Here a mock-up.
Blogging in Toronto
It wasn't quite a Om Malik-like blogger/entrepreneur extravaganza or a Michael Arrington BBQ but it was nevertheless good getting together with a group of Toronto bloggers last night for drinks and dinner at The Paddock. The group included Mathew Ingram, Rob Hyndman, Tyler Hamilton and Michael McDerment. Needless to say, there was a lot of animated discussion about blogging, the recent Sam Bulte controversy and other topics of little interest to the hipsters at The Paddock. We came away from our three hour discussion that more has to be done to encourage bloggers and people within the Web 2.0 community to get together – whether it's through informal social events or organized meetings. There is a lot going on in Toronto but there needs to be more of a community developed. We've got some ideas so stay tuned!
Don Tapscott Re-invents Himself…Again
Like a chameleon, Don Tapscott has a gift that lets him adopt to a changing environment. During the dot-com boom, he was an e-commerce expert. When the bubble burst, he turned himself into a corporate governance guru who made transparency his mantra. Now, he's apparently a Web 2.0 expert judging from a promo for a speech he will give next week in Toronto where he will explain why Web 2.0 is “not same buzz surrounding another dot-com bubble. It's a whole new way of doing business online” at a time when “the Internet truly comes of age”. Don't get me wrong, I give Tapscott total credit for his ability to jump on the next high-tech trend even it means changing his stripes every few years. After all, Tapscott is a consulting, book writing and speech-giving machine who has a knack for knowing what people and companies want to hear – and doing it in an entertaining way. I went to a speech he gave several years ago just when the Blackberry and MP3 players were just moving into the mainstream. The audience just ate it up as if they were hearing about these developments for the first time. That's Tapscott gift: he consolidates a whole bunch of ideas, and then re-packages them in an informative and accessible way.
Vonage Offering In-Home Service
One of the my criticisms of Vonage has been the fact many consumers don't want to fool around with installing a router and then try to get all the telephone jacks in their home to work – as opposed to using a base station and cordless phones. Well, it appears Vonage is moving into the home-installation business by offering service in New Jersey and five boroughs in New York City. Vonage plans to expand the service to 50 U.S. cities later this year. This is a much-needed move to get Vonage into the mainstream, although it could be an expensive proposition unless the consumer agrees to pay for the convenience. One of the reasons cablecos are doing so well in cable telephony is in-home service, which makes it easy to get on the VoIP bandwagon. A good example is Videotron, which has signed up for than 160,000 cable telephony customers in the past year. Hat tip to Russell Shaw for picking up the news. By the way, whatever happened to Vonage's IPO? Apparently, the company was poised to make a filing with SEC but it's really, really quiet out there.
