An Ignoble Experiment

AT&T (NYSE: T) does not want to get left behind in the video streaming race that's been dominated by the likes of Hulu and Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), but it has hinted that it is putting together an expanded set of capabilities for its U-verse customers.

While not revealing any specific plans, AT&T, reports Variety, asked U-verse customers last month if they would be interested in or even inquiring about, a "new video and Internet service."

This new service would offer various features: streaming to customer's device without a set-top box; local broadcast channels and "popular sports and entertainment" cable channels; the option to bundle one streaming service such as Netflix or Amazon Prime (Nasdaq: AMZN); and better picture quality and shorter wait times for streaming.

Customers who sign up for the package would get a Wi-Fi router and a 6 Mbps Internet connection. They would be able to stream content to tablets, smartphones, TVs, Blu-ray players and game consoles such as Xbox or Wii.

What's interesting about the service is it that might not all be provided directly by AT&T and it could offer service outside of the U-verse network footprint. "This service could be offered by any broadband provider, not necessarily AT&T," the survey report says.

The idea of offering a broader streaming video service isn't entirely original as Verizon (NYSE: VZ) recently launched its Redbox Instant streaming video service.

AT&T's move, suggests Variety, could signal that it's either trying to retain customers that are replacing their video provider with online options like Netflix or it is trying to see what effect a competitor's online video service would have on its own subscriber base.

For more:
- Variety has this article

2. Internet exchanges play critical role during submarine cable outages

By Samantha Bookman

Comment |

A series of submarine cable outages in the past two weeks caused widespread disruptions of Internet service in the EMEA and Asia regions, leading to increased attention on the importance of alternate routes and better interconnectivity. For land-based Internet exchanges, the timing couldn't be better, according to Harald Summa, CEO of Germany-based DE-CIX Management GmbH.

Summa this week touted the importance of UAE-IX, the carrier-neutral Internet exchange that DE-CIX manages in Dubai, where about 20 international and regional ISPs exchange traffic.

"Higher connectivity can reduce the impact of submarine cable cuts for ISPs and their customers in the Middle East, East Africa and South Asia," said Summa in a company release.

On March 27, three divers reportedly cut the SeaMeWe-4 submarine cable connecting Europe to the Middle East. Two other subsea routes, EASSy and SEACOM, which connect South and East Africa with Europe and Asia, saw disruptions due to cable cuts a few days before the sabotage off Egypt.

Internet exchanges received some alternate attention last week, too, due to their upstream role in the Spamhaus distributed denial of service attack. At the height of the event, according to CloudFlare, attackers flooded key connection points--including ISPs and Internet exchanges in Amsterdam and London--in an attempt to slow traffic regionwide. The event led some to question whether the neutral exchanges were security risks.

Still, while land-based networks are vulnerable to such incidents as well as other security issues or natural disasters, their larger mesh of connectivity does give them greater ability to route around outages. Last week's DDoS event was barely a blip on the traffic radar. But in areas served by three or fewer submarine cables, a cable cut can mean no Internet connectivity outside the continent--as was the case in East Africa last week, according to Renesys, from Djibouti to South Africa.

"Maintaining a presence at an Internet exchange maximizes your options for re-establishing high-performance route diversity during a submarine cable outage event," said Jim Cowie, chief technology officer and co-founder of Renesys, in the release.

For more:
- see this release
- Renesys has this blog post

Commentary: Spamhaus DDoS was just a warning shot

Read more about: Internet exchange
back to top

3. Report: Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom resume VDSL2 vectoring wholesale talks

By Sean Buckley

Comment |

Vodafone is negotiating a wholesale VDSL2 service arrangement with Deutsche Telekom (DTE.DE) to deliver a new TVG service over the German incumbent's copper-based last mile network.

Citing a person familiar with the situation, Reuters reports that the mobile-centric Vodafone needs to find a way to allay investor and analyst concerns that it can offer its own quad-play offering of wireless, wireline voice, broadband and TV to battle cable operators. It does offer wireline-based services in some of its markets through arrangements with other incumbent wireline service providers.

Given its lack of wireline assets, some of Vodafone's investors were concerned that the pressure to keep up with cable operators would drive UK-based provider to purchase a mix of cable operators such as Kabel Deutschland or other regional telcos.

However, it appears that Vodafone is content to take a partnership approach to build out its wireline broadband business. In addition to conducting wholesale talks with DT, the service provider is jointly building a fiber to the home (FTTH) network with France Telecom covering 50 of Spain's major cities.

Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom, according to Reuters' unnamed source, began laying out the terms of a wholesale VDSL2 arrangement in December. However, neither Vodafone nor Deutsche Telekom responded to the publication's request for comment.

Vodafone's timing to strike a VDSL2 wholesale deal couldn't be better. Deutsche Telekom itself is ramping up its VDSL2 and vectoring efforts to more effectively battle its cable competitors with higher speed data services.

In February, the telco said it would spend €6 billion ($7.9 billion) to build out a FTTC network to deliver up to 50 to 100 Mbps on its existing copper network.

For more:
- Reuters has this article

Special report: The 10 hottest wireline technologies in 2013

4. Mass. Broadband Institute turns up section of middle mile network

By Sean Buckley

Comment |

The Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) lit the first segment of its 1,338-route mile MassBroadband 123 network, which will bring services to 51 out of 120 community institutions in the western part of the state.

MBI kicked off the new network at an event held at the Farmington River Elementary School in Otis, Mass., attended by the state's Governor Deval Patrick, Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), Pamela Goldberg, CEO of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, and Judith Dumont, MBI's director.

"The victory today is that we are actually lighting part of the network. What was once a twinkling in someone's eyes five or six years ago is becoming a reality," said Goldberg in a Mass High Tech article. "This is a very large project and an extremely impactful project for the commonwealth."

Set to be completed by this summer, the MBI was made possible through the state's Broadband Act. Under the terms of this act, the MBI is allowed to invest up to $40 million in state funding for broadband-related projects.

Leveraging a combination of state and federal funds, the total cost of the project is $80 million.

Upon completion, the new network will serve 1,200 "anchor institutions," including a mix of schools, libraries, municipal buildings, public safety and health care facilities.

Massachusetts has been active proponent of the middle mile network trend. Besides MBI, CapeNet is building a 350-mile fiber optic middle mile network called OpenCape, serving southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod.

For more:
- Mass High Tech via Boston Business Journal has this article

5. Alcatel-Lucent has set positive turnaround signs, says Deutsche Bank

By Sean Buckley

Comment |