December 2010 - Leadership Blog

As competition and the economic crunch pit themselves against communications service providers (CSPs), it's getting harder and harder for them to maintain profitability, so the search is on for ways of exploiting underused assets. Take customers for example – CSPs have them by the billions, yet they often know almost nothing about them other than an address or a phone number in the eyes of many providers. But knowing your customer and exploiting what you actually have if you look for it...

Verizon finally made it official, announcing the availability of its LTE network beginning next Sunday, December 5th. Pricing will start at $50 for 5 GB monthly allowance, with access offered to USB modem users. Smartphones will not follow until mid-2011. 38 metro areas and 60 airports will be covered initially. Not only is the expected data rate (2-5 up and 5-12 down) comparable to landline speeds, I expect the range of services and devices offered will gradually expand the application areas beyond now-traditional 3G application areas, and begin blurring the distinction between wireless and wireline provinces of the Verizon empire. Note that the “Rule the Air” marketing campaign and rebranding that took place earlier this year erased the “Wireless” from Verizon.