Previous Articles:

April 23, 2003

Our Media, Our Democracy
Excessive media consolidation may produce a situation where the public will be denied access to complete and unbiased information because those who control the media are unwilling to make available information not in their own interests. Some commentators have taken to dismissing minority opinions with disparaging remarks, while, at the same time, routinely interjecting their own personal commentary in news reports and some networks, such as Clear Channel, the largest radio network, have refused to give air time to musicians who have expressed antiwar views. If a free press is an indispensable source of information and the voice of the people, is questioning of government not a primary role for the press?

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March 1st, 2003

China: A Big Opening in Telecom
Telecommunications has grown at an almost unbelievable pace in China over the past decade and the market there could help spark a broader recovery in telecom. China’s telecom capital expenditures are now around US$30 billion by some estimates -- the Beijing government spending at least US$100 billion over the five years according to its latest plan. China has much to offer every segment of telecom, but companies will have to know the market well and fight long and hard to win. That may hold for future opportunities in telecom everywhere.

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December 18th, 2002

A Macro and Micro Economic Policy Void
The economic turmoil of the past three years has done far worse than decimate telecommunications – it has shaken the very foundations of the industry – and we will not begin to see a real recovery in telecommunications until the present uncertainty overhanging the U.S. economy is dispelled and until the bewildering confusion in federal communications law and regulatory policy is addressed.

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November 18th, 2002

High-Speed Access For All
The subject of how "last mile" issues thwart broadband access in rural areas has been a frequent topic in telecom circles over the last few years. But the unique approach of a not-for-profit coalition of community based organizations in the Appalachian Mountains is shedding light on the business potential of these remote areas, as well as the societal value of high-speed access for everyone. Its findings may come as a surprise.

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October 18th, 2002

Laissez-Faire Has Got to Go
Competition is not working well in the telecommunications industry and here’s why: We have it in our heads that competition and regulation are diametrically opposed to each other, which they are not. Over 40+ years, the United States has been engaged in a grand experiment to foster competition in telecommunications, but today the industry is in disarray. Customers, investors, the economy and the nation are the losers in the present environment and will continue to be so until sound and adequate regulation is recognized as a prerequisite and a safeguard for competition in telecommunications and until industry leaders step forward to regenerate the prestige and dynamism of earlier years.

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August 9, 2002

Reforming Corporate Governance: The Board
Whether or not the new corporate accountability law, recently signed by the President with some fanfare, will make much difference in the behavior of corporate boards of directors remains to be seen. But boards are responsible for corporate governance and investors have already made clear that if corporations are not managed properly, they will put their money elsewhere.

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July 15, 2002

Don't Count Telecom Competition Out Yet
Among the many provocative stories on the telecom industry in the news this week was a particularly interesting and intriguing article in this past Monday's Washington Post exploring the future of competition in consumer phone services. Amid the ruins of many would-be competitors in telecommunications, losses totaling many hundreds of billions of dollars and more than half a million jobs gone - to mention only the most obvious fallout from the industry's collapse - former executives, investors and observers are asking whether the basic telecom network may be a natural monopoly after all.

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April 16, 2002

A Corporate Cancer That Must Be Cut Out
The governance of many public corporations is in
disarray. Managers and directors and their allies accounting, securities and banking know or should know the truth about corporate costs and profits, and have the responsibility to provide truthful information to employees, investors and the public. Too often, management has withheld this information from shareowners, lenders and the public, but profited from it
personally. Industry leaders know a conflict of interest when they see one and how to prevent it. But that seems unlikely. It is time for government to step in, before more shareowners and employees are hurt further and before customers and the public lose all faith in the integrity of U.S. business.

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March 15, 2002

Confusion We Can Live Without
The Tauzin-Dingell bill, passed by the US House of Representatives in late February, is particularly troubling because it adds to confusion and uncertainty in the telecom/IT industry. The good news is that the FCC recently announced a rulemaking on high-speed access and related issues, which could provide a more open forum for addressing the difficult and complex set of issues involved.

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February 8 , 2002

A Struggling Industry With A Bright Future
"Three prominent themes carried through the three-day Comnet Conference and Expo in Washington, DC, last week: guarded optimism that two years of distress in the telecom/IT industry could soon give way to an upturn; a reluctant but inevitable coming together of voice networks and Internet-centered data networks; and federal policies that are out of step with advancing technologies and unsuccessful in guiding the industry toward fair competition and enhanced services."

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January 25, 2002

Cable and Satellite TV Mergers: Who Will Benefit?
"Comcast’s agreement to acquire AT&T Broadband and
EchoStar’s planned purchase of DirecTV have shaken the structure of the U.S. cable and satellite TV industry to its roots and will shape the delivery of television to homes nationwide for decades to come. AOL, Cox and other
cable companies will be compelled to find strategic allies. AT&T Comcast will have a large presence and enormous leverage with programmers and content providers. The planned merger of EchoStar with DirecTV has raised
concerns among consumer groups and members of Congress, who worry that some remote rural areas will be left to depend on one satellite provider for their TV service. For many customers, prices are likely to rise."

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December 21 , 2001

Telecom: Down But Not Out
"The telecom industry enters the year 2002 in one of its worst slumps ever, with little expectation of resurgence until the nation’s economy regains strength, perhaps in the third quarter. The problems in telecom are profound and pervasive. An upturn in the economy is essential for the telecom industry to regain its strength, but that is not all. The telecom industry must do significant internal restructuring to recover from its present economic problems. We need a regulatory environment that effectively promotes competition and assures customer choice; management that restores investors’ enthusiasm for telecommunications; and a broader view by industry players--a long-range view that takes into account the interests of all parties."

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November 30, 2001

The Cyber Terrorism Threat
"'Cyber terrorism is a cheap, effective and controllable tool of terrorism in its purest form--anonymous, fast and wide-ranging, with highly cascading results that are particularly damaging in a democracy,' says Captain Bill Evans, U.S. Navy (Retired). We need to guard against it more effectively
than we do now. We have technologies that will better safeguard our critical infrastructures and institutions. We have excellent intelligence, but we must coordinate and utilize it more quickly and effectively. We need to better educate ourselves on security and threats to security. And we
must not in desperation compromise hard-won civil liberties."

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November 16, 2001

Wireless: Hardly a Place Left for the Little Guys
"The FCC has voted to raise immediately the amount of Commercial Mobile Radio Services (CMRS) spectrum that a company will be allowed to hold in any particular geographical area. The decision gives large wireless providers the opportunity to consolidate and extend their positions in key markets, with new freedom to buy or squeeze out smaller companies. There are fewer and fewer places left for small, independent companies in wireless telecommunications. The FCC, other watchdog agencies and Congress must assure that large companies use their more generous share of spectrum fairly and for the public good and see to it that wireless competition includes smaller companies wherever possible."

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November 2, 2001

AT&T 1876–2001 R.I.P.
"AT&T’s phone lines still carry many millions of calls each day and its cable network serves more homes than any other, but we have already seen the end of a strong and noble – if flawed – American institution. It could have been different. A recognition that competition sharpens the competencies of service providers as it benefits customers might have made a difference. Paying more attention to a transformed industry environment, the impact of advancing technologies and true customer demands might have helped as well."

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October 5, 2001

PSTN and VoIP: Coming Together for Quality
and Reliability
"The destruction of the World Trade Center in
New York City knocked out a critical central office and transmission lines. As thousands of businesses struggled to cope with a loss of service, some found a ready and acceptable backup in voice over Internet protocol (VoIP). Some telecom experts think VoIP technologies have a way to go to meet acceptable customers' applications and quality standards; others say new systems surpass the PSTN. You may want to think creatively and look at both the PSTN and VoIP to provide the quality and reliability you need."

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September 21, 2001

Bandwidth Trading and Telecommunications
Post 9/11
"Last week’s devastating attack on the World Trade Center struck at the heart of the economy and at a critical global communications hub. As telecom companies focus on restoring switching and transmission facilities and reexamine the vulnerability of vital communications links, we may learn much about the industry's resourcefulness in struggling out of its decline and about which companies are likely to survive and prosper in the difficult environment ahead."

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September 14, 2001

Better Safe Than Sorry
"In these sad and terrible days since the terrorist hijackings and attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, on America and freedom-loving people everywhere, we feel vulnerable. Safety and security are much on our minds. We seek strength from family and friends and rely on the security of basic services, including telecommunications. Is telecommunications as secure and reliable as it must be? Unfortunately, no."

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September 7, 2001

Broadband: When Will it Happen?
"Against considerable data and even more analysis indicating that recovery in telecommunications, particularly in fiber and broadband, will be a long, slow and painful process, there are some encouraging signs. Even in the midst of the present economic slowdown, businesses recognize that advanced broadband telecom applications offer better value than traditional services and can mean the difference between success and failure."

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August 24, 2001

A Competitive Industry Benefits Everyone
"Companies in every part of the communications and information services sector want government protection, and legislators and regulators seem quite willing to
listen. Until these companies recognize interests broader than their own, we will not see the benefits of competition"

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June 29 - July 27, 2001

Voice Over IP: Challenge and Promise
"In spite of the slumping economy, technical obstacles and confusing standards, voice over IP is happening. This is not just about voice; a revolution is under way"

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