VoIPWatch

What's Next for Wireless?

The wireless industry is constantly evolving. Every year, we see new technologies and trends emerge that have the potential to change the landscape of wireless forever. So, what's next for wireless? Here's what to watch:

1. eSIMs: Embedded SIM (eSIM) cards are the next generation of SIM cards. Unlike traditional SIM cards, which are physical cards that must be inserted into a device, eSIMs are embedded into devices and can be activated remotely. This means that users will no longer have to physically swap out their SIM cards when they want to change carriers. Instead, they'll be able to simply activate or deactivate their eSIM with their carrier of choice. This technology is already being used in some smartphones and smartwatches, and it's expected to become more prevalent in the coming year.

2. GIGS out of Germany, but with venture funding from around the globe, is building a platform to enable any business to offer eSIM & SIM enabled phone plans of any size on any network globally. Businesses can launch their own mobile service and monetize their audience, unlocking recurring revenue streams,

3. Helium: Helium is a new network architecture powered by the Helium Blockchain, The People’s Network represents a paradigm shift for decentralized wireless infrastructure. 

With all this going on the wireless industry is always changing, and 2023 is shaping up to be no different. We're already seeing new technologies emerging that have the potential to change the way we use wireless forever. So, what's next for wireless? Only time will tell!

 

 

When PR Isn't

As background I've been in the PR world since I was 14 years old when I was in sports with the Philadelphia Wings and then with the Philadelphia Flyers. Back as far as then the idea of being friends with media, keeping them informed and being able to talk, present a story angle that was more of a conversation than the so called "pitch."  As a blogger, I get pitched everyday, and while I don't accept contributed articles, I do get ideas on topics when the PR person has taken the time to only pitch me on story ideas that will be newsworthy, not simply to meet their client's wishes.

But PR has changed. Recently I was sent a pitch by NordVPN. It included an interesting angle and one which I was half interested in writing about, but the release had holes in it to make for a good blog post, so I sent a few questions back to the person who sent the pitch and release to me. No reply. I followed up a few days later. Still no reply. I then reached out to the person listed on the web site for communications. No reply.

On another story angle I called and wrote the PR contact for ZipCar. No reply. Even worse, the phone number listed resulted in a message saying the number "does not have voice mailbox has been set up yet." This is for the PR person listed on the most recent release. An email to the contact also wasn't replied to.

A third example is how PR people make it so difficult a story isn't able to be written. A few months ago I got assigned to write a story about identity verification in the technology era. Having experienced the situtaion first hand with both physical address and phone number verification, and having vendors like ADP tell me they use Experian to check addresses and Acxiom to validate addresses as well (FedEx) I posed the question to both requesting information about processes, data sources and alternative methods of validation. Acxiom promised an answer and never provided one. Experian said they didn't want to take part in the story. The story never got written. 

This is the state of PR and why reporters are now fed up and why "fake news" exists.

Having been a PR pro and a journalist the ability to produce a factually accurate story is only made more difficult when PR people choose to play defense vs. work with media on getting the right story. When journalists have first hand knowledge of what's going it only makes for a more accurate story. Receiving the right answer from the company in question only goes to make for a better and more correct news account.

Unfortunatly, when PR folks don't work in a cooperative manner with media only two outcomes can occur. No story, or a story that is based on what the media thinks are the facts. In both cases the brand loses.

Having worked with luminary brands like AT&T, AOL, Nokia, RIM and breakout brands like GrandCentral (GoogleVoice), StubHub and many others, we always made a point of working with the media, and being cooperative. That approach yielded in successful campaigns and stories about the companies. Media pros know how to do things right, but when they play like amateurs then no one wins and their audiences end up the losers.

 

GoGo In The Air With Satellite Connectivity

No, I didn't make a VoIP call. But I did stream Amazon Prime on a flight today where GoGo is the provider and instead of beaming down to ground stations, the connection was via satellite.  Compared to my ground station based experience yesterday, what a difference.

Streaming video was awesome. Webpages load fast. And most of all the experience is as good as my JetBlue Exceed experiences in the past. And unlike my experience with .Air on a recent BA flight from London, the payment platform worked perfectly.

Staying connected in the air is nothing new for me. I remember using Boeing's Connexxion service when it was first deployed on a few Lufthansa flights and knew how game changing in-flight connectivity via WiFi would be. Now some years later we're really seeing and experiencing what WiFi in the Sky is all about. 

As someone who has been critical of GoGo in the past, I'm very happy to say they have done it right...

 

Panasonic's Smartphone App is Very Private

I came across a note letting me know about a new mobile app from Panisonic that ties into their business phone system. When I read the note, it was full of just enough information to encourage me to look through the web site about the smartphone app.

What I found was more than interesting and a more than smart approach to business communication. What stood out most of all was the ability to keep the calls only between team members, and the ability to reject non-Panasonic originating calls from even reaching the customer. This helps kill off spoofed calls, outside calls and unwanted calls. For internal teams who need to stay in touch, in many ways, this is how I've used Skype for years with my agency team members.  The difference here is this is a business communication's system, and a feature not often shared or even available from other VoIP providers.

To me the feature set combines privacy seeking businesses who have turned to apps like Telegram or Signal, but provides the business the right level of controls and capabilities. Panasonic has been steadily building their own phone platform, while previously having worked with Broadsoft. This solution appears to work with both, and clearly needs more exploration.

 

The Google Disconnect

Google is my provider for so much these days. GSuite. Pixel phone. Pixelbook. The Google Cloud powers my phone service, Dialpad and my conference bridge, UberConference. I dumped cable for YouTubeTV. In my life, Google is like Santa Claus. It knows when I've been sleeping. It knows when I'm awake. It knows when I've been bad or good (by my search habits) and Google knows where I go, via Google Maps and Waze. Google knows my music likes via YouTube Music. It knows my questions, via Google Home. To me, if Google doesn't know me by now.....well you get my point.

So how come when I arrive for the first time at Starbucks with my Pixel and my Pixelbook I have to log in to the Google powered hotspot?

Influencers and Analysts - Is There Any Difference?

Online, nothing is really what it appears to be, especially when it comes to business, and the spectacle that surrounds "the business." Today, the term, "influencer" has become a blanket euphemism for everyone who has influence, and is getting paid for it. So while it is easy for FTC to identify the online influencers, the rules don't seem to apply to the analyst community.

As blogging took hold, and as we some of us attracted clients, or patrons, the FTC stepped in to make sure we all revealed our business relationships. In my case, I started to use the word "client" in my posts. But when it comes to analyst firms or the independent analysts, there seems to be a double standard, as you never see the same type of transparency that you now see from bloggers when the reports come out, or for example, the Gartner's Magic Quadrant get announced. It seems we have different rules for different people. A double standard per se. And that's not right.

Over the past 15 years, or since the early days of blogging, it hasn't gotten better. It's only gotten worse. With consolidation in the analyst world there are fewer "big voices" to shill for the vendors. With fewer media outlets, and less reporters, there's less neutral commentary. This all means the pay for play content is trumping the independent voices. Add in domain authority to SEO and the truth further gets pushed down and less seen. 

Large analysts and research firms like IDC, Forrester, Gartner, 451 are all paid for subscriptions to their reports. But vendors are really their clients. These same client companies also offered and pay for research, advisory and writing services. The analysts in turn offer guidance on product and services launches. Some offer feedback on "go to market" planning, or serve as sounding boards for presentations to the industry or public market analysts and media. But even so, the FTC Guidelines don't apply to them. There's no disclosure. No transparency. Well it's time.

The solution is simple. If you're paid by a company, reveal it. Be radically transparent. That way, the audience can decide if it's like wrestling (fake) or like the MLB. A real game, where the outcome is based on who is best, not simply the richest.

 

 

Mobile Service on The Metro Impressively Fast

I've been a long time visitor to Paris for many years and remember my first experience on the #14 line, also known as the Meteor and how I was able to receive email on my Nokia 9000 Communicator. It was back in the 00's and the iPhone was not even in existence. Back then email and some web browsing at really slow speeds were the norm, but we were connected at least.

Today, I rode the #1 Metro and as I looked around there were people talking, texting and of course using many apps on their smartphones. I had forgotten that the Metro had improved its mobile connectivity across all of the lines that make getting around Paris such a snap.

Unlike London and New York City, where mobile phone service is relegated to just the stations, on the Metro you have full coverage. A fast speed check showed speeds at about 15 megs as the subway car moved towards Palais Royale from the Champs Elysee.

To say my experience was great is an understatement. Just watching so many people connected and getting things done while on the go underground was more than great. It made me realize that back home in the USA the operators talk about 5G but ignore opportunities in cities like Philadelphia and Washington DC. Yes BART in the Bay Area has connectivity, but it's nothing like what I just experienced here in Paris.

Fe Fi Fo Fum Fi and T-Mobile Are Data Down Globally but Not In The USA

How come none of the media who are paid to know what's what have connected the T-Mobile USA and Google Project Fi outages today on an international level?

After reading about the Fi outage, I Googled the words T-Mobile and outage. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to make the connection since Fi piggybacks off of T-Mobile.

 

The COMUNICANO for Thursday February 23 2017

FEBRUARY 23 - ISSUE #29     Getting Quoted…and getting quoted regularly are two different things. So far this year I’ve been quoted three times. Last year over 40. Like the number of exits Comunicano has been involved in, now 42, this isn’t luck, chance or accidental. It’s all about having insight, perspective and opinion on subjects, and having the ability to articulate the answer so it’s reporter educational and friendly.  So the first story about the fastest way through some airports, CLEAR, has my quote, but the background provided to the reporter is there too…that’s how you GET QUOTED…There’s also news about Amazon getting in some hot water, Facebook trying to play nice, faster mobile in the USA, Twitter getting more “personal”, Lyft adding more cities and more news you need to know, so now onto the news in today’s COMUNICANO. Travel Watch Now you can go through MSP airport security with a fingerprint or iris scan WWW.TWINCITIES.COM – Share New biometric technology at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport lets fliers go through security with a fingerprint or iris scan. Norwegian Air steps up transatlantic pressure with $65 fares| Reuters WWW.REUTERS.COM – Share Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA on Thursday announced plans to offer transatlantic flights on 10 new routes between the United States and Europe starting at $65, ramping up pressure on U.S. and European rivals. Media Watch Facebook Is Trying To Smooth Over Relationships With The Media WWW.BUZZFEED.COM – Share Facebook’s new head of news partnerships, Campbell Brown, is hosting off-the-record events at her Manhattan home with big-name media people… Amazon Watch What 'Chime' is it? Amazon sued over name of its new online conferencing technology WWW.GEEKWIRE.COM – Share A New York-based tech company has filed a federal trademark suit against Amazon Web Services over the name of the cloud giant's newly launched Chime online Amazon resists US demands to hand over Echo audio in murder case WWW.ZDNET.COM – Share Prosecutors want the audio recordings for evidence, but are they protected by free speech laws? Ridesharing Watch Google’s Waze Plans Expansion of Ride-Sharing Service WWW.WSJ.COM – Share Google is planning to dramatically expand a carpool service on its popular navigation app Waze, setting the tech giant on a collision course with the ride-sharing industry. Lyft launches in 54 new cities, while Uber does damage control MONEY.CNN.COM – Share Lyft has launched 94 new cities total since the beginning of the year, on the heels of trouble at Uber. Wireless Watch T-Mobile Continues to Boost Capacity for Customers with LTE-U Launching in Spring 2017 NEWSROOM.T-MOBILE.COM – Share   GE, Intel, AT&T team up to put cameras, mics in San Diego WWW.REUTERS.COM – Share General Electric will put cameras, microphones and sensors on 3,200 street lights in San Diego this year, marking the first large-scale use of “smart city” tools GE says can help monitor traffic and pinpoint crime, but raising potential privacy concerns. Why I am not going to buy a cellphone AEON.CO – Share It is mildly subversive and perhaps a little quaint when someone clings to their flip phone and refuses a smartphone.  Odds & Ends Google's Perspective API Opens Up Its Troll-Fighting AI WWW.WIRED.COM – Share Google subsidiary Jigsaw is now offering developers access to an API for its AI-based detector for abusive comments. Twitter tweaks direct messages for brands so they sound more human VENTUREBEAT.COM – Share Twitter is once again tinkering with direct messages, this time to let brands show customers that they’re communicating with a human, not an automated bot.  How Peter Thiel’s Palantir Helped the NSA Spy on the Whole World THEINTERCEPT.COM – Share   How leaders of 9 billion-dollar companies stay productive MASHABLE.COM – Share A little thought can go a long way Do you enjoy receiving this? Please share it:     Tweet     Share   Carefully curated by Andy Abramson with Revue If you were forwarded this newsletter and you like it, you can subscribe here.

The Comunicano for Wednesday February 22 2017

FEBRUARY 22 - ISSUE #28     UPS, like Amazon, is fascinated with what flying drones can do for their business. For normally silent UPS, their efforts with drones seem to be “taking off” in Florida the way Uber is testing driverless cars in Arizona. We lift off today with three items about UPS and their lofty ideas surrounding drones….those stories and a lot, lot more are all in today’s COMUNICANO. UPS tests drone deliveries, eyes future price changes WWW.REUTERS.COM – Share   UPS Tests Residential Delivery Via Drone Launched From atop Package Car PRESSROOM.UPS.COM – Share UPS works with truck-launched drone-maker Workhorse Group in latest test   Test demonstrates potential efficiencies drones can provide on rural delivery routes Unlike previous drone tests, UPS/Workhorse test incorporates drone delivery into day-to-day delivery operations   SportsTech Watch Exclusive: Facebook in talks to live stream one MLB game per week - sources WWW.REUTERS.COM – Share Facebook Inc (FB.O) is in talks with Major League Baseball to live stream one game per week during the upcoming season, which could be a key win as the social media platform works to offer more live sports, according to two people familiar with the situation. Amazon Watch Move over, Amazon: Here comes Walmart MONEY.CNN.COM – Share Walmart reported surprisingly strong growth in its e-commerce operations, thanks to its recent purchase of Jet and online grocery sales. Amazon plans to sell beer and wine at its new high-tech convenience store WWW.RECODE.NET – Share The Amazon Go store in Seattle also carries sandwiches, salads and snacks. Wireless Watch Verizon offers taste of 5G as it expands network trials WWW.CNET.COM – Share The company plans to offer 5G to some customers in 11 cities by midyear. It’s not full mobile wireless. Instead it’s a replacement for fixed broadband. Some subscribers of Project Fi are getting access to VoLTE on T-Mobile's network WWW.PHONEARENA.COM – Share Although it’s no longer a spring chicken, Project Fi is continuing to get updated with new features. The latest one? Official support for VoLTE calls… Odds & Ends Israeli glass tech can help car windows show ads WWW.TIMESOFISRAEL.COM – Share Startup Gauzy and Germany’s Daimler display film that allows projection of messages on windows while vehicles are parked An AI Hedge Fund Created a New Currency to Make Wall Street Work Like Open Source WWW.WIRED.COM – Share Wall Street is a Darwinian battle for the almighty dollar. But Richard Craib thinks his AI-powered hedge fund will soar if everyone can just get along. Apple has kept Steve Jobs promises with its new HQ WWW.COMPUTERWORLD.COM – Share Apple will open its new San Jose HQ just in time for WWDC 2017 Do you enjoy receiving this? Please share it:     Tweet     Share   Carefully curated by Andy Abramson with Revue If you were forwarded this newsletter and you like it, you can subscribe here.

The Comunicano for Friday February 17 2017

Last night I dined out using Feastly for the first time. It was the way to book seats at a “pop up” dinners across the USA. The dinner was the debut of former Herringbone LA chef Jason Witzl, who is in the process of opening up his own Cal-Ital place, Ellie’s, in DTLA. Not only was Feastly a cool app/service experience end to end, but the communal dining experience made it easy to make new friends, hang with old friends, eat very well and of course BYOB.  Alexa-can you come with me? So many times i wanted to take Alexa with me, so while Telzio had voice enabled access to my Amazon Echo first via their mobile app, almost a full year or so ago, there wasn’t a lot of use. Well the game just changed as Rain Labs has launched Reverb with apps for the Mac, iOS and Android. It’s all made possible by Amazon Voice Service.  As I wrote on the Xceptional Blog a few days ago, Amazon keeps looking more and more like a telco/information services competitor to AT&T, Verizon, H-P and more…. So with that, let’s dive into the news in today’s extended edition of Comunicano.

Facebook just changed its mission, because the old one was broken WWW.THEVERGE.COM – Share Facebook used to repeat its mission statement so often that most tech reporters could recite it from memory: “To give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.” And it’s…

Here are the details of Uber's disastrous public Q&A session with drivers on Facebook THETECHPORTAL.COM – Share In this Q&A session, the complaints against Uber varied from low fare prices, even lower earnings, and hated services like UberPOOL.

App Watch

Messaging Tech Expert: The Year Messaging (Actually) Matches its Hype WWW.PSFK.COM – Share Anurag Lal explores how messaging platforms function as productivity tools, encompassing a wider variety of services and capabilities.

White House Staff Are Using A "Secure" App That’s Really Not So Secure WWW.BUZZFEED.COM – Share Some senior officials are using a new messaging app that may not be as secure as it claims. “We would not recommend this app to someone…

23 Must-Have Alexa Skills for Your Small Business WWW.PCMAG.COM – Share Amazon’s digital assistant Alexa can help streamline your day-to-day business operations with voice-activated skills across communications, logistics, productivity, scheduling, and much more.

Money Watch

Uber Gives Restless Employees a Way to Cash Out WWW.BLOOMBERG.COM – Share With no public offering imminent, the $69 billion ride-hailing startup is buying back shares from longtime staff.

Airbnb buys Montreal-based Luxury Retreats to bolster high-end vacation offerings WWW.THEGLOBEANDMAIL.COM – Share Acquisition of Canadian company gives San Francisco firm access to luxury rentals

Verizon acquires Portland startup Skyward, a maker of drone management software WWW.GEEKWIRE.COM – Share Verizon is bolstering its efforts in drones with the acquisition of Skyward, a Portland-based startup whose software helps commercial drone operators in in

Daimler’s MyTaxi acquires Greek rival Taxibeat for undisclosed amount TECH.EU – Share Greek taxi hailing app Taxibeat has been acquired by German competitor MyTaxi, which is owned by Daimler. No financials have been disclosed.

Soundtrack Your Brand has raised $22 million for B2B music streaming WWW.BUSINESSINSIDER.COM – Share Soundtrack Your Brand thinks music streaming for business is worth billions.

Apple Watch

Apple Vowed to Revolutionize Television. An Inside Look at Why It Hasn’t - Bloomberg WWW.BLOOMBERG.COM – Share The company is testing a new Apple TV capable of streaming ultra-high-definition 4K. It may not be enough to take on Amazon and Roku.

Apple may cut the (charging) cord completely with the iPhone 8 WWW.COMPUTERWORLD.COM – Share As some industry experts wonder whether Apple will add wireless charging to its next iPhone, others believe it will go all in – cutting the charging cord completely, just as it cut the analog audio port in the iPhone 7.

Cool Things

The Piaggio Gita Is a Futuristic Helper Bot From the Makers of the Vespa WWW.WIRED.COM – Share Piaggio’s Gita follows you around. It goes with you, turns with you, stops with you.

A breakthrough in Alphabet’s balloon-based internet project means it might actually work WWW.RECODE.NET – Share The Loon project says these advancements shorten their timeline for deployment.

Private Astronaut Taxis by SpaceX, Boeing May Not Be Ready by 2019 WWW.SPACE.COM – Share NASA intends to put a backup plan in place in the event that SpaceX and Boeing are not ready to fly humans to space in 2019, according to a new report.

Where is Zealandia? Geologists say they have discovered eighth continent WWW.CSMONITOR.COM – Share A new study argues that a mostly submerged landmass about two-thirds the size of Australia meets all the usual criteria for a continent.

Odds & Ends

AT&T’s new, new unlimited data plan eliminates an annoying requirement WWW.WASHINGTONPOST.COM – Share The move comes days after Verizon launched its own competing offer.

Jack Dorsey: Twitter Lacked 'Focus And Discipline' For Growth WWW.FORBES.COM – Share On Wednesday, Twitter CEO Dorsey offered some insight into the source of Twitter’s user growth problem, which has haunted the company for years.

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Carefully curated by Andy Abramson with Revue If you were forwarded this newsletter and you like it, you can subscribe here.