Bader’s Bits

MobilePro, one of the responders to the Unwire Portland RFP, has backed out after being named winner of the Muni wireless contract in Sacramento. At the 11th hour, the city council, citing deals in Portland, SF and others, asked for a free, advertising based service. However, they wanted that without providing any of the anchor tenant contracts or other sources of revenue. MobilePro balked.

What a mess. Without knowing all the details, it’s hard to know if there’s a right or wrong. I’m just glad that Portland’s deal was apparently better thought out than what happened in Sacramento.

dailywireless.org - MobilePro Pulls out of Sacramento

First Rhode Island announces a plan to build a WiFi cloud over the whole state. Big fish, small pond. OK, it’s 1,000 square miles.
Then, even though a number of Bay Area cities are already lit up, thanks to Portland Unwire Portland winner MetroFi, San Mateo County has plans for 35-city Bay Area wireless network.

Sure hope this stuff really works!

It certainly was a great event for the community, and that’s what counts. I felt a sense of optimism that I haven’t experienced in many years about the growth in our “innovation economy”.

We’re very proud to be the Presenting Sponsor for the event this year, and hope that you found it worth your time as well. Leave some comments or email me to let me know what you thought and how we could improve things for next year.

For those of you that would like copies of the presentations, here they are:

• Open source economic development strategy.ppt This is the complete presentation that includes more specific programs and activities.
• Rethink Your Network (Updated pdf with graphics) For anyone with at least a T-1 to the Internet, or looking to put more infrastructure in a data center (like ours!), check out this presentation that describes metro area Ethernet services and how they enable better network deployments.
• Voice Over IP panel A brief overview of the voice over IP market, and why we think VoIP is a matter of “when” not “if” for just about every business.

Mike Rogoway digs in a layer deeper to answer more questions about the city’s wireless Internet service. Check out his article, (noteworthy because I’m quoted in it!).

At long last, the decision has been made. MetroFi has been chosen to build out Portland’s wireless network. Check out Portland based dailywireless.org for in-depth coverage.

We are totally jazzed about this new network. The RFP required that the network be “open access”, meaning that service providers like us will be able to deliver services on it. While there’s still lots of design work and contracts to sort out, we’re looking forward to being there early on. We expect to be delivering WiFi based services before year end, and WiMax class services early next year.

The SAO is sponsoring a wireless applications panel at Innotech. Come and learn more about Unwire Portland and some of the applications that the network will enable. See you there.

I promise that I won’t blog all the machinations of the various Congressional committees and subcommittees regarding Net Neutrality. There’s no guarantee that any proposal will actually make out of committee for a vote this session. But the battle lines are being drawn and the skirmishes are fast and furious.

Here’s a good article on the state of affairs from Consumer Affairs. The bottom line is the telcos are gaining momentum in burying the issue with “promises” everything will be OK. Frankly, I don’t trust them on this issue. We’ve got to get Net Neutrality legislated. Even that is no assurance, but it’s better than nothing.

Tis the season for local industry events. Innotech is shaping up as the premier innovation and high tech event in Portland.

EasyStreet is pulling out all the stops in support of the conference. I’ll be on so many panels that my handlers are worried about overexposure. Our booth theme is: EasyStreet 2.0–Bigger, better, faster, and more. Make sure you stop by to find out why. Need another reason? We’ve got the Starbucks coffee wagon in our booth first thing in the morning. Getcha free latte’s here! And we won’t bug you while you’re trying to wake up.

Sean Lowery, Innotech’s director, tells us registation is running 2x over where the conference was a year ago. All your buds are going be there. You should too. And you can get in for free. Click here and enter the magic discount code: ESP305

See you there!

Highlighting the tectonic shifts underway in the U.S. telecomm industry, the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) announced that U.S. Wireless Subscriber Level Reaches 194.5 Million in 2005 and are expected to Grow to 270 Million by 2009. Geez, according to census.gov, there’s only 298.476,130 folks in the U.S. at the moment. Sounds like market saturation is approaching, no?

On the flip side, the number of access lines in use continues its five year decline, as the cool kids eschew them, and the cablecos and VoIP provide other alternatives. Market research firm eMarketer reports another TIA statistic not included in their press release, that landlines fell to 172 million lines. They predict consumer VoIP usage to increase to over 30 million users by 2010.

These trends will wreak havoc on the telcos business models. There is still real competition in the wireless space, while the landline business is more of an oligopoly with the cablecos. That’s why they’re fighting so hard for regulatory advantage. But the writing’s on the wall. That’s why net neutrality and a healthy relatively deregulated VoIP market are so crucial to moving the nation’s telecommunications services forward.

Here’s the presentation I delivered at Interface ‘06 in Portland at the Convention Center:

Top Five Technology Trends You Can’t Ignore

Let’s see some comments about other trends that you think are worthy of inclusion.

Interface is one of Portland’s “must attend” events. A free, by-invitation only event for CIOs and IT managers, Interface is designed by folks like you to deliver maximum value. In one day, you’ll have the chance to hear from national and regional vendors (or not!), see the latest in technology, and network with your peers. Focused on quality, not quantity in attendees and exhibitors, this event is the one you’ve been hoping for.

EasyStreet is a bronze sponsor at Interface and we’re participating in a number of ways. I’ll be presenting Top Five Technology Trends You Can’t Ignore at 1:40, just preceding the keynote presentation. I look forward to hearing what you think about them and what you’d add to my list.

More importantly, we’re hosting the reception following the keynote. Good food and drink and a chance to discuss the day’s events with your colleagues.

You can visit with us at Booth 324 and chat with me and your account manager about our latest services including Metro Area Ethernet, Hosted Microsoft Exchange for Outlook users, and our family of storage and backup services. And we’d be delighted to tell you about our new facility expansion, now nearing completion.

I know you’re busy, but I believe you’ll find this event to be worth your time. The event is Thursday, March 23rd. Even if you only think you can make it, please register in advance at http://www.f2fevents.com/register_pdx.htm. There is no onsite registration.

I look forward to seeing you there.