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      <title>Livewire</title>
      <link>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/</link>
      <description>Livewire is Infosys’ blog for the emerging communications industry. Discuss the latest trends with our experts.</description>
      <language>en</language>
      <copyright>Copyright 2009</copyright>
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            <item>
         <title>Why aren’t that many good telecom services around?</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p>Are you satisfied with the service provided by your telecom provider? When was the last time when you had a good experience with your telecom service provider? To many, the answers to above questions are: no and never!! This blog attempts to bring an aspect as to why this might be the case.&nbsp;</p><p>Let&rsquo;s go back to basics and discuss what telecom services are used for. In the good old days, there was, and still is, the traditional post delivery service where communication between people and organisations are through the exchange of written materials (e.g. letters). Then came the telephone where speech communication was made possible. As technologies move on, we now have emails, the Internet and mobile technologies. What is the common theme of all of the above? It is the transport of information or data from one place to another. That sounds simple enough. However, in this information age, providing and managing telecom network and technologies to do that are much more complex. </p>]]></description>
         <link>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2009/01/why_arent_that_many_good_telec.html</link>
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         <category></category>
         <pubDate>Sun, 04 Jan 2009 13:07:31 +0000</pubDate>
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         <title>Texting into Space and Beyond with Virgin Mobile</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">Virgin Mobile is running a promotion with a partner company called SentForever that will make your text messages intergalactic instead of simply ending up on your friend&rsquo;s phone. The service uses a high powered transmitter located Cornwall, UK at BT&rsquo;s Goonhilly earth station. While I shudder at the fact that other intelligent life may be bombarded by messages such as &ldquo;U R my BFF LOL!!!!&rdquo; because I am not sure they would deem us as intelligent (you can decode the message at <a href="http://www.internetslang.com/">www.internetslang.com</a>), I am impressed with the value of the promotion to Virgin Mobile. In a down economy, they are running a free promotion utilizing an interesting gimmick that captures the sender&rsquo;s and receiver&rsquo;s first name, last name and email address which could provide a wealth of new leads for Virgin Mobile. I am always impressed with Virgin&rsquo;s ability to connect with their target market and this is another example of their thinking outside of the box.</p>]]></description>
         <link>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/12/texting_into_space_and_beyond.html</link>
         <guid>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/12/texting_into_space_and_beyond.html</guid>
         <category>Trend watch</category>
         <pubDate>Fri, 12 Dec 2008 20:08:13 +0000</pubDate>
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         <title>Video Everywhere, But How Do I Find It?</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">We have more video available than ever before in the form of video on demand for television, internet and mobile devices. The amount is staggering when you add in user generated content and broadcast,. The good news is that, according to a recent Neilsen report (<a href="http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/11/viewing_across_screens_grows_n.php">http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/11/viewing_across_screens_grows_n.php</a>), the average US household is watching TV for a whopping 8 hours and 18 minutes a day! You then add the 27 hours of online and 3 hours of mobile video per month for a seemingly massive customer base that cannot get enough video (or time outside the house). </p>]]></description>
         <link>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/12/video_everywhere_but_how_do_i.html</link>
         <guid>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/12/video_everywhere_but_how_do_i.html</guid>
         <category>Trend watch</category>
         <pubDate>Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:16:51 +0000</pubDate>
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         <title>Expanding the Value Chain and Bumping Into Incumbents</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">Here is some news that may have flown under your radar, Nokia is supposedly launching a MVNO in Japan in 2009 (<a href="http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/nokia-launch-its-own-mvno-japan/2008-11-24">http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/nokia-launch-its-own-mvno-japan/2008-11-24</a>). This received considerably less press than Google looking to buy spectrum in the US, but has similar ramifications as it gives the handset giant an ability to test the waters as a service provider (obviously not owning network assets) in an eastern market targeting high end phone users. The significance here is the evolution from handset provider to creating direct to consumer relationships via retail stores (online and offline) to owning content with Nokia Live venues to providing content platforms for mobile service providers to now being the mobile service provider. Assumedly, Nokia should understand phone distribution, content retailing, provisioning and billing enough to be successful if their service is attractive to their target niche.</p>]]></description>
         <link>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/12/expanding_your_value_chain_and.html</link>
         <guid>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/12/expanding_your_value_chain_and.html</guid>
         <category>Trend watch</category>
         <pubDate>Wed, 03 Dec 2008 04:53:50 +0000</pubDate>
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         <title>Are websites keeping pace with the Mobile Web evolution?</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p align="justify">As I mentioned in my <a href="http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/11/as_mobile_phone_content_explod_1.html#more" target="_blank">previous blog entry</a>, the evolution of web browsing experience triggered by iPhone, Android, Blackberry and other new devices have attracted <span>&nbsp;</span><span>&nbsp;</span>a large mass of users to mobile web. Even the mobile browsers like Safari and Opera have started to evolve to dramatically improve the mobile web browsing experience. With these radical changes taking place, the lines between the PC and Mobile browsing experience have started to blur. But do the B2C websites keep pace with this mobile web evolution?</p>]]></description>
         <link>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/11/are_websites_keeping_pace_with.html</link>
         <guid>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/11/are_websites_keeping_pace_with.html</guid>
         <category>Trend watch</category>
         <pubDate>Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:39:15 +0000</pubDate>
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         <title>Death of Long Tail User Generated Content?</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">I have been sifting through a number of articles lately in regards to long tail video content. The latest meme has been the death of the long tail, I would say more specifically, the death of monetization of user generated video content. Just to be clear, long tail content available from various artists and producers will continue to be consumed by niche users, there is a model to monetize those revenues with a large digital library that is not moving physical goods (see The Long Tail by Chris Anderson). Additionally, certain user generated videos will continue to draw &ldquo;crowds&rdquo;. However, there are a few different trends that are affecting the model that we initially assumed where money would follow the user generated content (UGC) eyeballs.</p>]]></description>
         <link>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/11/death_of_long_tail_user_genera.html</link>
         <guid>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/11/death_of_long_tail_user_genera.html</guid>
         <category>Trend watch</category>
         <pubDate>Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:25:24 +0000</pubDate>
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         <title>CTO in the Limelight</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">One of the more interesting developments mixing technology and politics has been the intent of the US President Elect Obama to create a CTO cabinet position for his White House team. Currently, there is not a single position in the Cabinet that drives technology strategy for the White House and this only seems like a logical position to create. My question would be &ldquo;why did this take so long&rdquo;? No major company operates without the use of technology to help run their business. Furthermore, leading companies use technology to create competitive advantage against their rivals through an optimized supply chain, business intelligence capability, sales force tools or a number of other uses. The same should hold true for the US government which is a massive entity in its own right.</p>]]></description>
         <link>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/11/cto_in_the_limelight.html</link>
         <guid>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/11/cto_in_the_limelight.html</guid>
         <category>Trend watch</category>
         <pubDate>Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:21:55 +0000</pubDate>
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         <title>As mobile phone content explodes, the Walled Gardens crumble…</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p align="justify">Over the past years, we have seen the Wireless industry undergoing a significant change &ndash; the service providers&rsquo; walled gardens have continued to disintegrate with the explosion of the content and applications available for Mobile phones. In my opinion, a couple of factors have contributed to this phenomenon. </p>]]></description>
         <link>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/11/as_mobile_phone_content_explod_1.html</link>
         <guid>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/11/as_mobile_phone_content_explod_1.html</guid>
         <category>Trend watch</category>
         <pubDate>Sun, 16 Nov 2008 10:13:05 +0000</pubDate>
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         <title>Innovative Ways to Drive Advertising Revenues</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">Two recent stories really caught my attention as innovative ways to drive additional advertising revenue. The first comes from Sky TV in the UK and the second from MTV Networks (part of Viacom). I would consider both case studies very significant and unique.</p>]]></description>
         <link>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/11/innovative_ways_to_drive_adver.html</link>
         <guid>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/11/innovative_ways_to_drive_adver.html</guid>
         <category>Trend watch</category>
         <pubDate>Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:08:12 +0000</pubDate>
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         <title>A New Brand Launched in the US</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">In a slight diversion from my typical subject matter, I cannot help but take note of the truly historic change that happened with the US Presidential Election. Barack Obama was voted in as the new Presidential Elect and represents a dramatic shift from past US Presidents in his ethnicity and background. Brands are represented by a logo or spokesperson, the new brand for the US is one of multi-culturalism. While the US already participates in the global economy, this new face demonstrates inclusion in the global community by example and not just words. While I do not believe that President Elect Obama has any superiority over past Presidents simply due to his ethnicity, he does have a unique opportunity to as an ambassador to the billions of other fellow travelers on the planet who may find hope in his message of inclusion. Working for a global company like Infosys has given me new insights as how we are so interconnected. My hope is that this connectedness only improves for the betterment of our global neighbors. Regardless of political stances, I hope all Americans can rally behind the new Presidential Elect as we all navigate the currently turbulent global economy in his term ahead. </p>]]></description>
         <link>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/11/a_new_brand_launched_in_the_us.html</link>
         <guid>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/11/a_new_brand_launched_in_the_us.html</guid>
         <category>Globalization</category>
         <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:06:44 +0000</pubDate>
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         <title>Use of Mobile in the 2008 US Election</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">While we have already seen candidates in past US Presidential elections utilize the internet, mobile has become significantly more important than in previous election cycles. This has as much to do with shifts in consumer behavior as it does with new campaign strategies. While Americans were early adopters of the internet, a large part due to the telecommunications infrastructure in place, they had much slower uptake of mobile data services in comparison to peer countries in Western Europe. </p>]]></description>
         <link>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/11/use_of_mobile_in_the_2008_us_e.html</link>
         <guid>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/11/use_of_mobile_in_the_2008_us_e.html</guid>
         <category>Trend watch</category>
         <pubDate>Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:38:58 +0000</pubDate>
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         <title>Breaking Through with Android and the G1</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">I have to hand it to Google, they have shown considerably more momentum as of late in regards to their Android platform. Maybe their strategy is to lull you a bit before striking, as release in to the market was panned by many writers as being uninspiring. I myself have been a bit lukewarm in previous blog entries in regards to the Android initiative as well, but I am starting to reconsider my position. While I am not completely sold on the idea that T-Mobile will get the boost from G1 that ATT is getting in terms of new customer adds in the recent quarter from their iPhone (2.4M third quarter iPhone activations <a href="http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&amp;cdvn=news&amp;newsarticleid=26227">http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&amp;cdvn=news&amp;newsarticleid=26227</a>). I am sold on some recent moves by the handset manufacturers and the Android model for the operators.</p>]]></description>
         <link>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/11/breaking_through_with_android.html</link>
         <guid>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/11/breaking_through_with_android.html</guid>
         <category>Trend watch</category>
         <pubDate>Sat, 01 Nov 2008 03:46:54 +0000</pubDate>
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         <title>Consolidation and Pressures on the Telecom Industry</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">Consolidation is normal in most industries. Obviously extreme market conditions can lead to the &ldquo;shotgun&rdquo; marriages that are now happening in Financial Services, but Telecom has been relatively unscathed in the recent downturn. In the case of Verizon getting Alltel, Verizon may have benefited from the private equity consortium offloading Alltel only after holding it for one year (<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/technology/06phone.html">http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/technology/06phone.html</a>). Since most private equity firms hold their portfolio companies for considerably longer than one year, Verizon might have lucked in the deal to now create the largest wireless carrier in the US. The most recent merger news has been CenturyTel acquiring Embarq, which is a good move in my opinion, to give CenturyTel additional scale in its core market (<a href="http://www.centurytel.com/Pages/AboutUs/PressRoom/pressRelease.jsp?page=Corporate/Press_Release66.html">http://www.centurytel.com/Pages/AboutUs/PressRoom/pressRelease.jsp?page=Corporate/Press_Release66.html</a>). In full disclosure, I have met most of the C-level executives at CenturyTel and have faith that they will do a good job in with the combined entity even though they are merging with a larger company. My only current concern would be lack of a stronger wireless footprint in order to create a &ldquo;quad-play&rdquo; offering. This is probably the start of other rollups of rural operators.</p>]]></description>
         <link>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/11/consolidation_and_pressures_on.html</link>
         <guid>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/11/consolidation_and_pressures_on.html</guid>
         <category>Trend watch</category>
         <pubDate>Sat, 01 Nov 2008 03:32:24 +0000</pubDate>
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         <title>Bringing Interactive to the TV</title>
         <description><![CDATA[<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt">Occasionally good fortune befalls me for timing with my blog posts. Sean Buckley had a nice piece on changing TV viewing behaviors (<a href="http://www.telecoms-mag.com/article.asp?HH_ID=AR_4518">http://www.telecoms-mag.com/article.asp?HH_ID=AR_4518</a>) which corresponded nicely with my attendance at the Microsoft Mediaroom Developers conference this week where I was able to see some of the newer innovation possible on their TV platform. While I saw some incredible user interfaces with interactive applications, the question really comes down to an issue of usage by the end customer. As a veteran of many discussions regarding &ldquo;lean forward&rdquo; or &ldquo;lean back&rdquo; experiences for the TV, I tend to agree more with Sean&rsquo;s position regarding the need to change user behaviors before traction will occur. This is not impossible to overcome. A good parallel to draw in regards to customer uptake would be significant explosion in online video consumption where users started using the online channel when compelling content became available.</p>]]></description>
         <link>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/10/bringing_interactive_to_the_tv.html</link>
         <guid>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/10/bringing_interactive_to_the_tv.html</guid>
         <category>Trend watch</category>
         <pubDate>Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:34:31 +0000</pubDate>
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         <title>What is new with online video?</title>
         <description><![CDATA[I spend so much time discussing IPTV, I sometimes forget to spend some space blogging on online video. Essentially the truest form of IPTV, online video is a trend on the upswing which is validated by the latest report from ABI Research showing the number of households watching online video doubled from 32% in 2007 to 63% in 2008 (<a title="Number of US Online Households Watching Broadband Video Doubled In One Year" target="_blank" href="http://www.abiresearch.com/press/1247-Number+of+US+Online+Households+Watching+Broadband+Video+Doubled+In+One+Year">http://www.abiresearch.com/press/1247-Number+of+US+Online+Households+Watching+Broadband+Video+Doubled+In+One+Year</a>).]]></description>
         <link>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/10/what_is_new_with_online_video.html</link>
         <guid>http://infosysblogs.com/livewire/2008/10/what_is_new_with_online_video.html</guid>
         <category>Trend watch</category>
         <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2008 06:28:45 +0000</pubDate>
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