Spectralliance
Spectralliance is a global telecommunications consulting firm which specializes in delivering optimal business and information technology solutions to high risk, high value business situations. Spectralliance brings to its engagements experienced senior level industry executives with a history of proven successes and a demonstrable track record. Our list of clients reads like a Who's Who of international telecommunications and pay television providers, and is the envy of many of our competitors both large and small. Our clients include companies in emerging markets like Taiwan, Argentina, and South Africa, newly deregulated markets like Spain, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, and highly competitive markets such as North America. At Spectralliance, our business model is deliberately different from that of our competitors. Unlike our competitors, we do not provide on-the-job-training for our consultants, nor do we ask our clients to pay for it. Each of our affiliates has hands-on experience at five or more telecommunications providers, and averages more than fifteen years of telecommunications experience. To deliver superior service, Spectralliance utilizes a large network of independent "Best of Class" consultants. In order to affiliate with Spectralliance, our consultants must be able to demonstrate strengths in specific areas. They must have a record of accomplishment in consulting, and they must be able to demonstrate world-class expertise in one or more functional areas of the telecommunications industry. Individual areas of expertise include all aspects of the rapidly changing telecommunications, pay television, and internet markets. We carefully assemble groups of these independent consultants into cohesive teams, thus allowing our clients to access a wide range of world class, senior level telecommunications expertise operating under a single contract. Concurrently, our affiliates gain access to larger and more challenging assignments, while working with world class experts in other subject matters.
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Hi Herb, Thank you for sharing. Excellent post.
Herb, Nice summary of the issues. I think you have nailed the opportunities. I'm not sure the cable companies will be able to execute. The TW/Comcast merger seems to be stuck in neutral, which will continue to be a major distraction.
Herb, as always, a well researched and useful article. Thanks!
What changes, over the past 90 days, have caused Pay TV operators to raise their priority on IoT ? I have identified the following five urgent reasons from social media – LinkedIn contacts and groups, customer contacts, analytics, and research. Feel welcome to add to my list.
1. Revenue Replacement - The potential loss of established content providers (HBO, CBS, others) by MSOs, to standalone streaming reflects the changes and direction away from exclusive cable content. These decisions are pushing MSO’s to become major players in the Internet of Things, much sooner than originally forecast. Decisions on streaming content made in past 90 days with many more to follow
http://www.mintek.com/blog/cpe-management/cable-mso-should-not-panic-about-hbo-streaming- decision/ “The potential loss of an established content provider is not the end of the world for cable MSOs but it does reflect the changes and direction away from cable toward their being a major player in the Internet of Things.”
2.Ecosystem - “As internet of things,machine to machine, IP video and smart data become a bigger part everyday reality, we see cable operators continuing to benefit from the direct access to hybrid fiber-coaxial networks with new and innovative products that take advantage of higher data rates. - See more at:”http://www.videonuze.com/perspective/5-key-trends-that-are-transforming-the-cable-industry#sthash.hSikX7fB.dpuf
Opportunity and Risk in the Internet and TV Ecosystem Are Fueling INTX 2015
Privacy and security, main concerns can be addressed through existing laws – e.g. Cable Privacy Act, etc.
“Expanding the telecom, cable, and satellite pipelines that carry traffic through broader Wi-Fi networks is a critical part.”
http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/outlook/internet-of-things/iot-report.pdf
3.Developing a Retail Strategy - Recent announcement by Best Buy and Time Warner –
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ptc/2014/09/29/where-will-you-buy-the-internet-of-things/
"Telecommunications providers: Verizon and Comcast have locked horns over the phone, cable, and Internet market.Telecoms have a huge advantage over the previously mentioned retailers—hardware capable of supporting smart products is already in many homes. Telecommunication providers have already staged homes with the seeds of smart infrastructure. It wouldn’t be impossible to see a formal partnership pairing a telecom with a retail chain.”
Who has the clearest advantage?
Currently, home improvement retailers and telecommunications providers seem best positioned to define the market
(E.g. TW and Best Buy). Best Buy has entire sections dedicated to smart devices, along with Smart TV’s – great marketing move!
http://www.cedmagazine.com/news/2015/02/time-warner-cable-partners-with-bestbuy-on-smart-home-gear
4.Stickier Subscriber - I have documented a major shift of interest toward Internet of Things since the CES Show in January. There's a higher level of urgency from cable MSO's than any time previously, for a couple of reasons – additional revenue to replace losses that are coming (now a reality), and opportunities to retain customer/subscribers (stickier). A reality as well.http://www.cycle30.com/blog/2014/08/15/challenges-for-cable-operators-providing-commercial-services
The “Internet of Things.”... Meeting demands for a “connected life” means more revenue per user and greater stickiness to bundled offers for cable.
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/03/14/the-future-for-fixed-line-cable-mobile/
Analysts say cable operators will have to evolve their services to account for the surge in connected devices over the next few years, from burglar alarms to smart watches.
12 billion connected devices in the world will soar to 19 billion next year, says Ken Morse, chief technology officer of Cisco Systems.
5. Endorsement of the IoT wow factor by industry gatekeepers - Recent comments from CableLabs and NCTC “economies associated with the global Internet and wireless industries. Of course, there will be many opportunities to develop innovative services that take advantage of the standard technologies”
Cable in the Internet of Things
http://www.cablelabs.com/cable-in-the-internet-of-things/
The Next Big Thing for Cable
http://tvreadyforum.blogspot.com/2014/11/iot-next-big-thing-for-cable.html
CableLabs Plants Flag in Silicon Valley
http://www.multichannel.com/news/technology/cablelabs-plants-flag-silicon-valley/256608
Key areas to satisfy Pay TV operator requirements
http://harborresearch.com/markets-where-is-the-money-in-the-internet-of-things-people/
First of all, a unified platform must be communications agnostic. The number and diversity of devices that are being connected to the Internet are growing, and will continue to grow for the rest of time. Platforms need to be able to integrate virtually any device into their system.
Second, a unified platform would need to be open and interoperable. We see time and time again that interoperability is the single most important step in creating rapid adoption of technologies.
Third, it will need to be scalable.
Fourth, infrastructure will become remote and eventually free. We’ve now entered a world where renting out infrastructure will become the norm and companies will need to innovate around a comprehensive infrastructure.
Fifth, the world of data services and informatics value creation will need to be driven by an organizing schema driven by peer-to-peer information relationships not by device and protocol interactions.
Success in IoT is currently routed through telecommunications – cable TV and Telco’s. All they have to do is maintain or build a freeway, before others build a bypass.
Sounds eerily similar to past missed opportunities by cable over past 15 years – Internet's aggressive capture of the eyeballs.
https://sites.google.com/site/cuoirent/mergers-and-acquisitions
As well as behavioral marketing and sales captured by Amazon,facebook, Twitter, and Google (including YouTube and Google Fiber)
https://sites.google.com/site/cuoirent/contact-information
What am I missing?