Mr. Joseph Upton

GLG News by Mr. Joseph Upton, President and Chief Executive Officer

GLG News is now G+ Insights

G+ is a community for professionals, academics and entrepreneurs to connect through online discussions and in-person meetings. You will continue to see G+ Insights (formerly GLG News) here as well as on the G+ website, where you can share and discuss the G+ Insights you read.

Stimulus Stymey: NOTHING IS HAPPENING DUDE,R U LISTENING?

March 10, 2009

Analysis of:Feds Offer Tips on How to Get Broadband Stimulus | telephonyonline.com

The Broadband Stimulus bill is not stimulating anything but talk.   Job creation? NOPE.  When will this talk stop and someone make a decision so business can begin moving again?  No one is spending money, thinking they can get it for free.

The Broadband Stimulus Appears to be Stimulating Already

February 25, 2009

Analysis of:Analysts: FTTB to Lead All Fixed Broadband Technologies by 2018 | businessvoip.tmcnet.com

The US is not the leader of the world in FTTX equipment sales or installations.  Perhaps, the Broadband Stimulus money will prime the pump for US equipment makers of broadband gear, which could impact sales to the rest of the world, now that the US box makers appear to be gaining some share there.

Telco Competition Weakens the CATV Incumbent's Ability to Hold Customers

February 17, 2009

Analysis of:Can Cable Weather the Economic Storm? | www.lightreading.com

As the RBOCs and RLECs rollout their broadband delights, the competing CATV MSO is feeling the pain of losing customers in that particular locale.  Areas that are not being penetrated or targeted for Telco video are not as likely to be losing CATV customers to the telcos.

nDVR is Good For Service Providers But Advertisers Go Deeper in the Hole

February 12, 2009

Analysis of:Supreme Court asks for government view on Cablevision DVR case | uk.reuters.com

The network storage DVR case going on with the Supreme Court/Cablevision has good and bad implications.  The good implications are cost reductions for DVR's in general, and the bad are that the advertisers that pay for the programming lose their audience in a bigger way.  If the advertisers continue to lose ground with customers, they will stop buying ad time:  oops, it sounds like the economy we are in, doesn't it?

Stimulus Tax Credit/Smax Credit Who Cares?

February 12, 2009

Analysis of:Broadband Tax Credit Cut From Stimulus Bill | bits.blogs.nytimes.com

Will the elimination of the broadband tax credit slow the race to get stimulus grant money and create jobs?  Probably not.  However, putting so called "grant money" for broadband to underserved areas is a biggy, and if small RLECs or big ones are not scrambling to get some engineering marks on drafting paper, then they are losing out.

ATT and DirecTV are Not Missing a Beat

February 9, 2009

Analysis of:AT&T/DirecTV do 'Quad Play' | www.lightreading.com

ATT is fast rolling out IPTV Uverse in their footprint and expect to pass VZ in both passings and takers of the unique copper/fiber service.  This article indicates that DirecTV is now firmly entrenched in the ATT service bundle and "bundling" of the quadruple play services will help both ATT and DirecTV attract new customers.

T and VZ Driving Uverse and FIOS Higher with HD and Content

January 16, 2009

Analysis of:AT&T Signs New Carriage Deal With Viacom | www.broadcastingcable.com

ATT and Verizon continue to add high definition channels and content to their video offerings, but will 2009's economic situation slow down their rollout and slow their video growth?  Any slowdown in the RBOC video rollout will allow rivals Comcast and Time Warner Cable to regroup and extend their video share.

YEA for Clearwire's 4G Rollout in Oregon: A Valiant Beginning Anyway

January 16, 2009

Analysis of:Clearwire Begins National 4G Rollout in Portland, Ore. | telecommagazine.com

Clearwire has scooped the big telcos with faster WiMAX data speeds; however, the telcos have HSPA+ and LTE ready to compete in the near future.  Clearwire appears to be marketing and pricing packages that are attractive, especially with offering pricing that fits less aggressive usage, but fixed network data still wins in the long run from a consumer cost standpoint.  The real question is when the big telcos rollout their competitive response, will this cripple Clearwire's 4G effort and kill it completely?

War of the Set-Top Boxes: 2009 Invasion Begins

January 7, 2009

Analysis of:2008: Set-Top Boxes Set Up For a Fight | www.nytimes.com

Set-top boxes have been around a long, long time, and now it appears that the technology of those boxes and viewer requirements/desires appear to have set off a whirlwind of competition.  NetFlix, Apple, Amazon, and many others are vying for the lead position to be your set-top choice of the day.  The consumer will be the winner in this battle as the technology rolls on, making our lives a little better with each new chipset.

CATV Continues Video/Data Dominance in 2009

January 6, 2009

Analysis of:AT&T Signs Up Millionth Uverse Customer | www.dallasnews.com

The telcos, both RBOC and RLEC, continue to lose voice landlines to cell and CATV after years of competition.  Their video/data salvation solutions, Uverse and FIOS still fall short in comparison to the customer numbers of Comcast and Time Warner Cable.  If 2009 is going to be a very slow year for both Verizon and ATT, then CATV dominance will continue and perhaps strengthen as their arch competitive opponents pull back to save dollars in this bad economic time.

Uverse Take Rate Bargain Basement Deal

October 8, 2008

Analysis of:AT&T Launches $200 Cash Back Deal for U-verse TV | www.xchangemag.com

ATT is following VZ's lead by offering $200 cash back to existing ATT customers that take one of the three Uverse bundled deals, with or without internet access.  The current slowdown in ATT spending on Uverse and everything else, follows the negative economic climate and failing mortgages situation, which are customers lost.

Google Remake in the Wind?

October 7, 2008

Analysis of:Google Increases Online Video Share with 5B Views | www.contentinople.com

Google has locked down the strongest online video share with their Youtube offering.  Are they headed toward locking down customers via landline fiber, where they can act as ISP, Service Provider, and major advertising power on the net?

Sprint/Clearwire WiMax Update and Sprint Service Improvement

September 22, 2008

Analysis of:Sprint CEO: New Tech Helping Our Turnaround | www.onetrak.com

Dan Hesse, CEO of Sprint is focusing on the customer service and new wireless product aspects to help turn his failing business around.  He is also moving forward with a joint WiMax venture with Clearwire, supported by financing from Comcast, Time Warner, Brighthouse, Intel, and Google.  Both of these improvements appear to be making a difference in the future viability of Sprint as a major wireless player.

AT&T and HD TV: A Marriage Improving?

September 22, 2008

Analysis of:AT&T Hopes To Squeeze More HD Into U-verse | www.onetrak.com

ATT needs to offer as close a package/service bundle as they can to their CATV competitors' offerings.  HD is a major service product and has much interest from TV/Video customers, and up until now, ATT can only offer 2 HD streams to the home simultaneously feeding two different HD TV sets.  The ATT CTO, Mr. Donovan, announced (via the article) that ATT hopes to offer a third HD stream to their Uverse customers "sometime next year".  This will help, but may not be enough to keep customers from going across the line in a Verizon FIOS competitive situation,  since VZ has decided to overbuild Uverse in some geographies.

Qwest Backing Away From Video Over IP

September 19, 2008

Analysis of:Qwest CEO Says Broadband The Focus, But Battle Not Over for Voice | www.onetrak.com

This article refers to Qwest moving away from video over internet protocol in several cities where they have it in play now, instead opting to use DirecTV to provide video and lock down customers away from cable.  ATT, however, is building the same video IP platform and appears to be sticking with it, in the face of direct competition from Verizon's FIOS, in ATT's turf.  The question is when will ATT opt to either do DirecTV video with copper/fiber Uverse or FTTP, like VZ?

YEA for Qwest!

September 3, 2008

Analysis of:The Qwest for Speed | www.lightreading.com

Qwest has been floundering as a phone company for years, having to deal with PSC fines and general business issues, which appeared to be keeping them from setting goals on newer technology and moving ahead with data sales in particular.  Their FTTNode strategy appears to be solving some of their problems, as they are seeing DSL growth in decent numbers in a down market as experienced by the big players.

Verizon/CWA Negotiations Will Have An Effect on the AT&T/CWA Negotiations circa 2009

August 13, 2008

Analysis of:Verizon, Union Reach Agreement | wvgazette.com

If Verizon agrees to wage increases and medical benefit changes that AT&T doesn't want to accept, this can have severe complications on the AT&T/CWA negotiations scheduled to begin in April, 2009.  AT&T, however, also have many possible changes to the current CWA contract that may inflame the union, without the help of Verizon.

Frontier Knows How to Sell Broadband in a Declining Market

August 13, 2008

Analysis of:Frontier's Broadband Growth Bucks Trend | telephonyonline.com

Frontier has shown growth in broadband lines while its larger counterparts (T and VZ) are having difficulties  showing positive growth in that segment.  We need to study the reasons why Frontier is doing so well, even though they are seeing heavy wireline losses like all the telco players, and try to replicate those decisions/actions to stem the downward trends we are seeing now in most telcos.

Who Has the Most HD Channels Today?

August 12, 2008

Analysis of:Q&A: AT&T's York Scopes Out HD Plans | www.multichannel.com

High definition television broadcasting is at its peak now, with most local stations and virtually all national network stations either already converted or about to fully convert to HD transmission.  The FCC mandated digital conversion is February, 2009, and customers with the older analog sets must obtain a digital conversion box or buy a new digital set.  The bulk of sets being purchased today are HD capable, so the customers are looking for the most HD channels for the money.  So, who has the most HD?

Windstream CEO Leaves the Door Open for Consolidation

August 12, 2008

Analysis of:Windstream Revives Talk of a Merger as Net Falls 12% | online.wsj.com

Consolidation among the RLECs has been happening at a steady pace over the last couple of years.  Mergers or acquisitions for a company such as Windstream could either help or cause problems, depending on the activity they choose.

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