Channel Surfing Blog 

Texas native and PGA Pro Ben Crenshaw addresses the audience after the tournament.

Brian Snortheim (left), director of marketing for TWC, pauses on the course for a photo with agents from Texas.

Time Warner Cable recently invited agents to attend its Business Class Invitational, which took place at The TPC Las Colinas Golf Course in Irving, Texas, on Monday, Oct. 20.

Attendees of the event pose for a picture with Ben Crenshaw.

The event brought in agents from around Texas and included a hotel stay at the Four Seasons, golf at TPC Las Colinas, and a post-event lunch and business session.

Attendees were treated to a post-tournament talk from Texas native and PGA Pro Ben Crenshaw, who stayed on site for autographs and pictures following the event.

Golfers measure up a 30-foot putt which was actually made for a birdie!

Home to the EDS Byron Nelson Championship – a PGA TOUR event – TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas is an award-winning golf resort and host of the TWCBC Dallas Invitational.

By Khali Henderson

Whether you voted for Barack Obama or not, you have to admit that last night’s scene at Grant Park was moving. Some 70,000-plus supporters of all ages, colors and walks of life showed up to greet the president-elect in what now will be recorded as one of our nation’s most historic elections. It will be one of those “where were you when” moments.

Against that backdrop, it seems somewhat anticlimactic to discuss the implications for telecom policy, but that after all is what I’m tasked to do. That’s what pays my bills and if you are reading this, most likely yours as well.

The clock cannot be turned back, unfortunately, and the competitive industry has lost many of its biggest policy battles. The Telecom Act of 1996 was a worthy framework, but it was not followed faithfully in my opinion.

The excesses of the late ‘90s notwithstanding, the incredible growth in jobs and opportunity in the telecom marketplace is inarguable. It was transformative for our industry and our country. A return to rationality in the financial markets was inevitable, but there was no complementary rationality on the regulatory front. It has been mostly motion – tiresome and frustrating as it has been – but little progress unless you count practically reconstituting the Bell system progress.

What can we expect the new administration to do to?

I think a big impact of a new regime will be a changing of the guard at the FCC. This is the primary enforcement agency for the Telecom Act. While the commissions of the last eight years have handled most of the big decisions with little attention to preserving a competitive market, there is ongoing oversight to be done that could offer some relief.

No doubt additional forbearance petitions will be forthcoming. Recently, the FCC has seen its way to deny these, and hopefully the new commission will continue that policy where warranted.

And, of course, there are some significant reforms expected on intercarrier compensation and universal service that likely will be delayed for consideration by a new panel of commissioners.

Special access and unbundled loop rates also will be possible areas where competitors might get a sympathetic ear from a new commission. And it will fall to the new panel to enforce conditions placed on the AT&T merger.

Policy on IP and broadband wireless is in its nascent stages, so there are opportunities remaining for pro-competitive measures to be implemented there as well.

On top of this, there is a Democratic-led House and Senate that could also exercise its influence in our industry, but I’ll save that for another blog.

The new administration alone should be able to move us back to the path the Telecom Act intended as much as is possible without the benefit of rewriting history.

By Khali Henderson

I was dumbfounded as I listened to Rep. Chip Pickering’s keynote address at the COMPTEL PLUS event this week in Florida. The Congressman, who is ending 12 years as a Republican representative from Mississippi, admitted the Republican Administration, Congress and FCC turned its back on the competitive telecommunications industry.

Of course, this isn’t a newsflash, but it’s a surprising admission from a Republican. In case you missed it, here’s what he said:

”I think you began to see after the ‘96 Act, a change that occurred around 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, when both the leadership of the committee, the leadership of the commission and the administration went from a policy of advocating and promoting competition to instead advocating and promoting and having policies ... of consolidation, concentration, elimination of competition. I can say as a Republican, I am not proud of that change in policy and emphasis because I think it is dangerous, and I think it’s against the core beliefs and values from Teddy Roosevelt, who wanted to break up trust so that we would have a more diverse economy. And a more diverse economy creates the greatest economy and the greatest strength, not a concentrated economy.

“...The vision that you had in ‘96 has not always been sustained in Congress or by the FCC. But a new day is coming and that is good news. ... I do think we are about to see -- with either [new] administration -- positive leadership that will give us new opportunities to reclaim and restore the vision that started in 1996.”

I was further taken aback by his suggestion that somehow the competitive industry capitalize on the current economic crisis to prove the strength of competitive markets. He said:

“I do think the financial services collapse gives you an opportunity to say there is such a thing as a good regulation that enhances and promotes free markets and it does not intrude or encroach or distort markets. ...If we lose that [in telecommunications] we can have some of the same problems that we have had in the financial services markets. ...It is the examples of competition in Internet and investment that gave our economy the boost it got in the 1990s. We need to return to open policies, interconnected policies, innovation and investment policies in this sector.”

It’s unfortunate that we have had to see the monumental failure of our financial markets in order to drive the point home. Was nobody in power paying attention when the CLEC market was left in tatters following the dot-com crash and funds dried up? Was nobody watching as the Bells began to reconstitute themselves? Was nobody watching as the ILECs gained in-region long-distance authority while hardly meeting the checklist requirements, including opening local markets? Was nobody listening when former FCC Chairman Michael Powell said telco versus cable was adequate competition? Is nobody watching while the ILECs retire copper loops?

I could go on, but you get my point.

Apparently, it takes a global catastrophe for a wake-up call. The early warnings on the financial crisis were sounded in 2005. So, I guess that means those “crybabies” didn’t yell “no fair” loud enough either.

I am not sure any of us in the telecoms space would feel to happy about using this low point in our history to say: “I told you so.” But I certainly hope that Pickering is right that there is a chance to stop the concentration of power in telecom and to give competitors the chance they’ve been cheated. But that won’t turn back the clock all the way, offering little consolation to the competitors that were collateral damage of the policies over the past seven years.

By Cara Sievers

Thanks to Ike, the Windy City was even windier last weekend, but that didn’t stop Telecom Brokerage Inc. agents and vendors from flocking to Chicago for TBI’s second annual partner event on Sept. 12-13.

TBI’s Cruising for Success event, open to all current partners, kicked off on Friday with pre-arranged agent meetings and demos with vendors at TBI’s office.

Geoff Shepstone, president of TBI, welcomes attendees and their guests to the event.

On Friday evening, guests headed to the Renaissance O’Hare hotel for a cocktail reception, dinner, welcoming remarks from TBI President Geoff Shepstone, and even competitive Wii play on the big screen.

Dan Reinbold, PAETEC vice president of corporate quality and training, delivers vendor-agnostic sales training.

On Saturday, PAETEC’s Dan Reinbold delivered vendor-agnostic sales training for the agents, while their significant others braved seven inches of rain – the most rainfall in Chicago since 1871 since they started keeping record, according to Ken Mercer, TBI senior vice president. However, the group weathered the storm for an architectural tour of the city.

Saturday night’s dinner was aboard the Odyssey cruise ship.

After an afternoon of exhibit hall networking, the agents, vendors and their guests donned their spiffy duds for a dinner cruise on Lake Michigan in The Odyssey, a 600-person cruise ship. More than 150 people attended TBI’s private deck party, which consisted of a gourmet dinner, top-shelf bar and a band.

Ian Kieninger of CDW accepts the Best Agent of the Year award from TBI. Also pictured are TBI’s Geoff Shepstone and Ken Mercer, along with salespeople from CDW.

Shepstone presented awards for Best Agent of the Year to CDW, and Best Channel Manager of the Year to Howard Huerta of Qwest Communications International Inc. TBI also gave away more than 60 prizes ranging from 19” LCD TVs, iPods, GPS systems, camcorders, digital cameras and more. The Grand Prize winner was CDW’s George Gasick, who took home a 42” Toshiba LCD TV.

Connie Shepstone and Steffani Mercer take agents’ significant others on a tour of Chicago while agents were in sales training.

“The positive feedback from both agents and vendors was amazing,” said Mercer. “To have so many people feel like they really got something out of this event, besides a prize, makes me really happy. I hope we can top it next year.”

TBI sends out thanks to sponsors of the event. Gold sponsors were AboveNet, Covad Communications Group, Ernest Communications, Global Crossing, Hughes Satellite, NetWolves, PAETEC, Star2Star Communications, USA Digital and XO Communications. Silver sponsors were AireSpring, Bandwidth.com, Level 3 Communications, M5 Networks, One Communications,Qwest Communications International Inc., Time Warner and US Signal Communications.

By Khali Henderson

Hollywood’s latest obsession, the comic book ... I mean graphic novel ... has a new entrant. Beside Spiderman and Hellboy now stands IP Man. (Yes, it’s Internet Protocol.)

His adventures began this week at the IT Expo and www.IPManAdventures.com. On the Website, the new telecom hero appears in games, comic strips and videos. Along with his sidekick Metoo, IP Man battles the enemies of IP Communications. Here’s where it gets good – the villains are the evil Mr. Bellhead, who resembles a certain Sith Lord with his oversized helmet; and Noise and Jitter, two block heads. A fourth evil-doer, Echo, the first female nemesis, will debut later.

The project was created by the marketing team at Broadvox, including the top spinster David Byrd and his team – PJ Filipowicz, Ryan Burdzinski, Javier Martinez and Jill Howard. (Ryan does the drawings; PJ does the settings; Javier does the flash animation and all work on the story lines.)

Byrd said Adventures of IP Man started out as a way to market Broadvox (the company logo is on IP Man’s chest), but it quickly morphed into something more. “For us to accelerate the adoption of IP over current TDM installations, we have to get our IP ecosystem ... humming,” he said. “We really need to be all working together – whether we are competitors or partners or whatever. We really need to be pushing this thing so that we can go after the bigger community of users out there.”

The launch effort includes no product messaging. Instead Byrd said he would be talking with ecosystem partners – PBX vendors and gateway providers – to incorporate their products and messages into the stories going forward.

The project is sort of the fanboy version of the IP Communications Community that Broadvox sponsors on TMC.net, which allows everyone to contribute information on IP to a forum.

That’s on purpose, Byrd said. This medium should appeal to sales engineers in the community. Byrd is too polite by far to suggest this, but I’m thinking the stereotypical techno geek obsession with graphic novels is what’s being exploited here.

So far, the targeting seems to be working. Byrd said already engineers are writing in to suggest plots for future episodes. (You can weigh in too at http://www.broadvox.com/send.aspx.)

There are three comic strip episodes so far. These include, in the overdramatized lingo of the genre:

No. 1: The Shields of Service Extraordinaire: A Hero Emerges

No. 2: IP Trunk Invasion

No. 3: Rate Center Invaders 7000

Broadvox plans to add new episodes on a monthly basis. You’ll want to watch out for Echo’s debut. Byrd said her profile is on the drawing board.

Meanwhile, Metoo needs some character development. The creators are asking for your ideas about the origins of the trusty sidekick. (If your idea is chosen, you could win a prize.)

A few things to note: Metoo is a monkey. Why? Well, Byrd found a booth giveaway and wanted to incorporate it into the story. He saw it at another company’s booth one time and felt they were not doing much with it. The monkey toy flies and screams at the same time, conjuring up some Wizard of Oz flashbacks. What more could you want? A backstory and serial storyline apparently.

By Khali Henderson

In this column, we try to offer glimpses into what’s going on around the channel – from channel events to issues agents are struggling with. Sometimes we get a little myopic, pursuing a single-minded focus about the business of selling telecom solutions. That’s our job, so there’s no apology. But, every once in a while we get a reminder that there’s more to life than work.

For me today, it was an e-mail exchange with Adam Myers, president of TeleSource Communications Inc., an agent out of the Houston area.

Adam and I have been trying to schedule a conversation for a few weeks. At the beginning of the month, it was canceled was because of Gustav. Today, it’s Ike.

Houston is going to get it. Were on the far west side (Katy, TX), which is right on the track, unfortunately.

Most likely 90 mph winds and rain. We're buttoned down and ready as can be.

Houston isn't New Orleans (under sea level), so the biggest problem is flooding and power loss.

Thanks for your concern and we'll let you know next week how we fare.

Since starting my business in ‘97, people have always asked why we have one-inch thick solid core doors as desktops that have holes (from screw marks) in them. We use them to board up our houses as they're much better than quarter-inch plywood.

Just finished building our safe room at home with them this morning.

Adam

I often say “when it rains, it pours” when bad stuff happens repeatedly to me, but today, it doesn’t seem quite as appropriate to apply it to unexpected expenses from car repairs that usually go along with that lament.

For Adam – and no doubt plenty of our telecom friends ─ who are in harm’s way, this is a scary time when more is at risk than a missed deadline. Adam’s ingenuity – that desk trick is clever, isn’t it – and his preparation should see him through this situation. I wish him, his associates and their families luck.

Here’s crossing my fingers that we’ll be back to business as usual next week.

--Khali

If you missed the recent celebration recognizing the 150th anniversary of the transatlantic cable, you should know it was one for the ages! Held at the New York Historical Society, the Hibernia Atlantic event brought together politicians, bankers, executives from the telecommunications industry and more.

Who was there? Hibernia Atlantic’s executive management team, including CEO Bjarni Thorvardarson, who welcomed the crowd and gave a champagne toast. Founder and chairman, Ken Peterson, told the crowd, “What sets us apart as humans is our ability to communicate.”

Leading Atlantic cable historians gave informative presentations. Bill Burns talked about the type of cable used 150 years ago and how it compares to those used today. The crowd got to hear the interesting ways the cable was laid so long ago.

David Bart’s passion for the industry came through in his presentation about Lord Kelvin. He talked about the people who played such an important role in laying the first transatlantic submarine cable.

The night didn’t come to an end until after the attendees got to hear from Cyrus W. Field IV, the great, great grandson of Cyrus West Field. He shared wonderful stories about his family’s legacy. He gave the group a look into the type of person his ancestor was.

The younger Field described the elder as a fidgety man who couldn’t sit still. He also called him a serial entrepreneur. He had very few family relics left to share, but he did show pictures. And talk about a strange family dynamic. Two of Cyrus West Field’s siblings were committed to insane asylums, while two others sat on the Supreme Court!

Attendees of the event represented companies including Arbinet, China Netcom, Deutsche Telecom, Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs, Director of the Audio History Library, MediaXstream, Mzima, PacketExchange, Telx and more.