TelNotes Daily:  April 21, 2011

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InfoStack Topics:
1) Horizontalization:
a) GMU Professor Greenstein gives lecture on Myth of the Internet.  His emphasis is on how little govt involvement there was in the development of the internet and yet he misses the mark as to how the internet (commercial Web 1.0) began with distributed router networks based on flat-rate local pricing.  This layer 1-2 foundation (1986-89) was a direct out growth of the anti-competitive response of monopolies to the WAN threat.  The low-cost long-distance made the carriage of enormous amounts of data to these routers nearly free.  Then came layer 3 (www), layers 4 and 5 http and html and then the browser in layer 6 by 1994.  Since storage was cheap and transport was paid for, the cost of content distribution and viewing was relatively free.  Until people buy into this view, that the internet was built on a price/distance arbitrage, they won’t really understand the coming horizontalization from a pricing, cost, and structural perspective.
2) Upper Layers:
a) the “interest graph” is becoming key next step in social commerce; built on taste (opinion), location and trust.  The latter is the key word for every app.
b) wow, in one day you see numerous articles on enterprises, military and spook agencies all adopting social.   In the new world consumers adopt first followed by institutions.
c) same day articles on iPhone keeping track of locations and social location dating service.  It’s all a little too invasive, wouldn’t you say?  Can’t we go back to the days of Bob Lucky of Bellabs putting a video camera on his dog so he could IP from anywhere and see what the dog was doing?
d) article on do’s and don’ts of app dev; differences in iOS and Android; from Urban Airship.
3) Middle Layers:
a) Federal Telework security policy helps develop the institutional category for mobility.  Developments/ adoption in this area are critical for wide scale mobile-app/cloud growth.
b) Innobell offers convergence app for voice and datasharing on smartphone.  They also game and do money transfer.
c) Google offers improved site analytics and youtube analytic tools.  Good on!  Imagine a carrier offering this?!?  Wakeup Telcos (I mean bellheads!).
d) rebirth of TV ads?  Anti-dvr tool? People can now tag ads watched using smartphones.
4) Lower Layers:
a) Rural broadband could be the tail that wags the bandwidth dog if approached properly.  Obama set things in motion with $7.2bn BTOP and now rural providers are requesting the FCC consider phased changes to $7.5bn USF.  But that might be a double edged sword if broadband monies go to cable companies and satellite cos.  Note, some Republican states actually are trying to reverse BTOP.  But isn’t there something wrong with USF and how rural subsidies occur when 35% of adults in 10 states use only wireless.
b) Gotta love Comcast coming in dead last of 143 companies surveyed on customer loyalty.  Go monopoly!
c) Article on public-private partnerships to close digital divide.

Market and General Interest Topics:
5) Industry Statistics and Events:
a) Enterprises are alive and well based on earnings results from IBM and Intel.  This is good news because they will be big buyers of connected smartphones and tablets.  That will result in demand for security software and indoor distributed antenna systems.
b) Nieelie Kroes, Europe’s Info Policy czar is sticking with status quo in net neutrality space.
6) Business Strategy:
a) AT&T’s bet on a hybrid broadband solution is paying off relative to VZ’s bet on FTTH.  The market doesn’t seem to care as both are up about 18-20% over both 2 and 5 year ranges; VZ has the better wireless asset.  Since 1984, the S&P is up 800%, T is up 500% and VZ 320%.
b) Accenture says tech firms should have 4-5 biz strategies.  Amen.
c) Intel coming late to smartphone party means even big guys miss big trends.  But not anymore.  
7) Financial:
a) Wharton report on VC valuations and funding points to consolidation amongst VCs, which could be another way for the market to bridge the public/IPO inefficiency.
8) Other:
a) A Smithsonian article on how Memes play a vital and viral role in our overconnected society, especially with FaceBook and Twitter.  Separately, Davidow suggests potential changes in human physiology.  Seriously, we’ve got to wonder where our culture is headed with socialmedia.
b) growing taxonomy for electric cars as google/DOE build infrastructure map.
c) and here twitter romantic relationships last shorter!  What does this mean for biz relationships?