92 replies to this topic

[LINE-MAN.COM]

Vote to place your opinion regarding the future outcome of the telcom wars.

[high-n-mighty]

Overbuils all the way!

None of the existing telco proviers have provisioned for the future, their living for today's technology.

Gee's.....CATV couldn't even keep up with the deadline the FCC gave them back in 1997 or 1998 ensuring the ability to beat out the dish roll out. Now the Comcasts and Time Warners of the world are close to default on their franchise agreements and obligations to upgrade and provide dark fiber into the municipal bldgs. even more they can't even afford it.

Telco has a lot of fiber to put up to maintain the new video calls that will be deploying in the next 3-4 years and with today's markets they most likely not be rolling out anything soon. :(

My thanks goes out to Paul Allen for all the money he spent funding the overbuilds back from 1998-2002.

H-n-M

[Elvis is in the house]

High n mighty your boring me.

Telephone has been around for around 100 years and will be for another 100 :o

[Comfortably Numb]

I have to agree with H-n-M on the overb's. Overbuilders have the money and are lobbying themselves into the legislative positioning needed for the future. True, telephone has the staying power and the muscle to put up a good fight, but the money and "power" behind the overbuilders of the future will be a LARGE BLIP on telephone's radar screen. It may not happen in my lifetime (definitely not in Gravey Davey's lifetime), but eventually I believe the Ob's will be the dominant contender.

[Wood Walker]

It has to be the overbuilders in the winners circle. What's amazing is that all these networks that the bell's own and the older cable companies that have changed names 50 times over the last 4 decades are competely obsolete it cracks me up.

Go to a foreign country and take a look at the technology their laying out. Keep in mind it has to be a country such as Japan, Sweden, Germany, Australia and so on. Somewhat developed and moderately technical. Your going to see technology's that haven't even been built in America. Although it most likely was developed in our own backyard.

Sad isn't it?

So keep on rolling overbuilders and don't look back.

[Elvis is in the house]

No one seems to like the cable guy's

Ha :P ..ha :D ...haaaaaaaaaaaaaa :(

[lookinatmyfeet]

NO one may like the cable guy. But where I am from if it were'nt for cable we'd all be dialing in at 18kbps. Cable has saved our remote area from relying on the telco to sock all its money into the legislatures pockets so they can do as they please and not have to serve there customers with anything but the bare minimum.
Our local CATV prvider has done 3 multi million dollar upgrades to there plant within the last 2 years and has brought technology to there customers that would otherwise never reach us if left up to the telcos.

[Midnight Lasher]

I have to agree with my man there ;) Cable TV has carved the path for overbuilders. If it wasnt for the cable technology we would only be dreaming about what we are doing now :angry: We need to remember where we came from :angry: I am a overbuilder now but for 10 years I was working for the CATVs of the world :o I am very proud of the leaps and bounds this industry has made . I hope that everyone can see the forest through the trees. The overbuilders have meerly TWEEKED what was allready there and lashed it together to one contact. It was the knowledge from the all of them phone, overbuilder and cable, that has brought fiber to the home. The telecom industry has came a long way. I am proud to be apart of it all Hope I didnt bore everyone to bad? Thanks for listening :D

[lookinatmyfeet]

Well said Midnight Lasher!!

[dinopotaumus]

butterfly Personly i have a long time togo to get to retirement I would like to see all three around for a very long time. kewl

[Wood Pecker]

A-MEN Dino,
I believe they will be around for a long time!!!!!!
I also have a long time to retirement
WP

[lookinatmyfeet]

Yeah I'm with ya there Dino except I don't plan on retiring I'm hoping to just burn one last pole and ...well ...the end!

:P

[Comfortably Numb]

Anyone heard anything about the "current" companies offering wireless cable? I hear they are concentrating on Universities across the States? edumacated

[noisebuster]

Comfortably Numb, I think you are onto something here. I've been buried in twisted wire for 36 years and have seen some amazing changes over this time. But I belive that over the next few years, as much as I hate to say it because it's been my bread and butter, we are going to see twisted copper, coax and even fiber become obsolete as wireless becomes more prominent, reliable and secure. More and more people are using cell phones as their main phones and not even hooking up a wired phone at their residence. Dish and Direct TV are competing head to head with the cable providers. And wireless internet providers are popping up all over the place. Get ready boys and girls. Wireless is here, more and more companies will be getting in the game, and it's only going to get better.

[osugoose2002]

What is considered a overbuilder, i think WOW! in out area would be comsidered one, since they cover the entire city, and the outher 2 players insight and time warner have their "slivers" they clame. WOW bought what was caled Americast back when there was an Ameritech for telephone, americast was their cable tv offering, but it was ran on HFC, and was everywhere you could get telephone from ameritech, u could get americast.

[Ladderman]

Cable. I just have to stick up for our guys. TCI's John Malone, or whoever if I my mind serve's me right was getting out of it for the wireless cable side, or something along that line. With people raising hell over cutting their so called trees etc, I am just wondering how wireless would be the perfect thing, unless you are out in the rural area's that would have fewer tree's, buildings etc, to get in the way, unless you have plenty of towers to bounce off of to get to whoever. Heck, we have had Nextels, did not want to work half the time, we got rid of them, have Alltels now, they are just a bit better, but lacking at best. Cingular about the best, but still not perfect, but who is right? Who know's for sure. I think AT&T and Cable will be alright. Overbuilds? I know two guys who quit contracting, because the lack of work and pay compared to 10 years ago. They stated rebuilds have slowed way down, and most companies they deal with just upgrade their equipment, and do not go full bore with cable replacement like they used to. Not meaning anyone could not overbuild, but they better do their homework to see if it is worth trying to compete. A new company in Overland Park Kansas called Everest. Now known by another name, not sure who it is, but they overbuilt another system down there, with only one amp in cascade, a dream! Tons of fiber nodes etc. But they had a very hard time getting people signed on. We have one of their existing employee's, who left us for them. We don't bust our tails daily just to waste another day for a paycheck. We want to be on top, and stay there. Preventive maintenance is everything, not only to make things a little easier on us down the road, but for customer satisfaction. Without chasing noise daily, leakage, and sweep, I think we would be in trouble down the road. Same with AT&T, with their preventive maintenance, whatever that entails. You take care of your plant, your customer's will see it with less problems, and might not go for something different. No one is successful unless you can prove it, and it is all up with the telephone and cable technicians out there. If they want to retire from their job right now, they better watch how they do things on a daily basis. It could come back to get them down the road. Just like Captain E.J. Smith of the Titanic. He went down with his ship. All I know is cable etc. If cable goes down, then I am going down with it, because it is all I know. Not interested in doing anything else. For me personally cable is just addictive. I love my job, and I AIN'T going nowhere. Gee's, I need to be in a higher positon that what I am in. I never talk like that. I should be a promotional speaker for my company. Only if I get six figures, with a company vehicle!!!

[Bellguy]

Just my 2 cents, at Bell we're doing TV over phonelines now. Running 24 megs outta D-Slam cabs straight to the prem. Not to mention the cable guys brag about their 6 meg service, thanks to the good old governments anti-trust laws we can't fire back at their lies on the radio and TV about their junk being superior. Our speed is constant as opposed to their drops per customers on the line.

[diss]

UK CATV has no chance with the existing telecoms network. And now we have something called 24th century network going on, meaning telephone, data, and TV all down one copper pr. I wish the indusrty was like yours over the other side of the pond. We have one big player over this way that now has to unbundled the local network for all the other telco companies to jump on.

[IRRICO]

So are we cable guys a dying breed, won't they always need cable techs?