Archives for January 2016

The Crisis: A tale of telecoms trouble

For late May, the weather is unusually dull and overcast. But then again the year 2016 has been a dark one. You run your fingers back and forth over the grain of the hardwood boardroom table. A few tiny drops of your own sweat glisten in the grooves, reflecting back the fierce fluorescent lighting. The […]

Three very confusing telecoms terms

“Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of our language.” – Ludwig Wittgenstein The words we use to describe telecoms networks often contain hidden metaphors and meanings that lead us into wrong thinking. Here are three examples.

The labyrinth of luck

Over the last few years I have come to appreciate how broadband networks are not widely understood, despite their ubiquity and importance. In particular, the relationship between a network’s basic operation and the resulting user experience is commonly misrepresented.

T-Mobile’s “Binge On” service: beautiful or beastly?

There is a media and regulatory battle on between T-Mobile USA and ‘net neutrality’ campaigners over the new Binge On service for video. In the absence of a market price mechanism for resources, there must be rationing. Binge On is merely an improved form of rationing compared to the status quo.