Hill Associates Telecom Newsletter

Welcome to our monthly newsletter! The first quarter is behind us, and we’re already into spring. Ski resorts here are closing, so summer must not be too far away—aaahhh. 

Finally, the results of the long-awaited Jan 24^th FCC auction of 700 MHz spectrum are in! The winners are Verizon and AT&T… but to a certain extent, also Google—who pushed for more openness—and the consumers who will get more advancements in an ever-growing wireless environment. We discussed this in a recent tHAWT.

In other news, FairPoint Communications completed the purchase of the Verizon assets in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. We welcome them to the neighborhood.

Keep smiling.

Paul

2G, where are you?
Here in the U.S., we pride ourselves on our technical creativity and staying ahead of the curve. However, in the world of mobile, we are definitely behind Japan. Not a single 2G phone was sold there in February, and 85 percent of the population is using 3G handsets. What’s going on? Find out here.

This just in, more geek news
The most popular click through last month was on geek news, so this month we encourage you to get in touch with your geek side again. Enjoy the top 25 great geek websites, the year’s 25 geekiest 25th anniversaries, Google’s top jokes, and the top 10 April Fools’ Day websites.

Unified communications will bring global benefits
According to a report by Forrester Consulting late last year, unified communications (UC) will make it simpler to contact others over any device in any location—enhancing business agility, cutting costs, and boosting employee productivity. UC is already delivering major savings for organizations around the world in retail banking, manufacturing, and education. Download the full report for free here. Listen to our podcast about the benefits of UC too.

The implications of ever-smarter mobile devices
Mobile phone manufacturers say mobile devices will become even smarter by 2010. They will replicate the Internet-over-PC experience in many ways, with navigational tools, social networking, and Web 2.0 applications via broadband networks and HTML-based browsers. 

Data encryption strategy, before products
Cobbling products together without a strategy does not make sense today. Check out these ten “need to know” ideas regarding encryption from Chris Burchett, CTO of Credant Technologies. A related article discusses 25 encryption tools you need to know about.

The P2P peril
While P2P (BitTorrent) can be an effective means to share content, its improper use can lead to data security breaches as reported in this article and associated study. Most security breaches are likely happening as a result of unintentional file management, or clicking all the defaults to allow for file sharing when the P2P program is installed. For more on security breaches, see our all-in-one security page. Also cool: this security breach calculator.

Drop us a file – literally!
Ever need to transfer a file or files, which are just too large to send via email? Or perhaps someone wanted to send you a fax but you were not near a fax machine. Several solutions on the Internet provide file sharing, but check out the very simple solution from Drop.io. We created drop.io/hillnewsletter, and it was easy! (Check it out for two bonus files from us!). You also get a phone number so others can leave you a voice mail; a fax cover sheet so others can send you faxes; and even an email address so others can send you attachments.

The 802.11n showdown
It’s not your grandfather’s Wi-Fi. Even though the 802.11n wireless LAN specifications are not due to be ratified until 2009, many are already investing in the preliminary technology. CRNTech magazine (which supports the VAR Channel) tested several early products in the SOHO market. Of note: Cisco did not participate. Where is Cisco with regard to 802.11n? What are some of the challenges to expect?

IPv6 update
IPv4 addresses are running out, and the IETF is recognizing this. During last month’s meeting in Philadelphia, the IETF turned off attendees’ access to IPv4, and they experienced a pure IPv6 environment. Google has also made its search site available at ipv6.google.com, which you can go to directly if you have IPv6 access. If you do not, just append “.ipv4.sixxs.org” to any IPv6 site to view it using your IPv4 access. Try it! Did you know Google has its own IPv6 address space, 2001:4860::/32? That is over 4 billion networks’ (not addresses but networks) worth of address space. If you think IPv6 is way off in the distance, think again.

New PodSnack TV video available
Did you get a chance to check out our first PodSnack TV video on security? Another one on VPNs is now available. Share with friends. 

Pack a PodSnack
PodSnacks are convenient, bite-size (five-minute) overviews of core technical concepts. Also check out the best telecom wiki around, with almost 1000 telecom articles. Use it to study! Remember to spread the word about our weekly podcast series called the Hill Associates Week in Telecom (tHAWT).

Win a free ExperTech of your choice
You probably know by now that we conducted a survey about the Hill Associates Newsletter earlier in the year. If you have already completed it, your name has been entered in our weekly drawing for an ExperTech topic of your choice. Names are announced in our weekly tHAWT series. If you have not provided us with your input, complete the survey and you are automatically entered. The details are at the top of the survey for how you can become a weekly winner!

Recent PodSnacks
DOCSIS (Wiki) (Blog) (MP3)
Regional Internet Registry (Wiki) (Blog) (MP3)
Central Office Switch (Wiki) (Blog) (MP3)

Recent tHAWTs
Neutrality, Google, Manufacturers, and Green
Dave Solo
Going Once, Going Twice, Sold