NL International Briefs

Bloomberg announces far-ranging telecom plan for NYCNew York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has unveiled a plan to improve the city’s telecommunications infrastructure. The plan was developed as a collaborative effort between the Economic Development Corp., the Department of Information Technology and Telecommuniations (DoITT), and the Department of Small Business Services. It makes 21 recommendations for the city to underatke in the next two to five years, including a plan that would see the city work with private broadband and telecom companies to pilot innovative ways to deploy broadband to blanket the five boroughs and to educate businesses about the benefits of high-speed Internet access. "Continuous improvement to New York telecommunications infrastructure is vital to the health of our economy," said DoITT commissioner Gino Menchini in a media release unveiling the plan. "It’s not a job that city government can do by itself. This plan recognizes that city and state agencies, the telecommunications sector, the real estate industry, major not-for-profit institutions and neighbourhood organizations all have a role to play." The full list of recommendations is available for download from http://ww.nycedc.com/about_us/TelecomPlanMarch2005.pdf. Spatial Data and HBF team to provide GIS VoIP 9-1-1 servicesHBF Group Inc., Austin TX, has struck an agreement on undisclosed terms with geographical information systems provider Spatial Data Inc. to supply Voice over IP providers with an E911 service for its subscribers. The service will marry HBF’s emergency calling service for VoIP including callback number and location information with Spatial Data’s public safety answering point (PSAP) information. The two companies promise "the most accurate address validation and PSAP routing information, all in real time with a web-service interface." Spatial Data’s system uses jurisdiction-based boundaries that include bodies of water and unpopulated areas, as opposed to street-based boundaries. HBF claims over 7,000 PSAPs in the U.S. and a relationship with thousands of emergency personnel in Canada. HBF has been providing 911 products in the U.S. and Canada since 1985, and promises that it will be able to route emergency calls for both fixed and nomadic subscribers. Broadband ISPs offering security to subscribers: ParksA recent study from Parks Associates notes that more than half (56%) of U.S. broadband households have received an Internet protection solution from their broadband ISP. The research firm’s Profiles of PC Usage study also indicates that only 11% of U.S broadband homes pay for security services. The Parks Associates report says that security services such as antivirus, anti-spyware, anti-spam, pop-up blockers and parental controls could lead to reduced customer churn. But the services could also represent future revenue for broadband ISPs, notes the report. "Although most home users report using their own security asnd protection packages, Internet service providers have a significant opportunity to offer such services not only as customer satisfaction and retention tools but also as value-added services and revenue drivers," Kurt Scherf, VP and principal analyst at Parks Associates said in a news release. He says that U.S. providers should look North of the border for business models on how to make this work. Scherf singles out Bell Canada and TELUS as they have both implemented fee-based security services.

NL International Briefs

News | April 26, 2005

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