Reflection – Week 8 Readings

Telcos will inhibit the consensus of an almost universally-connected world by…

• Not focusing on data networks – Today, business thrives by communicating through email, instant messaging, and, more recently, VoIP.  By ignoring these new disruptive technologies, telcos will be holding back growth and ignoring consumer demand.
• Focusing on functionality and reliability – Consumers are more concerned with convenience and portability.  They are not picky about quality when the service is cheap and convenient.  Vonage and Skype are two examples and are both lower in price and quality. 

Telcos will foster the consensus of an almost universally-connected world by…

• Co-opt IP based technologies – Rather than entrants having to create networks of their own, which are very costly, they can share those of already established companies.  This will allow incumbents to give consumers what they demand (IP) and decrease their operating costs.  The VoIP companies can focus on the new technology and the incumbent companies can collaborate with them to offer customers alternatives.
• WLANs – Creating vast WiFi networks will help to bridge network gaps. 

Because of regulations surround the consumer market, Christensen suggests a place to turn to for early adopters of a new technology is businesses.  They have the financial resources and the drive to innovate to be competitive.  Additionally, enterprises are a great place to experiment because they have high-speed connections.

In terms of Rogers’ adopter categories, the specialist companies are the innovators.  They are the ones creating a lot of the disruption.  The incumbents that jump on the new technology bandwagon – VoIP and WLAN – are the early adopters.  At this point in time, I believe we have reached enough critical mass for both VoIP and WLAN to be self-sustaining technologies.  There is enough demand throughout the US and other parts of the world that to not focus on these technologies—either through cramming or co-opting—would hurt the telcos.        

Questions:

1)      How does the telco marketing in Europe and Japan compare to the US in terms of the new technologies Christensen discussed? 

2)      How does net neutrality become an issue in furthering the quality of VoIP communication? 

3)      What is the probability of the government creating policy around WiFi?  If there is regulation in this arena, what will this do to the technology and/or industry?