Hawaii Telecommunications Association

Global Learn Day

2006-10-11T12:08:00.000-10:00

Each year on Discover's Day there is held an "electronic voyage" around the world. Global Learn Day recently completed its 10th voyage lead by "captain" John Hibbs of the Ben Franklin Institute.

The link above includes one of the closing sessions of GLD 10 when PEACESAT/Guam manager Bruce Best was linked by single-sideband radio into the audio stream.

His blog listing is: http://www.ben300.com/TENPLAN/?p=64

John Southworth, Distance Learning - Enrichment Programming
Curriculum Research & Development Group, UH Manoa College of Education

HTCA Podcast #4 - Patrick Spargur

2006-03-09T18:02:00.000-10:00

(l-r, Patrick Spargur, Dolly Samson)

Patrick Spargur from Firefly Interactive talks about Open Source Marketing and how companies have succeeded in building products based on customer feedback and open communications.

To listen just click on the POD icon. To subscribe cut and paste the FEED link into your favorite podcatching software or search for Hawaii Telecommunications on iTunes. Time = 35:44/16M MP3

Phone company will offer new TV service

2006-02-22T21:52:00.000-10:00

The triple play is in the works. Hawaiian Telcom will be offering video services with their new IPTV offering. You can read more in today's (2/22/06) Honolulu Advertiser article.

Use of iPods in Education

2006-02-07T09:17:00.000-10:00

Use of iPods in Education

With the move by Duke University to give free iPods to all incoming Freshmen[1] in 2004, and Apple's recent introduction of "iTunes U" [2] where several Universities such as Stanford (which has been piloting the program since last fall [3]) are offering substantive content for free perusal, combined with the new Video iPods, and both a professor at Nebraska [4] as well as at least one professor at HPU are offering downloadable MP3 versions of their lectures. Increasingly it's seeming that the PodCast/iPod audio/video channel is gaining more and more credibility in the domain of both public domain and chargeable services. It looks like this has more potential that the classical usage of this channel for entertainment.

Mick

[1] July 2004 articles on Duke University giving incoming Freshmen free Ipods:

http://www.networkworld.com/weblogs/layer8/005724.html

[2] Myway articles on Apple store's offering of University Lectures.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060129/D8FE2VHO2.html

[3] Stanford's link to itunes music store based lectures at Stanford:

http://itunes.stanford.edu/

[4] And Duke's refocus on only certain disciplines:

http://www.networkworld.com/weblogs/layer8/008483.html

[5] Nebraska Professor Uses Ipods for Lectures
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060207/D8FK045O1.html

HTCA Podcast #3 - Wes Grainger

2006-01-29T21:53:00.000-10:00

(l-r, Wes Grainger, Pat Bustamante)

The first HTCA luncheon for 2006 featured Wes Grainger from Nortel Networks. He talks about the next generation networks and the role Nortel will play in the core of the telecommunications network.

To listen just click on the POD icon. To subscribe cut and paste the FEED link into your favorite podcatching software or search for Hawaii Telecommunications on iTunes. Time = 50:06/23M MP3

Hawaiian Tel stems land line loss

2005-12-23T08:05:00.000-10:00

This article just ran in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin:

http://starbulletin.com/2005/12/22/business/story01.html

Big challenges ahead!

Mobi PCS

2005-12-11T08:44:00.000-10:00

There is a new entrant into the crowded telecommunications arena. Mobi PCS will be rolling out their wireless service in Hawaii. Read the complete article in the Honolulu Star Bulletin:

http://starbulletin.com/2005/12/11/business/story01.html

"Podcasting" is the word of the year

2005-12-07T13:14:00.001-10:00

Just out - the New Oxford American Dictionary editorial review board has chosen the word podcast as the word of the year for 2005. They'd considered it for 2004, but it wasn't widely used enough then. Now it is.

Dolly

Podcasting

2005-11-28T07:07:00.000-10:00

Since we are a proponent of podcasting, I thought this article in PBN is very timely.

http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2005/11/28/focus1.html

This is only the beginning but the idea of time-shifting our entertainment is changing the face of the entire mass media industry. Why watch television when you can download your favorite shows to your video iPod?

Hawaiian Telcom loses phone lines, gains DSL business

2005-11-26T21:07:00.000-10:00

This story ran recently in the Honolulu Star Bulletin. Deregulation has certainly made the telecom environment highly competitive.

BART offers wireless to riders

2005-11-19T14:42:00.000-10:00

Wow! Wouldn't it be terrific if we had wireless Internet all the way from home to work? BART in San Francisco now does this. I think more people on Oahu would commute to work if The Bus offered wireless, too.

Dolly

HTCA Podcast #2 - Mike Ruley

2005-11-17T15:52:00.000-10:00

(l-r, David Torline, Dolly Samson, Mike Ruley, Ron Montgomery)

Welcome to the second HTCA podcast. This time we were fortunate to have Mike Ruley, CEO of Hawaiian Telcom talk to us at the November 16th HTCA luncheon. In his presentation, entitled, "Road to the Future", Mike reviewed the state of telecommunications in Hawaii before Hawaiian Telcom entered the market in May 2005 and how the company is in the midst of transitioning from a regional operation within a multinational corporation to become a Hawaii-based corporation focused solely on the islands. Mike also called up members of his executive staff to talk about Hawaiian Telcom's wireless service, broadband Internet service and the creation of independent backoffice systems to support their customer base in Hawaii.

To listen just click on the POD icon. To subscribe cut and paste the FEED link into your favorite podcatching software or search for Hawaii Telecommunications on iTunes. Time = 1:00:16/27.7M MP3

Sprint Hawaii launches EVDO

2005-11-16T15:56:00.000-10:00

A new wireless service based on 3G technology is being launched by Sprint Hawaii. This will enable PC users to connect to Sprint's broadband wireless network and download media normally only accessible through wireline services like cable modem and DSL. You can read more about it from this Pacific Business News article.

HTCA Podcast #1 - Gordon Bruce

2005-11-11T08:18:00.000-10:00

Welcome to the first podcast for HTCA. We recorded several sessions during this year's HTCA conference Telecom 2005 on October 27th. For our inaugural podcast we have Gordon Bruce doing his lunchtime keynote. Gordon is the Chief Information Officer at the City and County of Honolulu and talks about the innovations and challenges he faces managing the City's complex islandwide network.

To listen just click on the POD icon. To subscribe cut and paste the FEED link into your favorite podcatching software or search for Hawaii Telecommunications on iTunes. Time = 40:16/18.8M MP3

New version of Web TV?

2005-11-01T14:32:00.000-10:00

This is an excerpt from PBN about a new Interactive TV scenario - interesting...

"Honolulu-based Broadband Interactive TV will launch a new nationwide service next year that will enable content similar to Web pages to be viewed on television.
Broadband Interactive TV, also known as Broadband iTV and BBiTV, has created a new interactive television platform that will let companies and organizations put content on television similar to what's on a Web site. The new platform is currently in the hands of Time Warner Cable and will be tested in two as yet undetermined Midwest markets in the first . "

Wonder how it will do?

Conference podcasts

2005-10-31T08:16:00.000-10:00

The HTCA podcasts are coming to a computer near you real soon. I recorded two sessions: Digital Divide and Podcasting as well as Gordon Bruce and Soren Burkhart during their lunchtime keynote. I just need to edit it down and ftp it to an appropriate server. So please bear with me as I work through these details.

Cisco Press Conference

2005-10-24T09:02:00.000-10:00

This morning, I watched a webcast of a Cisco press conference in NYC that included Mayor Hannemann and Gordon Bruce (CIO). Cisco announced a new product, IPICS, that provides interoperability among all kinds of disparate communication devices (radio, phone,cellular, wifi, etc.). Honolulu C&& has been chosen as one of a few pilots, and early next year, they will start integrating communication across agencies (300+ groups, according to Gordon).

See the webcast here: http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2005/prod_101205.html

This sounds exciting, and it makes me think a wireless cloud over Oahu isn't far behind!

Dolly

HDL: Hundred-Dollar-Laptop

2005-10-22T10:34:00.000-10:00

OK, I'm a little behind in my reading. I just finished an article in the August (!) MIT Technology Review about Nicholas Negroponte's Hundred-Dollar-Laptop project. It's pretty ambitious, it isn't the perfect solution, but at least he's trying to get information and communication to children in underserved parts of the world. I hope that this will be part of the discussion in the Digital Divide session at the upcoming HTCA Got Mobility? conference on Thursday...

http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/05/08/issue/editor.asp

Dolly

Satellite network to cover 88% of Earth

2005-10-21T10:27:00.000-10:00

Inmarsat is launching a second satellite, with plans to provide broadband access to 88% of the globe. Will it succeed? Read more here:

http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,69209,00.html?tw=rss.TOP

---Dolly

Hawaii considered unfriendly to business

2005-10-16T20:28:00.000-10:00

This article ran in the Honolulu Star Bulletin, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2005:

http://starbulletin.com/2005/10/15/editorial/editorials.html

Telcordia Assists Hawaiian Telcom

2005-10-10T19:01:00.000-10:00

Hawaiian Telcom has inked a deal with Telcordia. Hawaiian Telcom has selected Telcordia's Service Delivery Suite of Products and professional services to complete a full transition to an independent network in six months.

Find the full details in this Business Wire release.

Telecom Policy Briefing

2005-10-08T22:39:00.000-10:00

The Honolulu Community Media Council will hold a telecom policy briefing on Tuesday, October 18, 2005, from 12noon to 1:30pm, in Capitol Conf. Rm. 225. The briefing will be led by Sean McLaughlin, Public Media Advocate, currently serving as public policy chair for the Alliance for Community Media (www.alliancecm.org) based in Washington DC. Please see flyer (.pdf file) for more details.

http://www.mindwind.com/info/HCMC Oct 18 flyer.pdf

Aloha,
Burt

Digital Divisions?

2005-10-07T12:15:00.000-10:00

There was a short article in the 10/6 Star Bulletin about a new Pew Internet & American Life report that looks at a refinement of the Digital Divide: Digital Divisions. Now, the "have nots" are those with only dialup access, and the "haves" are those with broadband. Here's the full report:

http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/165/report_display.asp

Dolly

Hawaiian Telcom: World's Oldest Startup

2005-09-25T07:24:00.000-10:00

This article just ran in the Honolulu Starbulletin about Hawaiian Telcom:

http://starbulletin.com/2005/09/25/business/index1.html

They are finally taking a stand and making themselves noticed in the marketplace.

Palm hops on Microsoft Bandwagon

2005-09-24T07:12:00.000-10:00

Microsoft held their annual employee meeting yesterday at Safeco Field in Seattle, and one of the big announcements was that Palm is going to launch a Windows-based Treo to be offered through Verizon Wireless (analysts likened it to Apple going Intel, though I think that's a bit of hyperbole).

I'm told that we can expect to see some innovative new devices (PDA+Phone+Internet) come out for Christmas. Now, all I need is to make friends with Santa!

Dolly

Got Mobility Keynote Speaker

2005-09-22T19:51:00.000-10:00

Today, I met with Samir Kumar at his office in Redmond, and I think he'll be a great keynoter to launch the conference and get us thinking about mobility and how to untether knowledge workers.

First of all, he had about a dozen gadgets (PDA's, cellphone, tablet) on his desk, so he's up on all of the things Microsoft is doing.

He'll focus on Microsoft developments in the mobility arena, new tools and devices to help workers, and how Microsoft is enabling various companies to get mobile. He won't really be going into the technical development details, but he did say he can probably stay for the entire day and be available to talk with.

---Dolly

Linked from the HTCA Site as requested...

2005-09-18T17:03:00.000-10:00

Now people can find it off the homepage. Good idea you guys! Hopefully folks will find this useful.

Publicity

2005-09-17T21:34:00.000-10:00

I contacted Steve Schoen at UOP about sending out the conference flyer to his mailing list. He is more than happy to accommodate us. Just send me the final version and I can forward it to Steve.

The Vendor "Passport"

2005-09-16T15:35:00.000-10:00

Has this passport activity been tried before at Honolulu events?

The reason I'm asking - and I'm NOT a marketing person - is that I wonder if we should provide the vendors with information about the passport in advance along with some tips on how to engage visitors who stop by for a stamp. For example, ask the visitor for a business card in order to get the passport stamped; or sign a list, or enter their name in the computer, or take a brochure, etc. That is, vendors should be prepared for the stamping request and have thought it out in advance how best to take advantage of the contact.

Sandra, do you give the vendors instructions for the conference? Do you have any suggestions to help vendors make the most of the opportunity? Any advice from the rest of you?

Dolly

American Red Cross at HTCA Telecom '05

2005-09-16T12:31:00.000-10:00

I think the presence of someone from the American Red Cross is not necessary even though it was suggested. As long as we provide the "official" donation information, such as a banner or poster, the proper donation box, and other paraphinalia, then I'm cool with it.

Manning of the donation box can be left to the volunteers also at the registration table.

Aloha, Dante

Blogging on Telecom

2005-09-02T21:02:00.000-10:00

Welcome to the Hawaii Telecommunications Association blog. This is a group blog featuring the latest information on the telecommunications industry in Hawaii.