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Almost daily it seems, you hear about this or that new product, or a new FCC ruling, or a hot bill from Capital Hill, all promising to change the future of the telecommunications industry. Sometimes understanding all these reports and figuring out what they mean to you can be pretty confusing. If you want to learn more, join us for a bit of crystal ball gazing as we look at the major trends shaping our world.
Right now, government regulations, business forces, and technology are churning together to produce sweeping changes in telecommunications. Before the end of the 19905, telco executives may barely recognize the industry they know today. Will independent telcos catch the wave of change or be left treading water as it passes them by?
A recent study of network managers found that 63 percent were currently managing three or more non-routine projects related to change. Respondents to the study, conducted by network access product manufacturer Verilink Corp., said that 44 percent of their staffs were devoted to supporting change. And, on filling out the survey, many of the managers were surprised to realize just how consuming change was. The challenge of the future, several noted, will be to anticipate change instead of merely reacting to it.
Though no one knows how the swirling factors of telecommunications change will shake out, a look at the major influences, trends, threats, and opportunities can help prepare rural telco executives for the future.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Congress, federal courts, and state regulators are busily making decisions that will shape the telecommunications industry and market. FCC Chairman Alfred Sikes has frequently stated his goal as opening up telecommunications to more competition. And, inch by inch, he's nearing that goal. Last May, the FCC proposed to change its regulations to facilitate the process by which alternative providers of local telephone service can connect their lines to the established network, thereby tapping into the $25 billion local-access market.
In addition, increased competition is likely to bring with it a rethinking of what a telephone company is. Sikes's vision of the future has telcos providing "video dial tone," over which they and other companies could provide video programming. The FCC's docket also contains such issues as setting...