Strategic Research Initiative

An Alternative Future of Broadband: Open and Neutral?

A Proposed Client-driven Market Assessment and Research Report

 

Why participate in the research?

• To identify opportunities for investment and innovation.
• To gain a strategic advantage in the future of broadband.
• To gain a unique and simplified perspective on the Broadband Ecosystem.
• For early insights in to an alternative future of broadband.
• To understand the many ways to monetize fiber investments.
• To understand how future broadband business, technical and financial architectures intertwine.
• To understand the actions of AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, Spectrum, T-Mobile/Sprint.
• To understand the biggest threat to U.S. Broadband Incumbents.
• To gain clarity from the hype around 5G, Cloud, Edge, IoT, Smart City, Municipal Broadband, etc.
• To understand the relationships amongst U.S. Telco, Cable and Mobile operators and their relationships with Cloud/Web Companies.
• To understand how the future of broadband fuels the 4th Industrial Revolution.
• To understand where Brand battles are waging and build strategies for success.
• For a unique and simplified perspective of the entire broadband ecosystem, major trends and expected future scenarios.

Questions Answered

• What is broadband and why should we care?
• Who will drive the U.S. Future of Broadband? Cable, Telco, Mobile Incumbents?  Municipalities? Private Equity? 
• Who’s winning:  Cable, Telco or Mobile? Amazon?
• Is there a new and replicate-able broadband model that private equity firms will race to implement?
• Why are Facebook and Google dependent on the growth of broadband?  What are they doing about it?
• Why did GoogleFiber struggle? What can we learn?
• Does the Future Broadband Network minimize the role of the Public Internet?
• Is Municipal Broadband a Wave or a Ripple?
• Are there unique architectural options for a Municipal Broadband network?
• How do Net Neutrality and Privacy apply to broadband?
• Is there a ‘Gigabit Land-grab’ underway? 
• Is ‘Open Access’ the answer? Or part of the answer?
• What are the cash flow and branding issues of open and neutral communications? 
• What does the future broadband network look like?
• Where’s the “Edge” in the future broadband network?
• Are there alternative broadband architectures that can drive local, regional and national economies?
• How do residential and commercial multi-dwelling buildings (MDU) participate in the new broadband network?
• Who’s going to win the home? The Broadband Provider or the Cloud Company?
• What’s the relationship between Fiber, 5G, Cable and Fixed Wireless?
• What about rural broadband? Not broken, Never fixed?
• What role does CORD (Central Office Re-architected as a Data Center) have?
• What role does SD-Access have? SD-WAN?
• What role does 5G, Wi-Fi, CBRS have? 
• What role does Fixed Wireless Access have? Niche or Common?
• Where does the RAN fit in to the new broadband network?
• What’s the role of Open Source Software?
• What are the 10 challenges to broadband nirvana?

Who should participate in this research?

• Individuals and organizations who’s future depends modern broadband.
• Cable Operators, ILECs, Mobile Network Operators, Middle-mile providers, Co-Lo providers, data center companies, fixed- wireless operators,  Neutral host providers.
• Cloud Companies, Edge Companies, SaaS providers who need high speed secure access to customers.
• Vendors in broadband, fiber, 5G, LTE, CBRS, Wi-Fi, Cable, CPE, Data Center, Cloud, IoT, Smart City.
• Private Equity Investors who are interested in long term, repeatable infrastructure-like opportunities.
• City Leaders seeking an understanding of broadband and how to transform their communities
• Data Center  and Real Estate Owners (Residential and Commercial)  
• Anyone looking to establish a leadership position in the future of broadband.

Uses of Research

• Marketing/Product Marketing:
  • For promotion purposes
    • Support your vision and product roadmap with independent analysis 
    • Co-branded lead generation reports, ebooks, whitepapers, etc. 
    • Webinars, internal and external presentations, 
  • Thought leadership and Messaging for each market: Large Incumbent, ILEC, Cable, Mobile, Municipal and Alternative.  
    • Create compelling visions and solution roadmaps for each market segment.
    • Drive outbound and inbound (e.g Field Enablement/Sales Training) Materials
      • Use cases and business cases for Slicing, FANS, CORD, SD Access, xPON, etc.
        • Plus 5G, CRAN, FWA, CBRS etc., etc.
        • Plus Smart City, IoT, Data Center, Edge etc., etc.
      • Addressing CXO business drivers.            
    • A unified story and messaging framework for all access technologies:
      • Fixed and Wireless
      • Telco, Cable, Mobile, Satellite, WISP, Municipal and Alternative.
    • A unified story and messaging framework across access and cloud/edge.
    • To gain an insightful view of the U.S. Service Provider Market.
      • U.S. Telco v. Cable v. Mobile
      • U.S. Broadband Provider (Telco v Cable v Mobile) v. CloudCo (FAANGS, etal.)
      • An understanding of why the Big Incumbents (Telco/Cable/Mobile) are doing what they seem to be doing.
      • Strategic Uses of the term “5G”. What the MNO’s have been using 5G for the last decade and what they intend for the future.
      • What the Web/CloudCo’s are doing and why?
      • Does Cloud vs. SP = Dems vs. Reps?
      • What cities are doing and why?
      • What are the 10 barriers to cities and to an alternative broadband future in the U.S.?
        • How do you overcome each of them?
      • What’s the future of Cell Tower REITs in the future of broadband?

• CTO, R&D, Engineering/Product Management  
  • Drive R&D and technology investments, technology strategies and partnerships
  • Understand customers’ business drivers to map and drive technical architectures and investments.
  • Drive/Justify product/solution roadmaps

• Strategy Teams
  • Early mover advantage in the Future of Broadband
  • Broadband Ecosystem Development
  • Understand U.S. big incumbents’ strategic drivers
  • Drive acquisition strategy
  • Blindside protection

• Private Equity Investors
  • Early knowledge and first move advantage in to an emerging $100+ billion investment opportunity.
  • Create an investment model that can be replicated across the country and elsewhere.
  • Understand the industry forces and dynamics of the broadband network and how they impact other investments.
  • Learn how to structure broadband infrastructure investments for long term success.

• Municipal Leaders
  • Gain an understanding of what “broadband” is: Scope, Issues and Risk, value to community, architectural options. Etc.
  • A plan to transform your community with the Future of Broadband.