Intermediate Network Woes: A Tale of Mobile Disconnect

Called on to help figure out why mobile calls weren’t reaching my client’s customers, I ultimately turned to the FCC.
 A savvy client of mine who sells hosted VoIP services recently called me with a serious problem. Calls made to my client’s customers from some mobile devices supported by two wireless providers suddenly -- and devastatingly -- weren’t completing. Calls completed, and then suddenly stopped working. The callers got either fast busy signals or ring-never-answers. To be polite, everyone was, um, annoyed.

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Why the Huawei Situation Should Matter to You

Will regulatory intervention in the name of national interest and security derail your technology implementation plans?
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump, claiming that threats to information and communications technology from foreign entities constitute a national emergency, signed the Executive Order on “Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain” into law. The order, The New York Times suggests, may be the first step in the creation of a “digital Iron Curtain” as the president looks to secure what may be more favorable trade terms from a powerful and aggressive competitor – Chinese communications vendor Huawei -- to American businesses. It’s also possible that the order’s real purpose is to force China to rethink its long history of disregarding international intellectual property standards and laws and to secure better market behavior and a reframing of existing and future U.S.-China partnerships.

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Secure Your Data, But Don’t Overlook the Wireless Net

Follow this checklist so spectrum issues don’t impact your enterprise’s resilience.
One of my professional mentors and heroes is a well-read, rock n’ roll-loving policy expert (the word “wonk” seemed disrespectful and that’s the last thing I’d ever want to be) who pointed me toward a very interesting report on wireless resiliency published last fall in the U.K.. Let’s just say that when Obi-Wan Kenobi of spectrum policy points me in a given direction, I head there immediately. And I’m sharing here because, having now read the “Cyber-Spectrum Resilience Framework” report myself, I, too agree, that it raises some important issues for consideration by virtually every enterprise that relies on wireless service to support its business. 

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Text Message as Information Service: What It Means

Opponents aren’t taking the FCC’s recent decision lightly. Every issue always comes down to a balancing of interests. What seems black and white rarely is. Such is the case of the FCC’s recent decision -- a three-to-one vote along party lines -- to classify the previously unclassified text messages as information services. The FCC did so under the guise of limiting unsolicited robotexts.

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What the Partial Shutdown Means, Practically Speaking

Sooner or later, if not yet, the challenges will impact us all. While the effects of the government shutdown -- 25 days and counting -- may not be as immediately apparent outside the Capital Beltway as inside it, don’t delude yourself, particularly with respect to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the federal judiciary. Regardless of which side of the wall you stand on, the fact is that issues particularly related to the protection of consumers (even corporate consumers) have largely either ground to a halt or have been substantially curtailed. Translation: This shutdown has created challenges, ranging from mild inconvenience to complete chaos, that sooner or later if not yet, will impact all of us.

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