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- Jason's Industry Insights - Issue #29
Jason's Industry Insights - Issue #29
Jason Presement
July 26, 2024
Your Weekly Broadband, Space and AI Market Insights
Issue #29 - July 26, 2024
Welcome to Issue #29!
There is SOOOO much good stuff in here this week, including a special AI video from me! I even added a Table of Contents (below).
Some headlines of the Week:
🦄 What you see isn’t always what you get with broadband speed: Ookla
👯 ️ Digital Twin in Space Research Cuts 100 Years of Work Down to 2 Years
🏞️ The art of AI art prompts: How to get the most out of AI image generation
🤖 A Clamour for Generative AI (Even If Something Else Works Better)
🐸 'It's risky for male frogs out there': Female frog drags and attempts to eat screaming male
💡 LEARN ABOUT - IEEE 802.11ah, aka Wi-Fi HaLow
..and more.. inside.
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Everything in This Issue
Canada Broadband and Some US Stuff
What you see isn’t always what you get with broadband speed: Ookla
There’s a difference between the broadband speeds consumers think they’re getting and the service they actually receive, according to Bryan Darr, VP of Government Affairs at Ookla.
Fiber offers throughput and latency that bring “a whole new level of capability to these homes and businesses,” Darr said at an FBA webinar. “But that doesn’t mean people can necessarily experience it,” he added.
The most common connection consumers test on Ookla is Wi-Fi. And most of the Wi-Fi routers people have in their homes are older devices that “aren’t capable of actually handling the throughput speeds” that are being delivered through fiber.
Read the full article
My Take: Duh. The home infrastructure is always the weakest link, which is why testing should take place from the router, and not the device to validate the service subscribed to. Now, having said that, in Canada, CIRA has a test methodology that tests from the device, not the router. This is great to see how well the connectivity from the actual device is, but it’s not representative of the actual speed and latency that a customer is receiving.
This all comes back to customer education. You can’t get 500mbps from an old iPhone4, and older SONOS speakers may impact your WiFi. Facts.
In the US, broadband “nutrition labels” and then pending Canadian equivalent should be based on ingress/egress from the carrier-provided router. That’s it.
Cable operators see surge in network upgrade options
Source credited in the article
The cable industry isn't facing a simple crossroads regarding the future of their widely deployed hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) networks. Instead, operators have a multitude of paths and options to choose from.
Some might stick with DOCSIS 3.1 and beef up the upstream with "mid-split" or "high-split" upgrades that allocate more spectrum to the upstream path. Others could take a closer look at an upgraded version of D3.1 (call it DOCSIS+ or "extended" DOCSIS 3.1) that can boost the performance of the downstream while potentially putting off an upgrade to a distributed access architecture (DAA). Additional options include going for a full DOCSIS 4.0 upgrade paired with DAA or simply shifting investments into fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) overlays and upgrades.
Read the full article
My Take: You know what they say about having too many options.. Are Cable operators afraid of not being cable operators anymore and becoming more “telco-ish” if they just cap the coax and move to FTTH? Sure, the coax asset is in the ground, but if they’ll eventually all move to FTTH, why prolong the inevitable? It would certainly help the FCC in the US and the CRTC in Canada to define USOs (Universal Service Objectives) free of asymmetrical constraints. Maybe they could strive for latency objectives as well.
CRTC wants Rogers to explain service set-up fee increase to $70
The CRTC is asking Rogers to explain how the recent increase of its service set-up fee from $60 to $70 on Rogers and Fido plans is consistent with the federal government’s recent amendments to the Telecommunications Act introduced this spring in Budget 2024.
Division 37 of Bill C-69, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 16, 2024, which received royal assent on June 20, contains a prohibition stating, “A telecommunications service provider must not charge a fee to a subscriber that is related to the activation or modification of a telecommunications service plan, or any other fee whose main purpose is, in the opinion of the Commission, to discourage subscribers from modifying their service plan or cancelling their contract for telecommunications services.”
Read the full article
My Take: A $70 set-up fee with Fido if you choose not to use the automated self-help tools. With the self-service tool, it’s free.
Is this the new customer experience? You’re better off not speaking with anyone to get what you want? I understand that automation impacts OPEX and the ability to reduce wait times, etc, but what an opportunity - especially with a new sign-up, to show some customer care and service love.
2024 Inflight Connectivity Latency Report
Network latency is a common curse of inflight Wi-Fi because long latency can cause internet-connected passengers to become frustrated. This report explains how and why latency degrades the user experience and identifies ideal latency ranges for users to be satisfied with the performance of commonly used applications
Read the full report
My Take: I think flight latency is the bigger issue, but sure, once you’re connected (and paying infinitely more than you would for any residential service) you want your applications to actually work. And, of course, the more you give people, the more they will want.
CRTC takes action to bring fibre Internet to five Inuit communities in northern Quebec
Through its Broadband Fund, the CRTC is committing $79.4 million to the Kativik Regional Government to build a 933-kilometre fibre link, which will connect the communities of Kangiqsualujjuaq, Aupaluk, Tasiujaq, Quaqtaq, and Kangirsuk to high-speed Internet services. This project will connect more than 40 essential institutions, such as schools and health care centres, and will offer social, educational, and economic benefits to the communities. It will also support future projects to connect businesses and over 700 households.
And
CRTC takes action to bring fibre Internet to four Inuit communities in Nunavut for the first time
Through its Broadband Fund, the CRTC is committing $271.9 million to the Government of Nunavut to build a 1300-kilometre fibre link, which will connect the communities of Iqaluit, Kinngait, Coral Harbour, and Kimmirut to high-speed Internet services.
Nunavut is only accessible by air or sea, and there are no roads connecting its 25 communities. It is Canada’s largest, northernmost territory, and one of the most challenging areas of Canada to build networks. This project will connect over 80 essential public institutions in these communities, including schools, healthcare centres, and community learning centres. The fibre connections will also support future projects to connect homes and businesses across Nunavut.
My Take: Even though one commissioner logged a dissent around the Nunavut award, these are both great project that demonstrate the continued demand for infrastructure in Canada — transport infrastructure. Affordable transport infrastructure that opens up more possibilities than just community connectivity. Think sovereign data centres. Think other vertical applications.
Anyway, building in remote areas is expensive. Why so much more expensive in Nunavut? Have you ever been to Nunavut? Exactly.
See, this is where GenAI comes in really handy. Less work for me ;)
Learn About - IEEE 802.11ah, aka Wi-Fi HaLow
IEEE 802.11ah, also known as Wi-Fi HaLow - is a promising new standard that's poised to revolutionize the Internet of Things (IoT). Think of Wi-Fi HaLow as the long-distance runner of the Wi-Fi family, designed to go the extra mile where its siblings fall short.
At its core, 802.11ah operates in the sub-1 GHz frequency band, specifically around 900 MHz. To put this in perspective, imagine the Wi-Fi spectrum as a multi-story building. Traditional Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) occupies the upper floors, while Wi-Fi HaLow sets up shop in the basement. This lower frequency allows the signal to penetrate walls and obstacles more effectively, much like how bass sounds from a neighbour's party seem to travel through walls more easily than higher-pitched sounds.
One of the most impressive features of Wi-Fi HaLow is its extended range. It can reach up to 1 Km - that's about 10 times farther than conventional Wi-Fi. This long-range capability makes it ideal for large-scale IoT deployments in smart cities, industrial complexes, or sprawling agricultural settings.
But distance isn't the only trick up HaLow's sleeve. It's also designed to be a power-sipper rather than a power-guzzler. Wi-Fi HaLow implements clever power-saving techniques like duty cycling allowing HaLow-enabled devices to potentially operate on a single battery charge for years, making it perfect for sensors and other IoT devices in hard-to-reach places.
Another key advantage of Wi-Fi HaLow is its capacity to handle a large number of connected devices. A single HaLow access point can support over 8,000 devices.
Of course, this expanded coverage and device support comes at a cost - data rate. Wi-Fi HaLow offers speeds from hundreds of Kbps to tens of Mbps. While this might seem slow compared to the blazing gigabit speeds of Wi-Fi 6, it's more than sufficient for most IoT applications, which typically involve small, infrequent data transmissions.
One of the most exciting aspects of Wi-Fi HaLow is its potential to bridge the gap between different IoT technologies. It occupies a sweet spot between ultra-low-power, low-throughput technologies like LoRa and Sigfox, and more power-hungry cellular networks like LTE-M. Think of HaLow as the Goldilocks of IoT connectivity - not too slow, not too power-hungry, but just right for a wide range of applications.
Some of the key players in the HaLow space include;
Morse Micro: A leading fabless semiconductor company focused on Wi-Fi HaLow technology. They won recognition as the Best Wi-Fi IoT Product in the 2023 Wi-Fi NOW Awards.
Newracom: A semiconductor company developing Wi-Fi HaLow chips, mentioned as partnering with Silex Technology.
Silex Technology: Offers various Wi-Fi HaLow solutions, including access points and bridges.
Methods2Business: Mentioned as a contributor to Wi-Fi HaLow development.
Despite its promising features, Wi-Fi HaLow faces some challenges in adoption. It requires new hardware infrastructure, which means that existing Wi-Fi networks can't simply be upgraded via software to support HaLow.
Examples of where HaLow is being used or trialled today include;
Healthcare Facilities:
Applications include connecting medical mobile workstations, body area networks (BANs), and IoMT (Internet of Medical Things) devices like ECG, SpO2, and blood pressure monitors.
Smart Home:
Trials are being conducted to evaluate Wi-Fi HaLow for security cameras, HVAC systems, appliances, detached garage connections, solar power systems, power backup generators, and EV chargers.
Smart City:
Deployments focus on infrastructure monitoring, smart utilities, and traffic management. Communication between access points in facilities and devices outside, such as diagnostics data from testing sites in parking lots, by example
Industrial IoT:
Applications include asset tracking, infrastructure monitoring, remote equipment control, safety automation, and security monitoring.
Agriculture Technology:
Trials in smart agriculture and precision farming systems, including environmental monitoring, soil monitoring, plant health monitoring, actuator control, and data collection for predictive breeding.
Smart Retail:
Deployments cover scanners, readers, point-of-sale equipment, asset tracking, security monitoring, warehouse robots, and handlers.
Building Automation:
Testing supports applications such as physical security, surveillance, access control, safety alarms, and water sensors.
These deployments are part of the Wireless Broadband Alliance's "Wi-Fi HaLow for IoT" program, which aims to showcase 802.11ah Wi-Fi HaLow solutions in real-world use cases. The technology's extended range, improved penetration capabilities, and power efficiency make it suitable for a wide range of IoT applications across various sectors.
It’s worth noting that while Wi-Fi HaLow is still in the early stages of widespread adoption, these deployments and trials are paving the way for broader implementation in the IoT ecosystem.
Wi-Fi HaLow represents an exciting development in the world of IoT connectivity. Its long range, power efficiency, and ability to support thousands of devices make it a strong contender for many IoT applications. As we move towards an increasingly connected world, technologies like Wi-Fi HaLow will play a crucial role in making the Internet of Things a ubiquitous reality.
Space
How Satellite IoT Is Driving Innovation in the Energy & Agriculture Industries
Satellite-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) technology is rapidly emerging as a valuable solution for Internet of Things (IoT) applications in the energy and agriculture markets. By offering remote connectivity, real-time data collection and advanced analytics, satellite IoT has been driving significant efficiencies and improvements in these sectors. In 2023, the satellite IoT market boasted an estimated 8.4 million connections, with a market size exceeding US$1.35 billion, highlighting its substantial growth and potential. (Link)
Read the full article
My Take: Just give it up, all you terrestrial people. Space will solve all of your problems. What would Elon do?
WestJet pivots to Starlink to support free Wi-Fi for loyalty members
WestJet has announced plans to bring SpaceX’s Ku-band Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite-powered Starlink Aviation broadband connectivity to its Boeing 737 narrowbodies and Boeing 787 widebodies — and offer the service for free to members of its loyalty program.
The news is a blow to WestJet’s longtime incumbent provider Panasonic Avionics, which supports the Canadian operator’s pay-per-usage onboard Internet service with a legacy Ku-band geostationary (GEO) satcom solution. Panasonic has also seen customer ZIPAIR announce plans to defect to Starlink.
Read the full article
My Take: Free Starlink. Bye, bye, GoGo. Space will take over this sector for everyone else, too. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.
Digital Twin in Space Research Cuts 100 Years of Work Down to 2 Years
On a mission to create the world’s most secure and fastest global point-to-point low-latency orbital network, Rivada Space Network has been employing digital twins to create a simulation environment to build the same. “Digital twin is fantastic,” said Declan Ganley, the founder and CEO of Rivada Space, in an exclusive
Rivada’s digital twin enables them to accurately model the behaviour of their satellite constellation. This modelling capability is crucial for testing various operational scenarios before actual deployment. By simulating different conditions, such as orbital dynamics and network traffic patterns, Rivada can predict how their satellite network will perform in real-world.
Read the full article
My Take: The more I see examples of real digital twin implementations beyond just the “sandbox”, the more impressive it really is. Those who think outside of the box with the applications and the depth of both data and simulation will be the ultimate benefactors. I’m looking forward to seeing some great case studies.
Canada - Establishment of 7 Wing (Space)’s Commercial Integration Cell
Colonel Catherine Marchetti, Commander of 7 Wing (Space) and Director of the Canadian Space Operations Centre, alongside industry partners, announced the establishment of the Canadian Commercial Integration Cell (CIC) at 7 Wing (Space). Industry partners Mike Greenley, Chief Executive Officer at MDA Space, and Michèle Beck, Senior Vice President, Canadian Sales at Telesat, were present at the announcement, which took place at this year’s CANSEC Defence Trade Show in Ottawa.
The CIC is a new information-sharing structure focused on space operations established between the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and industry partners to enable discussions and data-sharing at the appropriate security level. This new structure will formalize the process of communicating timely and relevant information, leveraging the capability to protect Canada’s interests in space. The cell will focus on space systems currently supporting CAF operations and potential threats against those space systems.
Read the full release
My Take: They need a better logo. Maybe some projectiles and explosions. Either way, a great initiative as Canada continues to evolve in the sector!
Space Industry Leverages Tabletop Wargames and ZTA to Tackle Novel Cyber Threats
A new report from California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) has shone a light on the increasingly urgent threat that novel cyberattack methods in space are posing to commercial, military and government satellite networks.
Authored by Cal Poly’s Ethics + Emerging Sciences Group, the paper – “Outer Space Cyberattacks: Generating Novel Scenarios to Avoid Surprise” asserts that cyberattacks are the most likely avenue for bad actors to leverage when looking to degrade and disrupt space assets, and that industry leaders must explore new cybersecurity approaches to combat novel attack methods that could emerge in the near-future.
Read the full article
My Take: The threat is real. The outcomes could be tragic. Look at what one little Crowdstrike outage did.
Starlink Manoeuvre Update July 2024
This week the latest Starlink semi-annual constellation status report was released on the website of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
In its latest semi-annual report (dated 1st July 2024) SpaceX reported 49,384 risk mitigation manoeuvres made by Starlink satellites in the period 1st December 2023 through 31st May 2024
Figure 1 shows an interesting decline in the number of manoeuvres reported in 2023 (25,299 manoeuvres in the 6 months from 1st December 2022 versus 24,410 manoeuvres in the 6 months from 1st June 2023) followed by an increase of 100% to the most recent count
Read the full post
My Take: 50,000 maneuvers. Imagine what happens when there’s 5x as many things floating around in LEO orbits It’ll be like a game of Pong in space.
Amazon gears up for NASA satellite data relay demonstration
TAMPA, Fla. — Amazon is preparing to demonstrate data relay services for NASA in the spring using upcoming production satellites for its Project Kuiper broadband constellation.
The company recently completed initial in-orbit demonstrations after deploying a pair of prototype spacecraft last year in low Earth orbit (LEO), a spokesperson for Amazon’s Kuiper Government Solutions (KGS) told SpaceNews.
Read the full story
My Take: It’s like Prime for space. They orbital data relay space is shaping up to have a number of providers including Kepler, Kuiper and probably SpaceX ad Telesat at some point.
AI
The art of AI art prompts: How to get the most out of AI image generation
Hands. Still the AI challenge.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so it’s no wonder text-to-image AI generators are so hard to use: They force you to translate a picture in your mind into a prompt that’s only a handful of lines.
On top of that, the unpredictable nature of these AI models means no prompt will ever generate the exact same image every time.
Unless you learn how to prompt them properly, the randomness that should be a feature of these AI tools can start to feel like a bug.
Read the full excellent article
My Take: This is a really good article. Great resource for sure. If you’ve ever struggled with proper image generation, you’ll appreciate this.
KLING - More Text to Video AI - A New Era Of Creative Production (of cat videos)
I’m sure you’ve all heard about SORA, the AI platform that’s supposed to create all these great AI videos from text-based prompts, etc. I’ve never tried it, but I did see something about a Chinese-based application named KLING that offers a similar solution, with free credits for just signing up. So I tried it.
Here’s the prompt I provided.
And, after about 5 minutes of processing, here’s what I got. Press play to watch this gem.
Visit KLING
My Take: We still have a little way to go 😉 Although, as with everything else, prompts matter. I should start a hashtag craze around that. #promptsmatter.
What the hell is that?
These Are the 10 AI Startups to Watch in 2024
Artificial intelligence is developing at a dizzying pace, with technology that can do everything from churning out pop ballads to writing code. And while it’s still early days—even the best chatbots make things up—the implications for humans are good, bad and inescapable.
A boom in innovation has led to more funding, with tens of billions of dollars put into AI companies in just the first half of this year. Here are 10 of the biggest, most important and best-funded startups to watch in 2024, plus six of the industry’s most significant up-and-comers.
Read the full article
My Take: read the next two articles. Look at the amount of money raised.
Goldman Sachs Throws Cold Water on AI Mania
“What trillion-dollar problem will Al solve?” asks global equity research head Jim Covello.
The lure of AI to transform the world has led the stock market to new heights and revitalized the venture capital community after the 2022 downturn. But as stocks like Nvidia — the darling of generative AI stocks with its chip monopoly — recently retreated from all-time highs, a few voices have spoken up about what they view as the false promises of the new technology.
Read the full article
My Take: Is this just another bubble? Will investor enthusiasm fade if significant use cases aren't realized soon? There are many articles wth the same tone of late. The real winners right now are the AI “brains”. That’s the problem. Someone should use AI to develop some real use cases.
A Clamour for Generative AI (Even If Something Else Works Better)
Chief information officers know generative AI isn’t the right tool for every tech problem. But lately some are having to throw a wet blanket on the enthusiasm of chief executives and boards intoxicated by the technology’s promise.
Companies that mention generative AI in their earnings reports have seen bumps in their stock prices, fueling a race among firms to position themselves as front-runners in adopting the technology.
But as a result, some CIOs say they are aware of pressure to shoehorn the technology into areas best addressed by either older forms of predictive AI, or even something as simple as a spreadsheet.
Read the full article, if you can.
My Take: More of the same. The comment about AI and earnings reports says it all. Everyone wants to be on the bandwagon. Solutions looking for problems, for now.
Tidbits
AI outshines humans in humor: Study finds ChatGPT is as funny as The Onion
Artificial intelligence has been making headlines for its capabilities in various fields, but can it make us laugh? A recent study published in the journal PLOS ONE suggests that AI might have the upper hand in humor as well. The research shows that AI-generated humor was rated as equally funny or funnier than human-created jokes, even when pitted against professional satirists from The Onion.
Read the full article
My Take: I think not.
'It's risky for male frogs out there': Female frog drags and attempts to eat screaming male
Female green and golden bell frogs in Australia will eat their male counterparts when the males' mating call displeases them.
Breeding seasons can be dangerous for male frogs that attempt to impress a potential mate: They can quickly find themselves being dragged off and eaten by an unimpressed female, researchers have discovered.
For the first time, scientists in Kooragang Island in New South Wales, Australia have observed adult female green and golden bell frogs (Litoria aurea) preying on their male counterparts during breeding season. They detailed their findings in a study published June 12 in the journal Ecology and Evolution.
Read the full article
My Take: Oh, my. They could at least cook then first,
This Machine Exposes Privacy Violations
So I think this is supposed to be a “who took the cookies from the cookie jar” type of thing? Dunno. Credit in the linked article below
A former Google engineer has built a search engine, webXray, that aims to find illicit online data collection and tracking—with the goal of becoming “the Henry Ford of tech lawsuits.”
This, Libert says, is why he developed webXray, a crude prototype of which he’s demoing for me right now. It’s a search engine for rooting out specific privacy violations anywhere on the web. By searching for a specific term or website, you can use webXray to see which sites are tracking you, and where all that data goes. Its mission, he says, is simple; “I want to give privacy enforcers equal technology as privacy violators.” To level the playing field.
Read the full article
My Take: I didn’t even want to try it.
Infographic Of The Week
Are you McSurprised? It’s a whopper of an increase. You should give your head a shake if you still eat there.
Podcast Recommendation
Bluetooth from Space: Hubble Network Reimagines Satellite IoT
You probably use Bluetooth every day to connect your phone to your car, speakers, and headphones. Now satellite startup Hubble Network is rethinking the bounds of Bluetooth to unlock low-cost IoT connections from space.
This week, Alex Haro, co-founder of Hubble Network, joins On Orbit. Hubble recently demonstrated a bluetooth connection from space. The company is working to build a satellite network that allows off the shelf bluetooth chips to be connected anywhere in the world via satellite.
Alex is also one of the co-founders of Life 360, a location-sharing app Life360 used by many families and for a global location-tracking network. In this episode, Alex shares the tech innovations that enabled Hubble to reach this milestone, the intersection of consumer and space technology, and what’s possible for individuals and industries with expanded low-cost IoT connectivity.
Listen here
Movie/Streaming Recommendation
The Mayor Of Kingstown
I may have written about this earlier. I can’t remember, and I haven’t indexed earlier editions to search them. Anyway.
"Mayor of Kingstown," created by Taylor Sheridan and Hugh Dillon, is a gritty crime drama series that delves into the complexities of a town dominated by the prison industry. The show stars Jeremy Renner as Mike McLusky, who assumes the role of the unofficial mayor after his brother's death. Set in Kingstown, Michigan, the series explores themes of systemic corruption, racism, and the harsh realities of the American prison system.
The series has received mixed reviews. Critics have praised its intense and raw portrayal of the prison-industrial complex and the strong performances by the cast, particularly Renner. The show is often compared to other dark, dramatic series like "The Wire" and "The Shield," with its unflinching look at the underbelly of society.
However, some viewers and critics have found the series to be excessively grim and violent (that’s the best part!), with a lack of emotional depth and character development (incorrect). The narrative is described as relentless and sometimes directionless, focusing more on the bleakness of the setting rather than providing a clear, cohesive storyline (also incorrect). Despite these critiques, the show has garnered a dedicated fanbase and has been renewed for multiple seasons, indicating its popularity among certain demographics (that’s like saying “you people”).
Overall, "Mayor of Kingstown" is a compelling yet divisive series that offers a stark, unvarnished look at the American justice system, driven by strong performances and a relentless narrative style. It’s a must-watch for fans of intense crime dramas, but its heavy themes and brutal depiction of violence may not be for everyone.
And, apparently, portions have been filmed in Kingston, Ontario. Home to many houses of incarceration. Season 3. Go watch.
Until Next Time
Comments here are my own and do not represent the opinions, views or thoughts of any person, company or organization that I may be associated with.
Feedback, comments and ideas are welcomed. Message me on LinkedIn or contact me at [email protected]
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