FLOW, IPTV and the coming of Net2Vu - Johnny Mnemonic

Suns may rise and set; we, when our short day has closed, must sleep on during one perpetual night.

(Soles occidere et redire possunt;….) Catullus. Ode V

Triple Play Provider FLOW is again asking for an extension of its All-Island Cable license so as to complete its build out of its Triple Play Network. This as stated in the article “Flow Ja needs five more years to complete triple-play network”, published Sunday March 20, 2011, Mark Titus, Business Gleaner Writer, The Jamaica Gleaner in which Mark Titus, Business Gleaner Writer interviewed President and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Michelle “Dallas” English of Triple Play Provider FLOW.

With 40% of the Cable Services in their hands as stated in the article “Flow's pace slows - But Broadcasting Commission ok with Network Delay”, published Friday August 28, 2009 by Mark Titus, Business Gleaner Writer, The Jamaica Gleaner, one wonders: what is slowing down the pace of their expansion? And why have they begun aggressively advertising their Cable Services ONLY on Local Television since February 2011?

History lesson please! Triple Play Provider FLOW have (obviously!) missed their deadline, as Triple Play Provider FLOW is nowhere near Clarendon, let alone Milk River! Worse, according to the article, Triple Play Provider FLOW  only offers their a la carte services in the following areas:

1. Kingston and St. Andrew
2. Portmore
3. Mandeville
4. Montego Bay
5. Ocho Rios

Cable services are in the tourist town of Negril, with the lucky residents of Hopewell and the capital of Hanover, Lucea, being luck enough to get Cable services only. Apparently, that is where all of the country’s money is: concentrated around Tourist resort towns and Montego Bay aka “Gal”-Tego Bay according to Bounti Killa, a major tourist resort town in Jamaica.

Probably explains why one of the ten (10) Stores that PayLess ShoeSource has opened a store in Montego Bay as stated in the article “Payless opens in MoBay”, published Tuesday February 22 2011, The Jamaica Observer. People with unexplained spending in an economy with little or no work other than running a ganja plantation and then laundering the money via a registered but loosely monitored business.

Thus the rational for the statements by President and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Michelle “Dallas” English does truly add up!

Wow! What a long title and golden hair you have, ma’am!

In an interview with Mark Titus, Business Gleaner Writer, President and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Michelle “Dallas” English words revealed as much, quote: “If I go into such a community first, it will cost me 10 times more than a Portmore or Montego Bay that is more densely populated, while I am getting only a fraction of the number of customers I would have in more densely populated areas, so we have to manage how that is dealt with.”.

Guess Milk River will NEVER get Triple Play Cable until the Pridees Housing Scheme and other surrounding Housing Scheme are fully built up and populated. As a matter of reference, I live in Rest Square, Milk River, Clarendon, effectively the Beachcombers Section of Milk River.

Typical of Telecom Providers to bypass low density areas for higher density areas! Even Telecom Provider CLARO, soon to be annexed to Telecom Provider Digicel and Telecom Provider LIME are like this.

They only provision some of their Mobile Cell Sites or Node B’s with the HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) Equipment packs, cabinets and cards for 3G or WiMax 4G Mobile (IEEE 802.16d,e) Equipment packs, cabinets and cards for 4G in the case of Telecom Provider Digicel based on similar criteria.

So if you live in a community where very few people live and work in professional jobs longer than five (5) years and are not a Tourist Resort Town or Kingston, Wired and Wireless Broadband will not be reaching you until 2015.

After all, it not about Jamaica’s future, as this is not the preserve of Telecom Providers. It’s about the Benjamins.

Which is why Triple Play Provider FLOW cannot lose as opined in my blog article entitled “FLOW vs LIME, Digicel, CLARO and Municipal Wi-Fi - The Empire Strikes Back Part Deux”.

Right?

But it is the words at the end of the interview that is most striking. President and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Michelle “Dallas” English pointed out an interesting trend, quote: “We are actually seeing organic growth because as we offer the triple-play service, people are also taking advantage of our bundles. So we are seeing growth on our video products, which we didn't expect to see because we are well penetrated in the market. Flow has been really excited about the growth there.”

This is interesting. Since their “Video products” clearly was NOT a reference to their Cable TV service, it only stands to reason that the trend of cord-cutting is picking up among Jamaicans as is among our American counterparts.

And like our American counterparts, there is a twist: the ditch their Cable TV services and opt to stream via NetFlix, Hulu or Net2Vu via IPTV devices such as an Apple iTV or Roku Box or SlingBox. This as prognosticated by CNET News Blogger Marguerite Reardon in her groundbreaking article entitled “With Internet TV, cable wins even if it loses”, published October 29, 2010 4:00 AM PDT by Marguerite Reardon, CNET News - Signal Strength.

Rather than to purchase a Triple Play Service with Cable TV, VoIP Telephony and 100MBps Broadband Internet, American and now Jamaican customers are beginning to realize that the can opt to just have the Internet alone and watch TV using their IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) service!

This I had long opined in my blog article entitled “Broadcasters, LIME TV and IPTV - Kill and Kill Again and the London Olympics”. Obvious, as with an IPTV device such as an Apple iTV or Roku Box or SlingBox, one can opt to have High Speed Wired or Wired Broadband Internet ONLY, such as Telecom Provider Digicel 4G Broadband powered by WiMax 4G Mobile (IEEE 802.16d, e), Telecom Provider LIME ADSL or Triple Play Provider FLOW.

Their slow launch was anticipated, having been previously delayed in the past due to resistance on the part of people unwilling to spend more to upgrade their services after Triple Play Provider FLOW takes over and theft of their equipment as stated in the article “Flow's pace slows - But Broadcasting Commission ok with Network Delay”, published Friday August 28, 2009 by Mark Titus, Business Gleaner Writer, The Jamaica Gleaner.

Ditto too, the effect of cord-cutting by some consumers, who are opting to download and watch their programming (delayed) as opposed to live as stated in the article “US Cable TV bleeds subscribers as online grows”, published Sunday November 28 2010 by AFP, Yahoo News.

The TV anywhere concept a la LIME TV, the slowly silent, rising yet deadly caterpillar Drive propelled Red October as stated in my blog article entitled “Broadcasting and Digital Switch Over - Back To the Future to Compete with LIME TV”.

Certainly and neatly explains the increased advertising on Local TV for Triple Play Provider FLOW Cable Services. Coupled with the coming of the London Olympics 2012 and its prior introduction of 100MBps Broadband Internet Service as stated in my blog article entitled “Telecom Providers and 100MBps - Diamonds are Forever”, it appears that Triple Play Provider FLOW is already swimming out to meet the incoming wave.

They are trying to shore up their Cable TV service, which ironically their Broadband Internet offerings of 20MBps and upwards are beginning to eat into. These “Video products” as President and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Michelle “Dallas” English refers to IPTV and as opined in my blog article entitled “Broadcasters, LIME TV and IPTV - Kill and Kill Again and the London 2012 Olympics”.

I will even go out on a limb and say that these “Video products” is a reference to Net2Vu, a Streaming IPTV service hailing straight out of Barbados. Blog article coming soon about this IPTV wonder that may be part of the “Video products” that President and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Michelle “Dallas” English is referring. Only on the Geezam Blog!

Thus, Television Jamaica and CVM TV may have to start making the transition to HDTV a lot sooner than 2015 AD or face certain annihilation as opined in my blog article entitled “Telecom Providers, 100MBps Broadband and the Broadcasting Commission - Redemption Song” and the article “LIME TV and Broadcasting - The Andromeda Strain and My Science Project”.

Like around 2012AD! With 3-D viewing support, just in time for the London Olympics 2012!

Wait till streaming Data on smartphones begins to catch on in Jamaica! If the trend in the US of A is anything to go by, we, like our American cousins, may end up like Johnny Mnemonic (1995) with Data Hard drives in our brains to store Video and Audio for playback at a later date.