It seems the bidding for AWS spectrum just keeps going and going and going.

The auction is now taking a one day break for Canada Day.

As June 30 drew to a close, 10% of the auction properties continued to be attracting new bids and the total value of the bids has continued to creep up about $1M per round.

When bidding resumes on Wednesday, will this be the final sprint to the finish?

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Industry Canada, AWS Spectrum Auction

Mark Evans has been writing recently about the need for people to pause, take a deep breath and think a little longer before hitting the send button. He had an earlier piece with a similar theme.

He writes:

One of the major challenges within the always-on, always accessible world is the belief that if someone is able to contact you, you’re obligated to get back to them as soon as possible. Rather than think, breathe and reflect, the default is respond ASAP.Why is that? Why do we feel compelled to reply before really thinking through exactly what you want to say? Often, digital conversations can become complicated and convoluted because not enough thought goes into what should/needs to be said.

I waited a couple days to write this post, in order to reflect a little more on his words. I took a few deep breaths, got up, walked around and even reviewed a draft before hitting the ‘publish’ button.

A year and a half ago, I wrote about 4 degrees of impersonal communications.

Face-to-face communications (a first degree interaction) has no record, no evidence beyond the memory of the participants. Telephony (second degree) may have a record, such as an audio voice message. Email (3rd degree) gets circulated, over and over. Thanks to search engines and web-archiving tools, the web (4th degree) offers a permanent record.

I observed that:

Paradoxically, we seem to take more care in communications when the conversation can most easily be private and candid.

Some of Mark’s readers have said the solution is to unplug for a period – one day on; one day off – in order to recharge their batteries and experience the real world more fully.

I am not sure that is necessary. I like being connected while on the road; I find that being available is what lets me get away. For others, there is a real need to turn off the phone and Blackberry.

Whatever it takes, I hope you get to find that source of inspiration and invigoration as we move into the traditional vacation season.

Enjoy the Canada Day weekend… I’ll be taking a few days off. Fishing with my Blackberry at my side. Drinking some wine, eating some cheese, catching a few rays [can anyone name the movie?].

But being careful with my communications devices near water. They don’t float, you know.

For those who couldn’t make it to The 2008 Canadian Telecom Summit, Fox Group Media has prepared a summary video.

There are interviews with speakers, summaries of keynote addresses, conversations with delegates.

In addition, the 40 minute video includes our opening remarks at The Canadian Telecom Summit. The focus is on the first day.

Time		Presentation & Interview
00:00		Introduction – Roberta J. Fox, Editor in Chief, Publisher, FOX GROUP Publishing
02:00		Mark Goldberg & Michael Sone, co-chairs of the Canadian Telecom Summit comment on Canadian Government and Telecom Policy arena
09:47		Nadir Mohammed, President & COO, Rogers Communications is queried by Roberta Fox in an open forum and summarizes the comments of his keynote speech
12:52		Bill Archer – CMO – AT&T; Corp. – Roberta provides a summary of his Luncheon Keynote regarding top global Telecommunications industry trends
17:46		John Maduri – President and CEO – Barrett xplore – Wireless Internet Services – Roberta in a One on One Interview on top issues facing Canadian SMBs
25:25		John Cameron – CEO – Aizan Technologies – Voice Technologies – One on One Interview with Roberta Fox on benefits of hosted voice solutions
20:50		Tony Cassetta, Chairman – Pulse Voice – One on One Interview with Roberta Fox on top telecom issues facing Canadian organizations
33:30		Mike Zafirovski – President & CEO, Nortel Networks, Roberta provides summary of his Keynote Presentation
35:30		Martha Bejar – Corporate VP, Communications Sector, Microsoft Corp. – Roberta provides summary of her Keynote presentation
37:45		Stuart Wells, President Global Solutions, and Mario Belanger, President of Avaya Canada, summary of telephone interview on top telecommunication trends affecting enterprise and SMBs in Canada
41:54		Wrap-up and Closing Remarks by Roberta J. Fox, FOX GROUP Publishing & Telecom Consulting

You really need to attend in person to experience the event, but hopefully the video will provide a taste for you.

Plan to attend in 2009: June 15-17 in Toronto.

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Canadian Telecom Summit

I have been test driving the new Fido Uno mobile service recently and I have to say that I like it. I have the handset connecting automatically to various WiFi networks; the set up was pretty easy.

The service is a good way to save on long distance charges, but I am left thinking that we should be expecting more. After all, Bell and TELUS really don’t need fancy Fixed Mobile Convergence to deliver a competing service; all that is needed is lower (or no) long distance charges for domestic calls.

If all the customer sees is a reduction in pricing, then it seems like a lot of effort.

Recall my POTS over IP postings [here and here]. [PoIP – don’t you just love a 4-letter acronym that embeds a 4-letter acronym?]

How can service providers leverage VoIP for more than just price advantages?

Markham-based Iristel is trying to find that service mix. They have announced IP Mobiliy Service, integrating hybrid WiFi / GSM phones into business communications, thereby enabling the suite of unified communications capabilities to be available from office phones or hybrid mobile/wifi devices. It is now announcing Iristel IP Mobility, a service that enables users to seamlessly switch between their mobile carrier’s network and fixed lines when moving from one location to another (e.g. car to office).

Iristel IP Mobility’s universal features enable business users to remain productive and active in conference and group calls when out of the office by providing access to all the same telephone features users would have from their desk. It also provides VoIP roaming, enabling subscribers to access fixed line services when away from home or office through wireless VoIP.

Will customers embrace Iristel’s services? What about mobile carriers themselves?

Are these the kinds of services that might let new entrants differentiate themselves?

As bidding for AWS spectrum cracks though the $4B mark, I like to look at the details to see where people aren’t bidding.

For example, the 10MHz ‘G’ band [1910-1915 MHz / 1990-1995 MHz] has attracted no bids in Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Northern Ontario. Not even an opening bid.

And almost all of the 5MHz ‘I’ band [1670-1675 MHz] remains in the government’s hands; the exception is Manitoba where MTS has bid half a million dollars for it. Will any equipment be available to operate in this orphaned band?

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Industry Canada, AWS Spectrum Auction