やっぱり「アメリカン・アイドル」?

昨日のIP化懇談会の続きは
IP化懇，「国内メーカーが国際市場で劣勢の原因はNTT仕様」
しか出てきていない。でも
+++++
通信・放送墾座長、ソフトバンクの光回線会社構想を否定
　竹中平蔵総務相の私的懇談会「通信・放送の在り方に関する懇談会」の松原聡座長（東洋大教授）は22日の情報通信政策フォーラムでの講演で、「光ファイバーの建設を独占する特殊会社はつくらない」と述べ、ソフトバンクが提唱した光回線を敷設する共同出資会社構想に否定的な考えを示した。
　ソフトバンクの孫正義社長は、通信業界で新会社を設立して光の加入者回線の敷設を共同で進めれば、月々の利用料金を690円に下げられると主張している。
　これに対し、松原座長は「加入者回線は光ファイバー以外に、無線技術などの活用も考えられる」と指摘。「１社独占では非効率が発生する可能性もある。複数の会社が複数の技術を使って競争した方がいい」と消極姿勢を見せた。
　ＮＴＴグループの経営形態に関しては「大胆な改革をせざるを得ないということで懇談会で一致したが、単純に持ち株会社を無くしてバラバラにすればいいという話ではない」と述べ、競争を促進する観点から議論を深める考えを強調した。
[2006年2月22日]
+++++
という話も。うーむ。

さて、昨日、21日に開催された通信・放送の在り方に関する懇談会（第４回）の資料が総務省のページにアップされました。
「電気通信の現状」

参考資料

なかなかよくまとまってはいるのですが、消化不良起こしそうだし、突込みが足りない部分を感じる。まあ、お役所仕事ですから・・・

この資料を読み終わって見つけた以下の記事。かなり考えさせられますね。
*****
TELEPHONY ONLINE UPDATE

EDITOR'S PERSPECTIVE

American idols
By Dan O'Shea
Verizon, AT&T and BellSouth are reportedly close to deciding which vendor or vendors will win the joint RFP the companies issued last November for Gigabit passive optical networking (GPON) equipment.

This whole RFP process reminds me of something, but in order to make my point, I need to first stick a fork in my eye (AHHH!) There, that wasn't as bad as I thought. You see, I made this deal with myself never to compare the telecom industry to prime-time network television, but a comparison beckons, and, well, just remember I did it for your sake.

To continue, this whole RFP process puts me in the mind of "American Idol." (OK, this fork is starting to hurt.) First, there is a collection of extremely qualified participants, others somewhat less qualified and a few more who are absolutely out of touch with reality. They are all parading in front of three judges who will decide who gets to be the next big network star. There's a process of whittling down the crop of candidates, though with the former Bell companies, this part is happening behind closed doors.

The common understanding is that the winner(s) unquestionably will go on to great fame and fortune, and the losers will go down in infamy. With "American Idol," there are exceptions to the rule, Clay Aiken's unexplainable success being one example. (Ignore the pain, Dan, the fork is your friend.) With the GPON RFP, there may also be exceptions. There are other network operators in the U.S. that will deploy GPON, and a great, big market beyond that.

There is an incredibly palpable feeling of tension in the industry as the former Bell triad prepares to make its GPON choices. Vendors are issuing "controlled" announcements and trying to time the release of some GPON information in anticipation of the big announcement.

So, will this deal decide who among the vendor community excels or disappears? It will if we let it. These collective RFPs are the way of the world now, as a few consolidated super-regional carriers dominate the top tier of the market. The efficiencies and cost-savings these carriers gain from doing so are too good to pass up. Whether it's fair or not, vendors must prepare for product development, manufacturing and upgrades with that new reality in mind.

However, we've also seen too many innovative vendors come and go because they were waiting for the big Bell company deal that never happened, or happened far too slowly to save them from running out of money and patience. Diversifying opportunities, aligning with strong partners and paying closer attention to who else is deploying GPON could keep them in the game.

It's a harsh market environment, but don't impale yourself. Adapt.

*****

しかし、
ネットのコンテンツに依存する米テレビ局の事情
という記事はいかがなものか。