I hope you have enjoyed my earlier writings about Cost Containment. If you have started working to be recognized in your organization as a Cost Containment leader you should also consider how to track and present your accomplishments. The chart shows concisely the EBITDA impact of Cost Containment efforts.
What is Cost Containment?
I’ve been banging on now for a couple weeks about using Cost Containment to advance your career. But what exactly is Cost Containment? Is it as simple as spending less money? Must essential services be foregone; customer-pleasing amenities eliminated?
Cost Containment is about providing similar services more cheaply, or additional services for roughly the same amount. Broadly speaking, there are 4 categories of Cost Containment.
- Technology
- Architecture
- Negotiation
- Negative Expenses
We will discuss these categories one by one to better understand how they can work for your network. Continue reading “What is Cost Containment?”
Infrastructure as an Expectation
I’ve said it before: the best infrastructure is invisible because you don’t see it until it breaks. Even worse, no one ever expects it to break. Infrastructure is taken for granted; always there, always doing what it should.
When it does break, oh the outrage, the inconvenience. How could it fail at this time, why now? If you don’t believe it, ask yourself a question. When was the last time you paused in quiet appreciation as fresh, clean water poured from the faucet? How long has it been since you marveled that a room was illuminated the instant you operated the light switch? How often do you thank your broadband provider when FaceBook floods your Messenger with notifications?
On the other hand, remember how inconvenienced you felt when water service was shut off? When commercial electric power failed during a storm? When the speed of your Internet speed crawled to a halt? Continue reading “Infrastructure as an Expectation “
Advance Your Telecom Career with Cost Containment
It is often said that the best infrastructure is invisible because you don’t even know it is there until it breaks. In Telecoms, it means that the network should simply work without problems and the Technical Team responsible for that network remains behind the scenes, out of view.
For telecom engineers, this approach can have negative consequences. For example, maybe you have done a great job but you never got any recognition. The best boss I ever had, Eddie, felt this was how things were supposed to be. Eddie was always proud, but a little uncomfortable, when his Technical team won awards, which frequently they did, within the company. Eddie was CTO at that time and felt that Engineers belonged in the background, out of sight, dragging their knuckles quietly, certainly not on stage accepting awards in recognition of their outstanding performance. Continue reading “Advance Your Telecom Career with Cost Containment “
Nobody Likes Surprises
As you try to manage your career and get ahead in your world, simple rules can be helpful. I take inspiration from the American TV drama “NCIS” which features “Gibbs’ Rules” as a running theme throughout the show. It occurs to me that there may be many comparable rules in business and in life. Here is one that which is frequently illustrated in business, usually inadvertently. Continue reading “Nobody Likes Surprises”
LTE-U is Unfriendly to Consumers and to WiFi. Let’s Fix it.
Today the wireless industry is gripped by debate over the deployment of LTE services in unlicensed spectrum. Qualcomm is the leading proponent and has recruited support from Telecom Equipment Manufacturers and Mobile Operators. Qualcomm has proposed three separate standards: LTE-U and License Assisted Access (LAA) are targeted geographically. A third proposal called MuLTEfire uses unlicensed spectrum for Enterprises, and does not require an LTE channel in licensed spectrum. Details of those proposals can be found elsewhere. Continue reading “LTE-U is Unfriendly to Consumers and to WiFi. Let’s Fix it.”
Least Cost Routing Delivers for Cellular Operator
Bangkok Beach Telecom recently has been working with a North American Tier 3 Mobile operator to lower their cost to deliver long distance calls. The operator felt they had already done much to optimize these costs using their own in-house tools. We proposed using our Least Cost Routing model (LCR) to see if these costs could be further lowered. We charge nothing to determine the potential savings LCR may yield, and going forward is up to the operator. This operator was quite surprised to learn that a further 50% reduction in their average cost per MOU was achievable. Continue reading “Least Cost Routing Delivers for Cellular Operator”
Issues of 3G/4G Build-Out: Ethernet Base Station Backhaul I
Last week I wrote about Thailand’s 3G spectrum auctions in Thailand Should Leapfrog 3G and Move Directly to 4G. Some readers disagreed, mostly on the grounds that 4G was not ready or that existing users of 3G-in-2G-spectrum would be upset that their 3G handset investment would be obsoleted sooner than expected. I felt these comments somewhat missed the point I had hoped to make, and was therefore somewhat gratified when Don Sambandaraksa of the Bangkok Post supported the idea.
The comments to my original article, both positive and negative, got me thinking about the impediments that face a 4G deployment in Thailand. The one that is probably the easiest to address is the availability of nationwide Metro Ethernet. Read on as I explore this critical requirement of 4G mobile networks.
Continue reading “Issues of 3G/4G Build-Out: Ethernet Base Station Backhaul I”
Lundberg’s Law of LinkedIn Laziness
It has happened many times over the last couple years: a friend or colleague who has previously been totally inactive on LinkedIn suddenly starts connecting and posting and generally making up for lost time. Many times this indicates a change of employment is imminent or has recently passed.
I’ve not read of this phenomenon elsewhere, though I won’t be surprised if someone else has already identified it. Until prior art is revealed, I’ll call it Lundberg’s Law of LinkedIn Laziness, or simply Lundberg’s Law. (That name does not appear to be already taken.) With Luck it might enter the vernacular.
A sudden increase in networking activity on LinkedIn foretells an imminent job change.
In other words, Lundberg’s Law states that a step function in the intensity of professional networking activity indicates an unplanned career move is afoot.
Math whizzes in the audience might prefer “the second integral with respect to time of one’s professional network is proportional to the unexpectedness of a sudden career change.”
What it means is this: don’t lazily ignore your network and wait until you need it to feed it. Connecting with colleagues, coworkers and acquaintances should be part of your daily routine. Chat up old colleagues, reconnect with past associates, check in occasionally with industry groups. Stay active. Stay visible. Stay relevant.
If you are continually active, you’ll have a much healthier network at at time when that will be important to you, and you’ll avoid implicitly advertising that you’ve had a sudden career change thrust upon you.
If you ignore your professional network, it won’t serve you well when you most need it.
Court says FCC Cannot impose net neutrality rules
In a landmark ruling sure to be appealed to the Supreme Court by the Obama administration, a federal appeals court has ruled that the FCC has no legal authority to impose net neutrality rules on Internet Service Providers (ISPs.) Net neutrality proponents immediately responded that ISPs should be brought under FCC jurisdiction similar to that which governs the business of landline telephony providers. Continue reading “Court says FCC Cannot impose net neutrality rules”