The word “convergence” may have lost its luster, as the integration between voice, video and data holds different meanings for businesses, shareholders and consumers.
That’s the word from the first day of discussions Sunday at an event sponsored by the Silicon Flatirons Telecommunications Program out of the University of Colorado.
The two-day event, “The Digital Broadband Migration: The Next Wave of Innovation,” kicked off Sunday with a panel discussion on convergence and innovation in the technology and telecommunications sector.
Topics to be discussed during the conference are Internet neutrality and digital-rights management. A speech by Federal Trade Commissioner William Kovacic is scheduled for today.
“Everyone is looking for a different facet of convergence,” said Raymond Gifford, a partner at Denver law firm Kamlet Shepherd & Reichert. “Once a word enters buzz-word status, that’s when its value starts to shred.”
Understanding and offering cutting-edge products and services isn’t necessarily what consumers want or need, said Michael Fries, president and chief executive of Douglas County-based Liberty Global, a provider of pay TV, data and phone services overseas.
“For us, it’s all about pacing. Consumers and technology drive pacing,” he said. “I have to remind myself and my team that it’s not moving as fast as we think it is. (People) don’t have all these devices. They’re the lean-back crowd, not lean- forward crowd.”
Kenneth Dunn, vice president of corporate development and strategy for Qwest, said that the Denver telecommunications company has to balance how it integrates innovations into its markets without cannibalizing its existing land-line service, particularly when it comes to Voice Over Internet Protocol service.
“VoIP presents a challenge to the land-line base,” he said. “That’s why Qwest has to distinguish itself. We have a large (customer) base … and have to provide service to them in a world- class manner.”
Dunn said Qwest would continue to upgrade its fiber network to offer DSL service to more customers but would seek to partner with a Wi-Max provider to possibly offer wireless Internet service in areas beyond its current reach. He said the company would follow a model similar to the one it has with Sprint, in which Qwest bundles and resells cellphone service.
For Broomfield-based Level 3 Communications, the “challenge is to stay on top” of where change is coming from, said Don Gips, group vice president for corporate strategy.
“We’re still in the first inning of this digital revolution,” he said.
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-954-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.
