Rural Telecommunications articles from November 2007

Rural Telecommunications archives from November 2007

A for effort.(FROMthe Editor)(Editorial)
November 1, 2007... Report cards are like performance reviews. As you are reading this, my kids have likely just received their first report cards of the school year. My daughter is a junior in high school and my son is in eighth grade. Both are active in sports...

Mobile applications--my, how you've grown.(SHORTTakes)
November 1, 2007... From the cellular infancy of basic calls, text and photo capturing to the do-it-all devices they have grown up to be, the touted "smart" phones such as BlackBerries, Nokia's N95 and Apple iPhone are driving the development for more...

Real technology on the big and small screens.(SHORTTakes)
November 1, 2007... An industry of cool has become the social norm. The gadgets and gizmos of action heroes and spies seemed unattainable not too long ago, but as product placements for consumer electronics increase, TV and movie viewers realize the technology...

Speech recognition technology ... can you understand me now?(SHORTTakes)
November 1, 2007... Advances in speech recognition technology are expanding the ways humans interact with data. Speech recognition technology has both commercial and social applications. There is potential for human voice interaction with data in computers and...

Spectrum analyzers--what's in your wireless landscape?(SHORTTakes)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... With all the frequencies home gadgets emit, it's hard to identify what may be wreaking havoc on your wireless network. A landscape of wireless game controllers, Bluetooth headsets, microwave ovens and other frequencies can interfere with a...

In retrospect.(Perspective)(Golden West Telecommunications Cooperative Inc.'s growth and services)(Company overview)
November 1, 2007... Having been a director of Golden West Telecommunications for 35 years, I have watched the company grow and meet the challenges that face an industry that operates in rural areas across the state of South Dakota. A large number of Golden West...

What do you think is the most important leadership trait a manager should possess?(FIRSTPerson)
November 1, 2007... Every manager has that something special that makes them most effective as a manager of people and a leader in an industry. When a manager can identify their strengths, they can use that to effectively inspire employees and create an...

Wiring new home construction: getting in on the ground floor.(Cover story)
November 1, 2007... Talk to the tech guys at any telco, and they will have the funniest stories about wiring homes. Like the time one tech was crawling around the attic, fell through the ceiling and landed on the couch next to the homeowner who was reading the...

Inspector OSHA: advanced preparation required.
November 1, 2007... Depending on the company, there are two dreaded words that can stop a safety manager dead in his tracks: "OSHA's here!" On any given day or time, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) can come...

Riding the swells of opportunity.(Survey)
November 1, 2007... If you have been part of the telecommunications industry for any length of time, you are already well aware that the only constant is change. Trends come and go, technologies surge and ebb, regulators act and step back. Yet, in a sense, there...

Retooling operations to support today's product mix.
November 1, 2007... What happened to the days when being a telephone company meant you provided copper phone lines? Today's multimedia technology has transformed the composition of the telco offering, and, in doing so, has altered customers' service expectations,...

Handset replacement programs can help your customers stay connected.(RISKManager)
November 1, 2007... Who hasn't heard or even spoken to their fellow employees: "the customer is always right," "we need to do more with less," "never say no to a customer," and "find a way?" These are all sound adages, if your business activity has minimal...

The new marketing mix: where will you meet your customers?(MARKETINGMatters)
November 1, 2007... It wasn't so long ago that the marketer's quiver held a handful of arrows. The skillful often chose some combination of print advertising, radio, broadcast television and cable spots, Yellow Pages ads, direct mail, billboards, special events,...

NTCA Annual Meeting & EXPO.(Annual Meeting Preview)(National Telecommunications Cooperative Association)(Conference notes)
November 1, 2007... Sheraton New Orleans and Marriott New Orleans February 10-13, 2008 New Orleans, Louisiana NTCA's Annual Meeting & EXPO will capture the spirit of New Orleans. Take part in cutting-edge seminars, informative workshops and the...

Tough choices, right moves.(EXECUTIVEViewpoint)(Industry overview)
November 1, 2007... While standing in line at an airport coffee shop recently, I watched as the man in front of me in line carefully examined each of the rich-looking pastries displayed in the glass cases. When the clerk approached him and asked, "what would you...