In a recent posting by some person from the Telecom Council of Silicon Valley they state:
Historically, telecom innovation happened in distributed labs around the world. And despite some phenomenal inventions, the overall pace was languid. In just the past 15 years though, increasing competition has put the spurs to this sector and meshed it with the swifter high-tech industry. In that time, the telecom industry has become a fast-moving, energetic market, with explosive growth that attracts some of the best entrepreneurs and investors in the world. In an accelerating industry, innovations rule. And the innovations that link telecom investors and entrepreneurs worldwide find their nexus in the Silicon Valley.
I find this an amazingly false statement for anyone who has been in the industry for a while. Just think of the following:
1. Tymenet, a data communications network which preceded the Internet in the late 70s and early 80s.
2. The VSAT business which sprung up from the early 80s and which became the basis of a great deal of distributed wireless networks.
3. Linkabit and the development which it produced for the telecom business ranging from satellites thru CATV.
4. Qualcomm the follow on to Linkabit needs no discussion.
and the list goes on.
In my opinion, have spent a few years there, the biggest drag on telecom was Bell Labs. It was under the ATT Chairman Kittel in the 70s that he had to get Bell Canada and BNR to develop the digital switch, it became Norther Telecom, while the US Bell Labs refused to go digital.
The author continues:
These garage-stage startups tend to exist below the radar of the industry and telecom investors -- you really need to be in Silicon Valley to see them. And you need to be networked in the Valley as well; they don't advertise in trade journals. Telecom innovation is happening across the Valley – from the moonlighting mobile application developer to a founder team working on fiber-to-the-home services. The Telecom Council of Silicon Valley, the organization that connects telecom companies with innovation, actually saw more startups in 2009 than 2008.
Again many telecom start up were in Dallas, Boston, and Reston VA and the I 270 corridor in Maryland. They were the builders of what we see today in telecom. Yes Silicon Valley made many contributions but they were always driven by people in a widely distributed geographical area and not just Silicon Valley and in addition they existed and prospered before the explosion of the VC markets.
Thus I find this piece a bit self serving and lacking in facts. Entrepreneurs will find ways to get things done with or without VCs. However they need capital and the current Financial Control Bill in the Senate may hinder that effort by lumping entrepreneurial investments into a par with Goldman Sachs and others. If that happens that would just add another layer of complexity but the entrepreneur always finds a way to the other side of the mountain, even outside of Silicon Valley.
Historically, telecom innovation happened in distributed labs around the world. And despite some phenomenal inventions, the overall pace was languid. In just the past 15 years though, increasing competition has put the spurs to this sector and meshed it with the swifter high-tech industry. In that time, the telecom industry has become a fast-moving, energetic market, with explosive growth that attracts some of the best entrepreneurs and investors in the world. In an accelerating industry, innovations rule. And the innovations that link telecom investors and entrepreneurs worldwide find their nexus in the Silicon Valley.
I find this an amazingly false statement for anyone who has been in the industry for a while. Just think of the following:
1. Tymenet, a data communications network which preceded the Internet in the late 70s and early 80s.
2. The VSAT business which sprung up from the early 80s and which became the basis of a great deal of distributed wireless networks.
3. Linkabit and the development which it produced for the telecom business ranging from satellites thru CATV.
4. Qualcomm the follow on to Linkabit needs no discussion.
and the list goes on.
In my opinion, have spent a few years there, the biggest drag on telecom was Bell Labs. It was under the ATT Chairman Kittel in the 70s that he had to get Bell Canada and BNR to develop the digital switch, it became Norther Telecom, while the US Bell Labs refused to go digital.
The author continues:
These garage-stage startups tend to exist below the radar of the industry and telecom investors -- you really need to be in Silicon Valley to see them. And you need to be networked in the Valley as well; they don't advertise in trade journals. Telecom innovation is happening across the Valley – from the moonlighting mobile application developer to a founder team working on fiber-to-the-home services. The Telecom Council of Silicon Valley, the organization that connects telecom companies with innovation, actually saw more startups in 2009 than 2008.
Again many telecom start up were in Dallas, Boston, and Reston VA and the I 270 corridor in Maryland. They were the builders of what we see today in telecom. Yes Silicon Valley made many contributions but they were always driven by people in a widely distributed geographical area and not just Silicon Valley and in addition they existed and prospered before the explosion of the VC markets.
Thus I find this piece a bit self serving and lacking in facts. Entrepreneurs will find ways to get things done with or without VCs. However they need capital and the current Financial Control Bill in the Senate may hinder that effort by lumping entrepreneurial investments into a par with Goldman Sachs and others. If that happens that would just add another layer of complexity but the entrepreneur always finds a way to the other side of the mountain, even outside of Silicon Valley.
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